These hot summer days seem like they'll never end, I can't wait for winter. I spent a little time this afternoon scratching the old girls belly and thinking on last season.
These were her first and last retrieves of last season. The last day it was down to just two of us in a rice field. We were set up on the last remaining birds we had access to. Sun comes, first two birds come in and I hear my buddies gun 'pop' as I pulled the trigger. I yelled stop, and thankfully he did. He had a squib load and it was lodged in the barrel about halfway. I pulled two more drake mallards in addition to my first while he tried to fix it. Frustrated, he came back and flopped down, defeated. We didn't have a cleaning rod with us, and sticks wouldn't do the job. We had several groups work us but not commit, when a pair of spoonbills came by. They worked perfect, and even set up on my side. I killed the hen at our feet, and the drake as he left. As the old girl came back the light hit her just right and I managed to get the camera out.
Damn it can't get here soon enough.
Bookmarks