Brrr. That is all.

This past Monday and Tuesday, I spent a combined total of about 18 hours in the wilderness (a.k.a the white abyss) of Northwest Missouri. I was in search of a trophy whitetail deer. I was not lucky enough to bring back a trophy, but I brought back a lot of knowledge from the excursion.
1. I learned what could be an important life-lesson: When Foot Warmers say “Up to 6 hours of heat!”, ‘up to’ does not necessarily include 6 hours.
2. I learned that 15 inches of snow requires a lot of energy to walk in.
3. Speaking of the snow, I learned that just because a field looks flat with snow on it, does not mean the ground underneath is flat. One minute you’re walking in 10 inches of snow, the next thing you know, you’re waist-deep in the fluffy white stuff.
4. I usually enter ‘stealth’ mode whenever we arrive at our hunting location. The first day of the snow the wind was blowing about 20 mph, and the snow was coming down almost horizontally. Blizzard conditions, basically. As I was walking, I was thinking how I would have to abandon my favorite strategy of field-hunting, and move deep into the timber, where the deer would most likely be avoiding the weather the best they could. However, when I came around the corner, I saw two deer in the middle of the field! Apparently they had decided to brave the wind and snow in search of some soy bean remnants. They were too far for the muzzleloader to reach, and besides, they saw me too. Lesson learned: deer are [sometimes] unpredictable, and [occasionally] downright puzzling.
5. For whatever reason, apparently December 29 is National Woodpecker Day. They were everywhere! And a few different species. The only thing I can think of is that maybe they were all migrating and made it safely here (despite the -4 degree morning). My whole hunting career I have seen maybe 5 (maybe) of the Pileated Woodpeckers, which happen to be, in my opinion some of the coolest birds in our area! They are almost crow-sized, which is pretty large! But I digress. Anyway, on that particular day, I happened to see no less than 8 of these birds, both male and female. They also have a very loud call that sounds somewhat of a cross between a crow and a squirrel. There were other species there too. The most popular seemed to be the Downy Woodpecker, which is a very small bird that resembles the Chickadee.
Although I did not see a deer until it was almost dark outside, I enjoyed watching these birds fly around for a few hours. The only drawback: it sounded like a bird war zone with all the pecking!
I have enjoyed my time at home, and spent my whole New Years Day watching BCS Bowl games on ABC. I have also enjoyed my time at the bank. I still have another week at both, but I am almost ready to head back and restart the college routine I have become accustomed to. And to see the friends there too, of course.