Public land | Diva in the Outdoors

December 6, 2020

Another Day of Adventure!

2020 Kansas Gun Season Day 3

We didn’t hunt this morning as we decided to shower and bask in a morning light, with a nice cup of coffee.

While we are pretty die -hard hunters, we do recognize that life needs balance. What is right for one, is not right for another. You gotta have a little bit of this, to appreciate a little bit of that. We sat around, relaxed, and visited with Mom and Ron most of the morning.

About afternoon we drove all over the county looking for the public walking ground.

Gotta keep our options open.

The scenery out here is beautiful. The rolling hills catch my eye and I am a sucker for old homesteads. They bring me a wonderment of lives past lived and the stories they hold.

The lands we were checking out didn’t pan out to our liking. Cattle were either in the field, the landscape unappealing or the razor wire fence deterring me from injury.

We headed back over to some public we had hunted on the last 2 nights. We may have found some other area but the clock stop for no one, and daylight was fading.

We parked on the side of the road and walked the edge of a green hay field. We decided to walk into the woods, we found ourselves on a shelf or isthmus type island with steep deep water ways on both sides. We were pretty high and had a look out point throughout the woods. The woods were so peaceful, except for that damn squirrel perched up in the tree was becoming quite annoying. Was it really necessary to make such noise.

The ground in the woods was dry. So, it would be easy to hear anything walking through the woods, as the leaves we dry, I would be able to hear movement.

The weather was decent as I did not even have my whole proper attire on for hunting. There was plenty of deer sign. The island we were sitting on actually had a deer tail right down the middle of it. The field we walked through had hoof prints all over it.

Well, we saw nothing tonight! The location we sat was amazing scenery, nothing like it is a home. Just the scenery itself makes the whole trip worth it.

The opportunity to hunt or harvest a deer is just a bonus.

However, I am pretty much done with this piece of public, as I feel it is over pressured all too much and I am starting to believe that possibly ghost deer live here. You could also tell the weekend was insight as more traffics had picked up and a tad bit orange could be seen.

December 4, 2020

Scouting Day!

Well we made it to Kansas to visit Mom/Ron and participate in Kansas’s Gun Deer season. Marcus says they have really BIG BUCKS here!

To get a grasp of where we are in Kansas, they are dirt roads, all over dirt roads, rolling hills and prairies, the closets gas station or town is 25 minutes away, black cattle all over in the cut corn fields, and long skinny, tall blue water towers. The roads that run east and west are names with alphabetic letters. The roads that run north and south are numbered with number. Between each road is one mile of property, basically like square grid. We are way out here in the middle of nowhere.

Jeep packed full from top to bottom. We pulled into Mom’s/Ron’s place around 8:30 pm Monday night, yes that included a stop at the Bass Pro Shop in Iowa.

It was nice to see Mom/Ron as it has been a awhile and they make me feel right at home.

Not sure if the 2 cats, Tiger and Winnie are happy we are here, maybe Winnie more than Tiger.

Tuesday morning, we were met with homemade biscuits and sausage gravy for breakfast. This is a favorite of Marcus’s.

Late morning, we went out to replenish 2 bait piles. This is something we are not accustomed to as we are not allowed to bait in Wisconsin!

We set up a blind in a new location that we have never had a blind. The birds were very active and we saw 2 robins. My dad told me once that some robins don’t migrate and stay all year long. Tuesday afternoon was nice and sunny and we found ourselves not even wearing a jacket in December!

In case you are wondering Ma/Ron own private land down here in Kansas. Mostly farm fields, but plenty of options to hunt. They also own some wooded area as well. Mostly thorough ways for deer making there way from one location to another.

Late afternoon we ran to a nearby town, Bellville. They have a little grocery store, we needed snacks for hunting and of course, why wouldn’t we stop at the liquor store!

We drove around the area looking for some public land and of course the later it got in the day the more we looked for deer.

We did see several groups of deer here and there throughout the area.

We saw a group of 50 plus turkeys in a field nearby.

On one of the old dirt roads down here, we caught a coyote laying on a side grassy hill, sunning himself. He did not scare easily, so we were able to get some pictures.

We ended the night with some pork chops and a bit of relaxation and of course a great sleep. Oh, and the pumpkin dump cake with cool whip wasn’t to bad either.

Tomorrows the big day!

December 4, 2020December 12, 2020

So close yet so far away!

Opening Morning 2020 Kansas Gun Season!

Start time is 7ish. So, getting up at 6ish aint so bad.

I had gotten up earlier during Wisconsin Gun Deer Season.

Forgot to pull my hair back, I am not a happy girl if my hair is not pulled back during hunting.

I have long hair, yes yes I do.

Plus, I found this new pullover hood thing in blaze orange that keeps me toasty, and when my hair is not pulled back , well let’s just say hair in the face and hair on my neck just don’t work for me, I don’t like the feeling!

Anyways, also forgot my Chapstick, oh my gosh yes Chapstick!

The morning was a little brisk, glad I started the jeep early as there is frost covering the windows.

