Not just for the birds
The landscapes where the birds live dictate where you'll hunt chukar in the West. Terrain covered in sagebrush, bunch grass, scree veins, and rocky talus outcroppings high up in the clouds is typical in this part of Idaho. You'll encounter steep traverses and sidehilling that make you wish you had tightened your boot laces tighter. …
"The man must learn to know his dog as a personality, not a formula." -George Bird Evans "Peat No!" I yelled at the top of my lungs as he booked full speed through the dog door and outside to the backyard with a big piece of cauliflower firmly gripped in his mouth. The piece …
Chill and yellow “On longer evenings Light, chill and yellow, Bathes the serene Foreheads of houses.” -- Philip Larkin, "Coming" (excerpt) Lots of things coming. Coming up. Coming soon. Coming back. Coming too soon or too late. Just coming. Some things unexpected, like Peat yesterday triumphantly coming to us with a Canada goose egg in …
"Range after range of mountains. Year after year after year. I am still in love." - Gary Snyder Spring break this year, we drove across the West and past many, many mountain ranges in Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Montana. I didn't dare sleep in the car or stare at my phone while being a …
I almost didn't go on a blind date with him but I ended up meeting him anyway and it was because of a bird dog. That was 18 years ago this month. Before agreeing to meet him in person for the first time, I saw a photograph of him kneeling next to his 6-month-old puppy. …
We're hunkered down again today. It was a blizzard this morning when we woke up. Bob and I really wanted to know the wind chill but our weather station anemometer stopped spinning due it to being caked with snow and ice from the cold winds. I'm not complaining one bit about the snow drift that …
I almost didn't go hunting on the last day of the season. I woke up tired. The day before, I'd gone out with the dogs for my fifth hunt in seven days. Overwhelmed by the dread of the looming last day and already missing it, I wanted to take advantage of the unusually pleasant weather …
Once again, I'm seeking advice from my more erudite and experienced readers... Peat, and sometimes Angus, but always at least one of them wakes us about 4 a.m. wanting to be fed. This has been going on for more than two years. Peat's the ring-leader, and most aggressive. He'll start by pacing and softly whining, …
Great weekend around here. Friends spelled us from our default being together in our separatenesses, and they hunted with Leslie Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday I thought I'd head up the old dirt road with them until they started climbing, and it was wonderful to get outside in the terrain I adore. Fog hung around …
WARNING: This has very little to do with chukar hunting. But it does have to do with people who read and comment on this blog. I went back to my classroom today for the first time since surgery 10 days ago, and saw some of what my students have been up to. Actually, I've been …