[flipper35]

Boy was it cold and windy Saturday morning. 30* and 50mph gusts.

We have rules about shooting a live animal. If it is a pest or a danger it is OK to shoot. Otherwise if you shoot it you eat it.

I needed to make an amendment Sunday morning. The boy walked with me to our spot and we stumbled on a racoon. It was awake and just stared at us. I tried to get it to move but it would stand and then stumble. I immediately thought it was rabid but went through my mental checklist and determined it was. It had the symptoms that I have a * next to.

*Unexplained aggression or lethargy;
*Raccoon looks slow, disoriented or confused;
*The animal seems to be unaware of noises that would normally send it scurrying to another location;
*Loss of raccoon’s leg function due to paralysis;
Throat muscle constriction that causes drooling, choking and frothing of the mouth.


I decided at that point that it was both a danger to us and would be dead soon anyway and it would die horrible from rabies so I shot it. The boy and I discussed it for the next several minutes so he understood the reasoning and we talked about the effects of rabies on mammals. Later in the day he saw a large grey squirrel about 25 yards away. He said he would eat at least 1 leg if he shot it. Thank goodness he missed. I don't like squirrel.

He did get to see a woodpecker going about its business in a tree we were next to. Heard some wild dogs, a goose and a turkey gobbling away and a large bees nest. Later he got to see a turkey that was about eight feet from him and just strutting around and another took flight just past the close one. The kids then found a large skeleton and were examining the teeth. We ate well all weekend. The boy got to shoot more than any of us though, no big deer to shoot. Will try again this weekend. Both kids had a good time just being in the woods. I walked about 8000 steps Sunday morning and the 7 year old walked all of those with me, plus all his walking up and down the creek exploring. He slept well last night.

Glad to see those of you down under enjoying your free time.

We were keeping up with OK for a while with the good weather. Now you all suck!