Give us a break from snow

When food gets scarce, does fight anything for food … even their fawns.

I spent some time outdoors today, and found myself wondering what to do. The weather is the pits, and although it wasn't snowing today, the wind was brisk.

One of the best things to come from this spate of nasty,  anowy weather that has bombarded us for the past week. Walking around outside means fighting through deep snow in a vain search for deer that are looking forsomething to eat.

There is at least 24-30 inches of snow everywgere in my neighborhood, and although deer seldom stray too far from thick cover, there is little food available to them. Most of the deer movement comes after dark but a few grouse are feeding on catkins

The snow is deep and few deer are moving during shooting time.

This weather isn't a blessing for deer. Small deer often starve to death during the winter because they are too small to move through deep snow. They become easy pickings for coyotes.

With the weather in the mid-20s during the day, the weather and lack of nutritious food doesn't offer bucks a chance to regain some weight and stamina. Pregnant does are hoping to find food to build up their fat reserves if the winter continues to be ugly, and fawns born last spring will soon be starving to death if the weather doesn't improve.

There are very few standing corn fields this year. The fall weather allowed farmers to complete their harvest, and most of the grain left behind is gone.

Hunting pressure, for the most part, has been minimal or nonexistent  the muzzleloader season is winding down. Some bow hunters are out, but we were treated to an almost daily diet of heavy snow for 10 days. Most deer aren't moving until long after dark.

Few hunters are out after deer, and fishing in streams has been poor.

I spotted a doe fawn feeding today along the edge of a field. She was working on the remnants of my neighbor's corn field, but she looked pretty pathetic. She never strayed far from heavy cover.

There doesn't seem to be many turkeys around, and they are widely scattered with the deep winter snow. I've seen some in recent weeks, and they always seem to be on the move. Gobblers, hens and poults are trying to feed as they travel, and watching them cross a field is a lesson in watching heads bob up and down. There is a lot of pecking but little food to eat.

Song birds are coming to the feeders at the house, and there is a constant parade of various birds. What I'm not seeing this winter, which is fine by me, are the large groups of mourning doves that waste more bird seed than they eat.

These birds often use the back part of my deck as a place to roost for the night, and they poop constantly. Cleaning the deck is difficult during most winters, and this year, they aren't here. Perhaps they only roost on my deck when the weather turns nice.

Fishing pressure on area rivers has about dried up, and although there still are some steelhead in some of the rivers, there doesn't seem to be much interest. Everyone is waiting for winter ice to form on area lakes, and that won't happen now for a couple of weeks providing the weather turns cold and more snow holds off.

We need a break although snowmilers and cross-country skiers are happy.

I'm willing to bet that unless we get a tremendous cold snap with no wind, it's my guess that most of the larger lakes may not form safe ice until January or February. Lakes like Big Glen, Crystal, Higgins, Houghton and others are not showing any indication that ice will form anytime soon. Deep snow still covers many lakes, and it acts like an insulating blanket.

Live bait dealers are starving because of a lack of ice, and the skiing and snowmobiling industries are happy with the snow conditions. The week between Christmas and New Years is always the busiest weekend of the year, but not so far this season.

One thing about it, I've been riding my snowblower too much so far this winter. I'm not sure this kind of weather really appeals to me.

When the deer don't move much, and no one is moving to push the deer, it makes for a long dead spell right now. Hopefully the weather will change soon.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors