No doubt about it they were hobbits using the portal from middle earth which only opens during a lunar eclipse. They have been reported before by reliable people like Teddy Kennedy, John Kerry and Michael Moore.

...And that, boys and girls is why you shouldn't eat the mushrooms that grow along the path to the stand.







-Steve

In the last couple of days there has been a discussion about the effects of a full moon on deer activity.Someone asked about what possible effect the lunar eclipse that occurred tonight might impose.This got my curiousity peaked a bit and so I decided to do a little experimentation.As soon as I could get off work I got home and changed into my hunting gear and headed for my deer lease.

My plan was simple.I would set up in a stand on a food plot and hunt deer as per ussual until dark.Then I would sit and watch the moon rise and later on the eclipse.I could monitor deer activity before,during and after the eclipse,enjoy the view,and just maybe get in some shooting if a feral pig turned up.(Around here feral hogs are considered vermin and thus can be taken year round,by any means,even after dark.)

I got to my stand and was settled in at about 6:00 pm.The food plot I was looking over was about an acre in size and was quite lush with a mixture of wheat ,clover ,turnips ,rape ,and australian winter peas.Opposite from me was an overgrown CRP stand and timber lined the side of the plot that I was set up on.The weather down here is still quite warm and I was sweating in my light cotton long sleeve t-shirt.The mosquitos were terrible even though I had dosed myself liberally with Deep Woods Off before I even left my house.Now I know some of you guys are flippin out over violating scent free protocall but this is the deep south and it is better to sit still and smell of bug spray than to wiggle and squirm while slapping at mosquitos all evening.My compromise is to hunt with the wind, hunt high ,and hope for the best.

The first hour went by pretty quickly although there was no activity in the food plot.At about 7:15 the sun was starting to sink pretty fast and the first traces of the moon could be seen in the southeast.It would rise through the outstretched arms of a big live-oak on a hill and the sight it created was awesome.This it turns out was the first of several awesome sights I would see tonight,each more spectacular than the previous.

For the next hour the moon continued it's rise and the food plot got brighter and brighter.I felt like if a hog did show up I might be able to execute a pretty good shot without the aid of any artificial light at all.But still no game showed itself.And then at about 8:20 the first hint of change began to take place on the bottom left corner of the moon.The very beginning of an arc of darkness touched this quadrant, and as if on cue ,the first dull shapes began to materialize in the shadows of the CRP on the opposite side of the food plot from me.The shadows moved cautiously at first but becoming less timid as the earth's shadow took an ever bigger bite out of the moon.Next some dark objects emerged from the timber on my side.Slowly they made their way out of the shadows and into the still moonlit portion of the plot.

But something did not look right!These weren't the deer that I had expected, or the hogs that I was hoping for.These animals were small,about 14 to 18 inches tall. They were bi-pedal, walking upright.

I want to apologize now for what I am about to say.But it was too dark to see the details well enough to put an honest identification on these creatures.I can only speculate.Were they leprechans,gnomes,elves ,or pixies?Friend or foe,fairie or demon, I can't say with certainty.The only sure thing I can say is that they were small and definately humanoid.My jaw dropped so hard I was afraid they would hear it hit my chest.

The little creatures moved gradually into the foodplot in ever increasing numbers.As the moon grew darker, they grew more animated also.They chirped,cooed, giggled and squeaked as the moved towards each other.If these sounds represented a language then it was like no other I had heard before.Many of them carried little containers that they drank from and passed amoung the growing crowd.The containers were metalic as I could see the moonlight glint off the bottom as they threw back their heads and drank heartily. For the life of me it looked like they were having a reunion of sorts.Getting together with old friends and getting re-aquainted.That's what it reminded me of.This went on for about an hour and then things changed dramatically again.

