It’s been almost 15 years since I have squirrel hunted. After last year’s combination deer scouting and squirrel hunting, I decided that I would participate in the hunting part this year. I joined longtime friend John Ray and son Jonathan – both avid and enthusiastic outdoorsmen. Of course Jonathon challenged us old farts to see who would get the most squirrels. We arrived at our deer hunting areas and headed towards our individuals stands to check on their condition. It wasn’t long before I heard John firing his 22. After the third round of shots from John’s 22, I began to wonder about my squirrel hunting ability. I know I don’t see or hear as well as I once did, but I am not blind or deaf.
Finally I came into an area that the squirrels had been using. This was apparent by the acorns and hickory nuts that had been eaten and were littering the ground. It was time for me to break the silence of the morning with my 12 gauge and that is what I did. Three shots and three squirrels down.
Making it up to my ladder stand, I inspected its condition and headed over to my brothers stand to check on it. This area was mostly cedar trees and did not hold any squirrels but I did see a small fawn and some turkeys.
Still hearing John shooting his 22, I decided to head down the hill to the hard woods to try to get a few more squirrels. I managed to get three more before 9:30. By this time it had started to get hot and I wanted to rinse off with a swim in the river to remove any ticks or chiggers before heading home. The final tally was Greg 6, John 3, Jonathan 0. Boy was Jonathan bummed out by the old men beating him.
One thing that peek my interest while in the woods was the presence of several mushrooms. Particularly a small trumpet shaped orange one. I have always been interested in wild mushrooms. After getting home I did a little internet investigating on these mushrooms and found them to be edible called Cantrell’s. I also found a group of local mushroom hunters that meet at different state parks to catalog the different types of mushrooms that were present at the parks. This peek my interest and I found the next meeting was at Cumberland mountain state park in September.
The morning of Saturday, September 8, I joined The Cumberland Mycological Society for the foray at Cumberland Mountain State Park. Special permission was given to members who meet at 9:00am to gather specimens for about two hours. They then spent two hours grouping, identifying and documenting the finds of the day. They mostly used experience and books to do the identification, but they also used chemicals and microscopes. At 2:30 they gave a talk on mushrooms native to Cumberland Mount State Park which was open to the public.
I meet one local fellow that was much more interested in gathering them to eat, and was willing to take me with him on one of his outings. I hope this will help me add a few more mushrooms that I will be comfortable collecting and eating.
Take someone Hunting, Greg