Starting off my walk on this past Tuesday morning there were a few wisps of fog hanging in the trees. Right away, not two hundred yards down the road from my house, there was a deer.

Taking the “shot” with barely enough light and the deer then running off, I continued on down the road.

Coming to a slight curve, I saw a skunk just going into the grass along side of the road. By the time I walked up to it, it had moved under my fence, almost into the thick stuff. Trying for a “shot” before really shooting at it, I took this picture. The quarry was a striped skunk, Mephitis mephitis, the areas leading carrier of rabies.

Then, unlimbering my .22 pistol, with a 1-1/4” barrel, I tried to “guesstimate” an aiming point. Three shots later it ran off, no skunk, so I continued on my walk.

The three shots put every wild thing in the area to seeking suitable cover, but I walked up on one of my neighbor’s llama, Lama glama, with its ears perked. He uses this South American camelid to protect his sheep and goats since they are fearless and great guards against the many predators around here.

Tuesday’s walk had a little bit of everything, some hasty “shots, some poor shooting, some excitement, my right knee didn’t hurt and I worked up a good sweat. What a way to start the day!