Can't seem to focus,,,

[mark hay]

Well , I killed that jake last sunday with the thought that I'd have plenty to keep me occupied till spring . Wood for the stove , home repairs , coyote , squirrel, crow , fox , coons and deer to be hunted . A couple calls to build . So far none of this stuff has helped . And this morning I had a tribe of jakes withing 100 yards and yelping like crazy . One would half gobble every time the yelper would get started . It was music for certain ,,,but it made the task at hand a mite tough to stay focused on .
 Yeah , yeah , yeah ,,,I know , I'll survive ,,,,,but I gotta admit ,,,I miss being able to go to the woods in pursuit of Meleagris Galopavo Silvestris .

[Cut N Run]

Imagine not being able to Fall turkey hunt at all Mark. That's what we are faced with in North Carolina. The week-long "Fall" season we used to have was in the middle of winter during some of the coldest weather we usually have. Even though I went out after 'em during the winter, it was not as enjoyable as the Spring season to me. Something about sitting on frozen ground and sounds being amplified by cold, dry air is different from hearing a spring gobbler hammer back to inviting yelps, or spit & drum as he charges in looking for the hen, and the real possibility of birds showing up any time of day has me where it wants me. The possibility of shirt sleeve weather in Spring wins in my book too.

I'm sure I never will understand the finer points of Fall turkey hunting because I haven't had cause to learn them. I enjoy watching & listening to the turkeys I see from a deer stand and always hope to see big gobblers that I may encounter next Spring.

There's nothing stopping you from hunting with a camera or just going to work on your calling to see how close you can get the turkeys to come to you. I know it's not the same deal, but more time afield is seldom a bad thing (though Mrs. Linda may argue that point).

Adding a bit of venison to the freezer helps stretch the food bill (which may go over big with Linda... Anne seldom disagrees with it... except the fact that there's less room in the freezer). No matter how you slice it though, deer hunting is not the same as turkey hunting. After being lucky enough to take one gobbler in the Spring, I generally hold off until a little later in the season when there are fewer hunters in the woods and gobblers can be a bit more lovesick, just to extend the time I get to hunt. Calling for friends is fun, but by later in the season the ticks and chiggers are out in force.

Congratulations on your success this Fall. I sincerely hope you are quick to get over the post-turkey season blues getting you down. Keep counting the days until Spring turkey season and all the fun & adventure that goes along with it. There's only about 146 days to go and each passing day brings us closer. Hang in there buddy.

Jim

[mark hay]

Thanks Jim. I just have to /get to go after other critters till spring . My buddy Jon and I went squirrel hunting this morning . It rained some last night . Made for some easy moving . But the da'gum crows were hanging around . They kept moving from a gutpile to where Jon threw out the rack of bones yesterday . He killed an ugly little 3 point yesterday morn.
 Anyhow , the only squirrels being active were the fox . Thier breeding season is going on and they do make one heck of a racket at times . I ain't particularly fond of fox squirrels but the woman I work with is more than happy to get them . She's expecting a bunch so she can fix them for thanksgiving . I only got one ,,,Jon didn't get a shot .
 
 But the turkeys were fighting right off the roost this morn . Jon has seen two different groups of longbeards with 6 birds in each . We are going after them next weekend, which just happens to be the beginning of an 11 day vacation for me [:D]. Hope to help get Jon a turkey and ventilate a coyote or two.

[rbewilson]

Hang in there Hay,5-months until spring season[;)][;)].

[WillowRidgeCalls]

Mark you need to make a few more of those Brass Lier's to help keep you busy till spring. They worked great. ( photos in the photo section )