Saturday morning started off okay as well. Then about 8:00 the weather changed. The wind picked up - WAY up - from hardly noticeable to 30+ MPH, with gusts much higher.
As the wind speed went up the temperature went down, from mid 50s at daybreak to low 40s a couple of hours later. At the same time the rain began. Not sprinkles or drizzle, but RAIN - big, fat drops, and lots of them.
Low 40s is tolerable, but when you add in high wind and heavy rain it gets intolerable pretty damn quick.
We were expecting the weather change, and had appropriate gear, but still ... when everything you have is damp and muddy, and the only time you're warm is when you're sitting in the truck with the heater cranked up to High, a lot of the joy goes out of the hunt. And the weather forecast was for more rain and continued cold temperatures.
To top things off, on our lease here in South Texas the soil is predominately caliche. It is relatively impervious to rain - that is, the rain doesn't penetrate caliche like it does loam or regular topsoil. So the rainwater is funneled into the ranch road ruts, making them a slippery, soupy mixture that clogs up tire tread and robs them of traction.
My hunting truck is an old 1995 Ford F-150 with 4WD and off-road tires, so I was able to get around without too much trouble. But after I pulled out a couple of other vehicles we decided it was time to head for home.
The good news is that the South Texas rut starts in mid-December, and the season doesn't end until late January. So we still have plenty of time to put Señor Muy Grande on the wall...
UPDATE: It was still raining and chilly this morning. Yesterday set a one-day record for rainfall down here - almost 2.5 inches. (That's a one-day record for that specific date, not all time.) Still, that's a lot of rain for down here. The news last night was nothing but car wrecks and localized flooding.
4 comments:
Hunting and killing a deer, or something larger than a damn rabbit, is on my bucket list. I have been wanting to go deer hunting for a long time, but I've never had the opportunity. I think it would be a great experience. Hopefully when I finally get to the fine state of Texas I will be able to scratch it off my list of things to do before I die.
Having never been, I can't say how close a day of hunting is to a day of fishing, but even on days I don't catch a fish (there have been many) I always have a good time and end up catching something. A beer buzz can't be hung on the wall, but it sure as hell should!
Cold rain, high winds ... No thanks. I think I'd prefer sitting in a warm, dry saloon and getting my wildlife fix by watching the National Geographic Channel. :-)
Ireland = cold, rainy,cloudy and windy 24-7-365.
Now you know why alcohol is the native's best friend.
CD, hunting is like fishing, in that the whole point is to get outside and enjoy yourself. Having family and friends around just makes it better. Shooting something, like catching a fish, adds to the experience, but isn't the main objective.
Jim - Can't argue. That's why we went home. It's like going to a football game vs. watching one on TV. It's much more fun in good weather than bad.
Toejam - it's no coincidence that alcohol is the main ingredient in anti-freeze.
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