Almost home, I pull off the road
Into a hiking trail parking lot.

It’s November...once yellow goldenrod
It’s now dead and brown; still beautiful!

Forest trees are leafless,
Except for the damn beech.

I look deep into the woods,
Hoping to see a critter of some sort.

There is a damp crisp to the air,
Heightening the smell of Fall.

I close my eyes, and….
I am deer hunting!

I hear Gilmore bark
To start the drive…

My brothers and I move out,
Playing hound dog…

We were young and tough back then,
Day long hill climbing was no challenge.

I can smell wood smoke, and
Remember sandwiches toasted over an open fire.

Additional memories come rapid fire;
I shake my head to return to the present.

I look again at our home range deer woods,
And give thanks for what they have meant to me.

I restart my truck and continue on my journey,
Refreshed by memories of half century ago!

Another great story from Lloyd’s book Rambling Outdoors: Tales of Forest, Field and Stream. Used with permission. Thanks Lloyd!

  Last fall I once again planted some food plots on our property in southern Illinois. In this segment I’ll fill you in on things went this past season.

  The soil tests showed that no lime was needed this go around but I did apply the recommended amounts of fertilizer and potash to each plot. I also installed the Bio Logic Food Plot Protector System. I had kept the “ribbon/tape” from the previous season. Instead of using the Bio Logic brand of repellent I tried Deer Stopper brand. Neither one keeps all the deer out as I have pictures of deer inside the perimeter. More thoughts on this later.

  On the Ground Blind (GB) plot I once again planted Bio Logic Maximum seed. It is a mixture of “New Zealand Brassicas”. The plot just didn’t “fill out” like it had in 2020. I’m not sure what happened to it. It seemed to get enough rain and I’m pretty confident I rolled the seeds in good. I gave this a grade of “a full on A” in 2020. This time around I’d have to give it a C+ to B minus. It seemed like it started off pretty nice and then just fizzled out way before gun season. In 2020 it hung in nice and full until late November before dying down. I might try something different here next season.

GB Plot Early November

 The Quad Pod (QP) plot did fairly well. I again used Shot Plot seed on this one. I also added some Bio Logic Deer Radish seed. I figured it would add a nice treat for the deer and add some beneficial nutrients to the soil. This plot did okay but again not quite as nice as in 2020. Gotta drop the grade to a B minus from a full B.

QP Plot Early November

 I once again planted Bio Logic Green Patch seed at the Permanent Stand (PS) plot. It contains a mix of wheat, oats, clover and rape seeds. It didn’t do as well as it did in 2020 either. Again, we had plenty of rain and I’m sure the seeds were covered well. I added Deer Radish seed here too and would have to say they were the bright spot on this plot. The tall leafy top growth stood tall over the rest of the plot. I watched a little 3 point buck work his way through the plot in early December while muzzleloader hunting. I watched him bite off the tall leafy tops and slowly work them into his mouth as he chewed them in. Last year I gave this plot a grade of B+ to A minus but will have to drop it to a B minus at best this time. If the deer radishes hadn’t done so well, the grade would be lower. Thinking about something different here next time.

PS Plot Early December

  As mentioned early, I installed the Food Plot Protector System around the GB and PS plots and used a different repellent. May be that was the cause of the poor showings on these two plots. I never got around to installing a camera on the GB plot so can’t say for certain that deer jumped the barrier but I’m 99.9% confident they did.

Deer Radish In PS Plot Early December

 There was a camera on the PS plot and there were a lot of pictures of deer in the plot. In fact while there to reapply the repellent one trip the “ribbon” on one end was down and actually broke in two in a few places and a couple of the wooden stakes it was tied to were broke off at the ground. The ribbon had been drug nearly half way down the length of the plot. I had no idea what had happened and thought some trespassers had been messing around. After repairing the ribbon and applying more repellent I looked at the camera images again to see if it had caught anyone fooling around.

 During my first scan of the pictures I had skimmed over the night time pictures. During the second go around I paid closer attention to these pictures and saw just at the edge of the camera’s range there were two big bucks fighting in the middle of the plot! I guess they had started their fight outside the ribbon and broke through it then drug it down through the plot. The time stamp said it had been nearly a week since their battle.

  I don’t think using a different repellent was the problem because the plots started off like they were going to real full and tall and then they fizzled out. They died back sooner than they had before too.

 I kept track of my receipts this time. The total cost of the soil tests, postage to send the dirt, seed, fertilizer, potash and a spray can of striping paint was $358.28 not counting fuel for the tractor. A lot less than 2020 as I didn’t have the expense of 116 - 40 pound bags of lime to buy or spread.

 I’ve talked about doing a spring planting for a couple of years but just never seem to have the time to get it done. I will be doing another September planting again this year or maybe I should try and go earlier. I’ll let you know how it goes. In the meantime I’m trying to stay warm.

  A big hello to all you fine folks around the country. Weather sure has been cold in more places than I can name. I am going to make a big pot of chili! I can't wait to try Backwoods Bound Chili seasoning. I have heard so much good about it, I'm ordering some!

  Now, considering the cold, I decided to tell you all about my wild pig hunting trip I went on in sunny (warm) Florida. It all began back in the mid-seventies. A doctor friend of mine from St. Joe Missouri wanted me to go pig hunting with him into an area called Ponta Vedra. This was just below Jacksonville Beach in a very rough wooded area. (Now it’s pretty well developed) he was somewhat of a practical joker, and for that I was always on my guard. I had never hunted wild pigs at that point in my life, and didn't know quite what to expect. We did a lot of walking, and found where pigs had been, but I guess they managed to avoid us. As we came into an opening, we spotted an armadillo. He handed me the gun and took off after the critter. The armadillo and my friend both arrived at the armadillo's burrow at the same time. He lunged at it grabbing its hind leg as it was mostly in the hole already. He couldn't pull that critter out no matter what! I think it must have been hanging on to a root. So much for pig hunting.

  On our way back out of the woods we came across a very big rattle snake crossing in front of us. I don't remember what kind it was, but it was big! About 4 feet long or so. He shot it with his 410 and bagged it. When we got back, he cut off the head, skinned it, and cut it up. He cooked that snake and we ate it. It was good deep fried in chunks! That was my first time eating snake, and have had it many times since. Although we were after pigs, at least we got something. By the way, a few years ago on a road trip to Florida, after leaving my motel in Dillon, South Carolina, I almost ran into a huge herd of wild pigs crossing I-95 South just before daylight. If I had been just seconds faster, I would have driven right into that huge herd! They were all running from the right to the left heading across both south and north bound lanes. That wouldn't have been the way I wanted my wild pigs!

  Well friends, that about covers my wild pig hunt adventure. Better luck next time out. Keep hunting or fishing, and making great memories. Stay safe, stay warm, and have fun. All the very best from Cabin Dan.

  Editor’s note - While cleaning out the Inbox recently we found this story from our friend Cabin Dan. He sent it to us a couple of years ago. Sorry for the delay Dan!