To Wave Or Not To Wave

                          My story about living in bird country wouldn't be complete without touching on the subject of etiquette in the field. One facet in particular on this subject is the custom of waving a friendly acknowledgement to passing vehicles as you come upon each other while driving down the rural farm to market,section line, and secondary roads. Over the years I have passed many hunters as I travel these roads which bring us all into the heart of bird country each fall. It's no surprise that we're not alone. We all share the same passion although each of us has our own style and strategy for enjoying the sport.

What we all do not share is good manners! As time passes I come across more and more hunters that find it acceptable to ignore an opportunity to signal a hello with a friendly wave and smile or maybe even stop to chat about the hunt. The license plates of these vehicles are from a variety of states with some even being local. The indifference and unfriendly nature of these hunters can be born out of a variety of frustrations and feelings. In my view there are no excuses. Treat others as you expect to be treated is how I was raised in a small mid western town. That lesson has served me well in and out of the field. I have shared many experiences with other hunters and met many good people along the way.The only thing that can ensure having great days in the field is a positive attitude starting with accepting that only you are responsible for your success or failure to do so.

Treating others with a friendly and positive attitude has it's rewards!

I'll share a story now about one of those conversations I had on a rural secondary road several years ago. My hunting partner and I were in southwestern Kansas in January on our last trip of the season. We had tried to find a way to access a remote section of river bed we were hoping held some coveys of bob white quail. Looking at our map we just couldn't seem to find access without running into posted land from every direction. So puzzled by this we decided to hunt a walk in area for pheasants on this morning with temperatures in the single digits but with lots of clear blue Kansas sky! Before we got to far in I spotted a red ranch truck coming our way. I yelled to Tom to head towards the road so we could talk to this guy as in these rural areas in the winter there's just not many folks around. We waved the truck down and walked over to the driver. He asked what the heck we thought we were doing out in such weather! The next thing he said was to my partner Tom " Hand me your gun" We thought now where is this going? Turns out Dave as we learned was fond of guns and knew Tom was carrying a nice Sterlingworth double at the time. He then gave us permission to cross his property to access the river bottom we were looking to hunt. He also said we could hunt the wheat stubble to the east of where we currently were if we wanted to take a chance that his wife wouldn't shoot us as she's mighty fond of the quail that feed in that field as they hang around the yard in the winter month's! Then before he drove off to bust holes in the ice on water tanks for his cattle he invited us to stop back at his house to let him know how we did. Tom was relieved to have gotten his gun back and we laughed about being introduced to Kansas hospitality. Dave later shared that based on his first impressions in talking to us that he respected us as serious hunters and appreciated that we took the time to talk with him and asked about permission to hunt.

That chance meeting happened to be with the owner of 10,000 contiguous acres of land. It made our trip a great experience and we learned many things about the area we would have otherwise struggled with. In fact that meeting turned into a friendship we will always remember. Dave and his wife Shirley invited us into their home on many occasions over the year's for lunch and supper even offering to freeze our birds for us. And it all started with a friendly wave and conversation!

I have learned much about bird hunting and bird dog's over time but most importantly will tell you that you can read all you want to educate yourself. Fill your head with data, harvest statistics and species characteristics. But most of what is really beneficial about any area you will ever hunt or any dog you will ever hunt with  is transferred from one person to another. Face to face. But this information isn't just given freely. You can't demand it and can't buy it. The holder or keeper decides if you're worthy of receiving it. How do they decide? It has everything to do with your attitude and respect for other people. Indifference and arrogance will never get you through the gate!

So my advice is simple and my message short. It all starts with an attitude and decision. "To Wave Or Not To Wave".

                          

A Molly Monday Morning

                                 By early October we'd been grouse hunting for a few weeks in warmer than normal temperatures this year. You then pick and choose the days and times you head for the field based on conditions your dog's can tolerate. With my trio of aging Setter's I have to be especially careful to not let them over heat in the warm weather. As for bird populations this year there's not enough birds for a truckload of hunter's to enjoy shooting like it used to be but for a retired bird hunter and his aging bird dog's there's enough to satisfy an old dog's desire to work one more bird.

Molly had been retired from active duty for a couple season's now but I still work these old dog's in the field letting them hunt at their own pace on walks they can easily handle. Just because they can't cover ground like they used to doesn't mean they've lost the desire or ability to find birds so I owe them these times as pay back for all the miles they covered for me in the past when they were in their prime. After all I need the exercise as much as they do!

We all grow old people and dog's alike. Life changes. But we can still enjoy it and everything around us just in a little different way. I've learned a little from seeing the Setter's grow old in that accepting and embracing the stages of life enables you to keep enjoying it versus spending your days lamenting times gone by. What a waste that is really. Life is and always will be about now. About the moment.

