I first read "Cogan's Woods" some 10 years or so ago when it came out, and I quickly "borrowed" a great idea: Whenever I have a successful hunt, especially with one of my kids, I take the empty shotgun shell or rifle shell, write a little note about that day, roll it up and slide it into the shell. I have a wooden box of these shells representing deer, rabbit, squirrel and whatever I've shot, and many many memories. The most valuable ones are those when I was with my son, now 17, and my daughter, now 19, representing the deer or squirrel they took.

It's a treasure chest of time capsules, so to speak.

- kypaddler