magpielodge

Male, 59 years old

Rapid City, South Dakota, United States

Occupation: Medical electrical specialist

A Few Words: About thirty years ago I was the only hand on a fairly large ranch (9600 acres), about 16 miles south of Rapid City, inside the hog back ridges that surround the Black Hills. One bright, sunny day, the nice old widow that owned the place asked me to reduce the cottontail population that had been feeding on the rose bushes that surrounded her yard. That beat fixing fences, so I grabbed my dog and .22 and started tracking in the few inches of fresh, dry snow that had fallen the night before. I had head shot a couple of yummy bunnies near the barn yard and then followed a set of tracks among some old farm machinery and wagons outside of a chokecherry windbreak along the West and North sides of the home place. Both provided good cover from predators, but not for the lone bunny that chose to explore beyond it's safety on the open prairie further West. His set of tracks ended in a brush of wing prints upon the light snow. Following the direction of flight, I found several drops of bright blood that lead to a small bluff about fifty yards from the site of ambush. There, I found cottontail fur and the unfrozen remains of what would have been the third serving of that night's stew. I suspect my fellow hunter saw me before I saw it and had flew away. Judging from the time of day and the size of the wing prints, I concluded my well-fed competition was one of the pair of Rough Legged Hawks that I saw several times daily while I did my chores that winter. I was happy for them and my fortune of seeing the story in the snow.

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Member Since Apr 6, 2006, Last Active: Feb 11, 2007

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