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Site Discussions

Grant Taylor
Oct 21, 2013

Dave, Beautiful piece!  I appreciated reading this immensely this morning, and I’m feeling (and sharing) the pain of our mutual friend.

There’s not much that even a good friend can say to take away the sort of pain, sadness, and frustration that losing a deer can bring.

Bowhunting is never a sure thing.  There are complications that can arise as swiftly and silently as the deer itself.  These things are just plain part of the deal.  The best that we can do is learn from each experience and move forward to the next opportunity.

Shake it off and get your tail back out in the woods, Hiya!  There will be another chance - a time for redemption.

Be well, and good luck during the rest of your season!

 

 

From "And Then He's a Hunter" »

phil thompson
Oct 21, 2013

I’d like to make handles for my tools,hammer,axes and a custom handle for hatches. Thank you for any help you might have. Phil

From "Make Your Own Axe Handle" »

Daniel Little
Oct 21, 2013

Dave - Great story,sad story. Some of us have been there. Should be required reading for all hunters new or old. Tell Hiya the sadness will eventually fade.

From "And Then He's a Hunter" »

Carolyn
Oct 20, 2013

I don’t hunt and don’t want to. But I know something about the feeling of the lost-deer aftershock . . . from hitting one with a car. We didn’t know for sure what the impact had done. We couldn’t find it. We still wonder, vacillating between damn-the-deer—it ran RIGHT IN FRONT OF US, leaping off a bank from above-car height, there was absolutely nothing we could do—to OMG, we hurt it, did we hurt enough to kill it mercifully or is it out there suffering a hideous death, or was it just a glancing blow and it’s fine and the shock was all on us?

We’ll never know, just like Hiya.

From "And Then He's a Hunter" »

stephen philbrick
Oct 19, 2013

Dear Dave,

Thank you for telling the hard truth.
Sometimes the best stories don’t have an end, but a deepening. They always make us feel included and I, neither hunter, nor an opponent of hunters, was included in the pain and the mystery.

Steve

From "And Then He's a Hunter" »

dave
Oct 18, 2013

To the Stewarts: the Vigilant 1977 is a fine stove, and yes, assuming it’s in good operating condition, it’s perfectly safe to install and use. The EPA approval relates to emissions—that stove won’t burn as cleanly as a newer stove. But as long as you burn good, dry hardwood, you’ll be fine on that front, too. My girlfriend has a Vigilant for her primary heat and she loves it.

From "Your Thoughts on Woodstoves" »

Robert Mancuso
Oct 18, 2013

That you tried to find the deer is what matters, having been in the same situation with friends and not finding the deer does bother me, but not half as bad as people I know who, after a few minutes,  give up and don’t bother. And to think he kept going at 71 -  good for him, a great example of a real hunter.

From "And Then He's a Hunter" »

karen jackson
Oct 18, 2013

Could have been a she.  I shot a rabbit when I was hunting with my dad when I was 12, that was 55 years ago.  There was blood.  I’m glad to have had the experience, but don’t need to do it again.

From "And Then He's a Hunter" »

ed
Oct 18, 2013

Dave,
Yes, the story is blunt and unvarnished, but it is also well told. Thanks.
Ed

From "And Then He's a Hunter" »

Madeline Bodin
Oct 18, 2013

This is sad and beautiful. Like the column you wrote about taking a young friend fishing for the first time, I have to say thank you for writing such a powerful, honest piece.

From "And Then He's a Hunter" »

Vasilios Asimakos
Oct 16, 2013

Wouldn’t it take the same amount of time to get back up north as it does to get down south?  Can we determine when they leave their wintering grounds that way?

From "Feathered Whirlwinds Heading South" »

Vasilios Asimakos
Oct 16, 2013

Our environment with or without our human filter is fascinating.  Do other insects lack lungs as well?  What other kinds of natural scuba divers are there?

From "Beetles and Bubbles, Above and Below" »

The Stewarts
Oct 16, 2013

We just purchased a used vc vigilant 1977 stove with glass doors, someone informed us its not epa approved! We were so excited to install it, is it going to be unsafe? Thanks.

From "Your Thoughts on Woodstoves" »

Raye Duke
Oct 13, 2013

This was truly a article, I ran across it by accident, I was searching for The Sugar Hill Craftsmen of Lisbon, N.H., in the process I couldn’t help but read and enjoy the workmanship it takes to make a simple windsor-chair, thanks for the information.

 

From "Rake and Splay: How I Learned to Make a Windsor Chair" »

Betty Waidlich
Oct 10, 2013

From my grandfather I inherited what was said to be a maul. It has a four inch wooden handle,  and is attached to a heavy piece of wood that is about six inches in width and is circular - about six inches across the base.  I’ve been wondering what it was used for - and you can see that it was used in a fairly brutal fashion. It is well worn, and looks as tho’ it had been used to hit something or to pound with. Any answers?

From "Maul vs. Axe" »

JIm Andrews
Oct 10, 2013

In response to John’s question, all our (north eastern) snakes can swim and are sometimes seen in water, but watersnakes are master swimmers that can dive, hide under submerged rocks, chase fish underwater, or swim with only their heads out. The size and coloring of the snake would help to determine the species.  A large adult watersnake could be 3-4 feet long and as large around as your wrist.

In response to Joe, I have never had that experience, but watersnakes are very curious.  I have had them come right up to me to see if I was food.  Once they checked me out they left.

From "Have You Seen This Snake?" »

Henry Homeyer
Oct 10, 2013

Hi Michael, Would you be willing to be interviewed by me for my weekly gardening column? I’m in several Vermont papers including the Herald, Times-Argus, Reformer and Caledonian-Record. I am keenly interested in knowing more about root growth, particularly in the fall.

Would you please send me your phone number and a good time for me to call? I’m at 603-543-1307, but am often not there.

Thanks, Henry

From "What Do Tree Roots Do in Winter?" »

diana.louise.wakefield
Oct 10, 2013

It is raining and windy here this morning, October 10th, and while looking out the window at my poplar, maple and pecan, I noticed that the pecan still looks like it’s spring with full healthy green leaves blowing beautifully in the wind, but my poplar and maples are turning colors and have dropped leaves.  Marcescence, trees that retain their leaves long after others have dropped, could be a marker left to us by God in certain trees that provide fall and winter food to people and the animal kingdom, in addition to the other reasons you have enumerated.

From "Why Do Some Leaves Persist On Beech and Oak Trees Well Into Winter?" »

Glenda
Oct 08, 2013

I have a question. Near my house is a small tree trunk, approx. 12 inches high and 8 inches in diameter. It is covered with a white spreading growth that looks like vanilla frosting. I have never ever seen this before. Does anyone know what it might be? It is beautiful.

From "What Causes Those White Splotches on Tree Bark? Are They Bad For The Tree?" »

Brandon Hanson
Oct 08, 2013

I have an unbelievable amount of Praying Mantis around my house! I have been watching them through out the year from the time they were nymphs to grown adults.

I have at least 2 different species, the European and I believe the Carolina mantids. At any given time you can root around the perimeter of my house and find at least 2-6 crawling about. This past weekend I had the pleasure of watching a female lay her egg sac in one of my bushes.

It always takes me an extra hour or so to mow the lawn, because I am always looking out for Mantids and the box turtles that call my yard home.

From "The Truth About Praying Mantises" »