Letter to the Editor: Credit store owner for powering Lighthouse Resource Center in Wilkes-Barre

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On the Books: ‘Benedict Hall’ explores 1920’s America through historical drama

<p>The excitement grew when I wrapped my hand around the base of the thick antler.</p><p>But the situation was a bit different.</p><p>It was March and not the early December deer season, and this particular antler wasn&#8217;t attached to a buck.</p><p>But the adrenaline rush I felt from a recent find of a matching set of shed antlers was equal to the one I experience when I&#8217;m lucky enough to harvest a nice buck during deer season.</p><p>Both are rare occurrences.</p><p>Last week, I walked the edge of a hayfield where several well-used deer trails came down off a bank from a field above. The trails were muddy with deer tracks, and one path in a steeper section had deep imprints where a deer braced its front feet before leaping into the hayfield below.</p><p>I looked at the tracks, and then glanced into the hayfield - a blanket of faded brown grass with a tinge of green. Something was out of place. Was it a weathered piece of cornstalk blown in from a nearby field? A curved stick bleached by the sun?</p><p>It was an antler, and a couple feet away was its match.</p><p>The story was easy to put together.</p><p>I walked through this very spot two days ago and the antlers weren&#8217;t there. The deep tracks in the nearby trail were likely left by the buck as it jumped off the small hill that separated the two fields and, when it landed, both of its antlers were knocked lose and fell to the ground.</p><p>I picked the antlers up, happy to see I discovered them before the gnawing teeth of a rodent did, and counted seven points rising from the thick beams. The buck that carried them had been a mystery to me. I never saw it sporting velvet-covered antlers in the summer, nor did I see the deer with its polished rack in the fall or winter.</p><p>But the evidence that it exists, and made it through deer season, was indisputable.</p><p>It was the first matching set of antlers that I&#8217;ve found, and the discovery heightened my passion for searching for shed antlers in late winter and early spring. Hunting for sheds is similar to hunting for the buck wearing them in deer season. They are hard to find but when one finally connects, the thrill is hard to beat.</p><p>Like I do whenever I harvest a buck, I took a minute to examine, and appreciate, the antlers.</p><p>Deep grooves defined the main beam as it stretched past the G2s - the tine that protrudes up from where the antler curves and is typically the longest. One antler sported three points, including the brow tine, while the other had four. The bases were a mass of ridges and knobs worn smooth when the buck rubbed trees in the fall, and outside surface of each antler was bleached from months of exposure to weather and sun.</p><p>But what interested me most was the underside of the base, which was a rough surface with tiny chambers, called spicules, where the calcium was reabsorbed from the antler before it dislodged from the pedicle.</p><p>It won&#8217;t be long before this buck begins to grow a new set of antlers, and perhaps this year the deer won&#8217;t be a mystery.</p><p>But even if I go another year without seeing the deer, the set of shed antlers has provided a lasting experience and proof that no matter how secretive a buck is, it always leaves a little evidence behind.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">A pair of matching shed antlers found by Tom Venesky while he was out on theb edge of a hayfield last week. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_IMG_20160311_181121190.jpg</photo0><caption0>A pair of matching shed antlers found by Tom Venesky while he was out on theb edge of a hayfield last week. </caption0><photoCredit0>Tom Venesky </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_Venesky-1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Venesky </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_Venesky-1-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Venesky </caption1><photoCredit1>Tom Venesky </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Outdoors with Tom Venesky: A memorable find