SHEWHO'S UNUSUAL ANIMAL FRIEND

 As I'm spending almost every waking hour trying to put an arrow in one of two giant bucks I've spotted in the past week Shewho has been having her own unique encounter with wildlife. It started with a rustling in the dry leaves before that big storm hit a couple of weeks ago. Emerging from the dry brown, yellow and red dappled ground across a little feeder stream running alongside Shewho's driveway, came what is locally known as a "partridge." Instead of exploding from the underbrush or puffing up and "drumming" in warning this bird began cooing and came straight for Shewho's feet. If you google the roughed grouse or "fool's hen" you will find many instances of the species interacting with humans. This interaction is most commonly attributed to a hen protecting her nest or a male staking out his territory. The little birds are known to get right up in a human's grill and ward them off. In rare instances they seem to want to make friends. Such was the case with "Woody Harrelson."

    After a couple of days sussing each other out, Shewho named the bird Woody and they have become best of friends. Now I have a cat. Who ever heard of a man and feline bonding? I know it's rare. But there you have it. Cheeky and I are very close. So realizing the unexplained mysteries of the animal kingdom can manifest at any moment I believed Shewho when she told me of her new friend. This damned bird had absolutely no fear of humans. I met Woody and he seemed just as willing to trust me - a born in the blood killer. Years ago I had shot one of Woody's relatives back in the woods. Partridge are delicious! They taste a little like bacon. I didn't tell Woody. He came to me almost as readily as Shewho and I pretended I worked for PETA. But it was obvious we did not have the same deep connection. He just wanted to talk to Shewho.

     Day after day Woody showed up to hang with Shewho. He looked her straight in the eye, chirping and chortling as if he had something very important to impart. Then he jumped on her arm, snuggled in her lap and followed her right into the kitchen. As the cat skulked under the furniture hoping to get a clean shot, Lassie stuck her long nose almost in Woody's ruff. The dog was curious and the bird was fearless. It's gone on like that for a couple of weeks now. Shewho will go out her back door and call "Wooooodyyyyy...." and that bird will come sauntering through the leaves and stand at her feet looking up at her. Woody makes Shewho's  friendliest chicken seem standoffish. This is such a gift, to have a wild animal trust and bond with a big brained, apex predator like a human. How long will Woody stick around? It's anybody's guess. Partridge stay through the winter. We are all hoping for a long and mystical relationship between woman and beast.