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   This weekend marks the beginning of small game season in Iowa. To us, this means we can hunt squirrels. We also hunt rabbits but do not shoot them. Our son, Damon, has beagles that enjoy nothing more than to chase rabbits and we do not want to take the chance or they’re becoming a shortage of them. Our way of hunting rabbits is to take the dogs to likely looking rabbit habitat, turn the dogs loose, and watch the dogs chase the rabbits. Rabbits will run in a circle, keeping just far ahead of the dogs to keep them interested. Many times, we have seen a rabbit run up and stop within a few feet of us as he watches for the dogs to catch up. Beagles are not fast dogs so there is no chance of one running the rabbit down but they are persistent on the track. Both the rabbits and the dogs seem to enjoy this game. We as hunters enjoy listening to the dogs baying and watching them on track. During any hunt, we have the opportunity to shoot the rabbit many times if we so desired. It is more fun to watch the chase than to harvest a rabbit.

   Squirrels are another case altogether. Our grandson, Zane, has a squirrel dog named Red. If Red trees a squirrel, he expects someone to come shoot it out of the tree. If nobody shows up to dispatch the prey after he has gone to all the work to track it down and run it up a tree, he is visibly annoyed at the hunter. Red is a Feist, a breed of dog bred specially for squirrel hunting and is good at it. True to his breed, he will ignore other scents and even animals in the woods as he runs with a laser focus on squirrels only. When he runs one up a tree, he will stand at the bottom and bark until his hunter arrives. When the squirrel is shot out of the tree, Red will bring it back. His greatest reward is a pat on the back and the opportunity to do it again. 

   One year, we had a squirrel hunting competition. Teams of two could hunt anywhere in the county, except in towns, and we would all meet back at the cabin to award prizes and eat. Fortunately, this was before Red was born or it would have been no contest. Nobody was using a dog, so the competition was fairly even. The only variables were how good the timber was that the team chose to hunt and if they could hit the squirrels after they found them. 

   Teams started pulling in about noon and a friend, Craig, started making squirrel stew. Since this happened several years ago, I do not remember who won the competition but I do remember Craigs squirrel stew. He removed the insides and outsides of several young squirrels, cut them into several pieces and browned them in some bacon grease. He then put the squirrel parts in a large pot with some water, chicken broth, carrots, garlic, onions, celery and green peppers to boil until almost tender. He then sliced some flour tortillas into strips and added them to the pot. The tortillas boiled up to look and taste just like noodles. After adding a bit of salt, pepper, and flour for thickening, he had a large pot of squirrel stew that was absolutely delicious. 

   Everything tastes better eaten in the open air on a sunny fall day, especially if it is something you harvested yourself and worked up an appetite walking the woods to do it.

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