BELLING THE CAT

     I apologize to all of you that have been checking HWS every morning only to see that mount boiling on the stove. After a very prolific November (in and out of the woods) I had to throttle back and take care of some business. My mind only seems to be able to juggle so many things. The distraction was my Hail Mary, last ditch effort at getting some grant funding for my fringe lifestyle. The last time I got a grant was 1989. Those were different times. Oddball artists and sketchy approaches to applications were actually rewarded. Those times are long gone. Since then my applications have been summarily rejected. Crayon pleas for HELP on soiled tissue paper no longer hold muster.

     Now that the grant application is done I can get back to what is really important: getting on a good buck and removing Trump from 16 Pennsylvania Ave. Oh yeah, then there's the Covid. Taken in order, today is the NYS opener for muzzleloader season. For the uninitiated a muzzleloader is a one shot, black powder rifle that loads down the muzzle. The key here is ONE SHOT. I've gotten two of my biggest bucks with the muzzy. This is due to the change to extreme weather and the second rut, both shifts in the woods that will put mature bucks on their feet. The stars are aligning. The rut is on, snow is coming and the temps are dropping fast. My permission to hunt a good farm down the road has also returned for the late season. Things are looking up.

  The next issue is Trump. The disgust I feel towards literally half of the country and the entire Republican Party has only increased through the fall. My early confidence that Democracy will prevail-- avoiding blood in the streets-- is being sorely tested. Trump's version of black shirts (the Proud Boys) tore down and burned Black Lives Matter flags flying over DC Black churches over the weekend to cheering WHITE crowds. My Black Lives Matter flag flying over The Lion of Judah Cage was also torn down and stolen. I put another one up higher on the wagon. Now they'll at least need a ladder. This morning a conservative commentator on the radio described the ongoing Republican denial of election results as "belling the cat." No individual mouse wants to put that bell on him, but it's to the benefit of all mice to hear the beast coming. Blood flowed through the DC streets this weekend as a member of the Proud Boys stabbed multiple individuals. Police stood by as the BLM flags were burned. Do you hear the ding-ding-ding?

    And finally there's Covid-19. Vaccines are coming. Woop-woop. This shows what unlimited cash flow can do when applied to public health. Maybe Big Pharma has our best interests at heart. Ha! That's funny. Don't hold your breathe for a shot in the arm. As in March, I hold to the theory that we all are on our own when it comes to this disease. I wear my mask, hardly see anyone and spend most of my days in a tree. During the daylight hours I'm informed. At night it's a mystery. As an early Xmas present Shewho gave me a trail cam. Now I would know what's going on when I'm asleep. I set up the camera in my kitchen as a test. The next morning I had an idea of just what Cheeky deals with every night. There will be no bell attached to the beast. We mice will just have to take our chances. Get a quick nibble in the food dish when you can. Just keep looking over your shoulder. Danger is around every corner.