I
started remodeling "Craig's Stand" in September after
discovering that a weasel had gotten itself temporarily trapped inside
it. It had found a convenient entry through a warp in the exterior
chipboard wall and found itself sandwiched in a batt of insulation
behind the plastic sheeting.
I
think the weasel went ballistic in an attempt to free itself and
chewed, scratched, and ripped its way to freedom. Did I mention it
shit everywhere it stopped trying to find the door?
Yes, it did.
Considering
the destruction -- and defecation inside, I got to work cleaning its
debris away, even going as far as wearing a Covid mask against the
purported dangers dealing with feces.When my vision cleared I could see my efforts were in vain, the deer stand was virtually
useless because of how all the trees had grown up around it since the horrendous spring rains we had. Although picturesque in its cozy forest
setting, its short six foot height amid all the 'suddenly' much taller
tamarack and red pine trees planted in 2012, made it a poor location come November.
I
thought about topping a few of the closer trees near it, but once I
walked the area I saw I would have to remove many of the trees I had
planted in 2012 to improve its location, and that wasn't going to
happen. I don't mind cutting down a few if I have to, but not this many.
There was only one thing to do ...
I
had thought about moving it about 100 feet farther west the last couple
years, but until the weasel made me see the forest for the trees. I had
just kept putting it off, besides I had decided I would just
concentrate on planting food plots this year and not build deer stands
for a change. However, the 'vesle' changed all that.
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Craig's Stand Surrounded By Trees
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I
painted it 'Privet Hedge' green and put 2 x 10s under it two directions
(this image only shows two) to allow the use of a forklift or bale fork
for moving it.
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| I built a new 48x60-inch base with 10-foot legs about 100 feet west of the old location. |
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Excitement
builds. Neighbor Mark Oslund used his Case end-loader and a lot of
patience to remove the body of the old stand from the legs. I used a
Sawzall and a chainsaw to cut the old legs off. What I thought would
only take "An hour at most," took almost over two hours. Whittling the
base down from between the two was a battle.
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Mark
jockeyed the body into position around many trees. He tied a
high-strength ratchet strap around the body and attached it to his end
loader so it wouldn't fall off the forks.
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Even
though he said he couldn't see what he was doing, he set it down
perfectly. I climbed a ladder and lagged the body to the new base. The
ends of the 2x10s will be trimmed off later.
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Set in place, except for a little adjustment later, Craig's will prove to be a popular stand.
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Back in The Sticks
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