Hunting seasons are in full swing those of us that enjoy taking to the marshes for ducks or brush for deer are frantically scheduling these activities into our schedules.
Christmas shopping and all the festivities that come with the season must also be factored into what little off time we might have.
I think this would be the perfect time to slow down and reminisce a bit about some of the tranquil scenes we have all enjoyed in the outdoors.
As an outdoors writer, I usually have my camera along to capture the moment but my mind is filled with scores of scenes, people and places that I was unable to capture through the viewfinder. I’m positive that if you stop and give some thought, you will also be able to conjure up your own pleasant outdoor images.
Here are a few of mine that are indelibly engrained in my memory banks. Some are from decades ago, some much more recent.
DUCKS IN ILLINOIS -- I was once bow hunting near Hayworth Illinois on a friend’s farm. During the afternoon, I hunted from a tree stand situated in a big water oak on the bank of a small creek that traversed the farm. Just before darkness enveloped my little piece of whitetail heaven, I noticed a full hunter’s moon overhead through the barren branches of the oak.
The still waters of the creek mirrored my view of the heavens as though it were an artist’s canvas. The reflections of the oak’s huge, gnarled limbs in the water painted a picture that even Remington would have unable to duplicate. In the distance, I heard a flight of mallards circling the little pool in the creek under my stand.
The birds were heading to roost and they chose to land within 25 yards of my stand. The reflection of the big greenheads hovering a few feet above the water’s surface with those bright orange feet outstretched for a soft landing and that awesome full moon will remain as engrained in my memory banks as though it were captured on film!
DEER IN THE TRANS PECOS -- The Trans Pecos region of Texas is offers some of the most awe inspiring vistas to be found anywhere. A few years ago, I was invited to hunt Clayton Williams High and Lonesome Ranch, situated a few miles from Ft. Stockton.
The drive from the highway and front gate to the camp house was about 18 miles through some breathtakingly beautiful country. I remember as though it were yesterday, walking to a saddle on one of the mountains and spotting a herd of 20 or so desert mule deer. Most were does but there was also a mature herd buck in their midst that I was able to harvest. The sight of all those deer nestled on the backside of a mountain that is probably not touched by man once every decade, was breathtaking. Every time I look at the shoulder mount of the herd buck on my wall, I stop and relive that hunt.
UPCLOSE WITH BEAR -- On a hunt to the Taos Pueblo Indian Reservation near Angle Fire, NM, I had spend an uneventful morning watching a well-used elk trail. Around mid morning, I herd claws scraping spruce bark and instinctively knew it was a bear. The sound appeared to be coming from a couple hundred yards down the mountain.
I laid my bow at the base of a tree, picked up my camera and binoculars and headed toward the sound. I discovered a couple of year-old cubs in the top of the big spruce and a BIG momma bear resting on a limb just below them. Since the mother bear was between the cubs and me, I felt relatively comfortable approaching close for some pictures.
I became caught up in the moment and found myself within 25 yards of the base of the tree, snapping images as the big sow and cubs posed for me.
Then, as quick as a wink, the big sow dropped, vertically about 10 feet to the lower limb, leaned forward, showed her teeth and began huffing at me. I was frozen in place, hoping she was just bluffing.
I was able to back out of that tight spot without an altercation but the sight and sounds made by that big bear will remind me forever to use a telephoto lens for all my future bear picture taking!
FISHING IN JAPAN -- About 20 years ago, I was invited to travel to Japan as a journalist and cover a fishing match between a leading Japanese bass angler and one from Texas. A lure company marketing “Texas” baits to the Japanese set the event up. I spent a full day fishing with a couple of outdoor writers from the Tokyo newspaper and had a little time to spend getting the feel of the country.
We were fishing a small lake about 2 hours north of Tokyo, way out in the country. The lake was situated on the edge of a Japanese Air Force landing strip. I remember sitting there in the boat with a couple of fine Japanese hosts, watching those jet fighters on maneuvers, thinking that about 50 years prior, my country was engaged in mortal battle with Japan. Time has a way of changing things and…healing!
CLOSE TO A CAT -- More recently, actually a couple weeks ago, I was in my Nucanoe, paddling back from a very successful duck hunt. Thanks to a stiff north breeze and cloud cover, the gadwall, widgeon and ringnecks were decoying into my spread. It was the kind of morning a waterfowler dreams of.
With a full limit of birds within the first 30 minutes of shooting light, I loaded up and began my paddle back to the truck, a circuitous route that takes me through some pretty remote backwaters. As I paddled silently through a little inlet that connects a couple of larger ponds, an image caught my eye. It was motionless and at first I thought it might be a wild hog. I back paddled as quietly as possible and allow my little craft to slide back to the opening.
There, about 30 yards across the water, set a big tom bobcat. He was starring directly at what I guess he perceived to be a log drifting down the pond. With a cold glare that would stop a clock, I watched the cat for a solid minute as I remained motionless in my boat. Then, as casually as a spectator would arise for a seat at a church service, the big cat stood up, glared at me for a few seconds, then casually strolled away along the shoreline and into the brush. There’s a lot to see in the outdoors if one will slow down and take the time to look!
THIS WEEK IN THE OUTDOORS: Some awesome whitetail bucks have been harvested so far this season but hunting around feeders has been pretty slow overall because of an abundant acorn crop. The majority of acorns fell a couple weeks ago and deer should be hitting corn feeders again this month. Most of us that enjoy hunting deer try to spend as much time as possible in the woods during the rut. Truthfully, the rut is the time to see more deer but most bow hunters agree that the majority of their bucks are harvested around corn feeders by deer going about their day to day feeding patterns. I’ve been using a new food attractant called Nac Attack with very good success. The attractant was developed in east