I've not been able to hunt the last 2 days because, well, yesterday was Christmas (and I've got family after all) and today is Sunday. Sunday hunting is still illegal here in VA.

Friday, I went out and the temps were down about 16-20 degrees. It had been 56 the day before and rained so there were puddles and a good amount of standing water and the ground was soaked just before it started to freeze. This created ice crystals that jutted from the ground and crunched underfoot (if you weren't careful). I carefully moved through about 3½ to 3 miles of deer trails and saw only a couple of old rubs, no scrapes (the last time I was here there was a scrape that was now clearly long abandoned) and crossed one, small, fresh track. Pretty disappointing.

This week will be a full 6 days of either sex but I have competition for my time. Tuesday I will be visiting with friends and discussing model trains (the wife's new hobby), Wednesday I will be visiting with my God-son and Friday & Saturday (maybe) will be spent at work.