A Very Cold Morning

I went deer hunting again this morning. At 5:45 am, the temperature was 25 degrees and it was still dark although I could see fairly well because of the full moon. There was a light frost covering everything. At least the wind wasn't blowing to make it seem even colder.

I drove out to the blind, but parked some distance from it. I didn't want the truck to scare the deer away. I gathered up my rifle, backpack, and flashlight and walked to the blind. Even with a full moon, a flashlight, and a dirt road to follow, I went a little off course and had to walk through tall grass to find the fence and the blind. It's amazingly easy to get lost. I hadn't put my gloves on and my left hand fingers were aching from holding the cold rifle.

I settled into the blind, got my binoculars out, loaded the rifle, put on my gloves, and waited. It was 6 and it wouldn't get light until 7. I could see the black sky and bright stars because it wasn't cloudy. Sitting in the blind is a great exercise in patience and tranquility. It doesn't come easy to me.

I heard the feeder go off at 6:30. As it gets light, I'll start to see the deer moving around. It might still be too dark to get a good shot, but I can see their dim outlines through the binoculars or rifle's scope. This morning there was nothing.

The only activity I saw were birds starting their day and a squirrel eating the deer corn. Most of the birds I saw were cardinals. They seem to play a game where one will fly to another tree or bush, and then another will follow it. They'll both sit there for a little bit and then one will fly to the next perch, only to be followed again. I saw them doing this several times. I don't know much about cardinals, but I think it's the males that are a bright red. These were males playing the game. I saw four cardinals at one time, but I don't know if I kept seeing the same ones or different ones as they moved around. They fly very near to the ground and make a choppy, buzzing sound with their wings. I'd never noticed that before.

I sat in the blind until about 8. I kept hoping that if I waited a little longer, I'd see some deer, but they never came. If it was a bit warmer, I might have stayed longer, but I could feel the cold seeping into me. I had remembered to put on my long underwear, so my legs, arms, and body were fine, but my fingers were aching, even though I was wearing gloves. My toes were aching too, and I only had normal athletic socks on, not winter ones.

Sitting in the blind just makes the cold worse. Although it keeps most of the wind off, this morning was calm so that wasn't required. You have to be still and quiet or you'll spook the deer. That's what leads to the cold getting to you, especially in your extremities. I don't think I was in danger of frostbite, but it was definitely uncomfortable.

I wonder if the cold is what kept the deer away. I don't know enough about their behavior to be sure, but maybe they wait until the day warms up before they move around. I'll have to read up on them or ask Paul.

I finally decided to go home. I gathered up my equipment and walked stiffly back to the truck. It's a very short drive, so the truck didn't warm up before I got home. Mary made me a cup of coffee and I spent the next 1/2 hour getting the feeling back in my fingers and toes.

Would I do it again? Absolutely!

The Deer Hunter

Note: This post is about deer hunting. If you're philosophically opposed to hunting or squeamish about the subject, please do not read any further.

I got my first deer of the season yesterday. She was a mature, fairly large, white-tailed doe. It was my third outing in several weeks.

This is the third year that I've been hunting and I've killed four deer. I hunt for two major reasons. First, it provides us with meat. Venison is a lean, healthy meat and since I started hunting, we haven't had to buy ground meat or breakfast sausage at the grocery store. Second, it's part of the wildlife management on our property. White-tailed deer are overpopulated in our part of the state. Their large numbers lead to shortages of food for them and causes problems for the environment and habitat as they eat everything they can.

As a certified Master Naturalist, I understand that everything in nature is in delicate balance. Mankind has disrupted that balance and part of our efforts are aimed at restoring it. In the case of white-tailed deer, we've removed or minimized their predators, such as cougars, wolves, and coyotes. We are also taking away the white-tailed deer habitat as our own population grows and our land becomes more developed. This means the deer exist in higher densities than they or the environment are adapted to, leading to problems.

I first went out three weeks ago but didn't shoot anything. I decided to just sit in the blind and observe the deer that came by and get a feel for the situation. In past years, I've shot the first animal I had a chance to, so this time I wanted to do it differently. I saw several deer, both bucks and does and also both the normal tan colored ones and the darker, melanistic variety. I also observed many birds as the day brightened including cardinals, wrens, and some I couldn't identify.

The second time was two weeks ago. I went out with my friend Paul and his son Matt. I was at one blind and Paul and Matt were at a different one about 1/4 mile away. I saw a large, 10 point buck and shot it even though my view was partially obscured by tall grass. That was my big mistake, because I only wounded the animal. Paul and Matt helped me track it for over two hours, but we never found it. I felt bad at having wounded a deer and causing it to be in pain until it died. My consolation was that its death would not be wasted. Even though it would not feed my family, it would provide food for the vultures and coyotes. I kept an eye to the sky that day and for several after, thinking I would see the vultures circling, but never did.

Paul, Matt and I went out again yesterday morning. I got my doe and Paul texted me that they had shot a buck. When I met up with them to review our gains, they told me that Matt had shot the same buck that I wounded!

We're pretty sure it was the same buck, because it was also a 10 point one and it had a wound in the skin over its chest that was about 2 weeks old and was healing over. What are the odds that it was a different deer?

I'm really glad that Matt killed the same deer that I wounded. It closes the event and will help feed Paul's family.

Only Skin Deep?

American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), also known as French mulberry, is a native shrub or small tree, usually growing to about 3-5 feet tall. The seeds and berries provide food for birds, in particular, the Northern Bobwhite. White-tailed deer like the leaves. Native Americans used the root and leaves to make a medicinal tea.