The last of the moon was falling into the shadow of the earth and the moon had taken on an eerie red glow.The little ones began pairing up in groups of twos;and quicker than the blink of an eye they tore the clothes off of each other in such haste as to reflect lust that had for quite a long time had been building. The creatures immediately began coupling ,almost in unison, all over the food plot.Some of the bucks approached their partners from behind, as would a dog, whilst others atop their scattered clothes chose the more genteel missionary position.Either way there was nothing genteel about the way they went about it.Such screeching ,moaning,and grunting has seldom if ever been heard.The pace was frantic but brief,for as quick as they started the little males would expend themselves and fall aside.But the respite was brief and almost instantly ,the little bucks would come back to life,re-mount and resume their duties again.If any of you have seen rabbits rutting then perhaps you can somehow imagine the spectacle I was witnessing.It was if forty pair of very large rabbits had come together for a joint mating.This went on for over an hour of non-stop action.At once I was amazed and disgusted,embarrassed, and a bit excited ,all at the same time.Then once again things began to change.

The food plot got quiet,the action slowed and stopped.Some of the little ones lay spent,side by side.Still others were seen slowly dragging themselves back into their clothes.I looked up to see the first thin sliver of moon enmerging from the shadow of our earth.When I looked back down I saw that the little imps were starting to make their way back into the edges of the field.They lingered at the shadows, drawing farther back as the moons bright light slowly but relentlessly invaded their consortium.They obviously did not want to leave, but shrunk steadily into the CRP and the timber as if they were forced by the shrinking shadows.As the last of the moon reclaimed the light I glanced across the field one last time. But I could find no more of the little ones.I knew they were gone, but never the less I waited for another half hour before climbing down and heading for my truck. Just in case they were still near the field's edge.I wanted to be careful not to give my stand position away.

Quite a few were close enough that I could have shot them with my bow.Then I could have shown them off,like a sasquatch or a bigfoot.I would have been a front pager in every bowhunter magazine and newspaper in the world.But these (whatever they were) creatures were simply too much like people.It would have been like killing a child.If they had a soul,how could I face my creator with their blood stains on my hands?I mourn the fact that I did not have a camera with me.I know there would still be doubters, but even that would have given me some measure of redemption among my peers.All I can do is wait for the next lunar eclipse which is four years away.Then I will set up trail cameras all over the field's edges.I will also bring a Digital Video Recorder with night vision capabilities and perhaps between now and then I can think of some kind of clever live trap to catch one in.My greatest fear is that all that time and preperation will pass and then four years from now rain or dense cloud cover will either hide or prevent the little ones from their mating.Then I would be forced to set my sights on the next lunar eclipse.What a loss that would be.I don't know if I could take it knowing that at my age I am not likely to see many more eclipses.To think that I could die of old age and never get a chance to witness this phenomena and prove the existence of the little ones could drive some insane.But I am too strong for that .I will persevere.

It is late now,and I doubt if sleep will come,but I must try.I am going to take my medicine now and try to get some rest.

I know that many here will scoff at my tale.I would not have believed it myself if I were reading from these pages such a tale.Had I not seen it with my own eyes,I too would be enjoying a good laugh at the expense of he whom hath recited such a yarn. But I was there and I saw it myself.So I cannot enjoy a good laugh.To those of you that can and do; well, I wish you a Happy Halloween!

eyedoc

You're not supposed to sniff the bug-spray. It's for spraying on exposed skin.

Funny what the mind can dream up while sitting a stand and the game is not moving.

I know this tale strays a bit from our dedicated topic of African big game but the guys here are the ones who I feel I know best and i also know I can count on you for an honest appraisal of my writing.

Hope some of you were at least mildly amused.After all it is the season.Happy Halloween!

eyedoc

Aha, what you saw was a rare animal known as a Del Carmen Catawampus, but you saw the dwarf variety, they have shorter legs on the right side than on the left so they can only run around the hills in one direction...You only see them after you have preped your body with Cannibis sativea L, containing a high percentage of Tetra Hydra cabinol, injested either by smoking or in Brownies....