A while back I mentioned a friend that found a snake in her basement. Probably because of her bird feeder, drawing in mice and chipmunks. I promised to get her a salt block.

The other evening Diana told me she'd be home and I had a short break from work, so I took her a mineral salt block. One of the reddish/brown blocks, like $10 at the co-op.

We talked for a little bit and she told me where to put the block. It's in the edge of her yard, 25 yards out or so? She was with me, and when I carried the block over there, I noticed a little pile of kitchen scraps. There was an orange peel, a banana peel, an egg shell and a slice of bread. I don't put junk like that in my kitchen trash can either. It'll draw gnats and flies.

Anyway, we made a circle around her house, she's got a beautiful view. On a good day she can see 25 miles.

I had to get back to work, and we were talking, I was telling her about back when Westvaco owned the property. Westvaco, West Virginia Pulp & Paper. Westvaco owned somewhere around 15,000 to 18,000 acres, where her cabin is today.

I trapped part of it for years. Westvaco sold the land, now it's being developed. I think it's all been sold.

Anyway, we were standing there talking, telling her where the timber roads would take you years ago. Some of them are closed off now, with lots of new roads. Million Dollar homes up in there today.

Diana said: Look, pointing behind me. I looked over my shoulder and there was a deer walking toward us. When the deer turned, I said look at her belly. You could almost see the imprint of a fawn, she was the same on both sides.

The deer eased over to the pile of kitchen scraps. It ate the orange peel first, then the slice of bread, banana peel, and picked up the egg shell and then dropped it. Diana said she'd eat the egg shell too.

I had to get back to work, and I'm sure I was spooking the deer some too. But the doe was standing there, 30 or 40 feet from us.

I hope Diana enjoys her new salt lick, I'm sure the game will too.

I guess I'll be saving banana peels!

Well, I was reading, and found a solution to the banana peel problem!

https://www.yummly.com/recipe/Banana-Peel-Bacon-2728751

I see stuff like the "recipe" above, and it makes me wonder!!!

As my old friend Ramond Jr., would say: He must have had a rough childhood!

I'll tell you a little about the property where Diana's log house was built. As well as I remember, that was part of Westvaco's "Josea tract". I'm thinking it was 6,800 acres. Westvaco owned 3 tracts.

That property was split, busted up into 20, 30, maybe 40 acre lots. I forget what Diana owns? She told me, I'll ask her again.

In my opinion, there are probably more deer per square mile, on Westvaco's old property than anywhere else in the county.

You see, that is a "gated area". I had to have her combination, to get on the property. Years ago, I had keys. Now you just stop, punch in the combination, the gate opens.

I've looked at the tax maps for the property, the majority of the property is owned by folks from out of town. And the property isn't hunted. Mostly vacation homes, I assume?

It'd be impossible to hunt or trap that property like I did years ago. There are some good bucks in the area, no doubt about that at all. Diana will send me pictures.

One thing that I'll add about Westvaco, they owned other properties, scattered all over the place. Not just the little area of 15,000 acres where Diana's house is built.

At one point, Westvaco owned 1.5 Million acres.

Do you guys have the equivalent of our crown land?

Our National Forest land would be about the same. We have National forest, state forest. Wildlife Management Areas. Depending on the local rules, if you have the right license, all of that property is open to hunting, trapping and fishing.

Out in the big western states, they have BLM property. Bureau of Land Management. With the right license, it's open too. Politics has it botched up now.

It's been 30 years ago, 2 of my best friends and I went hunting out west. I was driving and pulled up on a high spot, where you could see forever. I forget how I said it? Something like this: Boy's what do you think of our property? Everything that you can see, belongs to us.

And we could see for miles and miles!

Diana sent me a message last evening, that she saw a fawn at her house.

She sent another message this morning, the deer had found her salt block. It's only been there a week.

Give the deer another month or 2, they will have a good path.

Just thinking about it, back when Westvaco owned the property. I'd park out around the "Bed of Rocks", hunt around the face of the mountain, drop off to the "west side road", and circle back to the truck. It was a good hunt!

If I'd make the same hunt today, I'd need permission from 50 or more landowners!

Things change.

"If I'd make the same hunt today, I'd need permission from 50 or more landowners!"

Wow! I would guess that the odds of receiving an answer of "yes" from 50 different people is zero.

I agree. Zero percent chance. I've mentioned that same property before, it's ruined. It'll never be the same.

I'll tell you something else that's becoming almost a thing of the past, the old time family farm.

Years ago you could ask one man for permission to trap his 300 acre farm, no problem. Come and go, just make sure the gates were closed up good. Things have changed.

Took the dog out detecting with me this morning, I did see my first fawn of the year. As well as I could tell, just the doe and one fawn.

Back to the same place I took Chris the other day, found 2 Quarters, a Dime and a Penny. New coins, junk. I don't think it's ever been detected, that's odd.

Before I forget, I'll tell you that I took Diana a stump yesterday, where we can put the salt block, so it's not on the ground.

Buddy of mine cuts brush and all, asked him to get me a stump about so big. He gave me a green sycamore stump, big enough for 3 saltblocks! It's a heavy rascal. I've had it for 2 months or so?

Deed honest, If you put out a saltblock, it will last so much longer, if it's off of the ground.

Anyway, I took the stump to her house, took it out to the spot and squared it up. The saltblock has only been there since May, but you can see where the deer are working it. Little bit of ground scratched up on the low side.

She should be set for now.

But I want to tell you about the ride up to her cabin, she's about a mile and a half behind a locked gate. Going up, there were 4 deer walking across the road, I could see horns on the first 2. Think the first one was a small 8-point, maybe a 6 and I think the other 2 had nubs.

On up the mountain, I found a single fawn, then a doe with another fawn.

Didn't have much time before work, so didn't fool around long, checking them out. But the fawn's spots were bright, vivid, they are young.

Diana told me yesterday that she owned 20 acres. Which 20 acres is nice. But above, where I said I'd need permission from 50 landowners and all. If a feller is really going to get out and hunt, 20 acres isn't much!

Years ago, they way I hunted the place, that was a 3 or 4 or 5 mile circle. An all day hunt. It'll never happen again, and that's sad.

You know, about the only thing I can tell my friends today, is the way it was years ago. Some of the best turkey hunting in the area. Grouse, my goodness! Caught my first bobcat on that property.

Thing's change, even if we don't like it. But I still have access to the property, so that's nice.