It had cooled a little overnight. By Saturday morning it had faired and a few stars showed. As they winked out and finally disappeared, the sky turned a blaze of red. Deer were not moving that morning, but the weather was pleasant and birds were singing. I found some fungi the size of saucers! 
I prowled around, walked some trails, but still didn’t find any buck- rubs. There were a few scrapes, and one had been freshly worked. I did some chores and rested at midday. When I grabbed my gear and headed out for another hunt in the early afternoon, it had begun misting rain. It stopped in a few minutes, so I checked that the poncho was in my daypack and started out again. I made it about a hundred yards before the rain started, a little more earnestly this time. When the rain stopped again I made it across the creek, then it really socked in. Back in the cabin, I found that my new stove installation had some problems. Water was blowing down the flu- pipe and was seeping under the window- panel I had rigged for the pipe to exit. A hastily- built fire in the stove helped to evaporate the water that was coming in, and some judicious stuffing of aluminum- foil helped to minimize water intrusion. I’ll have to do a real fix after it all dries out a bit. It rained several more times that evening, heavy downpours but they didn’t last long. The old saying is “sailor take warning”. By Sunday morning it was cold, with a steady wind blowing. Fortunately, I had committed to go to church with my cousins, and didn’t face the slipping and sliding of hunting those wet, cold hills.
I prowled around, walked some trails, but still didn’t find any buck- rubs. There were a few scrapes, and one had been freshly worked. I did some chores and rested at midday. When I grabbed my gear and headed out for another hunt in the early afternoon, it had begun misting rain. It stopped in a few minutes, so I checked that the poncho was in my daypack and started out again. I made it about a hundred yards before the rain started, a little more earnestly this time. When the rain stopped again I made it across the creek, then it really socked in. Back in the cabin, I found that my new stove installation had some problems. Water was blowing down the flu- pipe and was seeping under the window- panel I had rigged for the pipe to exit. A hastily- built fire in the stove helped to evaporate the water that was coming in, and some judicious stuffing of aluminum- foil helped to minimize water intrusion. I’ll have to do a real fix after it all dries out a bit. It rained several more times that evening, heavy downpours but they didn’t last long. The old saying is “sailor take warning”. By Sunday morning it was cold, with a steady wind blowing. Fortunately, I had committed to go to church with my cousins, and didn’t face the slipping and sliding of hunting those wet, cold hills.
No comments:
Post a Comment