Today we hunted in the Turkey Hill section of the park. It’s our default area for those days when we don’t have a lot of time or don’t have the inclination for a long hike. This morning was the coldest of the season so far; yesterday was nearly as cold but didn’t feel it, since we were hiking rather than staying still for any length of time.

We first hung out along the Ranger Trail for a very cold half-hour, as the sun came up over the mountain. We then moved to our usual sections, Rich in the middle and I near the southern stretch of the Turkey Hill trail. Both of us heard squirrels squawking like crazy up in the trees! I saw two running up and down the trees as I approached the trail, but I never saw them again.

We waited as long as we could. The air warmed up and it turned into a very nice day, at least for us. The squirrels were still nowhere to be found. I took a slow walk back down the trail toward Rich, discovering along the way a dark grove of hemlocks that looked like excellent red squirrel habitat. That will be my hunting spot next time!

As I came closer to Rich, I could see that he was following a squirrel. He shot and missed. I waited, then slowly moved toward him. Suddenly he was on the trail of another squirrel. He shot again … and this time knocked a little red squirrel off the stone wall. Just as we were getting ready to leave! It’s a shame we couldn’t have stayed longer, but there are more squirrels for other days.