It never fails that every year around this time I see a nice buck and my thoughts start to look forward to the cool, frosty mornings of fall. Just this past weekend while working on a new hunting shanty a nice buck jumped up while we were going up the hill. It was a big bodied deer with at least 8 points and his rack was wider than his ears. Needless to say, I’m excited to climb in the new shanty once bow season comes in on September 24 which is less than a couple of months away.
Until then I’ll have to survive the dog days of summer. The dog days are the hottest and the most uncomfortable days of the year in my opinion. July was wet and fairly mild until the heat wave that ended the month. The heat index was in the 100 degree range which was just miserable! When it gets that hot, I’ll either be in the water or sitting in front of an air conditioner as I don’t function very well in the heat and humidity. They should be called the lazy days of summer as it’s hard to get anything done without having a heat stroke. I’ll take 0 degrees over 100 degrees any day. Ok, I’m done complaining about the heat for now.
I always seem to start paying more attention to the wildlife as summer rolls on and the countdown to the first day of hunting season dwindles with each passing day. Its 53 days until bow season starts and only 39 days until the September 10 squirrel season opener, for those who are counting.
For the past month we’ve been watching 3 hens with 13 little ones on a daily basis. There’s a doe with twins and another doe with a single fawn that are residents as well. They all have been enjoying the clover that I limed and fertilized in the early spring. I think they feel safe hanging close to the house and we don’t mind as long as they stay in the clover and out of our garden and flowers.
It’s been fun watching the little guys grow and play. Just last week while relaxing on the front porch before dark the turkeys got a true test of nature. The hens were followed closely by the young poults searching the field for grasshoppers and pecking at the clover. I noticed the hens kept looking back in the direction they had come from and were moving a little bit faster than they normally do.
The turkeys disappeared into the woods and down into a hollow. I continued to enjoy the peace and quiet as the sun dropped over the ridge. About 20 minutes had passed since I last saw the turkeys when all of a sudden I caught movement on out in the field. The animal was moving fast but stopped just for a second before going into a patch of saplings. I noticed a short tail and pointy ears and immediately knew it was a bobcat.
I always have a pair of binoculars close by and quickly grabbed them while I continued to watch the brush. There was an opening on the other side and sure enough the sneaky cat slowly stalked its way through it. I got a good look at the bobcat which was neat and something you don’t see every day. No wonder those turkeys were looking over their shoulders. Thankfully for the turkeys, the bobcats hunt must have failed as I saw the hens and 13 little ones out in the field the next day. It’s a wild world out there for the prey species as they’re always on the menu for the predators lurking in the woods. We heard a pack of coyotes one evening a couple weeks ago.
There were at least 3 howling up the river and then one lone yote answered them down river. Those fawns better keep their heads on a swivel as they are high on the menu for coyotes right now. If they can make it through the summer and fall I’ll help them out in the winter when trapping season comes in.
I find all wildlife fascinating and always enjoy watching them in their natural environment. We are blessed here in West Virginia with the diverse species we have. Find a good shade tree and try to stay cool the rest of this summer. For those that don’t like the heat and humidity like me don’t worry fall and another hunting season will be here soon.
