Pennsylvania Game News - July 2011 - 9

trees. Their yellowish-orange leaves always thrill me. Some of the smaller saplings are so thick here it is impossible to walk through. I know if this was an area grouse frequented, I would probably flush one or two. But, for some odd reason, I have never seen a grouse within three miles of this particular location. The pheasants, however, hide in them if they are bumped out of the marsh and surrounding thickets. I love to sit on one of the large stumps, if nothing more than to just simply take in the beauty of these impressive trees. At such times I almost forget that I’m squirrel hunting until some rustling in the underbrush catches my attention. It would be easy to take a limit of grays without moving on any given day. It is truly the best squirrel woods I have ever hunted. And, I have hunted in some really good places throughout the state. It gets a little more open up ahead for about 20 yards and then thickens up again. Deer often hurry through this spot to get to the tender grasses in the field on the far northern end before a patch of posted ground. I suppose they also use this place to avoid hunters, although I have not been successful there during deer season, mostly because I have other places to go. I enjoy the three wide paths cutting through the mid-section of the woodlot. They were originally cut for the fox hunters who owned this property many years ago. They are wide enough for a tractor to easily

pass through, maybe even two at once in some places. I like to pursue bushytails by easing along on one of these trails. It is especially nice when a rain has dampened the forest floor the night before. An early morning fog adds an almost eerie quality to this area just before the sun breaks through the mist and it warms up. I’m sure you have been enjoying this tranquil setting. I know you would like to hunt with me here or even go for a hike. The sad part is it only exists in my mind. Oh, it was real, but it’s all gone now, replaced with houses and roads. There has been some question as to the need of such destruction of pristine land. People have the right to do with their land as they wish, up to a point. But you need to think about the future of your favorite territory. Will it be there for your children and grandchildren to enjoy? I know of a little boy who would have been devastated by the events leading up to the destruction of the woodlot and marsh. He would not have been able to travel to distant places to enjoy himself. I, as a man, can move farther afield, but I’m concerned for the little ones who will never get to know a place like the territory I had come to love. 

Cover Photo by tim Flanigan
THIS SLEEK doe is slipping through a forest opening on a muggy July morning. She’s alert and at full attention, checking something out before she crosses the opening and the woods beyond swallow her up. Pickin’s are good at this time of year for whitetails, as deer require from two to seven pounds of vegetation daily to remain in good health. You have to wonder if this doe has a fawn behind her somewhere. She appears to be young, but it’s not uncommon in areas of good food for a doe to produce her first fawn at the age of one year. Her fawn, if she has one, would be more than a month old now and a bundle of energy.

july 2011

Pennsylvania Game News - July 2011

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