I ran into a friend the other day who gave me crap for not posting anything for a while. I appreciated it. This used to be my favorite time of the bird season. Not as many people to contend with. Peace and beauty of a remarkably different quality. The "certain slant of light." Snow concentrated …
Hurrah
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 …
A Good Opening
Well, depending on your perspective... Breaking before the climb The Kid and I set out to bag his first chukar. This is the fourth season he's come along. He has never complained. He's always been right there. If I ask his opinion on route options, he's always up for even the hardest one. And when …
Me Find Birds
Residual chukar It's days like this which, despite the snags, make the rest worthwhile. I shot horrendously. I tied up the boat after a 12-mile trip in the chill morning air to discover I'd forgotten to put my boots - the most important piece of equipment - in the boat (so I motored back to …
Week Two: conflict, torn metal, and joy
Failed negotiation Saturday proved unsuccessful in several areas: Aside from a couple of stealthy ruffed grouse, we saw no birds of any kind in nearly 4 hours of hiking high and low across chukarific terrain, some of which Leslie termed, "the most technical hiking I've ever done."During our lunch break in the boat, I was …

