The Wily Hunter

Way back when critters that walked upright on two legs discovered they could eat their fellow critters, and in fact some of them were rather tasty, they began to develop methods of stalking and slaying those that tasted best.  Often the hunter had way less skills than the hunted in this endeavor.  The hunted was often fleeter of foot, had better eyesight and hearing, and could use their nose to a much greater degree than those silly two-footed creatures.

However the uprights had one superior feature and that was a higher brain development.  Making use of that one advantage the uprights began using forms of deceit in their pursuit of eating material.  Often this meant some sort of hiding and hoping the prey would accidentally wander within range of the uprights killing tool.  This form of deceit has  been practiced until modern times, and no matter how effective or non-effective it may be, is still used today.  Here in the north country its most usual form is in what is called a deer blind, or stand.

Here is an example although hard to see well in this photo.  This stand is braced up against a smaller tree well within a forested area.  A relative of mine sits dutifully in it for hours at a time during the open season on deer.

Here is another similar stand along the edge of that same wooded area.  This one overlooks a meadow abutting the woods.  I can actually see this one from my kitchen window, and have often observed a hunter sitting in, or on, it.

This one is hidden among the trees along the edge of that same forested area.  From it one can see into the meadow, and also it has a fairly good observation of a commonly used deer trail a short distance away in the woods.

All three of these stands have one thing in common above all other aspects.  To the best of my knowledge no one has ever taken a deer from any of them.  I’m not sure who’s fooling who here?