2-04-2012-squirrel hunting

      much as i sit here in the field surrounded by dogs , this has been a part of my life , especially in recent years and i have had some glorious fun furry friends to enjoy my life with. three of them are pictured here and with only one left as again i outlive my friends . bud on my right was my oldest and longest companion for over 18 yrs before he passed. and zoey to the far left is also gone but she left a hole in my heart . hardly did i move on this farm or our other farm with out a herd of dogs and as if that wasn't enough, neighbors were known to come walk dogs with mine. they had a dog house but rarely used it , and leashes also would be rarely used . trips in the truck were hectic at best and later on had to be curtailed as dogs got older and it was hard for them to get in and out of he truck. 

      but when all were well one day we took off on a rather adventurous hike off the beaten path into the heart of the deep woods. the dark green canopy of the trees shaded our intended route allowing spikes of sunlight peak through in shafting rays here and there lighting and pointing our way deeper into the woods. the cover of the trees was close enough that little trees struggled to get off the forest floor, and walking was getting easier as our way was devoid of scrub. i wasn't really looking for anything and as for the dogs , they still didn't understand the stealth concept, and were more inclined to scare small animals into scurrying away long before seeing them as they crashed through the woods. four large German shepherds , zoey and bud and their son and daughter mouthy and max  are themselves a force to be reckoned with. and myself at 6 foot 4 inches and a rather swarthy fellow i must say. at least not easily blown over by large wind as my feet are firmly planted as i am told. in fact i an told cows have died to make me shoes . a fact i am not necessarily proud of but does lend weight as to my size. irregardless we were a force of unintended purpose just enjoying a friendly walk together. i remember reaching some briars and looking up to see where i was going , and then all of a sudden a squirrel dropping out of the sky sails into my view scratching the air trying to put on the air brakes before hitting the ground almost instantaneously right before my eyes and bouncing up one time and settling down again . all four dogs and myself sat there catching flies with our mouths as we watched this rodent jump to all four feet and stand there and awkwardly stare at us for a split second , and secretly i heard him say something like oh shit, as he took to a fallen tree limb and ran off to the nearest tree with all four dogs in tow chasing and barking after overcoming their shock of seeing the squirrel fall out of the tree . i looked up as the dogs were after the squirrel to no avail as he had his wits about him and up another tree he went .    

      the tree he fell out of was at least 60 feet in the air to the nearest limb. and he must have been tracking us through the woods , jumping from tree to tree i assume and missed a limb and was gone .  and to imagine falling 60 feet and being able to survive the fall and getting yourself back up and shaking off the dust and look up to see four huge dogs and this giant staring down at you . i know i would have said those words above and a lot more before taking a huge crap. let alone jumping up and running for a tree . his  life was saved twice in one day. the dogs were all excited and kept looking int he trees as if the sky was about open up and rain squirrels. it was just one of those times when nature crosses your path and you had better watch out. that squirrel  landed only 3 feet in front of me . another second faster i could have been hit in the head from him.could imagine my self being all splayed out dead  in the woods , the dogs all back at the house laying around looking at each other wondering when supper was coming. and one squirrel sitting on a branch sixty feet over my head telling another squirrel how he slayed the giant human. and the other one saying , oh you're nuts, again the other says , no its true and pointing down to me below. so goes life.