winter coat and sans velvet


elkoholic

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August 25th may be the earliest I have ever seen whitetail bucks sporting their winter coats and their antlers cleaned off. Usually the first week of archery season (Labor Day weekend start) one would have an excellent chance of shooting a velvet buck. This year might be different.

taken from the back deck

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the one on the right has a dark chocolate coat and had a bit of velvet hanging from the left antler

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I do wonder if the strange summer we're experiencing is having some affect on critter movement. We are currently inundated with birds of all species that we seldom see or are normally winter visitors. There are many signs that point to an early winter but it may just be that food sources are drying up or dead. We had to chase the deer out of the yard this morning as they are eating anything that is still green and unfortunately that includes the wife's flowers. The decreased amount of sunlight due to the smoke may have been a factor in early velvet shedding. The one good thing as far as hunting goes would be if the smoke continues it will affect the deer and elk's ability to detect one's scent. One thing is sure, and that is with greatly reduced food sources we will see a large winter kill if the winter turns out to be a harsh one.

a view out the office window right now

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the mountains I should be able to see

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