[orthodoc]

These are adorable. I guess I have to get video of the two very hardworking chipmunks who live at opposite ends of our back deck; they've been carrying hickory nuts to their nests for weeks now. Occasionally our neighbor's cat strolls across the yard and the chipmunks freeze; the cat is too well fed to notice. The groundhogs have gone to ground in the past week or so; no more sightings. While the wild turkeys were grazing on the back slope, the groundhogs mingled (safety in numbers) and grazed as well; but now that the turkeys have drifted back into denser cover, all is quiet. The deer were numerous a couple of weeks ago but, thankfully, have now withdrawn. I don't want to see any now that bow season is here.

I should explain that our property is small, only 13 acres, and our house is situated so that it's less than 150 yards from anywhere on the property. Hunters firing rifles at the property line are too close to our house to be 'safe', per PA laws - never mind the fact that almost any rifle used by most hunters will carry farther than 150 yards. Most rifles used will fire a bullet 1-2 miles, as in the fatality we had in our county last year that was ruled an accident.

Three years ago, on Thanksgiving weekend, my daughter and I were decorating the Christmas tree in our home - against a large window in our great room - when we heard a dozen rifle shots close to the house. We looked out the window and saw a man walk up out of the ravine from our creek, into our backyard, literally a few feet from our back deck. He was holding his rifle, dressed in camo. I was livid. I bolted for the back door.

I ran out after the man, who had started up our back slope toward our woods. I yelled at him. "What the HELL do you think you're doing? Who do you think you are? There's a house here! You just shot your gun beside a HOUSE!!" He kept going. My husband caught up to me and grabbed my arm. He pulled me back, saying, this guy has a gun. Come back into the house. I was screaming at the guy. He kept going. I could see his hunting license on the back of his jacket but couldn't read it.

The guy walked away from us. If I'd been able to get a picture of his license, I could've had it pulled. That's the ONLY thing these guys care about. Nothing else matters. They wouldn't mind winging somebody and saying later that it was an accident. They'd get away with it in rural Pennsylvania.

Our 'posted' signs have all been torn down by the local yahoos. The local Walmart is out of them, per usual, and does not plan to order any more. It's another typical hunting season in northwest PA.