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1.) DParker - 01/01/2017
Today was the last day of the whitetail season for me (tomorrow is the last day for everybody else, but I hunted yesterday and today and have other stuff to get done tomorrow). I went out quite a bit starting with the first day of the archery season opener (Oct. 1), so a solid 3 months (with a good dozen or do outings)...and managed to not even see a single deer. I heard one behind some trees and brush, but that was it. No hogs either. In fact I never even saw any of either while driving. Normally I spot a few just off the road at some point, but nothing this year. Not even a roadkill carcass.
Even weirder, save for some squirrels and more birds than in an Alfred Hitchcock movie, I haven't seen [i]any[/i] animal life of any kind. I normally have a few encounters with raccoons, armadillos, bobcats, rabbits, coyotes, etc. But this year...nothing, and this is the first time I've experienced that.
There's still a couple of months of public land squirrel and hog-hunting season that I'll be taking advantage of, and maybe things will pick up a little. But so far the woods have been extraordinarily dead for me, which has taken a lot of the fun out of the exercise. The peace and quiet is still nice, and I don't really need to have a shot at deer to enjoy it...but disappearing into my surroundings and having the occasional critter saunter by without knowing I'm there has always been a big part of the magic of still hunting for me. And I didn't realize how much so until now. This year really suffered for the lack of that part of the experience. Hopefully I can salvage things a little between now and March.
Even weirder, save for some squirrels and more birds than in an Alfred Hitchcock movie, I haven't seen [i]any[/i] animal life of any kind. I normally have a few encounters with raccoons, armadillos, bobcats, rabbits, coyotes, etc. But this year...nothing, and this is the first time I've experienced that.
There's still a couple of months of public land squirrel and hog-hunting season that I'll be taking advantage of, and maybe things will pick up a little. But so far the woods have been extraordinarily dead for me, which has taken a lot of the fun out of the exercise. The peace and quiet is still nice, and I don't really need to have a shot at deer to enjoy it...but disappearing into my surroundings and having the occasional critter saunter by without knowing I'm there has always been a big part of the magic of still hunting for me. And I didn't realize how much so until now. This year really suffered for the lack of that part of the experience. Hopefully I can salvage things a little between now and March.
2.) billy b - 01/01/2017
There are no deer in Rockwall county dummy, also you have a PM.
3.) DParker - 01/01/2017
[QUOTE=billy b;46321]There are no deer in Rockwall county dummy[/quote]
Apparently there aren't any deer (or other animals) in Hunt, Fannin or Delta counties either. At least not any more.
Besides...my backyard is in Dallas county...just over 100 yds from Rockwall county. :wink
[QUOTE=billy b;46321]also you have a PM.[/QUOTE]
Actually I have several PMs, but none from you...and none from today. Did you cuss out someone else by mistake?
Apparently there aren't any deer (or other animals) in Hunt, Fannin or Delta counties either. At least not any more.
Besides...my backyard is in Dallas county...just over 100 yds from Rockwall county. :wink
[QUOTE=billy b;46321]also you have a PM.[/QUOTE]
Actually I have several PMs, but none from you...and none from today. Did you cuss out someone else by mistake?
4.) Swamp Fox - 01/01/2017
Did you have any spring-or-later flooding this year, in areas that don't usually flood?
I've noticed a couple of times that spots became dead zones after spring or early fall floods. Ground vegetation got wiped out and never grew back, or acorns rotted...That's my theory, anyway. Even in the case of spring floods, the areas did not recover until the following spring.
If there's a change in something regarding food sources (non- flood-related), that's a leading cause for some areas to empty out around here. For instance, if I think squirrels are absent in an area I think I should be seeing them, it's a fair possibility my deer sightings will be down, too. Squirrels are my acorn detectors even if I can't put my nose to the ground to look for myself, and if the squirrels aren't there when they should be, something's up.
I've noticed a couple of times that spots became dead zones after spring or early fall floods. Ground vegetation got wiped out and never grew back, or acorns rotted...That's my theory, anyway. Even in the case of spring floods, the areas did not recover until the following spring.
If there's a change in something regarding food sources (non- flood-related), that's a leading cause for some areas to empty out around here. For instance, if I think squirrels are absent in an area I think I should be seeing them, it's a fair possibility my deer sightings will be down, too. Squirrels are my acorn detectors even if I can't put my nose to the ground to look for myself, and if the squirrels aren't there when they should be, something's up.
