As we approached the sight of our morning run yesterday there was a group of Sharptail alongside the road milling about with their necks extended eyeing the adjacent hay field. They took flight to the east as we turned in to park and I thought we'd try to find them as we circled back west towards the Jeep.
With birds in the air before the pups were even on the ground they were more than excited. The temperature was finally reasonable after two days of intense heat making this our morning to stretch our legs once again. The Setter's were off to the east heading to a fence line 200 yards ahead when I heard the chuckling of birds taking flight. Tails were wagging and noses to the ground as they found the sight of the covey that had busted around a little rise just the other side of the fence.
The rancher had been rotating his cattle from pasture to hay field sectioning it off and allowing them to graze the alfalfa growth that had occurred since the June cutting. This was no good news for us as it further eliminated any cover for the birds. But we covered the ground to the west coming back through some heavier cover hoping to pin down some birds. As we approached from the west I came over a knoll to find the Setters on point but got no closer than 75 yards and the birds busted. With the cover so sparse the sight advantage was all in their favor this morning.
Moving through the heavier alfalfa sure enough Molly picked up scent first and pointed a double backed by Mick. Beau was casting up ahead along the edge. Molly worked ahead to the west pointing again. This time a group of three Sharptail with Mick again at her back. Beau was birdy but I suspect his birds had moved into the adjacent corn field. It was a nice end to the run as we were just 100 yards from the Jeep and took our time walking back. Such a great thing to be able to get these dog's on wild birds so frequently.
The rest of the morning I spent working on some maintenance around the house repairing some old single hung windows and painting the trim. I was up on the porch roof working on the front dormer windows when someone called my name from below. It was Mary from 2 blocks north. A retired lady in her late seventies who has made it her mission to keep track of what I'm doing it seems. Mary means well and living alone without family walks around town with the aid of a walker visiting as she goes putting more miles on that walker than her car I suspect. Her message for me was of course that I had better be careful up there and what was I doing up that high in the first place! I said " Don't worry Mary its not my time yet!" She replied " Well that's what Judy thought too but she died just last week and she was only 58!" Mary went on to tell me about her kids living down in the New Orleans area and about the storm. I'm trying to be a good sport and listen as I'm on the roof but thinking you know if you keep distracting me I probably will fall off the roof!
Mary cautioned me again before she was on her way saying if I fell onto the steps that'd be really bad! So back to work I go for about 10 minutes when I hear my name again. This time it's my neighbor to the east wondering what I'm doing up there as she heard hammering. I explain what I had just told Mary. Pauline then tells me our neighbor Erwin 1 block east had died this morning of a heart attack. Erwin age 93 had had an attack 2 weeks ago and after coming home from the hospital was driving around town at parade speed and drinking free coffee at the co-op like usual. His wife Eileen said he had had a couple bad days and they thought maybe it was the shrimp burger he ate. Pauline rolled her eyes and shook her head when she related that saying that they then had taken Erwin to the hospital where the doctor told him he had had another heart attack apparently. A day later he had another and was gone. I think this was the third death in town in a week. It's put everyone on edge somewhat as we all think about our mortality. And me being up on the roof am now thinking about it as well! Could it happen? Sure. I could trip on the power cord or a tool. How would the story be told? Well he was on the roof doing something. So and so had just talked to him and the next thing he was dead. Tripped and fell!
Having been sufficiently distracted I finished my work on the front dormer deciding to leave the back for another day when the vultures weren't circling overhead. But I had to laugh that even on the roof I couldn't escape the news at hand in my little town thanks to the well meaning friends and neighbors around me. So I indeed lived another day to write one more story about life "Along the way".
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