Red Tail

When you live on a farm, animals die.  With my Cochin chicken hobby and my great nephew Caleb breeding show hogs we occasionally have a dead animal to dispose of. We have a designated area in the Back 40 where we place carcass. Caleb had a sow somehow break a leg so she ended up there. This Red Tail Hawk has been visiting the site for a free meal for several days. The trail cam I got for Christmas has given me some nice pictures.

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.

Mid-Season

Woodcock have been scarce again this year in my coverts.  This bird was taken on a windy, foggy day along the Allegheny Front.  Bliss gave me two nice points that day with the other bird escaping unscathed.

Thicket found several birds in the Muth covert with me connecting on one of them.

Some of the coverts that failed to hold any birds at least on the days that we visited them.  With two weeks left in the season the dogs and I will keep trying and hoping to find a flight of birds to make us smile.

My Season so Far

Went to Piney Creek with Thicket on the first day of the woodcock season. Hot and dry weather and Piney Creek only had water in the deeper holes. Thicket found and pointed one bird, but it lifted before I could reach her.

My next hunt was at the Church Hill covert with Bliss.  

Hunting through the hawthorns in the fog.

Hunting through the alders along the beaver pond produced one wild flush.

Hunting through the mature pines back to the truck produced no birds.

Back at the truck we shared a sandwich.

After lunch we tried one more place. A small stand of aspen as our last hope and it paid off.

Bliss went on point and I got one shot off in the tight cover before the bird disappeared.  I started to follow it's flight path and as Bliss came in from in front of me she suddenly went on point a few feet to my left and behind me.  I had walked passed the bird lying there with it's perfect camouflage. What a great way to end our first hunt of the season together. Bliss's first point of the year, my first shot of the year, and her great find on the fallen bird.

Fruits of my Labor

It's been 5 years since I started planting apple trees and this fall I'm beginning to harvest some apples. No big crops but just enough to get a taste of some rare varieties.

Chestnut crab. Small but really packed with a perfect blend of sweet and tart flavor. One of my favorite apples.

King of the Pippins.  An old variety thought to have originated in France. An excellent apple to eat out of hand with that delicious blend of sweetness and tartness.

Newt Grindle. A large cooking apple that made a wonderful Apple Crisp.

Little Benny. A southern apple with a tart flavor. I made apple sauce from these.

Just the start of my apple tasting experience. More to come.