5.) DParker - 01/01/2017
We had multiple flooding events all over TX this past summer. But the areas I hunt were all lush and green in October, and the ground littered with acorns after they started dropping. Squirrels haven't been in short supply, and there's plenty of food...which may well explain why I haven't seen deer, due to the lack of a need for them to move as much as usual in search of chow. And, my son saw a few, so it's not like there aren't any. I just haven't seen them.
But really, it's the lack of the smaller non-squirrel critters that strikes me as the most odd.
But really, it's the lack of the smaller non-squirrel critters that strikes me as the most odd.
6.) Swamp Fox - 01/01/2017
Ask the game department about predation by ridge gators...LOL
There's an old hunter's practical joke on newbies that involves ridge gators and Milk Duds...I don't know why I just thought of it.
There's an old hunter's practical joke on newbies that involves ridge gators and Milk Duds...I don't know why I just thought of it.
7.) DParker - 01/01/2017
Ridge 'gators ate all our snipe. :tap:
8.) Swamp Fox - 01/01/2017
LOL...
9.) billy b - 01/01/2017
DParker, you have a message, unless you're ignoring it:bang:
10.) DParker - 01/01/2017
[QUOTE=billy b;46330]DParker, you have a message, unless you're ignoring it:bang:[/QUOTE]
Honestly, there's nothing in my Inbox from you. Can you try resending it?
Honestly, there's nothing in my Inbox from you. Can you try resending it?
11.) billy b - 01/01/2017
I'll just tell you here, I can't find your thread in the sous Vide, I got one for Christmas, I want to read all your stuff again.
12.) Swamp Fox - 01/01/2017
Here's the first thread, Billy.
Sometimes the search on this site doesn't work too well. There are other threads he's boiled meat on (LOL--:poke:) but he'd remember those better than I. Some of those prolly have some tips in them as well.
[url]http://forums.huntingcountry.com/forums/showthread.php?2114-This-thread-sucks&highlight=sous+vide[/url]
Sometimes the search on this site doesn't work too well. There are other threads he's boiled meat on (LOL--:poke:) but he'd remember those better than I. Some of those prolly have some tips in them as well.
[url]http://forums.huntingcountry.com/forums/showthread.php?2114-This-thread-sucks&highlight=sous+vide[/url]
13.) DParker - 01/01/2017
[QUOTE=billy b;46332]I'll just tell you here, I can't find your thread in the sous Vide, I got one for Christmas, I want to read all your stuff again.[/QUOTE]
Welcome to dark side. :grin: Which one did you get?
It appears that my posts on the subject are spread across multiple threads on other subjects...
[URL="http://forums.huntingcountry.com/forums/showthread.php?2114-This-thread-sucks&highlight=Sous+vide"]This thread sucks...[/URL]
[URL="http://forums.huntingcountry.com/forums/showthread.php?2260-May-Billy-have-mercy-on-me&highlight=Sous+vide"]May Billy have mercy on me[/URL]
[URL="http://forums.huntingcountry.com/forums/showthread.php?2189-Viva-La-Revoluci%F3n!&highlight=Sous+vide"]Viva La Revolución![/URL]
[URL="http://forums.huntingcountry.com/forums/showthread.php?2149-Omaha-Steaks&highlight=Sous+vide"]Omaha Steaks[/URL]
Just be sure to skip over this post of yours when you come across it:
[QUOTE=billy b;40490]God invented warm water to bathe in, what's the world coming to:cf::bang::groan:
I don't even know these people:jd:[/QUOTE]
I'm expecting pics and a full report on your first steak-in-a-bag.
Welcome to dark side. :grin: Which one did you get?
It appears that my posts on the subject are spread across multiple threads on other subjects...
