It reminds me of Ghosts #63

Have you ever noticed that things don’t often remain the same? Have you been so sure of something that come to find out it does not happen when you finally focus on it? Well, that is what this story is about. I don’t have an explanation for it when it happens, but “baffling” would be the word I would use when it does occur.

I begin my story several weeks back when I was hunting for partridge in the North Maine Woods. During the last two weeks in October, as I was riding the road looking for the birds, I came upon two different areas where I spotted signs of deer. As I explored more, I even spotted some at each location. The first week, TC and I came face to face with a very nice doe standing in the road as we drove in. Now, I always determined that where there are does, there are bucks. So, I marked this area on my trusty PN-60 GPS so I would be able to come back to it at a later date. As I continued on, and at a different location, I came upon four deer in the road, again, all does, and again I concluded that where there are does, there are bucks also. So, I marked this location on my GPS and continued on. The following week, I revisited both locations again. As was the week before, while driving to the first marked location on my GPS, I saw a doe on the edge of the road standing motionless. I stopped the truck and watched her for what appeared to be five minutes. She was not spooked by my presence and all the while, she would look back into the firs on the edge of the road. I was not able to see what was there, but from her actions, I surmised that she was not alone. Well, see would walk a bit, come back to the same spot, look in the woods and then paw at the ground. She did this twice and finally she walked across the road to the other side. Once she was out of view, I saw a nice young deer come out of the firs, cross the road and follow her into the woods. Then the buck came across in a flash. I did get to see the massive body and eight points he was sporting before he vanished. You can bet I kept the marking on my GPS and with deer season opening the next weekend, I was sure to visit this spot.

I then decided that I would take a ride over to spot number two and check it out. As I got there, I noticed two deer running off the road with their white flag up, but I was not able to tell if they were does or bucks. Not to worry, they were still there and I would be back next Saturday.

Well on Friday night, the night before deer season opened, I was really excited and anxious to get to the two spots where I had seen the deer. My anticipation at seeing them again was high and I really felt I was going to have early success this year. I was so excited that I was not able to sleep that night with all kinds of notions going through my head, including my running my checklist of needed equipment for the big day ahead.  I had also made a plan that I would get up quite early and be at the first spot before daylight.

Saturday morning came and I finally decided that tossing and turning was not doing me any good, so I decided to get up at 3:30am and get my gear packed in the truck. I left home around 4:45am and made it to the six mile gate in record time. Ed was tending the gate this day and we had a good conversation before I left on my way. I got to spot number one in plenty of time to get ready before the sun came up. The weather was perfect with light winds and I knew a storm was coming that evening. I have always been told that deer are very good judges of weather and can feel an oncoming storm. They often tend to move prior to a storm and I was hopeful that would be the case. It did not take me long to get set up where I felt I had the best chance to see one and as the sun started to come up, the anticipation continued to build. There was an eerie silence that morning which added to the experience. After spending two hours, I was left scratching my head as no deer appeared. I stayed for one more hour and made a decision that I would leave this area and head on over to spot number two.

As I arrived there, I did some planning as to where I would go in and how far back I would go. This area had been harvested roughly two years ago and the skidder trails were still very prevalent and that is where I would begin. Once again, the eerie silence was deafening. Before I went in, I pulled out my Topo map and compass and got my bearings. Then I made my way into the cuttings. There is something about knowing that at any moment, you might see a deer either to the right or left or even in front of you and you have to be on your guard at all times. Not to mention, that I was very careful about making as little noise as I could while walking, so I was watching every step and at the same time kept my whit’s about me in the event that big buck would pop out in front of me. Well, for some time, I walked in that area and made my way over the hill to a place that had some green growth in it. This area was full of deer tracks and I spotted one nice set that made my heart pound. I decided that I would post up and see what came my way. Well, two hours later the wind had picked up, the trees were moving back and forth and the eerie silence of the woods was getting even more eerie. I spent the rest of the day in that area, but never saw a deer. As darkness began to take over, I knew it was time to leave and head back to my truck. When I finally got out and my truck was in sight, I caught myself scratching my head and wondering what had happened. How could the sighting of two weeks in a row end up with what had just occurred. Where did they go? And why was my deduction that when a storm is eminent, they will move come up so wrong? At the end of the day, these were all valid questions, to which I had no answers. It did bring up some new questions that I contemplated on my ride home. Is it luck or is it skill? I debated it and came to this conclusion, I think it is a combination of both and on this day, I had neither in my favor. It will, however, not stop me from repeating the same ritual the next time I am able to get out, and hopefully both skill and luck will be on my side. One can only hope.