this weekend marked our pheasant opener and for the first time in seven or eight years I got to go hunting with close friends from little chute Wis.
Don,Chad,Jesse and their dogs brit,sky,abby and my dog gracie got to hunt together here in central iowa.
now mind you,brit the lab and sky an eight month old GSP are new,abby and my gracie both GSP’s are the old girls at age fourteen.
they showed up at my home fri. afternoon about two pm and we caught up on old times and whats new all around,after supper we made plans for the next two days hunting and we relived the many places we had hunted in the past,who shot what and where including a few hail Mary’s that somehow put a bird in the vest each time.
this hunt was a last minute thought so I didnt get a chance to contact all of the owners of places of years past to trade labor for permission to hunt so we relied on one farm owner whom I have had weekly contact with the last several years and had become close friends with.
the few acres he had still held promise but nothing like the eighty acre CRP piece did those years ago where we kicked up hundreds of birds in a weeks time.
at one time,I had four thousand acres spoke for and I worked my arse off to get permission to hunt those acres,the guys brought many,many pounds of fresh Wis. cheese and drinks for the land owners to enjoy as a thank you for the privilege of hunting,that in and of itself had the owners anxious for our return the next year as they truly enjoyed the diverse types of cheese brought down and handed out.
let me tell you,even with seven guys and six dogs full of urine and vinegar there was no way we ever covered that much ground in four days of hunting,but it was there for opening weekend and the following days and we were the only ones who could hunt it.
after we were done,it was open to all who asked if they were willing to match what I had done as far as labor,there were few if any takers you can bet on that,to the farmer,a little sweat equity was far more valuable than the money that was offered in many instances.
yesterdays hunt was hot and dry,it reached seventy nine degrees here with a stiff south wind that kept things dry and virtually scent free,we got a few birds up,but they were far enough out that it wasnt worth risking a shot and wounding one,here they are on a small rebound and we were not taking chances.
this morning it was forty six degrees and wet,the first piece we hunted we kicked up several birds and we got two of them,both were kicked up by the new dogs and the fire was lit in them!!!
this is where it got fun as all of the dogs were turned on and hunting with a renewed sense of purpose!! talk about fun!!
I will admit carrying my old 1100 was more like carrying an I-beam thats for sure but I forgot about it after a few hours thinking about the new memories we were making.
when we got to the eighty acre piece that once was CRP ground and turned back into crop ground,the memories of those years gone by came flooding back.
great dogs like rowdy,sam,dillon,tanker,and tess,all labs,and the GSP Hunter,sage the brittany, whom are now gone to the happy hunting grounds,and waiting on us,I could see them all working their tails off hunting all of that tall grassland,the statuesque held points,the flush,each and every salvo of shots fired and birds falling to the ground,then the perfect retrieves with the dogs sense of purpose being fulfilled as they carried that prize to your waiting hand.
the cheers to each who had made a shot that added a bird to the vest’s waiting pouch,ten years of memories came rushing back in those few moments it took to cover the meager six acres of water ways that were all that remained of that very hilly expanse which once held flocks of pheasants numbering thirty to forty at a time when they were kicked up,in one day,you could literally kick up several hundred birds out of that one parcel of land,it was amazing to say the least.
I think it was due to the fact it had the big three in its favor,cover,water,and food on all sides,it was a haven for sure.
on the ride home it was discussed why we had never video’d any of the hunts we went on,while it was being pondered,I offered the thought that it was forever captured in our minds,to be there at a moments notice without mechanical aide and the chance it could be misplaced or erased.
if I ever get any of the diseases that take away your mental abilities to function normally and you see me smiling,its because those memories are on permanent replay loop in my head,and brother,in that moment,I am living well,and,petting all of those dogs who left us and will then be guiding me home.
I am sorry if you cant feel the passion I feel as I write this,but the true hunter will know it as I do.
I can only hope that I can pass it on to my son and grandson.
sheldon
