Here's the view of my last setup of the day and also near where I missed the shot at a gobbler two days ago.
MAHFS photo by Mac Arnold





By Mac Arnold
MAHFS Editor

Today's adventure in the woods/fields was highlighted by a blustery north wind and a curious hen that practically clucked into my ear.

I was spooked for a change and in the process threw my cell phone. I later found it at my feet when I went to leave.

Meanwhile the bird pranced onto a dead stump not five yards from me and trying all the time to decipher what I was and where I was.

I threw her off with a few gentle yelps that increased the craning of her elongated neck even more from her position.

The eight-minute standoff finally ended when she decided all was clear and she slowly crept into the woods behind me.

That's how the day ended. I never saw or heard any of her boyfriends but it was hard to make out sounds between the 19 mph gusts of wind, which picked up around noon.

Instead of doing longer two- to three-hour sits, I bounced from three different setups all of an hour or more. But there was barely any other action outside of the hen standoff.

A hawk screeched overhead briefly at one point and appeared to be ready to dive bomb the hen decoy I had stationed along the turned field on the north side of the Sanilac County property.

In the end it was a day I could have stayed out until dark -- with temperatures in the 50s and a bluebird sky -- but work and family obligations were calling, so I was homeward bound a little after 2 p.m.