Many years ago my spotlighting (legal in eastern NC) buddy and I noticed the lack of deer in the fields during a bright moon. Knowing this always shot a hole in the usual tailgate theories of why hunting is usually not as good around full moons. It seemed to my buddy and me, deer just shut down during these times, night and day, … but that doesn’t make sense, does it? They gotta eat, right?

Well, maybe just a salad.

Here’s and interesting report that sheds a different light on the subject;

Moonlight’s influence on predator/prey interactions between short-eared owls (Asio flammeus) and deermice (Peromyscus maniculatus)

Summary;

This study examines the effect of moonlight intensity on deermouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) vulnerability to predation by short-eared owls (Asio flammeus).
Three nocturnal light intensities, labeled new moon, quarter moon, and full moon, were simulated in a flight chamber. Deermouse activity was observed and measured by an index of tracking intensity in the chamber’s sand floor. The mice were then exposed to predation by a short-eared owl in each light intensity and search time, chase time, capture time, and the number of escapes/chase were measured.

The results reveal the adaptive significance of deermouse activity suppression in full moon light as an anti-predator response. The deermice reduced activity significantly in bright moonlight during the activity phases.

During the predation phases, the owls’ hunting effectiveness increased as moonlight waxed. The owls required significantly less time to search for and capture the mice as illumination increased.
The costs and benefits to both species are discussed relative to the prey’s variation of activity with moonlight intensity.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/w3319865541nr517/

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All these years whenever the moon theories came up at various hunter gatherings, we always just looked at each other and kept quiet.

Some things are better left to visit … out behind the barn.

One of the neat things about being out behind the barn is folks can’t laugh at what we do … or try to do,

so one of the guys (tin can) came up with the idea of using real sinew in some of our primitive quests. (I’ve been using the fake stuff so far.)

Now I’ve pulled a little sinew from deer legs in the past and looked at it, laid it out and watched it dry, and wondered how in the heck something useful is done with this stuff. I even saturated some of it with water, (no I haven’t chewed any of it yet) but I’ve seen how it draws up drying and found the adhesive qualities leave a lot to be desired. Obviously Indians did things every day that I’ve never even thought about.

Anyhoo, like any country boy with a puter, I looked around a bit and found a secret to the trade. Short answer, HIDE GLUE.

Here’s a quote from Dick Baugh on the subject;

I was pretty well convinced that sinew shrank while it dried and this put the sinew backing under great tension. Did the amount of shrinkage depend on the type of glue used? The experiment to find this out was to glue sinew on the backs of two identical strips of 1/8 inch balsa wood. On the first one, the sinew was glued on with hide glue, on the second, the sinew was glued with Elmer’s carpenter’s glue. The two samples behaved identically. As the sinew dried and shrank it pulled the wood into a curved shape. This experiment showed little difference between the two types of glue, only that the sinew shrank as it dried. Again I took two identical 1/8 inch strips of balsa wood and put a thick strip of hide glue on one and a similar strip of Elmer’s on the other (no sinew on either). This time there was a pronounced difference between the two. The hide glue shrank and curved the wood just as much as the sinew, and the Elmer’s glue did not shrink at all. Moral of the story: don’t use anything but hide glue for applying the sinew. Furthermore hide glue is ‘compatible’ with sinew since on a molecular level they are identical. The last experiment with sinew was to see exactly how much it shrank when it dried. I pinned one end of a strip of wet sinew to a piece of plywood, and pinned the other end to the short end of a stick that pivoted at one end. Now, when the sinew shrank, the long end of the lever would move through a greater distance and make the shrinkage easier to see. The result was that the sinew shrank 3 percent upon drying.
In conclusion one can say that the benefits of sinew backing on wood bows come from a combination of several effects acting together. They are:
1. As the sinew dries and shrinks it puts the back of the bow under compression. As a consequence, the wood fibers on the back of the bow are not stressed as highly when the bow is drawn.
2. The sinew protects the back of the bow where it doesn’t follow the grain.
3. The back of the bow, which is stretched a great deal at full draw, is now a material which can stretch 5 percent before breaking (wood can only stretch about 1 percent before breaking).

Here’s the link with the full article;

http://www.primitiveways.com/secrets_of_sinew.html

With bowseason in full swing, it won’t be long until I can pull some more sinew and with the newfound knowledge and some hide glue, we might just build a bow … out behind the barn.

My wife always gets a horrified look when I mention that I’d like to raise bees for honey so I’ve never really gotten into it … yet. I do read a lot about honey though and am always amazed at the health and medicinal qualities attributed to it.

I knew honey comes in many flavors, all depending on what flowers the bees have been busy with and in that I have a couple of links other like minded folks may enjoy.

taken from one of the sites;

Honey is Not All the Same.

