Day 10 Hunt

Hurricane Sandy is doing a number on the eastern US.  Georgia had winds in excess of 40 mph today with sustained winds of 32 mph for most the day.  Regardless, I decided today was a day to be in the woods.  With those winds, advantage deer.  I walked 3/4 of a mile down the trail before cutting into the woods.  Hearing anything move was impossible.  Arriving to the spot I wanted to hunt about 2 hours before dark, I got situated next to a large tree.  The wind was howling and down in the valley and old tree fell.  Small limbs were constantly hitting the ground along with leaves and acorns.  Eyes were the only source today.  With 45 minutes left, I realized that I should move into an area that was a little more wind protected.  I moved 200 yards south into a pine thicket.  The wind finally let up some at sunset.  An outdoor tip to remember – even on the windiest of days, the wind normally lays down some at sunset.  You probably have 45 minutes of lighter wind before it picks back up after dark.  Squirrels began to scurry around when the wind calmed down.  One squirrel came 3 yards of me and  I started to get nervous he was going to climb me like a tree, but he finally opted to go the opposite direction.  The area was covered in squirrels for about 20 minutes before they headed to bed for the night.  Darkness arrived quickly, but light came back shortly after under the full moon rising.  On the walk out, the wind picked back up and is forecasted to stay this way for the next 36 hours.  Better days are ahead…