Buggin' out

Part of the joy of deer hunting is just sitting and watching nature.

Over the years I've watched red tail hawks sit in the tree above me. Wild turkeys have flown in just a bit before dusk, sounding like the whole forest was crashing down. Lizards have leapt across the blind to nab a spider descending on a thread. And OH! the spiders. Catch 'em by the thread and let 'em go outside. Frogs climb around looking for lunch and trying to avoid being lunch.

Coons, bobcats and foxes have all walked past and under me.  Cardinals have toted off my corn, assisted by rats, mice, dove and various other birds. Mostly cardinals. Plenty of deer too.

Armadillos have come out and met doom. (Yes, we hates them we does my precious, we hates them. Kill all the dammits!)

I'm certain a lot of these critters have looked into the stand wondering what was making such an awful racket. Falling asleep in a deer stand is not a problem. It's a privilege.

Today, a first.

Today, a tiny wasp (well, wasp-shaped) zoomed in one window of the blind and out another. Repeatedly. Dozens of times.

It regularly flew up to me, then zoomed up and down, checking me out. I am not kidding. In one window. Up to me and a zoom from shoulder to foot.

"Hey! Ya big lummox, yer in my chair. Get outta here. I'm giving you to the count of buzz  to leave," he said.

(Me anthropomorphisizing? Were you there listening to this wasp? Didn't think so.)

Then he zoomed out. A few minutes later, he was back. In & out. Finally, he perched on the one of the blind windows.

Using his best Georgia State Trooper voice, he cocked a couple of hundred eyes back and me and said "Aaight. I'm lettin' you go this time, boy. But you better not let me catch you back in my chair." And he disappeared.

I outweighed this tiny insect about a squintillion to one. And this thing was threatening me because I was in his chair.

This is one reason why I so enjoy deer hunting.

Here's another reason. About 5:45 a yearling walked out and accepted my 50 cal. 295 grain invitation to come home with me. Took longer to clean my smokepole than it did to clean the deer.