Chuck, those are great pics! (And getting the shots without folks realizing that you are getting the shots is one of the marks of a good photographer!) If you don't mind, I would sure appreciate having an emailed copy of your large-file original of the group. Could I trade you something for it?
I had such a good time there with everybody! Clark and I went to the Bob Evans at 6, and ate as much as we could hold. Then came the trek to the WMA, some 28 miles away. When we got there, all we found were trucks and cars. I set about perusing the county stickers to see if I could guess the owners. Tom and Chris Bohl and Chris' son Conner arrived, and we talked a bit before setting out in search of the scurrilous squirrels.
The Bohls headed off one way, and Clark and I went down across the dam and up the Nature Trail. We figured two things;
1) All the REAL hunters would have gone up the Squirrel Ridge Trail and
2) Animals on the Nature Trail would be less wary than the animals on the trail that hunters took. :D
And it was TRUE!! Not only were the animals on this trail more relaxed, they were sound asleep, snug in their holes in the boles! And when we went onto the Squirrel Ridge Trail, I ran into ncbowman and UK Archer. What gave me great pause in my trail-choosing theory, was what tipped me off to their presence in the first place. While I had thought that perhaps somebody was perpetrating some outrage upon the nether parts of some beleaguered mule, the braying that had aroused my concern was actually originating from the "guide" that these two unfortunates had engaged. I snuck closer to ascertain the exact nature of the poor equine's dilemma, and was both relieved and nauseated to find that I was actually tracking the obstreperous outpourings of our renowned SpringFlutter.
I hurled (almost :p ) the expected invective his way and we thumbed our noses as greeting.
We walked a bit up the trail, and shot a clump of grass to a bloody pulp. Walking on, we found a VERY squirrelly place, where more stump shooting broke out.
Forgive me my naiveté, but I still believed in my chances of finding game. My poor husband is even less worldly than I, and so, with our gallant dreams of mighty conquest and the fattening of our friends with the bounty that we would harvest from the Powhatan Pignuts, Clark with his horsebow and I with my K-Mag wended our way away from the pleasant company and Tommy, and off toward adventure in the hardwoods.
Oh, it's past my bedtime.
Killdeer