We’ve had a lot of fun so far this season, but no squirrels. On the first day of the season, a cold, blustery Saturday, we hunted the Turkey Hill section of the park. We saw half a dozen other hunters in the woods, but very few squirrels. Rich had a shot, but somehow the little bugger got away. I saw only two squirrels—one that just popped its head over a stone wall and disappeared, never to be seen again, and another that mockingly tiptoed along the wall just as I realized I’d had too much coffee and, uh, squatted behind a large tree to relieve myself. After a few hours we hurried home, anxious to warm up with some tea and soup.

Wednesday we hiked the Orchard Trail, a nice singletrack trail that weaves narrowly between the highway and the lake. It would be great for mountain biking during a dry period; however, even after our extremely dry summer, the trail was still saturated from the previous day’s rain. Rich saw one squirrel that was so quick I didn’t even catch a glimpse before he was gone down the trail. We also saw one doe crossing the trail and four herons near the lake.

Today, at long last, I got one! Time for squirrel potpie.