I was walking down the path when I looked up and thought I saw a big great dane. Took this picture as quickly as I could. A biker went around me and didn't see the deer, nearly ran into it before he saw it. Then the deer ran off to the right into the woods. I walked to where it went in to the woods and out came a guy with his golden retriever. They didn't seem to have seen it.
From there I went up on top of the railroad tracks and waited for a minute or two and here comes the deer up on the tracks and going the opposite direction from me. It stopped a few times and then went into the woods on the opposite side from where it came.
I went down that side of the tracks. Went down a trail and stopped and waited for about 5-8 minutes. Then she came out and stopped and looked right at me for a minute or two. She turned and trotted off with her flag up and back home we went.
Here is the other picture I was thinking about using. I like the first picture more, even if the quality isn't so great. I like that it's not a wooded scene and you can see Minneapolis in the background.
Then here is a little bit from my dream last night.
Last night I dreamt that I was deer hunting( coincidence? ) in a large field full of bright autumn colors. It almost reminded me of something you might see in the Wizard of Oz. The field was lined with large trees with autumn leaves. They looked like a wall along the edge of the field.
I was in a smaller tree just inside the field. Waiting there for a deer to come along. Suddenly my guns stock fell to the ground and turned to the size of something you might find on a keychain. I remember specifically thinking that it was part of a keychain.
I got out of the tree and was trying to find the gun stock in the leaves and grass below it. I was having a hard time finding it when an elderly lady came walking down a black path in the middle of the field. She stopped and pointed out to me where the stock was located.
After finding the stock we walked down the black path into what I can only describe as some sort of hospital on the edge of the field. That's the last I remember from the dream.
This might be my longest post ever.
Bye.
17 comments:
wow. brilliant photo of the day.
just think, if you woulda stopped at one year, you might not have taken your camera, and you would have missed this.
i like both photos, but agree that the first is more unusual and surreal. this ranks up there as one of the top 10 for me.
i also like hearing your dream, which somehow predicted the future.
Thank you Billy.
Yeah, it's possible I might not have taken this picture. But right now grabbing my camera is like somebody else grabbing their wallet when they leave the house.
I'm pretty sure nobody would have seen the picture though. So it would've been like I didn't take it in the first place.
awesome! my favorite of the two is the one where she's peaking out. the dream means you should end your hunting career and become friends with all animals, haha... i'm totally serious. if you keep shooting them they will never let you take good pictures!
haha, Well I haven't got anything hunting for a long time now. I've sort of decided that I wouldn't take a shot at anything unless it was huge. Even then, who knows.
because big deer dont feel pain.
nor do big deer have cute deer families that love them.
so its okay.
lol at billy's comment...
poor big daddy deer.
I guess little Bambi doesn't need a dad after all.... but when Bambi grows up to be a doe beater you better know it's all your fault!
First, Don't preach to me. For me personally, it only angers me and makes it less likely I would do anything you suggest. Just because you went vegetarian doesn't give you the right to tell me how I should feel or what I should do.
Second, Bucks don't stay with the females and the young. They go off on their own. They must be terrible fathers. They go around sleeping with a new doe each year and leaving the young without a father figure.
Third, over the years I have passed on many deer. I have even gone to the point where I try to scare them away so another hunter doesn't come along and find them.
But it's okay, try to push your beliefs on me.
i do apologize for the post, as its intentions were simply to point out the absurdity that the size of the deer make much difference whether to shoot it.
i was not trying to push my views; i was simply expressing them, and probably a bit rudely at that.
i do know you are a compassionate person, and do often shoe deer away from other hunters. and that i commend you for.
I should have been more clear when I said I would only shoot a huge deer. For the past few years I've decided that I wouldn't shoot a doe, young buck or any young deer. That only leaves large bucks.
The only other option is to not hunt. As absurd and cruel as it sounds, I enjoy hunting. I couldn't even explain it to you.
I'm not sure if that is any more clear or makes it sound even more absurd.
If for whatever reason I couldn't hunt or I stopped hunting from this day on, I would be okay with that.
The only reason I responded the way I did was because of that last sentence of your post. The "so its okay" part. The way it read to me was very condescending. Without that last bit I would have honestly just ignored the post.
One more thing. I have been deer hunting with my Dad since I was around 13 or so. During that time I have only seen 3 deer I would consider huge and two of those bucks I saw at the same time.
So it's very unlikely I will see a huge deer and even get a shot off.
Too long of post for me too reply to it all but fucking sweet picture. The nature meets the city is one of my favorites too. Good work Kris...and good work stalking the deer. By the way that is right behind my house...i went roller blading there just the other day..i didnt hit a deer though.
i've had good conversations with people who hunt, who have argued very strongly for hunting, and made decent points.
i can make a list of things that would appeal to me about hunting. including family bonding, nature, a change of pace from daily life, adventure, etc. Therefore, i do not think anyone that hunts is crazy, or a bad person. I just happen to disagree about killing animals, without needing to (for food or personal safety).