The rotation for the morning hunt was for Molly to spend some time with me on this day. It was sunny and clear just one of those mornings that make you want to be outside. The Setter's keep track of who's turn it is I swear. So when I started to get dressed Molly kept an eye on me and when I reached for my boots she made her move putting her nose right in my face as if to say "Please don't leave without me!" She kept nuzzling me as I struggled to lace my boots knowing what "boots" mean. Next step after getting on my gear was to put a collar on the dog fortunate enough to get to go along. Molly sat right in front of me offering up her head to receive the collar as I slipped it over her ears. Of course Beau and Mick also then took the stance but I told them "You stay" and they reluctantly surrendered they're lobbying knowing it was Molly's day. The next task was to get out of the house. You see there's always that heart wrenching final effort of the pups to try to go along even though they've been told to stay today. But I know they'll be asleep on the couch minutes after Molly and I leave dreaming away so I don't feel to bad. Besides I don't know many bird dog's that lead the kind of life they do!

Molly has always been a joy to be around. She knows the routines well and obediently loads up into the Jeep. She takes the back seat her normal spot but I encourage her to take shotgun beside me as this is our time I say to her as she gives me her look of approval as I help her into position in the front seat. Off we go down the street out of town as she sits proudly riding shotgun on this beautiful morning. I crack the window a little giving her the fresh air and a little breeze as we drive the ten miles or so to our run.

We turn off the main road and hit gravel which gets her attention. It never ceases to amaze me how keenly the Setter's use associative behavior skills to identify what's happening. It's fun to observe. A couple more miles and we turn into a dirt road and soon find a spot to pull off to the side. We're here. My plan is to take a walk along this old trail with ditches filled with cattails then walk uphill along a waterway through an adjacent pasture. All easy walking for Molly giving her a chance to enjoy the feeling of once again walking with me in the field. And if we see a bird or two that would make it all the better.

It was just beautiful out with no wind at all and temperatures in the upper 40's as we proceeded walking down the path. There were ducks on the water to our right and sounds of geese flying over head. With no one else to be seen we walked together with Molly working her nose into the cover for about a 100 yards. I had been looking to the south east at some cover on an adjacent hill side thinking about prospects for another day as this is an area I hunt quite often. When I turned back to Molly ahead of me 30 yards she was froze! Rock solid on point with the most intense look on her face looking into the brush and grass to the left side of the path. What have we here I thought as I cautiously approached. Closer and closer I came until I was right there. I walked right in and kicked ahead of me when a beautiful rooster cackled his way into the air flying straight north. I quickly fired before he could veer off to the right into the heavy grass ahead and he fell hard just on the other side of the fence in the open pasture to the west. Molly made her way over inspecting the rooster lying still in the grass as I made my way under the fence. She laid down then panting to catch her breath as I came upon her and knelt down to pick up the bird and compliment her on a job well done.

It was a beautiful moment that meant so much to an aging bird dog to once again take in the scent of a wild rooster in the early morning sun on this October day. We walked on for an hour or so through the pasture stopping frequently for Molly to catch her breath. Occasionally she'd cast out farther than usual and quicken her pace when the cover looked more promising but eventually she'd have to stop again to catch her breath. I just enjoyed watching her knowing her desire to hunt would never go away. We stopped on the way back to the Jeep as we rested for a while. I then took the bird out for her laying it on the ground between us as an unspoken tribute to our time together on this beautiful " Molly Monday Morning".

The Old Boar's Club

                           In rural America there exists in virtually every town an entity as vital to these communities as any other institution you can think of bar none. They are the rural farmer cooperatives or co-ops for short. They are the farm and ranch source for everything to do with agribusiness. As production capability on the farm and ranch has grown so have these co-ops in terms of the products and services they offer.With annual sales in the millions of dollars some things surely have changed dramatically for the co-ops but nothing will ever change the colorful and at times comical personality of their clientele. The character of these places will be forever rural, plain, and simple. At least on the surface.