[URL="http://forums.huntingcountry.com/forums/showthread.php?2114-This-thread-sucks&highlight=Sous+vide"]This thread sucks...[/URL]
[URL="http://forums.huntingcountry.com/forums/showthread.php?2260-May-Billy-have-mercy-on-me&highlight=Sous+vide"]May Billy have mercy on me[/URL]
[URL="http://forums.huntingcountry.com/forums/showthread.php?2189-Viva-La-Revoluci%F3n!&highlight=Sous+vide"]Viva La Revolución![/URL]
[URL="http://forums.huntingcountry.com/forums/showthread.php?2149-Omaha-Steaks&highlight=Sous+vide"]Omaha Steaks[/URL]
Just be sure to skip over this post of yours when you come across it:
[QUOTE=billy b;40490]God invented warm water to bathe in, what's the world coming to:cf::bang::groan:
I don't even know these people:jd:[/QUOTE]
I'm expecting pics and a full report on your first steak-in-a-bag.
14.) Swamp Fox - 01/01/2017
LOL...
15.) DParker - 01/02/2017
Billy must be sleeping off his perfect-steak buzz about now.
16.) Swamp Fox - 01/02/2017
LOL...
Have you ever been to a Ruth's Chris? If so, what did you think?
Have you ever been to a Ruth's Chris? If so, what did you think?
17.) DParker - 01/02/2017
[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;46350]LOL...
Have you ever been to a Ruth's Chris? If so, what did you think?[/QUOTE]
I took the wife to one for our anniversary probably 20 years ago. It was stupid expensive, of course...but an impressive and enjoyable experience at the time. The problem is that once I learned how to choose quality steaks and properly grill (and now drown) them myself it made it impossible for me to enjoy going to steakhouses any more.
I'm happy to pay extra for displays of cullinary skill that I can't easily match at home, or even if I'm just feeling lazy, but truly excellent steak is just too easy to do at home to justify the exhorbitant prices that steak joints charge.
Have you ever been to a Ruth's Chris? If so, what did you think?[/QUOTE]
I took the wife to one for our anniversary probably 20 years ago. It was stupid expensive, of course...but an impressive and enjoyable experience at the time. The problem is that once I learned how to choose quality steaks and properly grill (and now drown) them myself it made it impossible for me to enjoy going to steakhouses any more.
I'm happy to pay extra for displays of cullinary skill that I can't easily match at home, or even if I'm just feeling lazy, but truly excellent steak is just too easy to do at home to justify the exhorbitant prices that steak joints charge.
18.) DParker - 01/02/2017
OK, scratch that. I just consulted with my archivist and she reminded me that it was [i]Del Frisco's[/i] that we went to all those years ago, not [i]Ruth's Chris[/i].
Never mind.
Never mind.
19.) Swamp Fox - 01/02/2017
That's too bad about the steakhouse experience being ruined, LOL.
The availability of good steaks for purchase at the butcher's by goobers like us is a topic for a different thread. (Three, two, one...)
I have a great (best) friend coming in to the area in the next few weeks and I was thinking about going to Ruth's Chris since 1) it's the closest high-end chain to me and neither he nor I would "experiment" going there on our own,...So we could claim this trip as an educational expense on our taxes, and 2) because going to any of the three other good semi-local steakhouses risks a run-in with ex-girlfriends, which could be awkward for me while we're just trying to eat steak just to survive. I mean, he's a great friend, but he doesn't need to know ALL the dirt...
The two of us would be perfectly happy going to Taco Bell and stopping up the bathroom (more so if it's a two-seater) but I'd like to step it up a notch...
The availability of good steaks for purchase at the butcher's by goobers like us is a topic for a different thread. (Three, two, one...)
I have a great (best) friend coming in to the area in the next few weeks and I was thinking about going to Ruth's Chris since 1) it's the closest high-end chain to me and neither he nor I would "experiment" going there on our own,...So we could claim this trip as an educational expense on our taxes, and 2) because going to any of the three other good semi-local steakhouses risks a run-in with ex-girlfriends, which could be awkward for me while we're just trying to eat steak just to survive. I mean, he's a great friend, but he doesn't need to know ALL the dirt...
The two of us would be perfectly happy going to Taco Bell and stopping up the bathroom (more so if it's a two-seater) but I'd like to step it up a notch...
20.) Swamp Fox - 01/02/2017
Del Frisco's is supposed to have great lemon cake...LOL
Never been there either.
I have to win a bet with a cousin to ever darken the door at a place like that...LOL
Never been there either.
