A Discovery

Bliss and I went looking for left over pheasants yesterday.  No pheasants were found but I did discover some old apple trees.

I'll return in the spring to determine their bloom time and then again in the fall to see if they bear any apples.  These trees are in the same area as the Weeping Vampire apple, a tree I discovered several years ago. Named for it's weeping form and the road which runs by this covert I was pleasantly surprised to find it still holding some apples this late in the season.  I have a nice one year old tree grafted from scion from this tree growing in the Back40 orchard.

After the Storm

A coating of snow was followed by a coating of ice and windy conditions proved to be too much for this old volunteer apple tree located above the house. A seedling of the old orchard that I can remember as a kid this tree produced "deer apples" small russeted apples that dropped in early fall. I suspect it will live on for a few years as it still has roots in the ground and these old apple trees are survivors. I'll probably take a piece of scion and graft a new tree and plant it nearby for the deer to continue to enjoy.

End of the Woodcock Season

The last two weeks of woodcock season were disappointing quiet for me.  Although the dogs searched hard the birds were not to be found.  It has been the worst season I've ever experienced. My journal shows we hunted 3 times a week for 6 weeks in 10 different coverts in 4 different counties and only managed to find a handful of birds. I must have definitely offended Diana the Hunting Goddess and this was her punishment. ☹️☹️  The only bright spot of the last week of the season was Bliss managed to point a hen pheasant that I dropped with my left barrel. The following are some pictures of the coverts I hunted that should have held a few birds but didn't.

An 8 day late grouse season may give me a chance to get out into the woods if the weather does not turn too nasty.