Ive been lying to myself the last few years saying that Id journal each day afield but have given up or just lost interest after a few entries. This year Ive found that if I carry a camera with me and take a few pics, it truly adds to the journal. Heres my start. This morning I got up into the hills of Rensselaer Co. , in east central NY not far from the VT border. Pulled a stand, added to a ground blind and checked a few funnels for recent activity. (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2322.jpg) (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2310.jpg)
As NY squirrel season is open, figured Id tote my newest Griffin and a few Hex heads. (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2344.jpg)
Last time I was up there I found a few beech nuts on the ground but most were still in the trees. I figured Id get a look up on the ridges today and the ground was carpeted. (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2351.jpg)
I was not the only one hunting squirrels in the beech flats. More hawks than I cared to count and this fella strangely enough at 12:00PM. (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2348.jpg) There were also more exotic looking shrooms up there than at a Dead show. Im scared to mess with them but Im sure some of them are tasty. The deer seem to think so as you can see from the loose stool. (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2342.jpg) (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2340.jpg) (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2326.jpg) (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2319.jpg) (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2303.jpg) (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2345.jpg)
Nice sign, Izzy. And that sure is a pretty Griffin! The beech trees here don't seem to have much of a crop this year.
Now if I can just find a way to shake this young gal, my next journal entry might have a squirrel hero pic in it. This is Daisy the latest farm dog on the mountain. She sure is a looker but I think she has ADD and all she does is run back and forth and follows me for as long as Im out of the truck. On second thought, she aint too bad company, Ive had worse. And so begins my season. (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2299.jpg)
Great stuff Izzy :thumbsup: Thanks for sharing!!!
Bill
Nice pics and best of luck with your season:)
Very nice!
Glenn
Awesome I will be following this. That is a good lookin dog.
Nice pics. Love the red efts.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
better bring a few hex heads with ya up here too, tree rats galore in the beech! also the most mushrooms i have EVER saw on the mountain due to so much rain!
Cool stuff Izzy, and best of luck to you this season. :thumbsup:
Mushrooms are nuts here too. Already have my eye on four large clumps of hen of the woods.
Acorns are gonna be great this year. Haven't been "up top" around here to check the beech trees.
Good luck Iz, and the rest of ya. :jumper:
Thanks for the pics Izzy, She sure is a nice looking dog. The bow looks pretty good too.
Good Luck Izzy.
I have a good squirrel spot here too. It is public property but costs 25$ for residents who live outside the scotia-glenville area.
Nice pictures. what happened with the dog from last year?
Very cool outing. Thanks for taking us along :thumbsup:
Oh shes not my dog Charlie, she belongs to the farmer who owns the land I hunt. My dog Jack will probably make it out with me a couple of times before deer opens up. Ill give you a call tomorrow.
great pictures izzy keep it coming it may be awhile before iget out i wonder why
That's a nice beginning! :thumbsup:
Thanks for the pic's. It is rather refreshing seeing a green forest with enough moisture to promote fungal growth. Strangely enough, despite the worse drought in history around here the bucks seem to be having above average antler development. A poor fawn year however, many found dead. Good hunting, feel blessed to have the rain.
Izzy, that is one sweet bow!! whats it all made of? Great pics, i'm going to be doing the same with my camera here in Wis this year.
Nice pics - you may have inspired me to take my camera along!
I didnt know there were griffin longbow hats?!?!?! I'm a little up in the air as to whether or not its gonna be Mr Griffin or Mr Saluki getting the nod this season, but either way, that hat is sweet!!
Thanks for sharing, cant wait fot the first of Oct!!!
Nathan
Keeping the season rolling and as varied as possible I had a weekend day off and invited Crazy Charlie (Cyclic Rivers) to come out for opening day of Northern Zone Bear Season to one of my favorite place s in the world, Moose River Plains. As per the usual, no bear sighted. We did see a little bit of fresh sign but the choke cherries and beech were everywhere we turned so they didnt have to travel much to locate a food source. We saw 3 buck on the way in and a fox or 2 as well as a coyote "dancing" with a raven. Jumped a few deer in a remote beech flat and that was absolutely covered up in droppings and tracks of all sizes. Ill be back there real soon for deer.Heres a few pics.
These are the berries which Ive alway known as "choke cherries". Ive never seen so many this late in the season but most of the bear scat I see there is made up of these seeds which look like little cherry pits or the usual "apple pie filling" variety when they are feeding on apples up there. (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2355.jpg) We found no fresh scat so I really dont know what they are feeding on now but Im guessing we just didnt look in the right place but I know they love these cherries.
Heres Charlie standing next to a bear tree. Ive been told that these trees are the territorial boundary markings where a bear will bite into a softwood tree as high as they can go to show their height and rub their galnds int them for scent marking. This one had clear bite marks as well as a tuft of hair rubbed into the oozing pitch. It appeared to be made by a good bear as Charlie is about 6' tall. (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2362.jpg)
Heres a pretty heavily used trail. It looked like it was mostly being used by deer but there was some indication that smoky was making his way along the trails as well. (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2354.jpg)After looking at this pic again after posting it Id say you had to be there to see what I failed to capture on film.
This is the country that we chose for our first calling location. Enchanting in my eyes to say the least. (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2359.jpg) (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2357.jpg) (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2352.jpg)
Very nice Izzy, if ya want to come down on opening afternoon Oct. 15th be to the house by 2:30 I will put ya on a deer or two. You can add that too your journal as well! Shawn
Thanks for Sharing Izzy. Great pics. Good Luck this season!
