Shed Hunting Trip #2- A Mixed Bag

 Last weekend I was able to do a little shed hunting on some public as well as private land.  While I didn't find any sheds on the public land, I was able to pick up some trash and see the biggest turkeys I have ever seen in my life.  That is not an exaggeration either.  For a moment, I thought a couple of them had grown third legs until I realized those extra legs were beards!  The pictures DO NOT do justice these monsters justice.  I'm glad they aren't predatorial or I would have run for my life in fear.  I also came across some big coyote and buck tracks too!

As for the private land, I was able to shed hunt with the landowner's high school son, Jake.  You might recognize Jake as he has been featured in a few posts and a YouTube video.  Jake is a great kid from an amazing family.  This family also has an amazing piece of property and were gracious enough to let me go on a little shed hunt.  I had never explored this piece of land before and was just guessing at where deer would feed and bed.  There wasn't a huge amount of timber to hunt but there were signs that suggested there were some deer in the area.  About 10 minutes into the hunt, Jake and I met up and compared notes.  We were planning our next walk when we both saw it at the same time.  Both of our mouths dropped, we giggled a little bit, and then I took off in a dead sprint!

Looking back, this was a jerk move.  We hadn't laid any ground rules (ha, that's a double entendre) for our hunt like "finders keepers" or "this is your land so these are your sheds".  I shouldn't have been so greedy or selfish.  If you're reading this Jake or Jason (Jake's dad), I sincerely apologize...but I'm going to make it up to you!  

In a second act of generosity, both of them agreed to let me keep the shed because I found it first.  I tried to argue with them but they weren't having it.  Like I said, these are good folks.  In a small act of retribution though, I have made a few modifications to the shed and I am going to give it to Jake.  All it took was a little bit of power washing, some stain, and a drill press.  Now Jake has a holder for his fly tying tools that has a cool memory attached to it.  I hope he likes it and I hope this helps relieve my conscience.