I'm very open to having a discussion about why people hunt, and what appeals a person to it. I personally invite your responses, because even though we disagree its nice to understand where we are coming from. And find a spot where we can agree to disagree.
Great photos!
I grew up, lived in Twin Cities for many yrs and never once saw a deer within any city or suburb limits. I wonder if they've always been that close or are losing their fear of humans? Any thoughts?
I live in MT so I'm used to seeing them every time I'm on a hwy, but they started moving into our town 5 yrs ago. A lot of hunters have given up deer and go for elk now, maybe that's why.
They seem to be getting even bolder. Saw a large doe mule deer in the middle of town yesterday, in a yard eating weeds. She didn't even flinch when she saw us. They usually run away, so I thought it was odd.
Thanks Alicia on the nice comment.
I don't see deer too often around here. Though there are an awful lot at the St. Louis Park Nature Center if I recall correctly. The only other deer I can remember seeing in SLP, other than by the Nature Center, was a deer running right down the street in front of our house. There is even less woods nearby then the one I took a photo of above. Not sure where they're coming from.
I don't really want to get in to a debate. I'm not much of a debater. But I'll make some points and you can respond if you would like. Hopefully they're clear. I have trouble getting my point across sometimes. Probably why I'm not a debater, haha.
Plus I think I know how you feel Billy. I think it's great you feel that way too, seriously. Tons of respect for you and Kelsey for the way you're living your lives based on your beliefs. It's great.
The way you feel, is partly the reason I choose to hunt the way I hunt. It is rather sad some times and I do feel bad at times. Which might make me a bit of a hypocrite.
I'm closer to the middle on hunting than most hunters I would say. I can see both points of view clearly. I walk along the fence of enjoying and understanding hunting and thinking it's brutal and unnecessary.
At the same time I still enjoy it. Like many of the points you made, like bonding with family. Specifically my Dad and before he passed away my Grandpa. It's a lot of fun being up at deer camp. Most of the time. If my Dad were to quit hunting, I most likely would as well.
Nature. Being in nature is wonderful. When I hunt I don't sit in a stand all day waiting for deer. I go walk around with my Dad. Just like the geocaching during camping. That's pretty much what we do, except we try to be quiet and walk through areas with more trees. Sometimes we'll split up and go sit down somewhere while the other walks through the woods. We see a lot of deer this way. But we also scare a lot of deer before we see them. It's still fun.
It can easily be said, instead of hunting why don't we just go out in the woods and walk for fun? Possibly bring a camera and take that kind of shot instead.
I would love to go out and take photographs of deer. Problem is you would need to invest in a lot of quality camera gear. Thousands of dollars worth. Not possible right now.
As for just going out and walking the woods. It wouldn't be the same. You would be less likely to walk in the woods and more likely walk roads and trails. Though there isn't any hiking trails where we hunt. Snowmobile trails and dirt roads.
It is like an adventure walking through the woods. You get to see all sorts of different wildlife and scenery. You also can get lost, which is kind of fun as long as it's not close to dark and have a rough idea where you are located. It's also exciting to see deer. Even if it's not one you're going to shoot. Your adrenaline starts to pump. Even more so when they're large deer. Plus the stories are always fun. Coming back to camp after a long day and everyone telling what they saw that day. It's great.
For me it wouldn't be the same if I were sitting in a deer stand all day. I give the people who do that credit though. It gets so damn cold sitting in those things. I can't do it.
...I have to make this two post. It's too long for blogger apparently.
There is also something Alicia hit on, population control. It sounds pretty bad, but in some areas it's probably a necessity now. It doesn't qualify for where I hunt. I hunt in a area that is mainly woods and large clearings. No cities around and not many people. Though certain years they do try to control the population with more deer tags.
But farming areas, where the deer grow big and there are many of them, I'm sure it's a problem. They actually give more licenses out per person to people who hunt in those areas because there are so many deer. It helps reduce car accidents, deer eating some of the crops(why they're so big and so many) and deer, like Alicia said, coming into the cities and losing their fear of people.
It can be said it's our own fault for moving in on their territory. But it's happened and it's not going to go back to the way it was a hundred years ago. So in those areas, do they have population control or do they risk it? They have even had population control here at the SLP nature center.
One last thing. I think hunting is more fair to deer than raising a cow, chicken, pig, whatever, to be slaughtered. At least deer have a chance.
Okay, I rambled too much and I'm pretty sure I didn't even make a point. But there it is.
great to hear your thoughts kris.
your last point, about raising animals for slaughter does hit a cord with me, as that was the reason I can not eat meat anymore.
meat is a luxury, that we have taken advantage of, in my opinion. When we have far more vegetables, fruits and grains to feed the world.
Yeah I agree. We probably do eat much more meat than we need to. Myself included, I eat chicken mostly I would say. I should try to find substitutes or ways to leave it out of certain meals I like. I doubt I will ever stop eating meat forever, but I could eat a lot less of it.
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