Sam Adams...not the beer...

Today Sam became a mighty hunter. As you know he has learned to come to the sound of a coach's whistle - that's part of the story.

Today Sam has been out for longer and longer periods. Mama worries about him when he's gone very long but I think it's good for him to get out and nose around. He goes over to the Glenn's but they say all he does is look around and leave. Hopefully if he goes very far in the opposite direction he will behave as well.

Most of his time is spent on the hill behind the house. The first week he was here he was nosing around the yard and suddenly sniffed something that must have been interesting because all of a sudden he hopped over the ridge and out of sight. He always came back fairly soon but often when he returned he had mud on the top of his head. No where else, just the top of his head. That's when I knew he'd been tracking either a rabbit or a groundhog.

Everyday he seems to follow the same route around the area. Checking things out as he goes. More and more time was being spent on the hill. When we blew the whistle, he always came at a full gallop. Today was a little different.

John and Marie had come to visit and wanted to see him. Mama blew the whistle but he didn't come. It was cold out so I told her I would call him. I blew the whistle, once, twice, three and then the fourth time. By now I was getting worried. He'd never needed more than two times.

Finally, I blew it again, really loudly. All of a sudden here he was, panting and looking scared. He probably thought I was mad because I blew it so hard. He came in, was petted but wanted to go out again. He was panting and looked exhausted so we decided to keep him in a while and before too much longer John and Marie left.

The phone rang almost immediately. John said, "I know why Sam took so long getting back. Look out in the front yard." There next to the front sidewalk was a groundhog. John checked to make sure it was dead and then took a picture of it. I got a sack and John put it inside. Then I put it in the garbage. About that time Mama let Sam out. He searched all around and got very upset. Finally he traced his steps back around the house and over the hill he went. He was checking to see if the groundhog had gone home. He came back almost immediately and John decided we should show him the groundhog. So we got it out of the garbage can and opened the bag. He was still too upset to even look and I wasn't going to pour it out.

John and Marie took off again. Mama and I decided to weigh the groundhog and it weighed eight pounds. That doesn't sound like much until you put eight, 16 oz. cans of food in a bag and carry it around. Try carrying that in your mouth and run uphill. Now it doesn't sound so easy. I feel terrible that I blew that whistle so hard when he was doing his very best to get here with that groundhog so I could inspect it and tell him what a great hunter he was.

Sam searched for about 30 more minutes before I broke down and got the groundhog out again. Once I got him to really look at it, he settled down and has not wanted to go out again.

He's hardly moved. I'll bet he sleeps better tonight. I certainly plan to!



Concerning the raccoon, we've barricaded the garbage cans, put a weight on top, have a radio playing and are leaving the light on. If it gets in there tonight, I may sit up tomorrow night with a gun!