Dad, Hubby and I set off to see if we could find some sheds.  Dad has found them before but I really wanted to see what sort of bucks lived through the season.  On Saturday, with a light snow falling, we took to the woods.

A very active deer trail

Dad had been out doing some cutting and had found a rib cage (sorry that I forgot to take a photo of that!) but he was not sure if it was a coyote or a fawn.  He also found a strip of hide.

Frozen deer hide

We headed towards my tree seat to hop on some deer trails in search of sheds but also, to check out the improved shooting lanes that Dad cut for me.  I have already been told that I will be spending a lot of time in my tree seat next fall, so Dad wanted to make sure that I would be able to see any deer within shooting range from where I sit.  No more messing with large, thick evergreen coverings.

Cleaner and longer shooting lanes ready for the fall

 We walked along the shooting lanes and it was as though we had entered the bathroom of the entire deer herd! Everywhere we stepped we saw had well known little black pellets, yellow snow or deer beds.  Lots and lots of deer beds.

Two deer beds

We crossed the stream into some thicker woods and stayed on the deer trails as best we could.  The snow had added a layer to the crust that we tried to stay on top of.  Every once in a while, one of us would catch a patch of ice or crunch through the crust.  It made for some cautious trackers.

Crossing the frozen stream.

 What I was happy and not happy to see, were the rubs all over the place.  They were from the fall, but it was nice to know that the bucks we were seeing on the trail cameras were staying pretty close to where my seat is.  Frustrating that I never saw one when I was sitting in the tree with my gun, but  nice to know that they are staying so close.

We continued to look for sheds but never found any.  It was nice to be back in the woods though and nice to start thinking ahead to the fall and our hunting plan.  There are so many deer around us that I hope this fall, at least two of us will fill our tags. 

The fresh air, snow and plentiful deer sign made us all very happy to be back in the woods!