" I heard the “bam, bam, bam” of a woodpecker high in the top of a box elder snag. The cry of a kingfisher and the scream of a blue jay blended perfectly with the drum like beat. A barking red squirrel, glued to the side of a hackberry tree, kept time to the music with the beat of his tail.

Each noise I heard and each sight I saw was very familiar to me but I never grew tired of listening and watching. They were a God-sent gift and I enjoyed them all. "

― Wilson Rawls , Where the Red Fern Grows