Summer means working on fall hunting stands.

If it’s a nice buck you want this fall, now is the time to finish up odd jobs.

Opening days, and last days, are a continuing part of the cycle that is bow hunting for active hunters. We no more than finished the 2010 hunting season, and am now looking forward to the Oct. 1, 2011 archery opener nearly three months away.

There never seems to be enough time to get everything done that we need before the next season opens. This past year was spent building or refurbishing new hunting coops and placing new tree stands.

These new coops are almost completely air-tight until a shooting window is opened. The stands have a solid floor underfoot, and can be a bit noisy but I've carpeted the floors and walls to muffle any  possible sound.

One or two more stands will probably be added this year.

I suspect we will build two or three more coops, and that will make a big difference because it will enable me to put stands in a few places where they are needed but where no stands currently exist. Each year we find two or three key locations where deer move but where there are no elevated or ground blinds available.

Chief among my duties this year has been building a new and different food plot. It’s time to move some of our plantings away from the road.

We've got to solve another issue. The north end of my property produced very few deer this past season. It's almost as if the animals moved away from that end. At this point, I can see no conceivable reason why there weren't as many deer there, but hunting success at that end was very low last year.

I suspect many of the deer moved south and west because it seemed as if there were more deer in that area than before. Further studies need to be done to determine how many animals are living in the northern part of the ranch.

I walked a dirt trail today after last night’s rain. There were a number of fresh doe and fawn tracks in the mud, and one was an unidentifiable deer track. It was a big foot-print.

Several existing blinds need some work, and hopefully we'll be able to get this job done by August 1. New coops can be placed anytime before the season opens, and they are much nicer than some of the original ground blinds.

I do have a couple of spots set aside just for a tent blind.

Fixing other trails is always necessary to keep the undergrowth down, and it is a time-consuming project. Adding gravel to bad spots helps keep them from developing major ruts, but when the rain is as extensive as it has been so far this year, it is doubtful whether adding more gravel will help. The ground holds too much water, and it doesn't drain well. The result is rutted and sometimes impassable trails except with a four-wheeler, and we’ve had a few bog down.

There is a great deal of hard work required to make stands safe, and locating them in the right locations for a shot. In fact, I keep a list of things to do in my head, and rarely are there free days when there is nothing to be done.

Having food plots and hunting blinds and stands seems to be a never-ending rodeo of work nine months of the year, and only three months of play. But, man, do I enjoy those 90 days.

Title: Summer means working on fall hunting stands.

Tags: ((Dave, Richey, Michigan, outdoors, fixing, blinds, stands, repairing, washed-out, roads, mowing, planting, tilling))

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