First evening deerhunting

 And the first deer seen during hunting season: a doe and fawn crossed the far sunlit end of the field at about 5:30.  Nothing but mosquitoes where I was, though there were lots and many varieties.  I was wearing an Alpenflage  jump suit so they concentrated on my bare hands.

  It's not that quiet in the country..there are layers of sound from the overhead airplanes and sizzling traffic on surrounding roads to the thrushes and squirrels.  I heard three separate Horned owls, plus a couple of Barred Owls.  Right at 7:00 they shot across the creek and I drove around to see who they had killed.  Turned out they shot a little spike buck.  Pitiful.  I didn't mention the bucks I have been seeing on cam.  One buck county.  We are safe for a bit.

Update:  Saw Big Ten this morning for only the second time with my own eyes.  He's a 5 1/2 year old 12 point buck, very massive except that when he was 2 1/2 he tore his whole left antler off at the socket fighting.  The left side has been ruined since.  Saw him on the deercam once last year and once the year before.  This year nothing.  Too smart to go to the cam.

  He looked good.  Six points on the big side, a nice long-tined heavy-beamed typical.  He was with a doe and the doe spooked.  I hope he breeds every doe in the watershed.  I had a clean and open shot for about six seconds.  Didn't even put my rifle up.  He's the oldest buck I have in my deercam files.