re: Love the outdoors when it snows

About 10 years ago I went muzzleloader hunting in Missouri on Christmas morning after it snowed. I was in a tripod stand I had set up earlier in the year.

At about 8:30 a.m., and about 300 yards away across a ditch, 7-8 bucks and about 10 does came out to play in the snow. The bucks were all 8 point or better, with a couple being 10 or 12. They were all chasing each other around and the bucks were bumping antlers. I guess it was the second rut.

But there was one big boy that was standing away from the rest behind a tree, looking around it, and staring at me. He was much larger than all the rest. He almost perfectly blended in with the brush. After about 45 minutes of them frolicking in the snow, they moved off into the brush, and big boy vanished.

I didn't have a chance at shooting a deer that morning, but it was enjoyable watching in real life what I usually can only see on TV. I guess that was God's Christmas gift to me that morning.