Wind at a stand still with the air temp at minus 11.5 degrees at 9:14 PM this date. Sure wouldn't want to be a brass monkey right about now!!!

That rutmas tree has not grown a bit in the 12 years I have lived here just barely holding on.I watch it close every Oct when bucks start coming in my yard at night to rub it I know its time to hunt.
Looking forward to doing some hunting this week the deep freeze is over ...WCW

I planted three 5 ft apple trees this past fall and I placed flexible corrugated drain pipe around the trunks to keep them from getting hammered.

I see small evergreens growing on the edges of several fields I walk and every one of them look like your rutmas tree. Maybe I should forget dressing like an oak tree and start dressing like a Christmas tree???

Weather looking mighty good for the last week of deer hunting. Weather dude says my area can see 1 to 3 inches of new fallen snow by Tuesday morn. That'll be fantastic for some still hunting, before the rains arrive Thursday bringing tree sitting, feet swinging temperatures in the 50s, then back to the thirty's to finish out another great year hunting the Pennsylvania Wilds.

Lets hope the deer like the weather too and get up n roaming a lil...WCW

In this cold look at the southeast edges of heavy cover earlier in the PM for feeding  deer.
They are not moving much and generally grouped up a bit now.
S/E sunny edges of evergreens or thick browse are a great sit.
You will know the spot by the heavy sign. They are hitting the same spots over and over close to bedding every day during this weather.
Good luck to any braving this weather.

Heavy sign like this...turnip plot didn't do great this year but still seeing lots of use this pic was Tuesday I think...WCW

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Be careful of whats night sign out in the open and day browsing on the edges.
That looks to be best of both.
Any real well used food source now is a hit.

Ended up taking a doe Wednesday evening in the last bit of daylight.
Not one of the big ones I have been seeing but she will put some venison in the freezer.
Went out yesterday with bow to check trail cams took a grunt tube with me made some noise but nothing happened.
Only buck on cam last few weeks was a spike buck but I did get a cool video of a mink crawling around in the snow.
I guese I will have a buck tag to eat again this year...WCW

       
 
                                              NOW THEY TELL ME
 
 
 
 
                                        How to read deer tracks in the snow 
By Keith McCafferty | Field & Stream
 


                         
Deer tracks can tell you more than just what direction your whitetail ran off to.  (iStock)




Face it. Just about all your deer hunting’s been sit-and-wait. Doesn’t matter if you sit in a tree or in a ground blind, the routine is the same: Pattern the deer, place your stand, set your alarm, harvest your buck. And that’s fine, but haven’t you always wanted to track a buck in the snow like those big-woods hunters in Maine and Montana?
 




Here, you’ll need a new set of skills, and now is a good time to perfect them. You don’t need your rifle, at least not to start — just your persistence.



Here are some clues to help you dissect a deer track.
                                    
The size, age, and distinct markings of a deer track can help lead a hunter in the right direction.  (Illustration courtesy of Mike Sudal/Field & Stream)



#1. Find what look to be fresh deer tracks. Beside them, make a palm print in the snow, then press its edges. Now, press the edges and midline of the hoof print. If the track is hot, the snow will give way just as easily.
 
#2. Debris inside the hoof print, such as springtail snow fleas or windblown snow, is a sign of an older track.
#3. Look for traits in the print, such as a longer toe or a chipped hoof, to help you stay on the tracks of a specific deer
#4. The width of the dewclaw impressions can tell you more about the size of the deer than the length of the toes. If their outer edges measure 3 inches or more, that’s a deer worth following.
 
 
 
 
No wonder I ain't shootin no stupid deer,  I ain't been checking for "spring tail snow fleas".... stupid me!!

workcanwait....
Ended up taking a doe Wednesday evening in the last bit of daylight.
Not one of the big ones I have been seeing but she will put some venison in the freezer.
Went out yesterday with bow to check trail cams took a grunt tube with me made some noise but nothing happened.
Only buck on cam last few weeks was a spike buck but I did get a cool video of a mink crawling around in the snow.
I guese I will have a buck tag to eat again this year...WCW

Congratulations WCW.