Woman Midwest-style

Camo for Deer...        An inexperienced hunter might get impatient waiting in a ground blind . My butt do get a bit numb from sitting on the stool.  Our bodies succomb to getting sore and restlessness, hence our human reaction is movement.  But deer are always wary, on the lookout for danger,  while they are more colorblind than turkey, a deer's alert eyes pick up on  any  movement.   It is difficult to remain still and silent inside the blind just as it is in a tree stand.  I was taught to turn my head minimally, to shift only my eyes and if you hear steps, hold your head statue still.     When you're out there sitting in a blind or in the stand you become part of the woods, drinking in the smell of the leaves, the pines and if you're in a prime spot, you can smell pungent deer pee and know you may get your chance, if the wind doesn't give you up. As I wait, if I'm quiet and still enough the birds will land next to me, not really as rare as such a beautiful

2013  One warm afternoon during bow season we opted for the hour drive to hunt  Urich Conservation Area   prior to gun season's crowd chased off all the  deer..... By then it would be futile to hope to have even a modicum productive deer hunt in that small area .   We loaded the Jeep with his climber stand and the ground blind I use, also an assundry of other supplies necessary including the small homemade deer cart. The usual mass mayhem of traffic kept us from making significant speed toward our hunting area that beckoned.       Pulling in the long gravel road my heart sank seeing another truck parked at the lot. Takes a lot to rile him, no surprise Ed displayed nothing.  As we gathered our gear the other hunter walked across the field toward us, Ed greeted the young man while I was immersed in my gear in the back seat. I was wishing I hadn't so much to carry on my back and the weather would cool down. The men were exchanging typical "how's the huntin'

Deepwater     2013, opening day deer rifle season I had tracked a doe that finally caught scent of me.  She threw that fluffy white flag up and bounded into the timber just as I jerked my rifle to my face to shoot.      Shielded from view I sat for two hours on a huge flat oak stump watching the tree line for the doe to come back out to feed. I was very comfortable in my short sleeves, happy to feel the light breeze in my hair and listen to the bluejays "caw caw" in the locust tree behind me. I raised my binoculars trying to focus on a Red-tail hawk in flight's screech just before it swooped to the ground to snatch a mouse out of the tall grass.  The calm of the afternoon enveloped me; that solitude every hunter's dream as I watched the clouds float across the sky with childlike wonder.   My husband joined me at the stump. Foxtail with an amber glow under the late afternoon sun - the soybean field bordered the trees. Darkness at Sunset     By last

Wind gusts up to 25 mph forecast that weekend ... I thought that may be too much of a challenge.  I jotted notes in my iPhone as I hunted. Tebo Arm, Truman Lake Nov. 7 It was a very chilly start with a light glaze of frost on the windshield. I had awoke with a whopper of a headache so I hunted in the nearby timber behind the motel. A headache, one sure sign obviously the weather was changing; I hiked slowly and medication eased my headache somewhat. The squirrels busily digging and jumping from tree to tree, i t was a gorgeous day. Towards  noon I got hungry yet I still wanted to explore. I ventured into the field, it had appeared at a distance to be withered soybeans but as  field of  deer beds I reached the edge of the timber, I saw it was a weed field. It had deer beds and paths etched throughout the tall grass tossing with the wind.    I turned back and stepped on something hard. I pushed the leaves aside and buried in the le

BOW HUNTING, EARLY NOVEMBER Wind gusts up to 25 mph forecast that weekend! I thought that may be too much of a challenge..  I jotted notes in my iPhone as I hunted. Tebo Arm, Truman Lake Nov. 7: It was a very chilly start with a light glaze of frost on the windshield. I had awoke with a whopper of a headache so I hunted in the nearby timber behind the motel.  I hiked slowly and medication eased my headache somewhat. It was a gorgeous day, the squirrels busily digging and jumping from tree to tree.  Nearly noon I got hungry; I still wanted to explore.  I ventured into the field, it had appeared at a distance to be withered soybeans but as deer beds field I reached the edge of the timber, I saw it was a weed field.  It had deer beds and paths etched throughout the tall grass tossing with the wind.   I turned back and stepped on something hard.  I pushed the leaves aside and buried in the leaves was evidence of a thief.  A big padlock and heavy gauge cord

Big Creek  It's a wonder there's any game in these woods at all bein's it's overrun by the locals during gun season.  It's a little wicked wilderness so thick with brush you can't see past thirty yards..   But big deer abound in river bottoms and its hillsides, often coming into the upper fields to feed at night. And flocks of turkey roost in the tall oaks and sycamore trees in the surrounding flood-prone bottoms that more resembles a swamp than a creek.  We were after those birds.     A few years back in the fall, I guess my husband just wanted to show me around so he motioned me to stay close -- we didn't split up.  Alright by me, I didn't want to wander by myself till I knew the area better.  Those bottoms are too easy to get lost, gave me the creeps.   We hiked down the bare path winding into the creek basin, shotguns in hand,  turkey hunting in the swamp during a dry spell.  Obviously Ed knew the way, he was surefooted, not slowin

  The heat of summer is entrenched, and the 4th of July signals to bow hunters the summer 'break' is half-over. I'm thinking of cool relief of autumn. By October, deer return from timber to fields under moonlit nights, they'll migrate earlier without dusk's cover.  2013   Summer's humidity was relentless. But Fall bow season had begun even as u ncomfortable heat hung on. One humid afternoon, Ed and I opted to drive to hunt Urich Conservation Area prior to gun season's crowd chased off all the deer..... afterwards, it would be futile to hope for a modicum of success in Urich's small area. We loaded the Jeep with his climber stand and the ground blind I use, and an assundry of other supplies necessary including the small homemade deer cart. The usual mass mayhem of traffic kept us from making significant speed to Urich conservation area. Since the freezer was nearly empty, the woods and wild beckoned us both as necessity. Pulling into

                                         A cross the country s everal hunting seasons are in full swing; b ow season began this week in Missouri.    Many folks share this lifestyle and believe in the  traditions  of our heritage to put food on the table with their own hands and tools, be it a trowel or a rifle.  Hunting is a personal choice with family tradition as  integral  as using a fork.  This is revised from one of my first posts.  It's always a challenge to re-read and publish to current readers but the "attitude" about this deserves a repost...  Now s ince my work is at my desk, if I chose to go hunting, I'd grab my bow, a snack and 2-3 bottles of ice water and off I'd go...  But damnit. I broke my ankle last April and I'm just not capable of  tackling the hiking and timber.  I's 'makin' very slow progress but that's just the way it is.  This year the old saying 'playin it by ear' really applies.        The re