Dec. 5, 2009

On Saturday, Dec. 5, it was about 11 degrees when I woke at 5 a.m. and headed out to the farm to sit in my stand and look for wildlife. I arrived at my parents' farm and my father drove me out to the field. By the time I got settled in, it was about 6:15. The cold really didn't bother me until about 7 or 7:30...for some reason, whenever the sun starts peeking out is when it really seems the coldest. There was no wind; I was happy about that. 

At about 8:15 a.m., I saw what appeared to be a deer. It was about 100 yards away and it was really difficult to see through the trees. There is a power line right-of-way nearby and I realized it was walking down the fence line. As it moved, more followed. I was sure at this point that it was deer because of the shape of the body, height and movement. It was hard to tell just how many were playing follow the leader. Several. I was hoping they were going to cross the fence and come straight to my stand. I could see they were passing right by. They were moving toward the main dirt road. It was possible they would go right over the fence and continue down the lane. Technology then came into play. I called my dad with my cellphone.

Whispering, "Dad? Can you hear me?"

"Yes. What is it?"

"I just saw a bunch of deer walking down the fence line toward the gate. They went right by and I didn't get any pictures."

"You didn't get any pictures?"

"No. I could barely see them through the trees."

"You think I should drive down the road?"

"Yes. Hurry."

I knew that those deer were between me and my dad's house. If he drove down the road, they just might get spooked enough to come back my way. 

Sure enough, within 15 minutes I could hear rustling through the woods. I was ready. 

Throughout the morning, from daylight to dark, I am constantly changing the settings on my camera so that I will be ready when something comes out. Most of the time, as in this case, I only have a few seconds to get the shot. Well, there were no "monster" bucks in this crowd, but it was very thrilling to see at least four or five deer running towards me. Hope you enjoy. I included one shot that is kind of blurry, but the deer was so beautiful jumping through the frosty field, so I wanted to share.