Those words have stuck with me since my weekends in the mid 70's as an apprentice farrier, I was very pleased with the set of pony shoes I was left to copy but the steel has a bias so they were inside out!
Steve came back checked them, not bad for a first attempt Tim as he lobbed them in the bin saying "you always learn something"
Last night was no different watching over this very poorly drilled SFI mix from a seat I put up a few weeks ago, surrounding farms have standing beans with fallow heads popping up and down as they drifted across bodies hidden in the tall crop, small group much like these (all does) with 3 youngster's racing around enjoying life unaware of the danger in the tree!
My plan was to bail out 1/2 an hour before deer o'clock and check out the top fields to get a gauge for next time, as I walked to the pond there were a few spots where deer had been couched up! Fallow in the distance moving my way but they will never get to me before time runs out, wind was good but the dry scrub was like coco pops on steroids! One more sweep with the thermal " that wasn't there a minute ago Tim" He must have been couched up, scope says it's a buck so under the chin went the round.
Now back to what Steve said! I marked a good line then I came to the ditch and had to move left a few yards to get around the thick scrub, back right but it is never quite the same so it took a couple more mins to find him.
I carry a "fifth stick" length of dog rose which is a good help up and down ditches, 250 yds back to the truck but to mark the spot so for next time there will be a piece of reflective strip in my pocket to tie around the fifth stick, last night it was the orange mora knife guiding me back
33ish kg on my scales last night.
So I did learn something else.
![20250802_215011[1].webp](https://www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk/data/attachments/384/384283-711023c1c8dfa926d3aa03903f0abc91.jpg?hash=mMqVh3F1_o "20250802_215011[1].webp")
![20250802_222417[1].webp](https://www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk/data/attachments/384/384284-841415670cc6928328c5f7a809c3e4e5.jpg?hash=er1pZSEJEg "20250802_222417[1].webp")
The mornings can wait until November
![20250803055403[2].webp](https://www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk/data/attachments/384/384285-72a9c4dea44a4c1d6a71e9fb394c1632.jpg?hash=32yyow7QJf "20250803055403[2].webp")
Steve came back checked them, not bad for a first attempt Tim as he lobbed them in the bin saying "you always learn something"
Last night was no different watching over this very poorly drilled SFI mix from a seat I put up a few weeks ago, surrounding farms have standing beans with fallow heads popping up and down as they drifted across bodies hidden in the tall crop, small group much like these (all does) with 3 youngster's racing around enjoying life unaware of the danger in the tree!
My plan was to bail out 1/2 an hour before deer o'clock and check out the top fields to get a gauge for next time, as I walked to the pond there were a few spots where deer had been couched up! Fallow in the distance moving my way but they will never get to me before time runs out, wind was good but the dry scrub was like coco pops on steroids! One more sweep with the thermal " that wasn't there a minute ago Tim" He must have been couched up, scope says it's a buck so under the chin went the round.
Now back to what Steve said! I marked a good line then I came to the ditch and had to move left a few yards to get around the thick scrub, back right but it is never quite the same so it took a couple more mins to find him.
I carry a "fifth stick" length of dog rose which is a good help up and down ditches, 250 yds back to the truck but to mark the spot so for next time there will be a piece of reflective strip in my pocket to tie around the fifth stick, last night it was the orange mora knife guiding me back
33ish kg on my scales last night.
So I did learn something else.
The mornings can wait until November
