“You better watch out…”
Kids are warned to be good “for goodness sake,” because Santa is coming to town. Well, Santa has come and gone, but it is prudent to remain good and cautious at Huntley Meadows Park, where I saw this camouflaged archer in a tree yesterday morning.
Each year I have seen the posted signs indicating that deer hunting will be taking place during the fall and winter. I have seen a few empty tree stands, but until yesterday, I had never seen an archer. Fortunately I was behind him when I spotted him and it is obvious from the photo that he had spotted me too and even gave me a little wave of the hand. I passed by as quickly and quietly as I could.
Within a few minutes of spotting the hunter, I came upon two unoccupied tree stands. I guess that I am walking around in a favorite area for the deer hunters.
That means I need to be a bit more diligent in wearing my brightly colored stocking hats and remaining alert. I better watch out.
Unoccupied tree stand #1
Unoccupied tree stand #2
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Be careful out there Mike. Maybe more than a hat is in order.
Thanks, Dan. I have a reflective belt/sash that I used to wear when running. Maybe I’ll add that to the mix.
Thanks for the warning ~
Yikes, that’s a pretty intimidating scene–man up a tree with a weapon. How the heck does one get that contraption up (or down) the tree? It doesn’t look like much fun standing there.
I am not sure how that tree stand works–perhaps there is a ladder that I didn’t see. It sure doesn’t look like much fun standing in one spot, waiting for the action to find you. I know that some photographers will use blinds and wait for extended periods of time, but that’s not my preferred style. I like to wander, which is why I hesitate to purchase one of the mega-lenses that requires a big tripod.
I do a lot of hiking in the mountains and am very cautious of the hunters. We have had two hikers shot and killed in the past five years, both hikers where wearing brightly color clothing.
I can’t believe they allow hunters in a wildlife park!
I’m guessing that he came down right after you left since it’s doubtful that deer would be nearby while you were there.
I wear a lightweight hunter orange vest and hat during hunting season. So far, so good.
I initially passed behind him and am not sure he noticed me. It was about 30-45 minutes later when I came back along the path and it was this time when I took the shot.