It’s been a whale of a summer here in the Southeast with crushing temperatures and humidity the last five or six weeks. The last time I got in the woods to rumble around it was just stifling, like crawling under a thick blanket in a sauna. But, such is life here and we’re used to it.
We haven’t had much rain, either, and it’s showing. Leaves on some trees are starting to turn brown and fall, yards not being watered regularly are getting dry and crunchy, and ponds are losing water to evaporation. North Alabama where I live got more than 2.25 inches Thursday when it rained steadily pretty much all night and day. Hopefully some of that will have soaked in before getting walloped again by last weekend’s temps that climbed back into the 90s.
If you haven’t created any mineral or salt licks, it’s probably still not too late to put one out. Some good info here and also here about that. Matt Harper weighs in with some more good info in this story. Be sure to check your state regulations to make sure about the use of minerals, salt or attractants. The deer on our hunting land have been hitting our lick pretty hard and it’s time for a freshener. Thankfully, the rain helped with that by keeping the soil moist.
If you’re a bowhunter, since it’s closer to the season and you may be staying out of the woods right now, consider picking up a few great tips from veteran hunter and land manager Steve Bartylla in his cool book. He’s the host of our exclusive webcast series, Grow ’em Big. His book has a ton of insight from his years of experience.
For bowhunters putting in time on the practice range or in the yard with a Block or Glendel target, be sure to watch Dan Schmidt’s super tip on the latest episode of Deer Talk Now. It could help you in the early part of the season when the leaves are still on the trees and you might have a surprise.
If you haven’t watched the video above all my rambling yet, do so because it’s a good one. Eric Hale with New Archery Products is bowhunting in Virginia and, well, you’ll just have to watch!
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