November....and Thanksgiving....

- Seasonable temperatures today with gray skies....typical November day.......

- Seeing lots of flocks of Wild Turkeys....along with the Whitetail Deer.....two of Tennessee's great wildlife success stories. Good management, diverse habitat, and perhaps a bit of good fortune have taken both species from rarely seen in places to plentiful in most areas. The Tennessee deer season (hunting) opened in many counties in the 1960s...prior to this the population in most places would not support a hunting season. When I was trying to survive the 60s/early 70s as a teenager, on the farms of Middle Tennessee, Wild Turkeys were nonexistent (I would know as I practically lived in the woods) in most areas of Tennessee. My, times have sure changed!

.......Photos...bottom to top......

- A fresh rub left by what was most likely a small whitetail buck....I could tell the rub was fresh by the shavings on top of the leaves near the base of the small deciduous tree.....

- This photo, taken in a remote, wooded valley on the Cumberland Plateau, speaks for itself.....for those who seem to have an affinity for the path less taken....

- A majestic Northern Red Oak...Quercus rubrum.....this specimen appeared to be in the 80'-90' range.

- A meandering woodland stream, near the trail in the above photo...and yes, I did find a perch on a nearby rock to enjoy the moment.....

- Man o' man...I would love to have seen the stag that rubbed this 6" diameter Eastern Red Cedar. Though it is often difficult to tell the size of the buck that has rubbed a tree, this one had grooves cut in the trunk (indicating tine cuts as the curvature of the main beam did most of the rubbing), usually a sure sign that an impressive specimen has passed this way.

- Happy Thanksgiving to all.