The place we hunt is only a little way down the road.

The walk in not too bad, except for it was a lot colder and windier than expected.

The moon was bright and lite up the earth rather nicely for our walk in.

The chair placement in the blind was not ideal and needs a little tweaking.

It was a rather drab morning with little to no sun, the frost glistened on the ground.

I did not hear one gunshot all morning, which I thought odd for opening day.

Back home that is all you hear for the 1^st few hours opening day!

Plus, the wind was really nipping at my nose with an icy cold touch.

We had spotted a rather large buck on the far fence line, unable to get a clear ID on the big fella.

We headed in mid-morning for a rest and breakfast.

So, glad for electric start.

We decided to try some public walk in only land for this evening.

We drove up a big dirt road to get to the top of a hill.

There is no public parking so we parked off the road.

We walked in through this vast area of cedars and tall grass/weeds.

There was sign throughout the area with rubs and scrapes.

I had no idea how to navigate this area, but Marcus had a good grasp of where he was going.

Back home we don’t hunt much wooded area, so that is what he wanted to sit in and me to experience.

Well we ended up in a woods on a ravine with a very sharp drop off to a woods below.

This area was sloped so it was hard to find a flat spot to sit. I sat behind Marcus as bit.

The view was magnificent.

I am afraid of height so I don’t sit in tree stands back home.

SO, sitting up on this ravine overlooking the woods below, must be what it’s like for those who sit in tree stands.

The wind up here was blustery and cold.

The owls hooted and hollered throughout the woods.

A few birds flew here and there.

And that was all she wrote.

We saw nothing!

Heard 2 other shots in the distance all evening!

It was a nice sit, one that I won’t forget!

Oh, the shrimp, Ceasar salad, and twice baked potatoes were so yummy!

Marcus’s mother sure is a wonderful cook!

Better hunting tomorrow!

December 4, 2020December 12, 2020

Uneventful Hunt!

2020 Kansas Gun Season Day 2

Another chilly and frosty morning.

A little more prepared this morning than yesterday.

The seating arrangement this morning consisted of an old fashioned pail with a fluffy pillow to sit on.

The accommodation did work, as I was able to sit closer to the windows on flat ground and could easily see out the windows.

Sitting on a pail in your 40’s ain’t as easy as it was in my 20’s!!!!

Ahh girls gotta do what a girls gotta do

Life ain’t perfect all the time but it’s a beautiful ride.

We sat in the same blind as we did yesterday morning.

We are getting plenty of movement of trail camera, with a few potential shooters for sure.

Just a matter of time.

Cool, bland morning with the wind nipping at my cheeks.

The sun didn’t make her presence until 830am

But was not even warm enough to melt the frost off the earth

I like to say we saw nothing, but we did see some

Boone and Crocket fox squirrels😊

The coyotes were very vocal this morning as well.

The bait pile we had in the area of the blind has mostly disappeared.

So, we know there has been movement in the area.

Again, a rather dull morning, but any day in the blind is a better day than at work.

We checked out mid-morning, walking out being serenaded by the coyotes.

The coffee and thick bacon, yummy warm eggs and homemade fresh bread really hit the spot.

Ma Ma Kirchoff is amazing!

The weather tonight was nice and didn’t warrant wearing a heavy coat.

The sun was out and the car temp read 47 degrees and there was little to no wind.

Once the sun went down it got a bit chilly.

I managed to get wind burn on my face with little to no wind.

This evening hunt we headed over to public land again.

We basically sat in the same area as yesterday.

We had a few other places we wanted to try,

But one had cattle nearby so we didn’t want to hunt there for safety reason.

We also ran into 3 other trucks with blaze orange on, not sure if they were pheasant or deer hunting, so we tried to avoid them.

At the end of a dead end road there was a car parked, so we wanted to avoid that area if there was another hunter on public.

We don’t hunt public in Wisconsin. So, we are a tad bit leery hunting public in a different state. Due to the thick wooded areas, wide open fields, and the vast area that public covers, it is hard to see other hunters. The idea: NOT GET SHOT!

We walked across a large hayfield and into a woods. Past the woods there is a large open field. It’s a hidden field with woods along the edges. Pretty secluded area. I had high hopes that we might see something.

There was many signs of deer movement as we walked in the woods to the field. The way we walked in was quite a cow path created by deer. There were several scrapes on our way through the woods.

We settled in the tree line of the field in some brush.

The owls hooted and hollered again tonight. This time there was at least 4 of them. One we basically had right above our heads, it pretty cool to hear an owl that close.

The only wildlife we saw were 5 turkeys making thier way through the field from one side to the other.

I met a new friend, a small rodent of some sorts, below my chair. I could hear it skitter and scattering below my feet. It didn’t scare and I was waiting for it to climb up my leg. I shall call him Elroy and he was my new friend! Stay strong Elroy!

I am not impressed by public land right now. Impressed by the beauty, not impressed with lack the of deer.

Tomorrow we are going to check out some more public land and replenish the bait piles.

Better hunts ahead!