Squirrel season opens along with most small game in Michigan on the 15th 2 short days from now. This year how ever the squirrels and other small game will be getting a reprieve, Not just me either My brother also.
Normally just a few short years ago I would take a long week end from work since the 15th is a Thursday this year. I would meet my brother and a couple of very close friends, we then would drive to the state land just a few miles from Rob's (my brother) place. Once there where they had clear cut it about two years before we would get dressed to attack the black berry canes and brush one of my dads friends described, you had to shoot twice thru to get a rabbit. One shot would clear a path and second would get the rabbit 25 feet away. Any way early in the season this was idea partridge (aka pat's) cover as they would be in there cleaning up old berries and late ripening ones. There would be a tangle of buggy whip popple, maples and oak shoots coming from the stumps and roots of the cut over trees. Yes we used flushing dogs with those tinkling bells so you could keep track of them And at least one had to be a good retriever. Rob had just such a dog a springer named Skunk because her sides were mostly white and a solid black back. Can't say as We ever lost a bird we knew we made a good hit on. We also had dads dog a mutt named beaver because she liked to chew on chunks of wood till we started hunting. It would take a couple hours to fill our daily limit of Pats then we would go back to Robs house and clean the birds for that nights supper. After we had the dogs put away and watered we'd eat dinner and then head for the squirrel woods.
Lots of oaks back of my sisters house where we would start. Go in there and flop down on our butts cradling our 22's and wait for the squirrels to start moving again. The limit was 5 each but we set our own limit for that area, That little bit of hard woods behind my sister's was good for 5 total but we mostly kept it to 4 or there would be no more later in the season. We would leave there and got to a farm where my brother got permission for us to hunt squirrels as he went to school with the owner. Now that place most years we could fill a 10 squirrel two man limit in about a half hour unless they had hay near the woods instead of corn. We would do that Thursday and Friday on Saturday friends would come and hunt with us pretty much doing the same except skip the squirrels at my sisters.
Since Archery deer started Oct. 1st we would get our bows out and start shooting targets On Sunday afternoon before every one headed home.
This year my brother is recovering from a cancer of the liver operation and doesn't have the energy to walk much, he just planed on walking to the hard woods behind my sisters for a while. Me with my knee healing and not being able to walk on uneven ground will just stay home and remember past hunts and friends who have found perment hunting spots never to be bothered again in Valhalla.
Al
