For at least 10 days now, I could not go out on my deck in the early morning or late evening without hearing a squirrel eating a pecan. Must have been picking up older ones on the ground that nothing wanted before that fell on the ditch side of the road. Only time I ever saw him was looking with my thermal scope and walking all over the place, small little sucker. Of course by the time I saw him, he saw me and dissapeared post haste. Not that I could have done anything anyway, thermal was on a large caliber centerfire PB, I just wanted to know where he was hiding all the time. Seems he always was hiding on the road side of my oldest pecan tree, and when I moved to a point to see other side of the tree he would instantly run. He made a mistake this evening, finally. I was on the deck smoking, and knocked a block of wood off the railing accidentally, clanked off the steps. Made the little bugger curious and I saw his head and half his body look over a V between two large branches. Uragan was just laying on top of the grill waiting for him to be stupid. Had to shoot through an old web that had a few dried leaves stuck in it, pulled the trigger and there wasn't a deep thud or a crack, but something between the two sounds. I actually never heard that sound shooting a squirrel before. Turns out shooting one in his breast plate straight on makes that sound. He fairly quickly went up a limb 6 feet and I just knew I made a bad shot based on nothing but a sound I never heard before. I fumbled turning down the mag on the scope, I had it on 16x to see through the dirty spider web at no more than 13 yards. Looked up and he was coming back the way he went up the limb, looking perfectly healthy, he stopped a second and I was quickly settling the crosshairs when he just fell like a rock, pure dead weight falling. Probably the smallest and skinniest squirrel I ever saw other than baby squirrels, I swear he is skinnier than the dead one still stuck up in a tree that is fully dehydrated after staying stuck there since November. I can't believe it hasn't rotted and fallen yet. I've had lots and lots of 70 degree days and mid 50's nights since then, and he won't rot away. Wish it was warm like that now, blower motor in my HVAC air handler locked up yesterday morning, sitting here in long sleeves, jacket, sweats, and wool socks. Seems electric motors, like a lot of other stuff these days, is in short supply, company said it may take several days to get a replacement in, they didn't have one in stock that would fit and no HVAC business around would even bother checking, only way they would give up one if they had in stock would be for one of their customers.
