Tree sitter

Tonight I sat in my little treeseat up in the Hemlock tree, just past the middle forty line. I got in the tree about 5:00. It was exceptionally nice out there this evening, no wind, no clouds and very little noise. Not much traffic on the highway, which you can hear easily from out there in the woods. The stand is about 1/2 mile from highway 13 and in the winter when the leaves are all off and the air is cold and still, the trucks sound like they might be about 50 yards away.
Anyway, tonight it was sunny and calm, with about 50% of the leaves still on the trees. Some bright orange, but more are a yellowish color. There are about four good sized red oak trees just behind the stand, and their leaves are still pretty much green. They will turn a little later, to dull reddish brown, and hang on the trees well into early winter. They like to rustle loudly in the cold winds of November, adding a sound dimension to my shivering watch over the bare trees. Fortunately, the change from the colorful, easy evenings we have now to the gray, chilly days of the early November rut is a gradual change. And as you know, the only thing that matters is what is what you are experiencing at the moment. The days past and the known future does not have an impact on the immediacy of the moment. You know you're cold, your nose is running, but that's just the way it is. You don't compare the moment to past or future, you just take in how things are and deal with it.


Tonight I saw zero deer. But I did get to watch a couple of gray squirrels and a black squirrel eating corn and chasing each other up and down the trees. There were three blue jays making trips back and forth from the tree tops to the corn, scolding the squirrels if they were near. Several nuthatches were in the area, and their unusual call is one my favorite seasonal sounds. Sitting in a tree in the fall and winter is about the only time I see and hear those birds. I haven't seen any chickadees yet, but they'll be around soon. Sometimes they flit about near my stand and a couple of times I've had one land on my bow or on an arrow. They're neat.


There was a little sliver of a moon tonight, and in a few days it will be about half size right above me at dark. I like the moon like that. A few barred owls were calling to each other as I left the stand to wander back to the Ottertail in the gathering darkness. I knew there would be walleye filets waiting on the counter. I left before supper and would get to eat anything that was left..... hunting is great!!

Here is Ivan with the antlers from the elk that Chuck got. They went to Idaho a couple of weeks ago....