briarpatch

To say it's been a tough year is an understatement. Have not seen a shooter buck in range since October. and have had only one doe in range since then, too. Both times I elected to pass. Winter bow in NJ can be a good time to get one for the freezer, but even that has not worked for me. Yesterday, my brother-in-law put me in a spot that was a 'slam dunk'. I did have a shot at an older doe around 4 pm, but her fawn was in the way the whole time. They eventually walked off. I did get some good video of a gobbler that strolled through. Then around 4:30, I have a group of 4 does milling around to my right, but no shot chances. Finally, one gave me a quartering away shot at 15 yards. The Tornado sent the Red Hot (tipped with a Grim reaper of course) right through her and into the ground. I waited a little bit, then got down, and checked the arrow. Covered in blood...Great!!!! Started following the trail...steady blood for around 30 yards...then it started to get a little dark. I decided to back out and get help. Went back in an hour, resumed the trail. We got to large puddles of blood, and then nothing. Not one speck of blood. My brother-in-law figured out that the deer back-tracked. We did so as well, and found where she'd turned off. A few minutes later, we found her piled up. I'd hit her a little back, and only got the far side lung. Thankfully, she'd back-tracked towards our four-wheeler path, and getting her out was easy. Now, I have until the 31st to get a buck!!!!

We've suffered a great loss today. My father-in-law, who treated me more like a son than a son-in-law, passed away from a heart attack. He was hunting out of state, walking to his blind, and he just could not go any further. He was one of a kind. He was a great husband, father, grandfather, and friend. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him. My wife is devastated, as are all of us.

Children, hug your parents...parents, hug your children. Everything you think you know can change in the blink of an eye.

Last Wednesday, I stopped for a few minutes on my way out of work and to talk to a
co-worker. On my way home, I get a phone call from my wife...who, very excitedly...says "Where are you?"...(of course, my first instinct is that there's something wrong)....very predictably, I ask..."Why? Whats wrong?"....to which she replies..."There's a HUGE buck in the backyard chasing does"....(it was warm that day...and when it's warm, the does will still come into my yard and graze....)...I was about 5 minutes from home at that point...I get home....walk up the driveway...only to find that the buck has disappeared in search of love...(or his idea of it)...my daughter took a picture...had I not stopped for that conversation...I'd have had a crack at this:

For all those in the area, the weekend for the Whitetail Jamboree at the Sportsmans Center and the big sale at Harrys/Cheyenne Outfitters will be 8/6 and 8/7.

Sportsmens Center has a website specifically for their sale...whitetailjamboree.com

We here in Jersey are not famous for a lot of things...except maybe blueberries and tomatoes. I'm not much of a tomato grower myself, but I've a handful of plants. Nothing better than a fresh tomoato and pepper sandwich. Yesterday, I noticed I had an invasion of hornworms. These are some nasty leaf eating machines. Their camouflage is second to none. They mirror the color of the plant almost perfectly. I found out that they're resistant to pesticides...I plucked one off and hit it with ant/roach killer. It lived 6 hours after that. I also found out that they're not too resistant to being cut in half with grass shears.

i do not want to use any pesticides on these plants...my kids (and I) sometimes pluck the tomatores and eat them off the vine. Anyone have any experience with these things?....how do you kill them naturally? Finding them is a bugger.....