Every fall I have the oil changed in my two vehicles putting in lighter weight oil for the cold winter month's. Usually I wait until it really starts to get cold which this year was the first week of November when the weather turned on a dime from unseasonably warm to well just plain cold. I learned fairly quickly that if a person wanted to get their oil changed at the co-op it required an appointment a few days in advance of when it would actually get done. This puzzled me when I went in the first couple of times and was directed to the shop foreman an easy going likeable guy that never seemed to be in a hurry despite the activity going on around the shop. When I asked when I could get my oil changed he looked down at a mostly empty schedule and said how about Tuesday afternoon? This was Thursday. Ok I guess was my reply. As I looked around the shop I noticed a guy I knew that lived across the alley from me that I was aware had a cognitive disability. Gary would be called retarded by most folks. He kept walking around in and out of the shop not really doing anything but appearing to have something important on his mind. I later learned from my neighbor that Gary's uncle Roy used to manage the co-op and allowed Gary to come to the Co-op everyday and allowed him to make the coffee and take out the garbage in exchange for having someplace to go where he felt a part of something. Everybody liked this guy and he knew everyone that came in the door obviously as they kidded him in some way. Gary couldn't really talk clearly so you never knew what exactly he was trying to say but it was meant to be friendly you could tell. This all had been going on for 40 or 50 year's I suppose. As I was leaving through the front of the store I also had to walk by a row of 6 vinyl chairs with chrome arms connected together like a row of movie seats that directly faced the counter as folks came through the front door. These were filled with older gentleman I recognized from around town mostly in their mid 70's to early 80's I'd say. One of them was usually asleep but they all had cups of coffee and would acknowledge everyone that came in the door and start up conversation about one thing or another. I again had asked my neighbor what the deal was with these guys always being at the co-op and he explained in a short sentence." The coffee's free".

After a couple year's of doing business at the co-op for small hardware needs and gasoline I became pretty familiar with the character of this place. Everything you do in a sparsely populated county and small town is made into a social opportunity you see. I was still impatient with the ritual of appointments well in advance of oil changes until one cold winter day my Jeep battery had obviously worn out. I checked the date on the battery and sure enough I was past due for a new one. I called Cal the shop foreman at the co-op to check if he had one that would fit and he said yes. Would you like me to bring it over? I was surprised that he offered but said sure I'd really appreciate that. So 10 minutes later he pulled up with a helper and also pulled the old one out and replaced it with the new battery. No charge for the service! I went back down to settle up shortly thereafter and again thanked him for helping me out. I got the same laid back response I always got but after that I guess it sunk in that there is a way things get done here and you're never going to change it so accept it and plan accordingly! Which I have. I even got to know the "Old Boar's" as I referred to them those being the old timer's that filled the seats every morning and afternoon drinking free coffee till their eye balls float. As for Gary the coffee maker I appreciated how a business and a community takes care of people like this allowing them to be a part of the everyday routine like anybody else.

The last couple year's have seen some "Old Boar's" pass the torch. One being a neighbor a block away and another a nice guy that always taught gun safety to the kids every year. But as new Boar's retire from their jobs or farming careers they quickly fill the open spots. The daily ritual continues sparked by free coffee and a constant flow of people in and out the door giving them an endless list of subjects to analyze and information to absorb and dispense. Anyone that ever said women like to talk and gossip didn't have it right! Men have far more ability to run off at the mouth just to hear themselves talk than any woman I have ever met or known! And the one thing that is like throwing gas on the fire with the "Old Boar's" is free coffee!!

Well back to my annual fall oil changes. I went in to talk to the shop foreman in person because remember it's all about socializing right? "When could I get my Jeep's oil changed?" I asked. He looked at the schedule that didn't have anything on it I could see and surprisingly said "How about this afternoon?" "Great. Why don't you come at 2 o'clock then." He said. Before I left I mentioned that I also needed to get the van's oil changed but that could wait not wanting to appear to demanding. Again I got a surprise when he said "We could do that tomorrow if you want". As I drove home I thought this is like a break through! I seem to be moving up a notch on the priority list here. But what this meant was that I'd have to hang around the co-op two days in a row while my oil was being changed which takes a little more than an hour because that's the way they do it you see. So if you haven't guessed it also meant I'd have to sit with the "Old Boar's" two days in a row for afternoon coffee!!

Day one. I arrive at the set time after driving into the garage and head for the waiting area. The co-op expanded and remodeled their office area this year so the movie seats the Old Boar's used were now moved into what served as a waiting area for shop customers as well as a miscellaneous storage area. It was empty when I walked in but within a few minutes one of the Boar's walked in saying hello and taking a seat with his coffee. I've known Carl since I moved here. He's a friendly guy about 5'5 and pretty thin, kind of fidgety, and maybe one of those people that can't stand being quiet! There was a bag of cake donuts maybe 50 or so on top of a small freezer and Carl said " I wonder if Gary's gonna "Put out" those donuts?" "Don't know" I replied. He then fired the usual questions at me like how was I. What had I been doing and what was I doing here today. You see he had to have some basis for further questioning! It wasn't long after that that Harold walked in yet another club member. He sat down with his coffee after saying Hello to me and then asked. 'Is Gary gonna put out those donuts? Carl said. "Well I was just wondering the same thing." Harold's a nice guy and I know he love's to fish so I asked him how the ice fishing was going and we talked around that for a few minutes while Carl fidgeted. Then Carl's brother,another member, walked in and went right for the donuts opened the bag picked up a donut took a bite and turned around saying. "Anybody want a donut?" They all know I bird hunt full time so the question of how I'd been doing came up. I'm not naive about where any information I might give them would go or be shared with whom so my usual answer of it's been ok I guess not quite as good as last year but if a guy hunts hard enough..... They of course would of loved some hard numbers as to how many birds I shot but I never ever ever tell that to anybody. Truth be told I don't count anyway but some do and then tell about it usually when they've been drinking if you know what I mean.

