Night Maneuvers

I live in the middle of nowhere in the timber about 200 yards from the Wapsipinicon River. Where I live is heaven. Everyone is always asking me to go to a resort somewhere but heck I live in a resort. From ten at night until five in the morning no cars go by my house. I have a two hundred acre conservation area across the road from me, I have an 80 acre area that is preserved by an outdoor club next door to me and to my north about half a mile I have one of my best friends and his wife that raise and runs sled dogs. Their log cabin is surrounded by pine trees and lilac bushes. I have been delivered. The only other soul close to me belongs to my dog, a rat terrier named Andy who patrols the property and timber around us.


Come night time Andy sleeps hard from his running and chasing rabbits, squirrels, deer, raccoon, and the occasional skunk. Early one October morning about two o’clock Andy was running around the house barking and carrying on. Finally I got up and let him out. For the next five minutes all I heard was Andy running around and around the house barking.

Finally I got up and I went outside in my running shorts and duck shoes to see what was bothering him. When I went out the door a black cat came running around the corner with Andy nipping at his tail. When the cat saw me he ran up one of the four walnut trees I have in my yard, with Andy springing up and down trying to climb the tree after him. After several attempts and failures Andy topped looked up and started barking and wouldn’t stop.

After fifteen minutes of trying to get Andy to give up his fight I finally decided to get a ladder from the garage and get that cat out of the tree. Now mind you it is 2:30 in the morning a cat is in the tree hissing at Andy, Andy is running around the tree barking and jumping, I am putting a ladder against this tree while wearing duck shoes and running shorts and swearing at Andy and the cat whichever one is annoying me more at the time.

As I am half way up the ladder I hear a car coming and eventually see a sheriffs car and he pulls into my drive way. He got out of the car and he says “What are ya doing?” Well it is three in the morning now, I am in ducks shoes and shorts, and what does he think I am doing picking walnuts?

I said “This cat is annoying my dog he has him up the tree and I want to get him down so I can go to bed.” The cop got into his car laughing and he leaves me. At least he could have shot the cat out of the tree for me.

I finally get high enough to grab the cat, I drop him to the ground, and Andy takes off into the timber after him. I leave the ladder up and go back to bed. About five, that same morning I hear scratching on the door, it is Andy, and he walks in the house and walks to his cushion and falls down with fatigue from chasing that cat. If only there would have been a video from that night.