Left the house at06:45 A.M. & had an uneventful trip getting to Ron’s
at about 03:00. After some catching up, we headed to The Roost to
unload my truck & set-up a blind. Kathy came to camp for dinner.
We turned in early as both Ron &my back were acting up.
Supper = Carle’s World Famous Brats, cole slaw, potato salad, &
macaroni salad.
Day 1 - Wednesday 05/01
It was a misty rain & 40 when I went up to the sap woods at04:50 A.M.
It started to sprinkle at 06:00 & rained pretty hard between 07:20 &
08:00. I tried some tree calls & a flydown cackle with no response.
I headed down at 10:30 with the temp at 42.
At 02:00 P.M., Ron looked out the window & saw a big gobbler coming
down through the corn field from the sap woods where I had been that
morning. I checked him out with the binos & he was a gooder un!! At
05:20, there were 3 hens down near Papy’s corner & a big porcupine out
in the field. I didn’t think of it until the next day but I should have
walked down & got some pics.
Supper = Ohio Venison Spaghetti Sauce over spaghetti.
Day 2 - Thursday 05/02
It was 48 at 05:15 A.M. when I got back up to the sap woods with a slight
breeze. At 07:58, a hawk landed in a tree near the dekes. It seemed to
be eyeing them but flew off instead of attacking. At 08:21, it started to
sprinkle which it did off & on most of the morning.
At 09:30, a jake came in from the south &stood about 10 yards from the
dekes. I thought about shooting him but saw more birds moving around
behind a dead fall so held off hoping for a gobbler. As it turns out, it was
4 more jakes. I picked out the one with the “best” beard but had to wait
for him to separate from the others. There were several times when I got
have taken a shot & killed all 5. He finally moved away at 09:40 & the
11-87 sent a load of magic pixie dust to him. The others flew up or ran so
I thought they were gone. I looked up & they were all back checking out
their buddy. I got several pics of them when they started moving off.
The white tubes are connected to sugar maples & then to the blue tubes
which takes the sap to a holding tank. The pics with the dekes are an
optical delusion. They were a good distance from the tubes & there was
little chance of hitting 1.
At 11:40, a hen was getting down & dirty at Papy’s corner & had a gobbler
responding from the creek. He finally came out into the field & the hen
left him out in the field gobbling & strutting.
Supper = Ohio Venison Poppers, cole slaw, potato salad, & macaroni salad.
Ron & I sat together at Papy’s corner this morning with a temp of 51 with
a slight breeze. At 05:35, 2 hens came out into the field opposite where
we were sitting. The fed about ½ ways across & headed east. Ron had
to leave at 07:30 to help with the FNRA banquet. I called off & on all
morning trying to imitate the nasty hen from the day before but got no
response. At 10:05, the 2 hens came back & headed into the south woods
to my east. It was 53 when I headed in at noon.
At 06:35 P.M., the 2 hens came out & then a loud hen that was very
aggressive in her calling.
Supper = Ohio Venison Chili
Day 4 - Saturday 05/04
I sat up at Papy’s corner again & Ron went up to the sap woods. It
was 52, calm, & starry with no moon at 05:26 A.M with a heavy fog.
The fog finally burned off at 07:00. I heard a gobbler way off to the
NE beyond where Ron was sitting & another to the SE a long ways off.
I called off & on & did get a few responses from the distant SE bird but
he wasn’t moving. For the last 15-20 minutes I was out, I hammered
away being just as nasty & raspy, loud & obnoxious as possible trying to
get somebody to do something with no luck. I headed in at 10:00 calling
it a day.
I headed to the FNRA banquet early to take pics as usual. It was an
enjoyable evening with good food & friends. Kathy & I left about 08:30
& had to stop at the Civic Center for the obligatory ice cream bar.
Supper = Roast Beef, BBQ Pork, potato wedges, green beans, green salad,
& a macaroni dish.
Sunday 05/05 Travel Day
I left Ron & Kathy’s at 06:00 A.M and, per the norm, it was raining.
After about 2 hours, the rain stopped but about a mile into PA., I hit
some dense fog which didn’t start to clear until about 5 miles before
the Ohio line. Other than that, no problems. I got home at about 01:45
P.M., changed close & was on the tractor mowing by02:00 P.M. The yard
was really wet &greasy due to the wet spring we’re having but I was able
to maneuver around without getting struck until, that is, I hit a wet spot
below a slight hump. There was less the 5 minutes left to mow & I got
stuck!!!! Nothing I could do as it was too wet to take the truck & pull it
out. Maybe tomorrow.
Once again, a great trip spent with good friends. Thanks again Ron & Kathy
for a great week.
