There are many outdoors options, both in species to gather in some way, and major hunting seasons.

The quiet activities should not be overlooked. “Get out and see the leaves before they drop. Hikers should take this opportunity, but be careful of slippery surfaces wet with dew, rain, and shade moisture.

Climbing rocks, standing on ledges, slopes with oak leaves, and stand steps, even running boards can be hazardous from liquid moisture,” said Doug Williams at DW Sports Center in Portage.

One last bloomer is attractive, albeit tiny, and odd when it is covered with frost or snowflakes. The witchhazel’s blooms are yellow, ribbony-petaled flowers. The fruits are there, too, their starts going all the way back to last fall’s blooms. As the fruit dry they crack open and expel their four seeds many feet. Indoors can be quite a start.

A small hoverfly was visiting on a bouquet of blooms, maybe to stay warm, maybe to eat someone but probably not engaging in pollination.

Another bright alert is one of autumn’s traditional decorative fruits, wild bittersweet, with its tiny capsule, opening when they dry and revealing an even redder inside. This vine climbs whatever it finds, mostly trees and shrubs, but fences and implements if left too long in one location.

Deer, especially the bucks, are more obvious now than ever. “Scraps are abundant, so are rubs; expect to see bucks anytime, including midmorning,” said Dan Storm Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources statewide deer researcher, now working on the five-year, CWD and predator study. “It may not be the rut yet, but the activity is already there. Expect to see deer, and almost anywhere.”

Williams agrees, “The deer are moving, chasing, grunting, and some very nice deer have been taken.”

To date, according to the DNR web site, 25,231 deer have been registered, mainly from archery and crossbowers, but also during the youth hunt and a few nuisance and ag damage deer. Bucks numbered 11,235, while antlerless totaled 25,231.

Pheasant season continues to be popular; especially on public land where up to 75,000 birds will be released ending with a Holiday release just prior to Christmas.

“A few hunters have mentioned the short tails on some roosters, but that’s due in part to the wet weather,” said Kelly Maguire, Poynette game farm manager. “The birds’ tails will actually tie together when in the release cages. The only way to free them is to cut off part of the tail feathers.”

Pheasant are not released during wet weather, but held for a makeup day on the same property, so all properties get that their allotments.

This fall and early winter, 25 properties will be stocked with a few birds held back from a property’s allotment and then released the week of Dec. 24.

All stocking will take a break during the gun deer season, being cut off the Thursday before the Saturday opener and then resumed the Monday after the Sunday closing.

Yellowstone Lake area in Lafayette County has been moderately quiet during the pheasant season and duck hunting, according to county resident Wayne Smith.

“The colors are all over the place, including some tree foliage still green but changing fast,” he said. “Raccoon hunting has started but the pelts are far from prime. Even by mid-November, a prime pelt might only bring $3.50. The highest price I can remember goes back to the1980s when the best might have fetched $60”

Not that it helps with ammunition supply, but Williams said the shortage is due in great part to the resins needed for the shell hulls, which is not available for plants in Texas and other locations.

Don Martin, in Monroe, had a few heavy pheasant loads last week but not many.

Wild bird feeding has begun and unidentified problems at birdnfeeders have dissipated. Now’s the time to clean the feeders, repair or purchase feeders, and attract birds for viewing.

While feeding is popular, providing water, shelter and perches will also bring birds closer. The four in combination will be a real winner.

— Jerry Davis is an Argyle native and a freelance writer who lives in Barneveld. He can be reached at sivadjam@mhtc.net or at 608-924-1112.