Seed, Grow, Harvest
Wow, I do not know where to start. Long story or scroll to the bottom for the highlights.
In early 2009, I found a decent 62 acre tract of land not far from my parents that I wanted to call home. Just a few short months later I was the proud owner of a nice piece of ground. It was set up almost perfect in my mind and I had a plan. The tract was clear cut except for 12 or so acres of matures hardwoods that bordered the creek that divided the property into thirds. I cleared 40 or so acres across the next year and established a nice home spot surrounded by pastures for the cows and horses. Along the way I would sneak down the hill with the equipment to clear off my 7 acre hunting field secluded across the creek. Hunting is not just about the kill for me. It is spending days and nights planning how to improve the land to it's full potential. Seed, grow, harvest. Although the work is never complete, it humbles me to watch the dirt roll of a plow disc. I finally catch sight of a decent buck late and I mean late one afternoon in an acorn hollow but it is too late to thread an arrow through the saplings. It boost my morale to watch him head to the corn field. Baiting laws are changed and I just shake my head as I read the news. By 2014, I have killed a doe or three around the house but the mature bucks seem to have my number on where I will be sitting and that they should avoid the area. I get an occasional picture of a what I call a mature buck and see a few small bucks. You know spikes and forkies, and maybe two six pointers with small basket racks. Nothing I want to shoot. 2014 leaves me scratching my head again.
February is a boring month but I tend to work permanent stands and get my minerals in the licks. April 2015 comes and the ground is finally warm enough to bury some corn seed. I get a fantastic stand of corn but plagued by crabgrass. June comes and I combine my oats off the field above the bottoms. I found two baby deer in the process, both bucks and seem to have survived their first summer after seeing a few small fawns around the house recently. I find another buck fawn within 100 yards of the house the next day bush hogging fence lines. I moved him into a patch I was not cutting and told him "I hope to see you in 5 years." Time will tell. Only times I go behind the house this summer I am working hay or working on the fields.
Fast forward to Tuesday, and I use my lunch hour to scout around behind the house. I find some promising sign and head in that afternoon dropping off a camera on a fresh rub that is 2' off the ground and the highest mark on the tree is 4'. Wind begins to swirl close to dark and I have not seen anything. Red oaks are dropping hard behind me and the white oaks are few and far in between but the tree I fertilized back in February is loaded and the squirrels are starting to cut a few. I slip out a little early and on the way back to the house I get a whiff of a buck and soon I hear one take off from in the corn field as the wind hits the back of my neck. I know it's a heavy set deer with the thud of his hooves into bottom land soil. I get back to the house and discuss the evening with my wife over dinner. Curiosity has the best of me and I run back there on Wednesday to pull the camera card on the rub. Sure enough the big fella I heard leave the corn field had traversed the trail on Tuesday evening at 7:20. I had my first idea of a pattern. I returned Wednesday afternoon but with the swirling NE winds I headed back to the house after cleaning out the trail to the tower stand and sweeping the leaves out of the tower. I had to meet a surveyor this morning at 8:30 and figured that I would slip into the stand for a short hunt before.
Morning comes after a sleepless night. I ease down behind the house, and climb into the stand right at 6 AM. Nice steady NNE breeze in my face, enjoying the sunrise I catch movement to my left and there is a basket rack buck pushing a doe and yearling around in the corn. The buck bugs off to the hardwoods and the does meander there way down the field and exit the field to my right at 30 yards. Around 7:15 I check my phone to see the time and look up to catch a small cow horn feeding the same area of the field that I first spotted the buck early this morning. I watch him in the binoculars when he snatches his head around to look to the creek. I pivot my binoculars that way to see an eyeful of horns. My heart takes off and my mind begins to think, How far is he now? Minutes seem like days and I enjoy watching him as the morning sky begins to fill with clouds. The first buck of the morning crossed at 57 yards when leaving the field, and I hoped these two followed the path of the does. They pretty well do but the larger buck is clearly more aware of his surroundings. Frequently he checks the wind and stares down the tower stand I am in. Suddenly the two take a hard right and head into the hardwood creek bottom, I quickly let out a few grunts as the young buck enters the woods. The big buck stops and looks my direction. He works a paw for a moment then I lose sight off him. After a few more grunts I catch sight of him coming back towards me walking up a middle. He crosses a low spot in the corn that I had ranged at 44 yards. I have already gotten stood up and leaning against the front shooting rail with the bow outside the stand. I range him again at 39 yards and he is has now turned more broadside but stopped. Knowing the wind is going to swirl close to the treeline I am sitting, I draw back and settle my 40 yard pin on the front edge of his shoulder and squeeze of the shot. I quickly see he is hit hard and pumping blood with every stride as he tries to head uphill to the thicket but turns back down hill to the creek and expires mid way of the field. The 100 grain thunderhead clipped two arteries above his heart and lodged into a rib on what would have been the exit side. I pump my fist after watching him lie motionless for several minutes.
Then it hits me that I have finally harvested the seeds I have helped mature on the place I call home. I sat for a moment reflecting on things, and how they have changed over the years. The stages of life I have gone through and anticipating going through. Several of you know the my wife and I lost out first son back last September due to premature labor and him being at 22 weeks. It hurt the two of us a lot and it bears on my shoulders everyday. This past April was special in finding out that our second child was on the way and we are not at 26 weeks and counting. Everything is healthy thus far and we are expecting our second child on Dec 28th. We will find out the sex when he/she is born. I know that my son was sitting there with me this morning cause luck sure was on my side as he was last season when I killed two other mature deer during the same weekend of November. I called the wife to drive down and she is ecstatic since she knew I was after a big deer. While catching my breath dragging him to the road I realize he is not the deer I have pictures of from earlier in the week. Hopefully I can get the wife on his big brother from a ground blind. If you would keep us in your prayers that we can make it to a full term child.
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Originally Posted by Glenn
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