Ahhhh...a lovely winter morning. The sky is gray, the fire in the woodstove is burning nicely, I have been sitting right here working on some music and watching the chickadees, nuthatches, cardinals and bluejays darting to and from the feeders, the kittens have been snuggling behind the woodstove and the dog at my feet....BAM.
I knew it was too good to last. Hunters. Shooting TOWARDS my house. My husband and I threw on our boots and orange hats, grabbed a pen, paper and camera and drove up the road. There stood a middle aged man holding his gun and looking at us like a kid caught stealing cookies from a cookie jar.
"Sir, you realize you are shooting in a safety zone." said my husband in a very calm voice.
Blank look.
"Sir, there are houses there, over there and over there."
"I know." says the hunter.
"Then why are you hunting here?"
"I was shootin' over there" the hunter said while pointing in the direction of a neighbors house which is over a knoll and behind some trees.
"Exactly, there is a house there. This is a safety zone. Where are the others?"
"They're over there in that field (pointing to our field...the one clearly marked with NO TRESPASSING NO HUNTING). They're driving the deer."
Okay..that pissed me off.
So I said, "You can't hunt here. This is a safety zone. The field beyond here is posted. They can't hunt there. You will have to leave."
"But they're over there (points)."
"I don't care, you need to leave." My husband repeats himself one more time, "Sir, you are hunting in a safety zone. It is illegal to hunt here."
Another blank look.
We drive up the road just a bit, stop by his truck, write out a description, plate number and time. We drive to the top of the road, turn around and come park about 50 feet from where this man is trying to hunt (might I add that he is no more than 10 yards from the road which is also illegal). We sat and waited. After 5 minutes or so, the guy gets in his truck, drives up the road and picks up his 4 other buddies. They drive off. We wait and then drive up the road to make sure they kept going (elderly neighbor lady and 2 empty camps). We turned around and made a loop around "the block" where we found them again. The same lone fellow now in the bottom of a field. Eventually, if he keeps walking, he will not only be hunting on our land but again within the safety zone limits.
The state police have been called. The game warden will be next...the second I see that guy in the bottom of our field...which, of course, IS POSTED.
It never fails.
As you know, people have hunting accidents. This year, a young man was shot by his father while driving deer. *shaking my head*
So...perhaps now I can get back to looking up some tunes....and there goes another gun shot...swear to God. *sigh* Guess I'll be going back out and the music will have to wait.