Day Two. I brought the Van down and drove it in explaining to the shop foreman I had my own oil as I always put in synthetic Mobil One. On I went then to the waiting area. Here sat a room full of the Boar's all with Coffee and Donuts! Carl looked up surprised and said. "So what's wrong today now?" Having seen me here yesterday. "Another oil change." I said. Then his brother came in right after me and looked at me and said. " Well you must be really bored if you're back down here today with us!" " Another oil change" I said." Oh well you can get a cup of coffee if you want it's right out there at the counter" So I sat down in the midst of a full meeting of the afternoon "Boar's Club" listening to topics like who complained the most when they paid their taxes or that the farm bill is actually included in the welfare budget! That was a hoot especially since we were at the farmers co-op drinking free coffee! And then there was quite a discussion on how much profit the guy at the convenience store makes on a gallon of gas. Not to be left out were a couple of anecdotal stories about some wealthy local people who made a fuss over their tax assessments. "It's the ones with the most that always complain the loudest" Somebody said. And a story about a guy who got really upset the other day and almost started crying because another guy yelled at him for repeatedly having to check the cards to make sure the score was correct while playing Pinochle!! I knew all the people that were the subjects of conversation and just marveled at the routines these guys have. I thought I know why they're down here or sitting around playing cards all day. They're wives won't allow them to hang around the house!

Luckily when I got up to check on my van it was just being pulled out of the garage. Windows cleaned interior vacuumed and fresh oil. All was good with my world but the real bonus was a further glimpse into this tight knit German culture. I enjoyed the story telling and the joking. Like they say you can't make this stuff up! The "Old Boar's Club" that is.



 

Beau's Nose

                                       The third week of October found me headed back to a familiar area in search of a population of sharptail grouse. As I've written before this area was one I'd frequented in past year's and always was sure to hold several coveys of grouse most times of the year. But over time land use shifted then winters and cold spring hatching weather took their toll on bird populations. I then found other areas closer to home where I could find birds. With the Setter's aging this season I found myself enjoying going back to these old haunts trying to find the magic we once experienced as we put on mile after mile traversing these beautiful hills over the last decade.

 On this run the Setter's and I pulled into a hay field to park south of the old Honey Hole. My plan was to hunt a 2 square mile area of cover featuring hills, sloughs, pot holes and some fields of corn stubble. When land use shifts so does the behavior pattern of the birds making it a daunting task especially with sharptail to determine where they've decided to set up house keeping in this big open country. Just because they no longer are where you used to find them doesn't mean they're gone. They've been in North Dakota for hundreds of year's, are built for the cold winter's, and for the hunter willing to work hard enough they can prove to be a serious challenge for the best of shooters as well as pointing dog's.

The objective today was to locate the population of birds within this large area of diverse cover. I knew they were here and in good numbers no doubt but before I found out exactly where I'd have to do some walking. My boots hit the ground mid afternoon on this day with partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the 40's. I'd spent the morning to the east walking the edges of some soy bean fields with all 3 Setter's on the ground. We'd picked up 2 sharptail on a beautiful point with Beau leading and Molly and Mick honoring in some dark green weedy vegetation on the edge of a bean field. I had missed another opportunity on a point by Molly as we walked a section line road next to a wheat stubble field. So Mick and Molly were played out leaving this run for Beau and myself to close out a beautiful day in the field.

I had a pretty good idea of where the birds I was looking for were feeding which was at the back of this run to the south along the corn stubble at the crest of a hill where the field met the grass. But in order to get there I had to walk around several pot holes not always in the direction I wanted to go as I made my way around this maze of water obstacles. Truth be told they could be anywhere but I was betting on the food source being the key. If we pushed birds out of the stubble we had a pretty good chance of working them within this area on the way back to the Jeep. Beau was really in his element here surfing the cover and casting back and forth at will. He's big, lanky, and loves to open up and cruise the wind making him a perfect dog to hunt sharptail with or any bird for that matter but I always love to see him set a covey of sharptail at a distance with his head held high in the wind. That's why after already putting on a few miles this morning I couldn't go home without looking for these birds on this afternoon.

