A hand stained, sealed and fletched cedar arrow. A hand sharpened broadhead. A bowstring carefully crafted with your own fingers. A 1970 Kodiak Hunter. A late season hunt. A perfectly placed six yard shot. Hearing your deer hit the ground out of sight. A lil seven pointer on your own property 9 1/2 weeks after quadruple bypass surgery.
I am truly blessed and thankful.
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Has anyone seen what I call a frost flower? Anyone know the real name? I have only seen them in south MO when atmospheric conditions are perfect.
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The deer and the story are cool,But the frost flower thing is about the coolest thing I ever seen!
I think I have noticed a couple, but I'm in northern Arkansas, so same deal. No idea what causes it. Neat though.
What a great story. I too thing the frost flower is very cool. Thanks for sharing. Jack
Congrats on a great accomplishment, John. Hadn't heard about the bypass, great news to hear that you are up and gettin' after it.
Congrats on the buck John, hope your doing well.
I have seen several frost flowers in Missouri back when I lived there. I had no idea what formed them till I found this little bit of info on Wikipedia. Interesting stuff.
The formation of frost flowers, also known as "ice flowers," is apparently dependent on a freezing weather condition occurring when the ground is not already frozen. The sap in the stem of the plants will expand (water expands when frozen), causing long, thin cracks to form along the length of the stem. Water is then drawn through these cracks via capillary action and freezes upon contact with the air. As more water is drawn through the cracks it pushes the thin ice layers further from the stem, causing a thin "petal" to form. In the case of woody plants and (living or dead) tree branches the freezing water is squeezed through the pores of the plant forming long thin strings of ice that look uncannily like hair i.e. "frost beard".
The petals of frost flowers are very delicate and will break when touched. They usually melt or sublimate when exposed to sunlight and are usually visible in the early morning or in shaded areas.
Examples of plants that often form frost flowers are white crownbeard (Verbesina virginica), commonly called frostweed, yellow ironweed (Verbesina alternifolia), and Helianthemum canadense. They have also been observed growing from fallen branches of conifers and contain enough hydraulic power to strip the bark off.
congrats on a good recovery and your buck, i've seen the snow flower but never knew it had a name just thought it looked neat
Ironically, I saw my first frost flowers today while hunting near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. For a while I was worried that it may be some sort of radioactive ribbon candy. ;-) They were delicate and very unusual. Thanks for the explanation.
Congrats on your speedy return to the deer woods. When I mention this to my Father in law I just know he's gonna cringe. He didn't bounce back nearly that fast.
John, Hadn't heard about your surgery. Glad you are doing well. Congrats on the deer. I've seen quite a number of the frost flowers over the years here in Missouri
Good news John on your hunt & successful surgery! Hope you are healing well.
Well done john!
John,glad to hear your doind well.
Also it's great to be able to put some meat in the freezer this late in the season.
Your blessed indeed.
Congrats on a fine harvest and 2 great recoveries!! :thumbsup: :clapper:
Southern Oklahaoma, frost flowers every year. :-)
:notworthy:
jer bear
Congratulations JK I know that deer has to be extra special. I'm glad to read that you're doing so great!
God bless,Mudd
Great deal!
I think I saw a flower like that in the AVATAR movie. LOL!
John,
Congratulations on both your buck and your health recovery! Was that six yard shot from the ground or from a tree? Great job!
Dick
Congratulations John..On the quick bypass recovery and the nice buck!!Mike :wavey:
Congrats! I have never talked to anybody who could have shot a bow that fast after by pass surgery, good job. The flower thing is really cool.
Amazing! The shooting and the frost flower. I hope you got help dragging him out.
Thank you for sharing the blessings of your life with us! The whitetail is a wonderful and concrete representation of your physical recovery as well as your archery acumen. Congratulations!
Claudia
Congratulations on all your accomplishments.
Fantastic John! Congratulations and continued success on your recovery.
Bryan
Beautiful buck, congrats!
Thanks for all the well wishes. The shot was from a ladder stand. I did get help getting him out.
I shot him on the 2nd last day of muzzle loader season in MO. That morning I was gonna ML hunt but when I popped a primer before loading the charge the bolt froze up solid. I spent a while trying to get it working to no avail. The morning hunt got canned. I had planned on a bowhunt after the last day of ML season but no second ML so bow it was for the afternoon. It was my first bowhunt since about 10/15 when all this started.
I just gotta feel that somebody wanted me to go bowhuntng that day with the sequence of events that happened. When I couldn't get the gun working the thought entered my mind that it maybe was meant to be a special day.
It was.....
Excellent story John!
Cool stuff,never saw a frost flower.
Very neat story and pictures of the frost flower yes sir your are in deed blessed the good part is you recognize it!!
John, don't know about the snow flower but I really liked your story. It really represents what we all love here, being out in the woods, a fine wooden bow and a properly placed arrow with a quick recovery. I'm not a huge Ted Nugent fan but I will have to quote him "It's perfect".
Congratulations on a great deer. It is great to see that you are healing up well. The key to healing is attitude and you sir have the right attitude.
Toughest time of the year to hunt! Sounds like you're a pretty tough guy!
Love that backquiver, too! Conrads and best health to you!
Good shootin, Steve
Good job John! Like others, I was not aware of your bypass surgery. You been keeping a secret from us! Sorry for what you been through and hope you continue to recuperate.
Congratulations on your recovery and your hunt. I am a little disappointed on the Snow Flower explanation. I thought the snow fairy made them to reward those who go outside in the cold.
Fantastic story! Never seen a frost flower here in New York but will sure keep my eye for one now, very cool!
Thats sweet - gotta make you feel good about that one. A lot of satisfaction. Congrats. And thanks for sharing the ice flower - never saw once before.
Congratulations! I'm gonna have to start looking for the frost flowers.
Great job John!!!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Wow, nice pics and story.
Never saw a frost flower,interesting. :thumbsup:
John, did`nt know about your surgery. Glad it worked out and your in the woods after`m.RC
Congrats on your health, the hunt, and the blessings. Never seen a frost flower but I will now be looking.
NICE! Way to go, you're a great inspiration. Frost flower looks surreal, thanks for posting.
John: 1970 Kodiak Hunter? I have one, the only hunting recurve I own, a special bow indeed.
Watch "Deliverance" and pay real close attention to Jon Voight's bow, you can see it really well after he climbs up the cliff.
Fantastic story and to quote a relatively well known commercial "PRICELESS". May GOD continue to Bless your recovery.