Did you realize that honey is available in many different varieties? When bees visit mostly one kind of flower as they gather nectar, the honey they produce has a unique taste, aroma and color from that particular flower. Other honeys are delicious blends of floral sources (look for Mixed Flower, Polyfloral, Wildflower).

The Honey Locator is a website you can use to find suppliers of these many varieties of honey.

www.honeylocator.com/

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Another informative site that has a ton of info for those of us maybe kinda interested;

ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Beekeeping/honey.htm

In a world filled with prescription drugs and expensive prices I often wonder if perhaps the natural and relatively inexpensive products are often put aside for more profitable ventures. At any rate, I don’t think a little honey every day is a bad idea. Sure beats those honey-do’s … out behind the barn. 

Pulled an allnighter Fri nite getting my fannypack organized for early bowseason and taking care of countless other seemingly important details so had no problem being up a tree well before daylight Sat morning for the opener.

Hunted the ‘black cherry crossing’ on a property near here in Chowan County, NC.

Perhaps 15 minutes before sunup I had a cowhorn dead to rights at 15yds but it turned into a ‘now you see me’ match between the vines and limbs with two grown does that managed to get across the path while I hopscotched openings at full draw trying to get an internet worthy shot at one. The shot just didn’t present itself other than the cowhorn. Not sure exactly, but there were more than six deer within 20yds of me early this morning. Of course I was perched about 18 feet up an oak in my climbing treestand so they were all oblivious. That’s ALWAYS cool.

After that, no deer activity but squirrels were havin a big time crossing the path and moving thru. I know I was camoed in well because once I had to defend myself from being jumped on.

Between some miday work and a nap I had to change my afternoon hunt plan and wound up going back to the same property and hunting a different crossing. As I pulled in, I had already seen 7 deer out in the beanfield so I knew they were moving.

When I chose the hunt the wind was flawing somewhat and I disgarded my original hunt choice. After some thought I took a more wind favorable hunt about 125yds from the field on the first stretch of path. Bad move. I should have went on to the waterhole tree like I intended. The wind steadied once I was up and I would have been fine at the waterhole. I walked it all recently and know the waterhole crossing is active but wanting to take no chance on tipping them off. I was overly scared it turned out. At 7:00 a fawn and a doe crossed about 30 yds down the path toward the field but it was a fast cross and so thick with cane where they crossed I never saw them at all in the woods on my side.

The only other event of the evening hunt was a female horned owl that came gliding thru the woods and landed on a limb near me. She was obviously hunting because all her focus was on the ground under her. After a minute of looking, she left as quietly as she arrived.

The only thing I forgot today was my bowholster. Vital gear, I won’t leave it again.

well, I did leave the wheels to my cart laying out in the yard but I didn’t need the cart.

I could have used my bowholster.

oh, I shot my bows today as I have been everyday recently, all shooting at bowhunting ranges 20-30yds. For the time being 30yds is my limit. I haven’t been shooting any distance stuff, stealing that time to practice with the recurve instead.

Bowhunting reports will be a steady item on my blog so keep checking back for more … out behind the barn.

time to get some brocoli and collard greens planted to go with those venison dinners.

Here’s a handy guide from our friends at farmers almanac.

September 2007

1-2 Good days for planting root crops.

3-4 Seeds planted now tend to rot in ground.

5-7 Fine planting days for fall potatoes, turnips, onions, carrots, beets and other root crops. Also plant seedbeds and flower gardens.

8-12 A most barren period, best for killing plant pests or doing chores around the farm.

13-14 Good days for planting peas, beans, tomatoes, peppers and other aboveground crops in southern Florida, Texas and California. Excellent for sowing grains, hay and forage crops. Plant flowers.

15-17 Excellent time for planting aboveground crops that can be planted now, including leafy vegetables, which will do well. Start seedbeds.

18-19 Clear fence rows, woodlots and fields, but do no planting.

20-21 Any aboveground crops that can be planted now will do well.

22-23 Poor planting days. Kill plant pests.

24-25 Favorable days for planting aboveground crops, extra good for vine crops.

26-27 Seeds planted now will grow poorly and yield little.

28-29 Good days for planting root crops.

30 Seeds planted now tend to rot in ground.

Be sure to plant a little extra for the old folks in the neighborhood … out behind the barn. 

Hi folks,

with hunting season already upon us, many start (or have been) thinking of makin a little trip to check out new lands, and good news, there seems to be more and more public lands at our disposal all the time.

I was recently researching some new game lands and happened upon this map site.

http://www.mapathon.com/nc.shtml

I think it’s got us covered.

happy trails from … out behind the barn.