A Good Morning To Be Out

Submitted by Keith Bridgman

I walked all of 50 yards and realized I was already cold. A crisp, fresh scent in the air shoved along seemingly by a heavy winter chill penetrated all the way through my layered camouflaged clothing. With another 300 or so yards to go I hoped the pace would generate some much-needed warmth.

Underfoot the ground crunched in time with my steps as a heavy frost lay like a thin, white sheet over the dried, left over fall season leaves. As I rounded the wooded corner and stepped toward a clearing and onto the edge of the cornfield, I notice how the dried grasses that laced its surface glistened in the gray, half light of this chilly morning.

At least a year had passed since I last marched into an early winter morning. It felt good to finally get back to exploring some of the more enjoyable photographic adventures. Simple as it was, at least it felt like an adventure anyway. My goal was call in a coyote or two and get some quality photos of this elusive creature.

I walked along the south edge of the cornfield glancing with every other step or two toward where the sun was to first appear. A bright and clear sky laced with a few thin layers of high clouds forecast an optimistic sunny rise. Already the sky was beginning to glow with strong pastel oranges and yellows that gently filtered toward the higher up, once black of night, and blended into a softer blue.

Across the field a silver lining of that frost began to sparkle more as the light transitioned from soft gray to a warmer tone. Still shadowed at this point, it would not be long before the warming rays of the sun would lift the frosty coating. For now, though, I belonged to one of those down home, Kentucky mornings, where sky and landscape joined together to create a special moment in time.

I setup next to a six-foot cedar and deployed my DYI decoy contraption in the field about 30 yards out to one side. At first, I just sat in the crispy air and surveyed the fields spread out in front of me. About 175 yards away stretched the edge of a wooded area that wound its way across and around the northeastern end of the field. Probably 20 acres or so of corn stubble lay between and to the northwest another couple hundred acres rolled across the landscape. I figured this would be a good place for a coyote or two. I switched on the call and waited.

I waited some more…then some more. No coyotes appeared. Then some movement coming from the wooded area across from where I was caught my attention. Three deer, all does, were working their way along the edge and into the cornfield. One of them stopped several times and looked my way...not sure...but suspected something wasn't quite right. She lifted her leg...moved closer...snorted with burst of misty breath...stepped back...and took off.

Over the next hour and a half, I saw no coyotes, but I did see about 15 deer five of which came within about 25 yards. I managed to shoot over 400 images using a rapid-fire shutter. My 50 – 500mm Sigma lens with a 1.4 teleconverter attached performed flawlessly…even using manual focus. Eventually the deer grew wary of my presence, and wave good bye with their characteristic tail flag. By then though I had managed to capture a few good closeup images.

I was disappointed in not being able to call in a coyote or two, but the deer made up for it. Coyotes are tough critters to photograph and I’ll keep on trying. In the meantime, just being out in nature on such a glorious and crisp winter morning was reward enough.

As I struggled to my feet to relieve a building cramp in my leg, I realized just how much I had missed getting out like this. The sun full up now was beginning to thaw the landscape from its frosty cloak, so I gathered my gear and made my way back home. It was a good morning to be out.