Our First Score

And I almost didn't go. As I often do, I grew a little lazy after lunch as I lounged, napped, and hung out with CC and Baby Kitty. But I also wanted to get Bear and Pee Wee back to the woods. To make a short story long, we didn't get out of the truck until 3:30, but we were there, ready to ramble in the trees and fields of Hodge Ski Lodge. 

Nothing is going to cross that road
without Pee Wee seeing it.

Pee Wee starts every hunt with an eruption of energy that I have only seen in bird dogs. He hunts too wide and too fast, and he really doesn't even know what we are hunting, but he hunts. He runs deer, roots for field mice, barks when birds rise in front of him and looks up trees, sniffs on trees, and occasionally barks up trees. He is raw. But he has the stuff. He has the stuff.

When we turned out Thursday afternoon, he made a twenty-five mile per hour blaze across a field and into the trees. I thought, this is going to be our day. On all our other hunts, there were too many leaves on the trees. Now, along with the leaves, the acorns are on the ground also. The squirrels move down with them.

We headed down towards the little pond. I usually make a couple of swings by there because the area has some good trees around it and I like to give Pee Wee a chance to drink. Bear rarely moves enough to get thirsty, but he has himself a nice time out there rolling in leaves and protecting me. Pee Wee rared up on the side of a tree, but he did not bark and he did not stay. I gave the tree a good look over and saw nothing. But my eyes ain't what they used to be. There could have been a donkey up there for all I know.

Pee Wee then hit the grass patch near the pond and tried to see how fast he could get across it and into the trees on the other side. After that, we headed up a little path Dad made. On top of the next rise, Pee Wee started trailing something. He worked the track quickly and was soon out of sight. Bear and I eased along and a little later Pee Wee popped up on the next rise, looking back at us. Despite his wide-range hunting, he makes an effort to stay with me, to go my direction. He is not out doing his own thing, but he hunts with Bear and me.

We, Bear and I, eased down towards the gully while Pee Wee tore through the woods like his tail was on fire. When we got to the gully, he was in the bottom in nothing flat. I kept easing down to find a way across when I saw it. A squirrel shot up the slope on the far side, flew up a sapling, and make his way into a huge oak on the other side. Pee Wee was right behind him, and as I slide down into the gully, I was yelling, "Get him, Pee Wee. Get him Pee Wee." He barked one time, and he did stay there until I made it across and started scanning the tree. I couldn't find our quarry, and Pee Wee drifted off. We missed a good chance, I thought, a good chance.

We made a loop up towards Steen Road then headed back to the gully. At the edge of the ravine, Peer Wee went over the side like there was a huge magnet at the bottom and was a piece of metal. I walked up and looked over only to be horrified. There was a steep steep slope for about twenty feet followed by a straight drop off of another ten to fifteen feet. Pee Wee was at the bottom looking up. Thankfully he did not appear to be injured. Then he shocked me even more when he took a running start and cleared the straight drop off and scrambled up the steep part to just below the rim I was standing on to an overhang under a giant oak. He disappeared under the overhang. I could hear him snooting around and he stayed under there long enough for me to think, he likes something in there. 

I went to the other side of the tree to see if I could peer over and get a glimpse of him. When I did, my peripheral vision caught movement. A squirrel leaped over the lip of the overhang, scrambled up and small tree, and made his way into another large oak. I didn't wait on Pee Wee but started scanning the tree. I saw a little bump that I though was interesting so I let the twenty gauge test it out. Bingo. He ran farther up the limb only for me to reach out and bring him down.

When the squirrel hit the forest floor, I yelled for Pee Wee who came running up. At first he just gazed down at the creature then he grabbed it. I goosed him up, and he became really excited, shook the rodent, and wanted to take him off. It took a bit to get our prey out of the dog's mouth. Every one was now happy, except the squirrel, of course, and Bear was sort of nonchalant about the whole thing. Bear is simply not a hunter but he does enjoy these outings.

After our score, we crossed the gully and headed towards the truck. Pee Wee seemed to slow and keep his nose a little closer to the ground. Didn't he or was that just wishful thinking on my part? I like to think this taught him what we are hunting when we go out, but I am not so sure. On our drive home, two deer crossed the road  when we got to Hillbilly Heaven. Poor Pee Wee about tore the truck up wanting out.

I cleaned the squirrel when we got home, and Penny cooked it for my supper. This was the first one I ate in about fourteen years. Poor tree rats. If I didn't have this little dog, you would all be safe. Now, not so much.