I have to win a bet with a cousin to ever darken the door at a place like that...LOL
21.) Triton Rich - 01/02/2017
[B]I can vouch for Del Frisco's being stupid expensive, especially downtown Chicago![/B]
22.) Triton Rich - 01/02/2017
[B]It was a really good meal though......[/B]
23.) Swamp Fox - 01/02/2017
I should put it on my bucket list...There is one restaurant ahead of it, though.
I can see now that the Steakhouse Tour is trending as a close second to the BBQ Joint Tour on the HuntingCountry Top Ten priority list...
:grin:
I can see now that the Steakhouse Tour is trending as a close second to the BBQ Joint Tour on the HuntingCountry Top Ten priority list...
:grin:
24.) bluecat - 01/03/2017
[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;46325]Ask the game department about predation by ridge gators...LOL
There's an old hunter's practical joke on newbies that involves ridge gators and Milk Duds...I don't know why I just thought of it.
[/QUOTE]
I was going ask you DP if a phone call to the TWPD would help. Get in touch with a biologist for that area and explain the situation. They might be able to shed some light or put you on some deer for next year. It really does suck not seeing critters.
There's an old hunter's practical joke on newbies that involves ridge gators and Milk Duds...I don't know why I just thought of it.
[/QUOTE]I was going ask you DP if a phone call to the TWPD would help. Get in touch with a biologist for that area and explain the situation. They might be able to shed some light or put you on some deer for next year. It really does suck not seeing critters.
25.) DParker - 01/03/2017
[QUOTE=bluecat;46358]I was going ask you DP if a phone call to the TWPD would help. Get in touch with a biologist for that area and explain the situation. They might be able to shed some light or put you on some deer for next year. It really does suck not seeing critters.[/QUOTE]
It's likely just a case of probability catching up with me, being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Besides, my son did see a few deer because he was sitting in a different spot from me...though he also never saw any smaller non-squirrel animals.
It's likely just a case of probability catching up with me, being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Besides, my son did see a few deer because he was sitting in a different spot from me...though he also never saw any smaller non-squirrel animals.
26.) bluecat - 01/04/2017
Have there been any alien aircraft sightings in the area/crop circles? They frequently come down in remote areas, take out a few animal organs for experiments and then go back. Might have been working in the area.
27.) DParker - 01/13/2017
[QUOTE=DParker;46334][QUOTE=billy b;46332]I'll just tell you here, I can't find your thread in the sous Vide, I got one for Christmas, I want to read all your stuff again.[/QUOTE]
Welcome to dark side. :grin: Which one did you get?
It appears that my posts on the subject are spread across multiple threads on other subjects...
[URL="http://forums.huntingcountry.com/forums/showthread.php?2114-This-thread-sucks&highlight=Sous+vide"]This thread sucks...[/URL]
[URL="http://forums.huntingcountry.com/forums/showthread.php?2260-May-Billy-have-mercy-on-me&highlight=Sous+vide"]May Billy have mercy on me[/URL]
[URL="http://forums.huntingcountry.com/forums/showthread.php?2189-Viva-La-Revoluci%F3n!&highlight=Sous+vide"]Viva La Revolución![/URL]
[URL="http://forums.huntingcountry.com/forums/showthread.php?2149-Omaha-Steaks&highlight=Sous+vide"]Omaha Steaks[/URL]
Just be sure to skip over this post of yours when you come across it:
I'm expecting pics and a full report on your first steak-in-a-bag.[/QUOTE]
Well....?
Welcome to dark side. :grin: Which one did you get?
It appears that my posts on the subject are spread across multiple threads on other subjects...
[URL="http://forums.huntingcountry.com/forums/showthread.php?2114-This-thread-sucks&highlight=Sous+vide"]This thread sucks...[/URL]
[URL="http://forums.huntingcountry.com/forums/showthread.php?2260-May-Billy-have-mercy-on-me&highlight=Sous+vide"]May Billy have mercy on me[/URL]
[URL="http://forums.huntingcountry.com/forums/showthread.php?2189-Viva-La-Revoluci%F3n!&highlight=Sous+vide"]Viva La Revolución![/URL]
[URL="http://forums.huntingcountry.com/forums/showthread.php?2149-Omaha-Steaks&highlight=Sous+vide"]Omaha Steaks[/URL]
Just be sure to skip over this post of yours when you come across it:
I'm expecting pics and a full report on your first steak-in-a-bag.[/QUOTE]
Well....?