Mar 12, 2021 4 min read

Occasionally, I discover an article in the Observer-Reporter that attracts special attention. Last week, one such article jumped out at me. It was the article that stated commissioners Diane Irey Vaughan and Nick Sherman were involved in the passage of a bill that would make Washington County a Second Amendment sanctuary county protecting the 2nd amendment to the constitution.

I was mildly surprised to see any kind of support for the people who have fought long and hard for the right to own guns. The climate hasn’t been headed that way lately and it was a nice surprise.

Supporting our gun rights was probably on James Madison’s mind when he refused to sign the Constitution without the amendment. This resolution adds Washington to a list of supporting counties including Greene. Six other Pennsylvania counties have voted on such a resolution. Now I know this holds no legal weight but I am happy to have some people on the side of the responsible gun owner. I always say the day my guns get up and load themselves then we can blame the gun.

• Last week I mentioned the signs of spring and my friend the groundhog. This week, I must say the weather has made us all a bit happier and we are coming up from that long winter hibernation. I was a passenger driving along Route 18 when we almost hit one of the waddling beasts. He wasn’t in any hurry as he lumbered off into the scrub off the side of the road.

When I was young, I used to walk the railroad tracks by my house with a Mossberg 22 looking for groundhogs. Since those early days, I have been fascinated by them. I know they are a barometer of the weather to come. Many urban dwellers see the groundhog in a different light, as a pest who can destroy their garden in just a few hours. They can climb, and I once told you how my daughter and I saw one in the top of her Mulberry tree. His digging skills are legendary, too. He is short but very muscular. I once sat in a field and watched one dig a burrow in just a short time. I put the scope on him just to watch and in 10 minutes, poof, he was gone. The dirt continued to fly as he piled it up.

I know you are wondering where all my groundhog musing is headed.

This week, I got out my groundhog gun and gave it the once over. It will be a short while as groundhogs breed now and shouldn’t be hunted in the spring. But sighting in those long-range sniper rifles we use to hunt the fat little buggers in the summer does take some time. Now that the sun is shining, and we are all eager to get out of the house, I thought I’d mention the fact that it’s time to sight those guns in. Remember, when you hunt deer it is a bigger target even though it might be moving through cover. The groundhog hunter needs to be able to make those long-range shots at a creature standing on a mound of dirt who might be less than a foot tall. He also can be wary and surveys his kingdom for danger ducking back into his hole just as you squeeze off the shot.

• I will be checking on the crappie out at Cross Creek Lake. These fish are due to move in closer to shore with the weather getting warmer. I haven’t heard much about them yet, but I hope the weather holds so they move in for me to catch.