October 11: Humble Pie

The Whitetail woods of the Northeast always have a way of putting you in your place.  The bucks are big enough to get you jacked, available enough to keep you wanting more of the chase, but the reality is they are scarce enough where you better be patient and temper expectations.  Slipped into the best conditions of the early season today, 33 degrees this morning, no wind, dead calm and quiet, ground damp from the rain a couple days ago, leaves on top starting to dry from yesterday's wind.  There was a slight crunch in the leaves, but walking carefully I was able to remain ninja quiet on the way in.  The crunch always gives me added hope I'll hear the deer coming in allowing me ample time to stand up and be ready, but let's be serious, this is the North East, I saw nothing but squirrels today.  Gathering acorns, chasing each other in turf wars and acorns spats, they were loud and obnoxious.  However, the positive to take away from dull days like today when all conditions point to good deer movement, like my iPhone app that said the best deer movement was 7:30 am - 10:30 am, is that the constant rustling in the leaves from the squirrels kept me on edge, focused on moving slowly as I panned almost 300 degrees looking for that ear flicker, tail wag, or sneaking legs through the timber.  I'm taking tomorrow off in CT to do some scouting and camera hanging in MA for a giant 10pt, I'll report back on current sign and acorns conditions from my tour.