I spent a few quality hours in the woods with the wife this week. Dawn and I tried to encourage our eldest to come along but she was more interested in the activities of her Grandmother, that is at least until we left, when she changed her mind and wished she’d joined us. Leaving the homestead, we headed east up a steep incline, making our way to a rather large beaver pond. The going was slow, but enjoyable. I rarely take time to stop and marvel the small wonders of the forest as my wife does. Being a photographer she frequently pauses to investigate mushrooms, slugs, and any manner of interesting woodland objects. The outing turned out to be a successful scouting endeavor when I came upon a scattering of acorns on the forest floor, amongst an intersection of two game trails. Gazing up at the leaves of the medium sized oak I could see through my Bushnell binos that many more of the scrumptious fruits would be dropping in the coming weeks and months. Cresting the mountain peak and descending into the valley concealing our destination, we came upon an area that was littered with piles of moose scat. I have ventured into this area many times and seen much sign, but have not yet encountered the elusive creature itself. Upon reaching the pond, a loud SLAP of the resident beavers tail upon the smooth surface alerted any others to our presence. As my wife found a comfortable spot and setup her photo gear, I sat admiring my favorite place on this earth, and the person I most want to enjoy it with. As we sat watching half a dozen waxwings swoop between the dead trees rising from the middle of the pond, the beaver eventually returned to the surface and swam near us on the shore, allowing Dawn to snap some pics. The fat creature moved slickly through the water, coming close and then whirling, swimming out of view, and returning for further investigation of the humans entering its domain It was nearing dinnertime, not just for us and the kids, but also for the skeeters. As we rose to leave, the undeniable “yip-yip” of a coyote pup came from beyond a row of softwoods on the parallel side of the pond. We remained a while in hopes of catching a glimpse, but no such luck. To end our hike we headed home on an old skid road, passing a fallen oak with a wooden stand still nailed to its trunk. Further on we spooked a couple whitetails not far from home.

Tags: Hunting Hiking Wife Beaver Scouting