So gun season has dawned and the Deer are, by now what one would call SKITTISH. I awoke at the crack of TOO DANG to discover it was 61 degrees outside. I immediately switched from long johns and sweat shirts to the more seasonal Hawaiian shirt and shorts.

I still had a Doe tag so I went out with my son Steve, who still had a buck tag this morning to a new place. I was in there on the previous Thursday and saw a mess of Does so I figured there must be a buck around somewhere...not. Not even a doe today.

But hunting is just that and not killing so we amused ourselves by counting and stalking the elusive Red Squirrel. I quit counting at fifty and as far as stalking, well we were the ones being stalked.

The impenetrable brush to the west of us produced a steady stream of the little tree rats and they delighted themselves with sneaking up on us and checking us out from the safety of a young Elm tree overhanging the creek sometimes four or five at a time.

If you've never had a Squirrel try to get you to move you have missed out. They bob and weave and cuss in rodentease while running from limb to limb all the while keeping a sharp eye out for any sudden movement on your part. Fortunately for us they could not get directly overhead or they would have dropped...well, stuff on us. And yes I have had that happen on occasion.

Anyway the squirrels and the Deer won today, I guess I don't mind losing once in a while since that means I get to try again. They say the brain of a deer, and for that matter a Squirrel is greatly inferior to that of a human...Obviously scientists don't hunt.