Photo by Mike GilesJack Allen and Gavin Moffett display squirrels harvested on a hunt last year. 

I couldn’t sleep the night before opening day of squirrel season, but the sweet aroma of white oak leaves and bountiful acorns permeated the air and awakened my senses to the wonderful sights, sounds and smells of the Mississippi outdoors one brisk fall morning a few years back.

The sweet pungent smell brings back wonderful memories even today and reminds me of my father’s love, patience and skill as he took me squirrel hunting near Daleville, Mississippi. As a youngster, I had no way of knowing that the squirrels preferred the smaller water oak acorns, while deer preferred the larger white oak acorns.

This was a significant day in my development as a hunter as dad left me beside two large water oak trees and then walked off into the woods. I wondered why he left me there by myself, but I didn’t have long to ponder my situation. I detected a squirrel in the treetops quite a distance away.

The squirrel kept coming toward me as if being pulled by an unseen magnetic force. In minutes, he appeared overhead in the large oak tree. I pulled a fine bead on his head, slowly squeezed the trigger of the Remington .22 rifle and bagged my first squirrel of the day. Before I could retrieve it, I was stopped in my tracks by another bushytail moving in my direction.

I quickly and quietly dispatched one squirrel after another until I had my limit of eight and I never left my seat. Now it all makes sense to me, though at the time, I had no idea anything like this was possible. Those two oak trees were “feed trees” and were bearing acorns profusely. Dad and all of the squirrels in the woods knew this, also.

My passion for the outdoors was born in the woods and on the waters of Lauderdale County with my father, Jack Giles, and continued throughout my youth on fishing and deer hunting trips with my grandfather J. P. Nolen. That passion for the outdoors and life in the wild has never wavered since they lit a flame of desire in my young life.

Many children never have the opportunity to pursue a love of sports or the outdoors because they don’t have a mentor to introduce them to the outdoors and the world in general. My days in the woods and on the waters were always exciting and I learned how to be independent and self sufficient through their expertise.

Almost every day our local and national news is filled with stories of lives gone wrong. Now just imagine the possibilities when you help youngsters in some area of their lives. They won’t learn much about life through lectures and stern discipline alone. But if you take them fishing, hunting, or introduce them to the outdoors, they can learn how to grow into adults who are ready to face the trials and tribulations that are sure to come their way.

Though I didn’t realize it while I was going through many of those fun and sometimes challenging experiences, I can now look back and know that my days in the woods and on the waters prepared me to meet challenges that I face daily in my adult life. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to carry someone hunting this fall. The future of our outdoors heritage depends on it. Imagine the possibilities and make a difference!

Call Mike Giles at 601-917-3898 or email mikegiles18@comast.net.