OK, I did it. Woke up at 4:30 yesterday morning, got up and cracked the blinds to check the weather. No rain, no snow, no sleet for the first time in so long I can't remember. Went out on the back porch and checked the thermometer at 36 degrees, and the wind was dead calm. Looking good! Warmest it has been in a couple of weeks so I won't need the extra set of long johns under my polypro long johns today.
Jumped in the car and headed for LBL and all the GBTs. Had to go through C'ksville and before I got to the north end of Riverside Dr all the US flags along the street recognized me. They were real friendly and I guess they were glad to see me because they all stood up and started waving. Thirty miles later leaves started darting across the road in front of me and the headlights were picking up snow flakes. But, by that time I was committed (or maybe should have been) so I just gritted my teeth and kept going. Twenty miles later I parked the car and got out while it was still so dark I had to fumble with my jacket zipper.
Made my way into the woods and finally found a likely place to sit under a tree. Thank goodness I had my foam cushion looped to my belt. Kept my butt from freezing to the ice under the trees.
Light started seeping out of a heavy overcast and when the trees saw me they all started waving, too. I was sure getting a friendly welcome everywhere this morning.
I was on a ridge that really looked "squirrelly" and I could hear the leaves start to rattle out to my front. My heart picked up its pace as the sound got closer. Then I saw what it was! It was sleet, and it was coming down good.
Now here I was sitting in the woods at the break of day, 50 miles from home in a 15-20 mph wind with the sleet starting to cover the ground real fast. A falling thermometer was making me wish I had worn that extra set of acryllac long johns, and maybe some other stuff, too, if I could get it all on.
I gotta tell you, just for a minute there my squirrel hunting dedication might have been on the brink of faltering just a little. I was thinking about how far I would like to drive in an ice storm. The answer wasn't 50 miles.
But, I "endeavored to persevere" and finally eased my way 1/2 mile farther up the ridge to the north and over to the side that was a little more sheltered from the west wind. By then the sleet had stopped.
That was when nature decided it could get a better shot at me if it shifted the wind to the north, so that's exactly what it did. It turned out that that was an accurate estimate of the situation and the tactic worked. Now the north wind was blowing snow snakes right up my back side.
Nevertheless, I could see squirrell nests and den trees all around and I was sure that I would start seeing forraging squirrels any minute now. Afterall, they have to eat sometime, don't they? That thought and a cold ham sandwich and Snickers bar warmed me enough to stick with it.
Three hours later the wind had died down, but my resolution and that ham sandwich were starting to wear a little thin, and still no sign of any type of squirrel activity. Stupid squirrels!
I continued to walk a little, sit a little, and look a lot while I scouted new territory. An hour later I made it back to the truck without seeing any fur bearing critter of any kind, and it looks like I'll be relegated to eating (ggaaahhh) chicken this week.
Moral of the story: squirrels sure are stupid.
P.S. I'm almost thawed out now.
Stupid squirrels.