Another story from the past.....

My Dad taught me how to hunt. His methods of firearms safety would not be accepted in some circles today, however they were effective. To this day I cannot pick up a firearm without first determining the safe direction to point it, and then pointing it that way. I never assume a firearm is unloaded. I also have no qualms about telling it's owner if I don't have any idea what kind of weapon it is. His values and rules were ingrained in me over forty years ago.

One of my favorite things was squirrel hunting. The best time for us to go was in the early fall, usually just as the trees were turning. We would be up before dawn, Granny would fix us a breakfast of eggs, bacon, fried taters, biscuits and gravy. We would get in the car and drive a short distance to the old farm, and very quietly ease out of the car, get our guns from the trunk, load them, check for safe, and work our way into the woods. By this time the sky would be light enough to see shapes so not walking into trees was easy, seeing spider webs was not. There is nothing like walking face first into a full spider web to make one spit and think bad thoughts about spiders.
Dad had his favorite place to sit. In was in a small grove of hickory trees with a few old oaks spattered in. He would sit me down on against a big tree and having been there before I knew where I could shoot. Dad would then walk on down the little draw to his tree, he sat on the opposite side of his tree so there was two tree trunks between us. When thinking about it today I wonder if that was for my safety or his? Then we waited. If you are quiet enough in the woods, as the sun comes up you can hear all kinds of things. It usually gets coldest just before the sun comes up, birds that roam the night like owls may sound off a time or two before they go to sleep for the day, and day time birds like crows begin to fly and caw to each other as they look for breakfast. Cattle can be heard for miles on one of these mornings, as well as every rooster in the county. All of the little forest critters come to life with in seconds of it being light enough to see. Sometimes you might hear a turkey cluck, even a gobble once in a while. The sound of a doe bleating, or a buck snorting all at the same time like some musical arrangement is exciting. The smell of fall leaves and the feeling of the crisp air all add to the experience. It seems that as it gets lighter the squirrels begin to move. They like to eat hickory nuts and acorns. I very seldom took very long to have a couple in the game pouch which meant fried squirrel fir dinner . Once the sun came up good, Dad would come back and we would spend the next few hours walking as quietly as possible looking into the trees looking for the little patch of gray fur , or the flip of a red squirrel tail. It was during this time that Dad would teach me the difference between a post oak and a white oak. I would also be instructed on just what the best use of the tree was. White oaks are known for their flooring as well as making stave's for barrels. That was easy for a 12 year old to remember, barrels were used for aging whiskey. I didn't know much about what whiskey was then, I just knew cowboys drank it on TV.

As I blogged earlier, the old farm belongs to another family now, Someone "clear cut" the trees so now its just pasture. None of the old trees were I sat are there. I shot my first squirrel there, my first frogs, quail, as well as my first deer. My wife explained to me, things have to change to make the memories better. I can only agree.