Winter and hunting

More snow today.  More in the forecast.  Strong wind overnight and into the afternoon.   Snow is everywhere. I believe the official snow total so far is 3.5 inches.  It seems like just a little bit more to me.  I did shovel paths to the outbuildings.  No enthusiasm to shovel any more snow.  When the wind blew the cattle would come back from eating in order to stand in the shelter of the loafing shed.  Tonight no wind.  Cattle are staying out in the trees near the hay bale.

Kelly shot a large buck late this afternoon.  At about 110 yards.  The deer ran into the trees and Kelly needed help finding the deer.  With the fresh snow it was easier to track the deer.  Still we had to look for blood as there were other tracks the deer made before coming out of the trees where Kelly shot it.  Around and around we went.  Finding the correct track with a few spots of blood, then losing it by following another track, then again finding a track with a spot of blood.

Around and around through the thick trees, by now in the dark.  My feet were freezing in the tall rubber boots I wore.  I didn't hear it, but Kelly said he heard the deer get up and run from its hiding place up ahead.  The track no longer had blood.  Kelly made have slightly wounded the buck.   After almost a hour and a half of tracking we gave up.  Kelly plans to go out tomorrow to look for the deer in case it did die over on Wyatt's property.

When Kelly came to ask me for help tracking the deer Daisy insisted on coming outside too.  She was waiting on the rug outside the house door and was happy to go back in the house where it was much warmer.  We both sat near the woodstove to warm up.