My neighbor reported howling in the woods last night. Since it was a nice day I donned shorts and tee shirt and went off to investigate interference with the two deer that failed to show up last night. As soon as I entered the forest the bugs descended and the only way to stay alive was to keep moving. The faster you move the fewer bites but the less you see. I stopped by an older kill site and tried to compose a few shots but stopping did nothing for my bite count except ensure that I didn’t pay enough attention to get the exposure correct.

On my first pass up the northern boundary I was making a lot of noise as I tried to keep ahead of the bugs. My pass down the center followed a trail and my movements were reasonably quiet, so much so that I got to within twenty yards of what I think was a coyote that immediately bolted away through the bush. How an animal that size can move that quickly in the bush without making any perceptible noise is astounding.

On my return pass up the southern boundary I bumped into a new kill site which now brings the total to ten deer killed this spring by the forest creatures.