These Days

While walking day after day over the last decade with my bird dogs it's given me time to pause and reflect on the world around me. The world that sometimes seems so far from my daily existence and experience. But that's no accident instead a conscious decision to immerse myself in this life that's allowed me to survive as well as could be possible. That's given the hurdles of growing older while trying to remain true to my passion for this sport. This time for reflection I discovered long ago is essential to my piece of mind and well being.

Now 5 days into the season of 16 pheasant hunt I've had a couple great days then just a couple nice walks with my dog and one filled with multiple failures leaving me humbled by realizing being another year older has it's limitations.

Yesterday my 16 month old pup and I hunted a beautiful area of heavy cover around several small pot holes. These early runs are half hunt and half reconnaissance often times just figuring out how these runs will play out as the season and harvest moves on. It was 38 degrees under full cloud cover and felt like it could snow anytime. I loved just breathing the cool air with ducks and geese moving around us everywhere. My pup was happy she got me out for this late afternoon hunt skirting the edge of cattails until she would come upon scent. It's taken a few runs for her to remember what this pheasant game is like you see. I hunted her extensively last fall as soon as she was broke to the gun something many people wait to do but I'm a believer in starting pups early.

B at 6 month's

 On this day I could tell she was getting dialed in checking back nicely when asked and stopping when locating birds. Progress on all fronts. Surrounded by soybeans already harvested and with corn within the next mile I knew this would be a late season area again but should still have a few birds now probably.

So as we walked I accepted the reality of what was available cover although low on my preference list it is what it is. You see for more than a decade I would never hunt cattail and heavy cover with the setters instead covering the open grassy areas adjacent to harvested crop fields. With CRP now gone in most areas we hunt whats left these days. I enjoyed seeing my pup work birds and cornering two roosters who easily had the upper hand in this environment. Even though bird numbers are down again we always see roosters on every run sometimes getting an opportunity to take a bird and sometimes not.

Walking along I savored this performance my pup was putting on learning with each bird and coming to understand how to hunt together. I thought a lot about what my ability being a year older means and how to keep enjoying our time together. Perspective changes as we change. It's the same with habitat and bird numbers. We enjoyed this hunt being with each other. No one else in sight with
the feeling of snow coming soon.

Arriving back at the Jeep with an empty game bag was no indicator of the success of this days hunt. "These days" I'm grateful to still be out here in these beautiful places where I can make sense of things in my own way. Watching this young dog discover how to play this game with such desire took me back to the early days with the setters as we walked along. As I looked at my watch I had thoughts that maybe we could make another short run someplace but then felt the ankle I broke in March tightening a bit and instead slowly drove down the section line enjoying the ride.