Maybe The Best Time Of Year To Enjoy The Property
The annual antler hunt is a highlight of owning this incredibly beautiful property. Despite the uncertain Illinois weather there is always a few days just perfect for combing the woods and the trails for discarded antlers.
The really nice thing about having pine trees all over your property is that you can walk the woods in the late Fall through early Spring and see well because the foliage is down yet still enjoy a lot of greenery.
Bugs are non-existent, animals are scurrying about, and the air has pleasant and invigorating scent. One can hike the hills for a few hours and not even break a sweat. Hikes are interrupted only by water breaks and maybe quick zip around an area in the ATV.
Over the years we have found a number of “treasures” from antlers to animal skulls to uniquely colored rocks that we hauled up to the house for landscaping. While I wish I could say there is a “formula” for finding the antlers, there is really no way to predict where they will be.
This year has been particularly successful, with seven antlers added to the collection including 2 matched pairs conveniently located within a few feet of each other. Interestingly enough, despite a small amount of time actually combing the woods, all seven were found from the comfort of the seat of the 6 wheeler!
Possible Matched Pair?
When Do Bucks Shed Antlers?
Bucks seem to discard their antlers starting in late February, but can be as late as mid-March for sure. In fact I was contemplating after finding numbers 6 & 7, the second matched pair, whether all would be shed by now – since so many had been found.
It did bother me that none of the antlers were small; yes, they are harder to find but we have managed to get some in past years. I did not have to wait too long for that answer as I spotted yet another matched pair of antlers, medium sized.
Unfortunately for me, the manufacturer had not yet released this pair to distribution and when he saw me he started to shy away – as bucks tend to do, more so than does. Realizing that the two of us were close to the edge of the property I strategically dismounted the ATV and maneuvered through the woods to attempt to “scare” him back INTO the property and not risk him leaving and dropping the antlers somewhere else.
The herd ended up scattering in two directions: half to the Northwest across the fence and the rest heading back East deeper into our property. As the day comes to an end it can be tough enough to see the deer sometimes let alone make out antlers.
In the end, I’m not sure which direction he went. Sometimes a buck will even lay low and “hide”. As I carefully scouted the area where I knew he had been I did find a small antler remnant that some animal had thoroughly chewed – oh, well…
Always Have Your Eyes Open For Antlers
If the grass has been mowed in the late Fall as I normally try to do, it’s been my theory – and to some degree experience – that the white points are fairly easy to spot in the open areas and one can spend more time looking in the harder to see places.
This year, I proved the theory wrong.
Unless by some strange coincidence a buck decided to discard his trophies between my passes of this one intersection, it means I drove right past TWO antlers laying right there in the open.
Yet it gets worse…
As I was cruising back from the “back 40” towards the lower pond I was about to pick up the main trail and suddenly I saw this pretty good sized antler laying low in the grass – perhaps why I missed it the first time through.
While skidding to a stop in the ATV I heard a clunking noise under the bottom of the rig on the right side.
I said to myself: “self, why did that sound like I just ran over an antler?”
The antler I saw was still a few feet ahead of the stopped vehicle.
I jumped out and looked between the tires on the right side and, sure enough, laying behind the first tire on the right and just about to go under the second was another antler – fortunately undamaged. Perhaps even MORE fortunate was that there appears to be no tire damage!
As I continued my tour of the property I was forced to slow down just a little more in the open areas since I had now proven that, just because an antler (or TWO) is lying right out in the open of a mowed grass field does not necessarily mean it’s easy to find – even when good sized.
Not so easy to miss after all?
Could This Be For You?
If you are in the market for a good sized, well constructed home with a really nice shop on a large wooded acreage and a couple of small ponds in Western Illinois, maybe this home with property is for you?
Excellent privacy with immediate access to two well maintained state highways heading to all 4 points of the compass; less than 25 minutes to Quad City International Airport.
Contact me if you are serious; and for the right price I’ll throw in the 6 wheeler!