I've read that the berries are sometime white and in both photos you can see that the berries at the branch tip are white, but in this case, I think it's because they're not ripe.

I took these photos, in mid-September, of a single specimen I saw while riding my bike in our development. I've never seen them on our property, and have only seen one other along the road into our neighborhood.

It's easily propagated and requires little care. Mary bought one in a small pot at a plant sale recently held at the San Marcos Nature Center. We're going to try to establish it near our house.

The Other White Meat

The feral pig trap on our property finally caught one!

A pretty big one, actually. My friend Paul, who set up the trap and monitors it, said that Wednesday evening there was a 210 pound boar in it. He quickly sent it to the great wallow in the sky.

To be fair, the trap has caught animals two other times, but they were white-tailed deer. Which is pretty amazing because the deer have to crouch down to enter the cage. It's not tall enough for an adult deer to walk in. I guess they're really hungry or just can't resist the bait corn.

In the photo, the trap is sprung and the doors are closed. You can see the springs that hold the doors shut. The trap is set by propping the doors open with a branch attached to a rope which is tied to the far end of the trap. When the animal enters, it brushes against the rope which pulls the branch out and the doors spring shut.

With this first trapped pig, we've taken a small step forward in controlling their population on our land and minimizing the environmental damage they do.

They're Amanitas?

We went to the Spherical Exhibition reception at the A Smith Gallery in Johnson City last night. It was very well attended and I saw and spoke to quite a few fellow Hill Country Photography Club members. Afterward we saw the Johnson City Lighted Hooves and Wheels parade. It was a fun evening!

One of the HCPC members, Lois Schubert, asked me if I knew what kind of mushrooms were in my photograph, "After the Rain". I told her I'd been trying to identify them without success. She said they were amanitas which are extremely poisonous. She said she's seen yellow ones too. I mentioned that the ones I saw were white because, of course, "After the Rain" is a black and white photograph.

When I got home, I started researching to see if I could pin down exactly what kind of amanitas I saw. Amanita is the name of a genus which contains about 600 species. The genus includes some of the most toxic mushrooms known worldwide. About 95% of all the deaths due to mushroom poisoning are caused by amanitas. Quite a scary group and something you don't want to fool with.

The ones in our backyard might have been Amanita polypyramis. The range is right and they're found among oaks which is where I saw them.

Another possibility is Amanita microlepsis.

Many of the identification guides describe the underside gills and the stalk, which I did not photograph or observe. I'm really careful about mushrooms and didn't even want to touch or disturb them. That means that I may never know for sure what kind of amanita they are, but I'll keep looking.

Call Me Ishmael

Unlike Ahab, I'm not particularly obsessed with this white animal. He didn't bite my leg off and kill my son, so I'm not seeking revenge.

I am, however, very interested in knowing what it is. I've seen a white deer in our neighborhood twice. Once it was quite far from our house, and I saw it as I was driving by. It was right beside the road and didn't move as I passed it. I got a good look at it and it didn't have red eyes, so I don't think it was an albino.

The second time, about 2 1/2 years ago, I saw a white deer right outside of our fence and near our driveway's gate as I was driving home. Luckily, I had my camera in the car, so I got out quietly and slowly. I was afraid if I made a sudden movement or loud noise, it would flee. I managed to get 3 photos and this is the best one. you can see our fence on the right side of the picture.

He seemed curious and was looking right at me. I'm pretty sure it was a young male. If you look closely he has two knobs on his head where his antlers are growing. The photo was taken in March, and that's when white-tailed deer antlers start developing. That's an enticing clue that this is actually a white-tailed deer, but I'm not sure.

White-tailed deer are normally tan, but there is a melanistic, much darker, variant which is quite common in our area.

I don't know if the saw the same animal twice or not, but I lean toward not. I saw them several years apart, but the two individuals I saw were both young. Each time, the deer was alone, yet I've noticed that with white-tailed deer, the young ones and their mothers are always together. The older bucks are typically by themselves.

I mentioned to a friend that I'd seen a white deer and he thought it might be a fallow deer. White is one of the color variants of fallow deer. They are not Texas natives; they're originally from Eurasia, but they have been introduced locally. They are kept on hunting ranches as exotics. Perhaps I've seen escapees.

I'm always on the lookout for the elusive white deer. Perhaps one day, I'll get a good enough look to make a positive identification.

Agarita Spring

This photo of an Agarita (Mahonia trifoliolata) branch was taken in May of this year.

Agarita Spring

This native is a member of the barberry family and is an evergreen shrub about 3 - 6 feet in height. The wood and flowers are a bright yellow and, as you can see, the berries a bright red. It has holly-like leaves, and in fact many people mistake it for a holly. The leaflets are lobed and end in sharp spines.

Agarita is widespread on our property and the flowers are fragrant and quite beautiful, especially in a year of good rain, like this was. The berries put on a great show and jump out as they dot the landscape.

I just learned this year that the berries are edible, so every time I was walking on our property and came across one, I would taste the berries. They are quite sweet when ripe.

One of my fellow Hays County Master Naturalists made agarita jelly this year since the berries were so plentiful. He found a recipe on the Internet and got to work. Here's one recipe I found. He reports that picking the berries can be quite painful. He then read about a different method: spread a canvas or plastic sheet around the bush and then shake it! He was able to gather about 3 pounds an hour with this method. He collected a total of about 5 pounds of berries which resulted in 14 1/2 8-ounce jars of jelly.

I donated a framed print of "Agarita Spring" to the silent auction at the Texas Master Naturalist State Meeting which was held last month in New Braunfels. The silent auction was a great success and raised funds for the state organization. I'm glad I could help.