Clayton welcomes rainfall

The weatherman forecast a decent chance of rain last week several days in advance and upon hearing the good news, I began making plans.

I’ve got a corn feeder located close to a remote pond and my trail camera had evidenced the coming and going of several ‘eater’ size hogs for the past month. By the look at the pictures it was clear they came as much for the water as the corn my feeder disturbed daily about sunset, they were usually wet from their ‘dips’ in the pond.

Wild animals have the innate ability to survive and without sweat glands to help keep them cool, wild hogs naturally gravitate to water when it’s hot and dry. My supply of spicy breakfast sausage was in short supply and the stage seemed set for a hog hunt that was long overdue!

With temperatures in upper eighties and the weather forecast for cooler weather right on target, I felt the need to finally get out and do a bit of what I call wild pork procurement; finally there was a break in the sweltering heat and with the promised rain, an end to our long, hot dry spell.

As I settled into my little hunting spot, I noticed the clouds were beginning to thicken, a dark ominous thunderhead formed several miles to the south. The chance for rain on my weather app was only 15 percent with no severe storms with lightening were in the forecast.

The wind changed abruptly to the north and the temperature dropped ten degrees almost immediately.Itwas still August and summer but this old hunter took the drop in temperature as a promise of things to come. My hunting blind was simply some burlap camo material stretched across a gate I was setting behind in a comfortable chair.

I had cut shooting ports through the burlap at just the right level. A hunter’s mind will wander when he is setting in the woods waiting for game. I counted the weeks until October and the opener of bow season, contemplated a hawk that was flying low, hoping to photograph him diving on a mouse or rat. The clouds were thickening and for the first time in a long time, I could smell rain!

It seemed the wildlife were actors in nature’s stage, awaiting their cue to go into action. As the temperature dropped, squirrels began jumping in the branches of a nearby pecan, feeding on the half ripe nuts. It was still a good hour before darkness but a mother raccoon and her half grown brood came out to check the feeder. Raccoons usually venture forth under the darkness of night; it’s rare to see them out feeding in broad daylight.

A doe with twin fawns came down the trail, sniffed a bit around the feeder and headed toward the pond for a drink, she would be back to nibble corn later when she heard the feeder motor activate and spread the golden kernels on the ground.

The sounder of hogs I was waiting for showed up also, a good hour before usual. Every critter in the woods was on the move it seemed. The porkers never stopped at the feeder but went straight to drink at the pond. I knew that the wild animals and birds were experiencing the same elation that I felt. Nature can be cruel and hot, dry conditions are not conductive to man or wildlife but things had suddenly improved and it felt almost like fall.

Then it began to sprinkle rain and I contemplated heading back to the truck but the cool raindrops felt good and I continued to set by the gate ‘soaking’ in everything around me. The sun had set and my feeder scattered corn under the old pecan tree where I had it hanging from a limb. A light drizzle continued but I didn’t really care. The wildlife show I was witnessing was well worth being a bit damp! It was about 30 minutes before dark and I had my Rattler thermal scope mounted on my little ‘hog rifle’. I also had my thermal ‘spotter’, a Taipan by AGM Global Vision which makes scanning the night woods easy rather than looking through the thermal scope on the rifle.

The deer, as I had expected, were at the feeder first, nibbling the kernels on the ground and then came the hogs to finish up what was left. It was now pitch dark with no moon and I heard a pack of coyotes sound off close by from the dense brush. By the sound I guessed them to be within forty yards.

I’m sure their plans were to grab a hapless pig from the sounder but wild hogs are smart critters. When the coyotes moved in, they vacated the premises and headed down their pig trail in the opposite direction to thick cover. I had already made up my mind that I was just here to observe. Cooling rainfall had put wildlife in high gear and I wanted to watch the show. Besides, a shot would disrupt everything and then I would have to go to work taking care of the meat. I’ll go back later in the week after the heavy rainfall and ‘collect’ my pork.

I stayed at my little ‘hide’ for a full hour after darkness fell and witnessed a couple of wary coyotes sniffing around under the feeder where the hogs had been. They left on the same trail the hogs used but chances are good the porkers were by now bedded up in some thick plum thicket or briar patch where they could more easily evade the ‘yotes’.

I was by now thoroughly soaked from the light but constant drizzle. I made it back to the truck just before the bottom fell out and it really began to pour. Thanks to modern technology, I’d been watching my weather app and left before the brunt of the storm hit. On my ten minute drive back to unload at my little hunting cabin near my home, I was at peace with the world.

Before long, waterfowl up north will begin to stir and wing their way south as they have done for eons and the whitetail bucks I love to hunt will be on the move.

Contact outdoors writer Luke Clayton via his website www.catfishradio. org and watch A Sportsman’s Life on Carbon TV www.carbontv. com and YouTube.