On Saturday the boys and I made a quick trip to camp. The boys walked the trail route north of the cabin with a couple of shot guns while I went south with the tractor and fixed up the camp access trail with the 3 point box blade. I finished that up and we dropped the box blade and mounted the bush hog mower. I mowed the trail loop north of the cabin for the first time this year and we cut many storm damage trees that have gone down over the past couple of years. It's limbed, cut to firewood length but still laying up north of the cabin so next time out we'll have to haul it down to the cabin.
After covering myself in chain saw shavings, ants, bark, dirt etc.. I finished the trail loop which took me past Dusty's deer hunting stand.
Boy I miss that guy.
Coming by that stand with the seasonal task of trail maintenance, usually followed by other seasonal activities that lead up to hunting... Such as mineral and salt blocks being placed where he would want them, strapping his camera to a tree to capture all the critters that visit his hunting spot, trimming of branches etc.
Well it was another reminder, we're moving closer to deer season and it will be our first season without Dusty. It's going to be difficult.
I saw no reason to simply abandon efforts for that stand. Quite the opposite actually. I thought about Missy and Kenna, or who ever may choose to occupy the Dusty stand this fall. No sense in just stopping our annual improvement efforts. Each year I try to do something to improve each hunting spot we have. I thought about the Dusty stand location and how all the traffic (deer) comes from the dark spruce timber to the NW of the stand. I decided to cut a new trail through that dark and sheltered deer route. Offer the deer a clean and quiet route leading out towards Dusty's stand. This will also be a good grouse hunting path.
