I’m about to head out for vacation, but I thought I’d slip in a quick post first. My Blackberry finally died yesterday at work. A few days ago a couple of the keys on the keyboard quit working. I was living with that okay but I knew it was just a matter of time before it got worse. Well, luckily it died yesterday before I left for vacation. The entire keyboard shut down, making in more or less useless.

I got the new Blackberry Tour, which I think is going to be a pretty good phone. Most importantly, it will be great to text from during the season. How cool is it that we can all keep in touch while we’re on stand. It’s like instant hunting stories in real time. Not only do I text with other guys around the property, I keep up with my buddies on stand all around the area. It’s a great way to pass the time on slow days, that’s for sure. You know, it almost makes me wonder how we ever survived without it!

I hope to be able to post something while on vacation. It’s our first anniversary on Sunday already. I have to say, for someone who loves to hunt and keep the busy schedule I do, I couldn’t have a more perfect person to put up with me. Those of you who know Angela know that I’m spoiled. Please don’t tell her though or she just may realize how far she married down!

Nice 8-point captured by my new Wildgame Innovations I4 camera. It won't be long before the velvet is shed and you can get a real feel for how big the bucks are.

Alright, I admit I’ve been more than lax about keeping the blog updated lately. Well, I have a ton of reasons ranging from baseball to laziness, but ultimately it doesn’t matter because at least for today, I’m back on line. I don’t have a specific topic to cover today, just a few thoughts going through my mind has we inch closer and closer to archery season.

I want to mention a trail camera that is impressing me at the moment in case you need one at the last minute. It’s the I4 from Wildgame Innovations. I picked one up at Gander Mountain a few weeks ago because I had a mountain of coupons and it was the quickest way to replace one of my cameras that was about to die. After about 30 minutes of back and forth, I picked the I4 and got it into the woods. Immediately I was impressed with it’s price (just over $100) for an infrared camera, as well as it’s ease of use. Everything is right inside the front door and easy to get to, and there are just a few buttons to deal with when setting it up. Most importantly, I was amazed at the trigger speed. We’re talking 1.25 to 1.5 seconds, which is great for a camera at that price. Photo quality isn’t tremendous, but it’s good enough to see what you have to see. The above photo was taken by the camera so judge for yourself. I also love the size and weight of the unit. Very light and pretty small. I did notice it only takes about three to four weeks to burn through four C batteries, but that could be said about most cameras on the market.

I finally got around to putting up a stand on Sunday. It was a pretty easy chore since I’ve used this particular tree on many occasions. It’s one of my favorite spots on the property, probably because I’ve had so much success there. I call the area “The Knob” as it’s at the highest point on the east side of the property. I usually place a stand in this area about every other year, and this is one of those years. Aside from the success I’ve had, I think one of the reasons I like this particular tree is because it’s so comfortable. It’s a red maple that has just enough branches to conceal me, and is just broad enough to provide a comfortable back rest. I just like hunting there, even if I don’t see much.

I just got back from the first leg of my QDMA Deer Steward certification training, which was held at The Grigsby in Talulla, Illinois. I probably should do a full post on the trip, but for now I’ll just say it’s 13,000 acres of contiguous deer hunting heaven. You can see corn and soybeans for miles, and the lodges (yeah, there are two of them now and another one being built) are top-notch. The training was excellent as well. As much as I thought I knew about Quality Deer Management, I certainly added to my mental library. It was cool to spend the weekend with some of the top deer people in the world. The second part is coming up in a week or so in Erie, PA. I expect nothing but great things once again.

Trail camera photos have been pretty good. I’d say I have photos of at least five, maybe six bonafide shooters so far. Any giants? Well, what kind of hunter would I be if I disclosed that type of information? Wouldn’t it be nice though to know that there is at least one monster buck roaming around that could possibly find its way into bow range sometime this season? I’m not talking about a nice 130 incher either. I’m talking about a true giant. A buck of a lifetime maybe. I wonder how the people hunting in Wisconsin last year felt when they knew they were near where the “Field and Stream Buck” was filmed. To know that at any moment, he might be headed your way. I want to know what that feels like.