Learn to be patient!

I think of the dumbest things when I am sitting in a treestand. I often think I have a lot in common with Redtail hawks. No, I am not fast and I don't see all that well, but I do sit high in a tree for hours on end watching fields, and often times I the only thing I see is a red tail sitting across the field doing the very same thing. On days that it is really cold and nasty, I feel sorry for them as I can climb down and go get a sandwich...he has to sit there until his meal shows up!

My kids found a couple of kittens lurking around our woods a few months back. I hate cats, really do, and don't know why. I reluctantly let them keep both of them, or should I say I let them feed the little fur balls and they have stuck around. Anyway, these things have provided more entertainment than I would have ever imagined, and a little insight on occassion.

I ran home from the shop for an hour or so tonight to see the kids and eat dinner with the family. When I pulled in the drive I noticed one of the kittens "hunting". The dang thing didn't turn its head or even flick an ear as I drove within feet of it...it was intent. After visiting with the kids for an hour or so I got a call and needed to get back to the shop. I snapped this pic of the kitten still hunting...she had been there for an hour that I know of, without budging, in the rain and cold....just waiting. There is a hole beside the garage that chipmunks have been using, she knows it, and she is going to get one regardless of the wait!

To me, it just proves it is programmed into most living things to enjoy the hunt. Unlike the red tail hawk, this cat doesn't have to wait for hours on end for a chipmunk dinner - she's well-fed. She's a lot like us, a full belly with a warm and dry place to rest, yet there she is, waiting....

The quail we had (and it was a good amount) have been run out of their home. Our neighbor across the road was one of the worst farmers of all time. There was more foxtail in his bean fields than beans. It was a wildlife haven, and the quail loved it! I had a DOW man tell me about the awesome quail hunting he had over here with the Clinton Co. WO (who was one of our neighbors once upon a time). After he described the place, I knew where he was speaking of...the WO then joined the conversation and confirmed it. I told 'em to quit shooting the quail as my kids enjoy talking to them. (They claimed they couldn't hit them anyway) Since then, the farmer has leased the ground to another farmer that is much better at his job and has cleaned up the fields...quail are gone.

Pretty much the way I look at it anymore. Just sit there...