Rain

Something I meant to do more of beginning in the spring, and for the most part have failed to do, is scout out some areas on state forest land to do some deer hunting. I'm new to deer hunting but it's something I really want to do. Last year, and it'll probably be the same this year, I spent the first week of rifle season in Alpena county—and then I didn't even get out during the second week.

This year I'd like to get out almost every day during rifle season. I bought a recurve bow this summer, I've been shooting it, and even though I will continue to shoot it I'm not sure whether I'll be confident enough to hunt with it. What I'm thinking of doing is buying a combination license and at least sitting around with a bow to see if any deer walk close enough to think about shooting. We'll see.

Anyway ... I went out the other day to scout one of the areas I thought would make a good hunting area. This area is near a swamp but the forests are pretty varied. I think I've found a few spots that might be OK, but I'll have to check them out some more.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the area has been (essentially) become inaccessible to motor vehicles, which means it hasn't seen much human traffic since the last time I was there (in June).

I found coyote tracks and deer tracks (and, as seen below, many times right next to each other), but no car or human tracks. If it remains mostly unvisited I'll definitely think about hunting the area.

This was a strange find. It looks like a crayfish claw—but where did it come from?

The weather was nice when I left the house. I wasn't expecting it to change, but I was wrong.

A pretty heavy downpour hit me on the bike ride home. I saw the clouds moving in and decided to try to "beat" the rain, but I actually just made sure I'd be stuck in it. A mile or so from home it basically stopped, but by then I was throughly soaked and cold.