During hunting season (which is really all year round depending on what one claims to be shooting), we judge how many hunters are out behind our house by looking up the road and examining the parked vehicles. The last day of deer hunting with modern weaponry (you might be surprised by the number of hunters who think an automated rifle with ammo clips containing hundreds of rounds are critical to successful hunting) this year was today. People with bows and arrows or muskets (called muzzle loaders by some) can shoot deer beyond today (and their season started earlier). If you want to shoot something other than deer, there are different dates for those seasons. Essentially, hunting is all year long.
Knowing which hunting season is in effect and who might be doing it is important for planning our walks in the woods.

When we see vehicles parked as shown, we limit our walks to the nearest perimeter of the beaver bog – assuming hunters will not shoot toward us given residences in the background. We also venture across the street to the perimeter of the woods along the state highway, again assuming that hunters would not shoot from the interior toward us with the highway in the background.

This year, like last year, we have met hunters searching for wounded animals they have shot but did not bring down.

We have more images of the return of flowing water to the local creeks and bogs. There is even foam (we think it is natural and not human originated) from the turbulence.

Beaver bog creek now with running water