Beau head up and nose into the wind. Birds ahead!

We'd been at it for about an hour and a half. Beau had worked some birds that had been moving in some heavy grass most likely pheasants but we'd yet to get anything to hold. This season I'd watched many times as the Setter's just couldn't get out ahead of running birds to cut off they're advances. It was bittersweet watching knowing they knew what to do but just couldn't get it done anymore. Beau was doing his best casting in circles in one particular area for a while but to no avail. We'd come to the crest of several high points perfect for sharptail but had not seen them either. So we crested another hill about halfway to the corn stubble and descended towards an oblong group of cattails about a 150 yards long and 40 yards wide. It was fairly close to a large pot hole and about a third of a mile from the corn stubble. I then had a feeling of dejavu as we approached. Once working around the cattails I remembered. We had run this area last year around the same time and I had missed a clear shot at a  rooster flying across these very cattails. With Beau.
So at attention I watched as Beau worked around the perimeter of this cover. About halfway around he stopped and with nose to the ground began wagging his tail. This means "Hey! There was a bird right here just a couple seconds ago!" When he gets his nose down it also means I had better keep up because the birds running and could fly any second. So with this feeling of dejavu hovering over me I hurried along keeping sight of Beau along the cattails. Then suddenly he pulled up and froze! In the next instant up comes a rooster rising like a 747 above the cattails moving right to left. I shouldered my gun and picked a spot just ahead of the rooster pulling the trigger all in one fluid motion. I was surprised actually to see the bird go down hard in the thick of the cover having squandered the very same shot last year. I stood for a couple moments marking the spot before calling Beau to come around. 35 yards ahead I started to look down around me and there he was in front of me exactly as I had marked the shot. I knelt down to pick him up as Beau stuck his nose in to inspect the bird now in hand as if to give his approval.

We continued on for a quarter mile when I realized there was another water obstacle between us and the corn stubble not visible from the start of our run. I was unable now after all this walking to get to where I wanted to go so logging the route we'd need to take next time as I looked around we started circling back. We'd gone another few hundred yards when I spotted a pair of sharptail flying high back toward the Jeep. When I looked to the west to see where they might have come from my eyes went right to the edge of the corn stubble we couldn't reach as a group of a couple dozen sharptail started flushing and following the same flight path as the birds I had just seen. I just stood there and watched as they floated to the east trying to see where they set down. I lost them as they floated over the highest point in this 2 square mile area. My best guess was that this was not a coincidence but where they commuted back and forth from the food source. My legs were now starting to burn with fatigue every time we'd go uphill or meet resistance in heavy cover. Beau's casts were getting shorter so we stopped for a few minutes to catch our breath and think about how to approach the area I thought might get us on top of those sharptail.

Taking a break on the prairie with Beau

Once I picked a line for approach we still had to go up and down a few steep hills to get to where I had in mind. The leeward side of this big hill. This is the side tucked out of the wind offering protection to the birds and probably where they planned to roost for the night. It was going on 5 o'clock now with the sun getting noticeably lower in the sky. With possibly the best opportunity of the day ahead in the grassy slopes of this big hill I was now struggling to put one foot in front of the other! I was finally there and at a point where I had to decide to go around the hill and approach from the south, go straight ahead to the top and down or straight ahead slightly to the north and side of the hill. I had no other choice than to continue on the line I was on because I was simply exhausted. We moved forward at a point 2/3 of the way from the peak of the hill betting the birds were at the spot just where the hill started to flatten. Beau worked the area getting birdy as I noted spots with scat where the birds had spent the night so I was hopeful I had made the right call. However after working the whole area to the south east of that peak we found no birds so I worked Beau back up to higher ground again. We didn't get 50 yards when the whole group started flushing a few at a time from a point 1/3 of the way down from the top of that hill. It was a beautiful sight as they all flew to the east and north. I had missed the spot by just a hundred yards or so and they'd undoubtedly watched us the whole time from their vantage point.

Beau dreaming of sharptail grouse while napping in the afternoon sun

I felt good knowing they were still there and I gained a little more respect for these birds and the places they call home. One foot ahead of the other I made my way painfully back to the Jeep with Beau not giving up but working every edge as we moved forward. Mick and Molly spotted us a few hundred yards out and started their welcome by barking and yipping as we approached. We'd accomplished our objective of finding the sharptail again and I'd gotten a second chance at a rooster flying across that slough I'd missed last year owing it of course once again to "Beau's Nose".