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 …
New Chukar Natural
We don't have kids. Angus is our kid. But a friend who doesn't bird hunt has a 10-year-old who read a book about bird hunting and wanted to go, so we took him today. Until we got out there on the hills I was worried he wouldn't be able to keep up. Not that I'm …