(http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2361.jpg)Heres pics from a bog that I first saw when I was 14, 26 years ago. I was enchanted by it the first time I saw as I am to this day everytime I make the hike up to it. (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2361.jpg) (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2360.jpg)This is the only place during the hike up to the mountain that we saw any life. We saw a down south fella who was hiking the Northville-Placid trail, a couple of humming birds and a 1/2 dozen black ducks. The ducks were in slam dunk range. :banghead:
(http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2368.jpg) (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2372.jpg) (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2376.jpg) (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2374.jpg)A few pics from our last call site. It was an area I have never been to, a little lower on the mountain than my usual destination but I am glad I got in there. Found a couple of very promising funnels that should serve well as a meeting place with an Adirondack moss horn in November.
By this time, about 4:30pm we had done a bunch of hiking and exploring and were starting to get bushed. With an hour or so descent down the abandoned logging trail ahead of us and an hour and a half drive home we decided to throw in the towel a couple of hours before prime time. (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2371.jpg) (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2366.jpg)
It was good hunting with you Charlie. Glad we got out and I hope you liked that country as much as I do. That country saved me when I was in my formative, rebelious and sometimes troubled teens and it is a place that I hold deep in my heart. I got to test out my Kuiu Attack pants which I swore I would not buy but they fit the bill for what I was looking for and I gotta say, I love em. Excellent for active hunting. Also got to test out my new LL Bean Cresta boots and even with only getting them in the mail the night before the hunt, they served me well and were very supportive and comfortable. It was a good hunt and a quick break from work. Just what I needed. I will have almost every weekend as well as a couple of full weeks off from work for the rest of the season so Lord willing and the creek dont rise Ill soon be out there a whole lot more.
Shawn, Ill be out west opening day but I sure would love to chase some deer with you this fall. Thanks for the invite Bro.
:thumbsup: Keep the journal going as the season goes on! The northern Zone is tuff hunting but a true wilderness experience!! After 40 years I still have to go back once in a while........
Great pictures! Good luck with your hunting season.
Bernie Bjorklund
NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin
Nice pics Izzy ... I have had the same experience with journals but am trying it again this year. I do have a fair amount of pictures from hunts past. I have a friend and hunting buddy who journals all his hunts and has them going back over twenty five years. He gets them out occasionally and says its like a time machine taking him back to the good old days.
QuoteOriginally posted by Izzy:
[QB] By this time, about 4:30pm we had done a bunch of hiking and exploring and were starting to get bushed. With an hour or so descent down the abandoned logging trail ahead of us and an hour and a half drive home we decided to throw in the towel a couple of hours before prime time.
Tell the truth Izzy,
Charlie Came down with a Sinus infection, was freezing his tail off and had a massive headache. so like a good host, you agreed to drive my butt home early. I loved the stop in Indian Lake. I can guarantee any one on Trad gang would have been in awe at all the knives and old hunting/lore items. It was incredible however I was only holding 2 $ in my wallet and that was reserved for coffee on the way home.
It was a great trip and wish I had not become sick. The Adirondacks are an Incredible place to be.
QuoteOriginally posted by GREATBROWNKNOCKEMDOWN:
Izzy, that is one sweet bow!! whats it all made of? Great pics, i'm going to be doing the same with my camera here in Wis this year.
Rafael, the other bow on the trip was sweet too or do you no longer recognize your "Old Hometown Favorite"?
QuoteOriginally posted by Izzy:
Heres Charlie standing next to a bear tree. Ive been told that these trees are the territorial boundary markings where a bear will bite into a softwood tree as high as they can go to show their height and rub their galnds int them for scent marking. This one had clear bite marks as well as a tuft of hair rubbed into the oozing pitch. It appeared to be made by a good bear as Charlie is about 6' tall. (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2362.jpg)
Correction 6'1" :readit: Your'e losing your Touch Izzy.
Thank you again for inviting Me, I had a great time.
I said about 6' Crazy Charlie! I was pretty dang close.
I wont lie, I did see that you were coming down with something and I didnt know wether I should carry you out or lash you to a tree for bear bait. The bait idea would have been easier but its illegal here in NY. The Indian Lake Adirondack flea market was awesome. Next year Im gonna buy one of those old, crusty smoke stained deer heads. In my book they are way cool and nothing says Dacks Deer Camp like one of those things. Hope your feeling better or you will be bait at Kens hunt.
QuoteOriginally posted by Izzy:
I said about 6' Crazy Charlie!
I stand corrected :readit: :knothead:
Looks like a great partner! great pics - beautiful woods. Luck on your season.
Good luck Izzy!!! What the hech is a beech nut. I don't reckon we have those kind of trees down here!
Bisch
A beech nut is a small flat sided football shaped nut inside a small spiky case.
Deer seem to love them as Izzy calls them Deer "Crack" most years you dont get enough of a crop to really focus specifically on them.
dis her is da beech nutts!!!!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v119/adkmountainken/5th%20direction/beech.jpg)
beech nuts are my choice far and away to hunt over when the mast is good and YES deer LOVE them!
Bears are rather fond of them also. I'd like to have a dollar for every Beechie I ate while on a sit in the north woods! Turkeys ,grouse, Blue Jays all love them!
They sure are a prized food source up here. Ive never tried them Ron, are they tasty? None around my house unfortunately but here the acorns produce. Took this fine fella from a white oak stand this morning. (http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o244/2crazyboys_photos/DSCN2385.jpg)
Good stuff Izzy. Good luck.
Izzy, you never ate a beech nut :confused: I can't believe my eyes when I read that. Yea they are good...... :wavey:
Nice Squirrel Izzy :thumbsup:
Yep, yep, yep won't be long now.
TTT,
Izzy, you have some journaling to catch up on... ;) ;)
What a great season! These photos remind me about how much I need to journal as well.
And no Texas excuses, either!
Killdeer :knothead: