Dad was a trapper: As I grew older I helped skin and stretch animals, "The possums are yours, they're good to learn on," he told me. I learned to make stretchers, groom pelts and properly pack the catch for shipment. I learned how to prepare and cook coon and possum, delicacies in their own right.
Dad taught me the art of hunting, trapping and surviving. I learned to live up to Dad's idea of surviving: "Go into the woods bucknaked, with no more than a single bit axe and build shelter, put clothes on your back and fill your stomach."
Some more of Dad's seasons: "Trapping Season starts when the weather gets cold enough for the hides to loose their blue."
"Rabbit hunting season is any month with an R in it. That leaves May, June, July and August for them to mate and raise their young."