We may not be near the winter olympics but mother nature has decided that we needed closing ceremonies for February here in NE Ohio. The snow levels are somewhere between zero and four feet. The wind has done a great job of piling it in just selected areas and it is normally where we would prefer not to have it. (in front of the door, the driveway,…)
The bucks in the preserve have finally decided to let us have some of their antlers and we have been finding them over the past two weeks. Sonya found the first three and was good at making sure that I knew it. We have several singles but have not found any sets at this point. There are some great looking sheds and it should make for a great start to next season’s trophy bucks. I was lucky enough to find one shed from a buck that I already had last year’s set. You can clearly see that they are from the same buck and some of the tines are even a little shorter from the second set but the mass has increased greatly in a year’s time. I will bring some of these sheds with me to the Dixie Deer Classic next week so if you at the show stop by and I’ll show them off.
I have had a request to share some of our hunting stories on the blog and I will be adding one in the near future as a trial run under the “Tales of the Hunt” section. I will warn you though that I am not a great writer and would appreciate comments on whether or not to continue my efforts on adding additional stories.
Well I guess the ground hog has been right so far. The weather in NE Ohio has been every bit winter since the shadow was cast a week ago. The preserve has been a winter wonderland the last few days with new snowfall totals somewhere around 8-10″. The deer have all herded up and there are bachelor groups of 6-8 mature bucks and also groups of does. All of the mature bucks that I have seen this week are still sporting their antlers. I am ready to start hunting for the sheds but they aren’t giving them up yet.
I have started a mini clearcut this week inside the preserve. The goal is to cut approximately 2 acres to allow for regeneration and to provide a diverse habitat. I would like to do this on about 6-8 acres total over the next four years. The extra cover that is provided in these areas for all species is excellent and the browse that is created supplies a great source of nutrition. I will try to post some of our prject pictures in the “photo gallery” once the snow quits falling.
The ground hog should be coming out today at the preserve! The sun is shining brightly and but for the fact that we were in the single digits this morning you might have thought spring had found us already. The bucks and does have all settled into their winter routines and the secondary rut has been finished for a couple of weeks. I have seen several groups of bucks that are back together and while they all seem quite at ease with each other again they still were all sporting their antlers. They should start to drop the antlers anytime now and it can continue into March. Last year I found the last set the second week of March and the trail cameras indicated that they had all shed by the end of March. I think that both the deer and I are looking forward to some warmer temps and greener settings. We have had snow in the preserve since back around the new year and the arrival of a spring thaw will greatly reduce the efforts required.
We had a great show in Dalton, Ohio and met several people interested in hunting with us this fall. Our next show is coming up in Springfield, MA February 18-21. If you are looking to battle your cabin fever and you are in the Springfield area please stop by the Big E and say hello.