Pennsylvania Game News - September 2009 - 33

If Looks Could Kill MONTGOMERY — While sitting with my back against a large stone wall, waiting for a spring tom to appear, I heard a commotion behind me and watched as a chipmunk was being hotly pursued by a long-tailed weasel. The chipmunk climbed up a nearby tree to temporary safety, and the weasel, not happy with the turn of events, shifted its focus to me. It approached me, “sliding” like fluid through the jumble of rocks, until it was within a foot of me. It eyeballed me and sized me up from the safety of the rocks, and from the look that it gave me, I was really glad I wasn’t a chipmunk. — WCO J. CHRISTOPHER HEIL, COLLEGEVILLE A Shame LACKAWANNA — A big thank you goes out to the Scranton State School for the Deaf, for providing a venue for HTE classes in the county for the past several years. Unfortunately, the school will be closing, and I think it will be difficult to find another place as well suited for our classes. To all of the staff who went above and beyond to make our classes a huge success, good luck and God bless. — WCO CHRISTOPHER SKIPPER, CHINCHILLA Thanks for the Service JUNIATA — This is my last Field Note as an active WCO. After 35 plus years it is time to retire. I’ve seen our deer population go from overpopulation to manageable numbers. Bear sightings used to be rare, now they’re a common occurrence. Our turkey numbers are greater than they have ever been. Where once I heard the call of the whippoorwill, cackle of a pheasant and whistle of a quail, I now hear the screech of bald eagles as they soar in the Juniata skies, or the howls of a coyote or the scream of a bobcat. The backbone of our county has always been our people and the rural way of life, rooted in ties to the earth, love of nature, and commitment to family and friends. Being a “game warden” here has had its challenges, but it has not just been a job, but rather a 24/7 way of life. I’ll miss the county fair and somehow our grapevine will always work better than our phone lines. — WCO DANIEL I. CLARK, HONEY GROVE Got to the “Root” of the Matter BUCKS — A woman called about a bear she had seen in the same area on five consecutive days. After getting the directions, I followed a stream up a small valley and found the “bear” lying in a fern patch with only its head showing. A closer look revealed a small tree stump with two small “root ears” attached, sticking out of the ferns. At first glance the stump did resemble a bear’s head. — WCO JOHN PAPSON, TRUMBAUERSVILLE Stiff Competition PIKE — In the March issue I read about Bedford County WCO Dan Yahner and his deputy candidate trapping four bears in one day, and stating if trapping bears was an Olympic event, he would be a medal contender. He would, but not for the gold. With the assistance of deputy candidate Alan Kiersted, I trapped five in one day in Palmyra and Blooming Grove townships. — WCO MARK KROPA, GREENTOWN 33 Run Out of Town I was watching a gray squirrel eating maple seeds when a chipmunk came tearing out of a hole and charged the squirrel three separate times, bumping into it each time. After the third time the squirrel got the message and left. — LMO RICHARD LUPINSKY, EAST SMITHFIELD SEPTEMBER 2009

Pennsylvania Game News - September 2009

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