Jim Boyd
Senior Member
OK, folks – the changes are slight… but they are there.
Summer solstice is past and we are now losing 2 minutes per day of daylight per day.
Those that rise (or go to bed) on a regular schedule may have already noticed these changes. Believe me when I say this, too – people are slow and dull witted when compared to nature, comparatively speaking.
The trees and plant life have most assuredly taken notice. Now is the time to produce fruit and nut….
Animals? You can bet they know, or at least their bodies do. We focus on deer – so let’s just know this… the signs that pre-date the rut have begun.
The slight chemical changes that are produced by photoperiodicity (sunlight through the eye) will, in the not too distant future - cause the bucks to come out of the velvet stage (60 days +/-). From then on, their entire life goes through a transformation that is at once awesome and awful, particularly for the male of the species.
The tree rubs start, followed by the beginning of the scrapes. Bachelor groups that banded loosely together all summer long break apart. Gone are the days of rest, solitude and feeding lazily. Coming now are the days of cruising, fights among the males, longer travel routes, exposure to dangers of many types, less and less food and ultimately, breeding. It is a quest that they cannot deny, even if they tried.
We are still a long ways out – the dog days loom in earnest – but before we know it… that first low humidity, 60 degree morning will greet us and we will know the time is at hand.
Some will take to the trees in the middle of August, searching for a velvet trophy.
Come about the 3rd Saturday in September, the trees in Georgia will come alive with archery hunters!
In October, the muzzleloaders and centerfires will come out in force.
For some lucky or determined hunters, the first two weeks of November will find themselves in the Midwest or some other out of state destinations that are even more exotic yet. White knuckled hands will grasp archery equipment while their hearts hammer out like a drum bass at the sight of antlered beast the likes of which they have never seen. Will they perform admirably? Some will and some wont…
My prayer is that hunters will find kindness to each other, we will serve one another and we will enjoy – with love and good humor – the comradery that is deer season.
Best of 2018, folks….. it IS coming!
.
Summer solstice is past and we are now losing 2 minutes per day of daylight per day.
Those that rise (or go to bed) on a regular schedule may have already noticed these changes. Believe me when I say this, too – people are slow and dull witted when compared to nature, comparatively speaking.
The trees and plant life have most assuredly taken notice. Now is the time to produce fruit and nut….
Animals? You can bet they know, or at least their bodies do. We focus on deer – so let’s just know this… the signs that pre-date the rut have begun.
The slight chemical changes that are produced by photoperiodicity (sunlight through the eye) will, in the not too distant future - cause the bucks to come out of the velvet stage (60 days +/-). From then on, their entire life goes through a transformation that is at once awesome and awful, particularly for the male of the species.
The tree rubs start, followed by the beginning of the scrapes. Bachelor groups that banded loosely together all summer long break apart. Gone are the days of rest, solitude and feeding lazily. Coming now are the days of cruising, fights among the males, longer travel routes, exposure to dangers of many types, less and less food and ultimately, breeding. It is a quest that they cannot deny, even if they tried.
We are still a long ways out – the dog days loom in earnest – but before we know it… that first low humidity, 60 degree morning will greet us and we will know the time is at hand.
Some will take to the trees in the middle of August, searching for a velvet trophy.
Come about the 3rd Saturday in September, the trees in Georgia will come alive with archery hunters!
In October, the muzzleloaders and centerfires will come out in force.
For some lucky or determined hunters, the first two weeks of November will find themselves in the Midwest or some other out of state destinations that are even more exotic yet. White knuckled hands will grasp archery equipment while their hearts hammer out like a drum bass at the sight of antlered beast the likes of which they have never seen. Will they perform admirably? Some will and some wont…
My prayer is that hunters will find kindness to each other, we will serve one another and we will enjoy – with love and good humor – the comradery that is deer season.
Best of 2018, folks….. it IS coming!
.
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