Season Ending

My wife and I have worked out a new system where Saturdays are hers and Sundays are mine. That means on Saturday we run errands, watch a movie on DVD and maybe go out for dinner. On Sundays I get to lounge around the house, work on a few projects, play some video games and maybe go hunting. We’re flexible if something comes up but we’ve been trying this for a couple of weeks and we kind of like it. So yesterday my plan was to just take it easy, having already decided it was time to take a break from hunting after my success of last week. Murphy had a season-ending bath and no interest in going out into the cold. That was the plan we agreed on.

But then I looked out the window at lunchtime. It was beautiful out there. low 30′s, bluebird sky and a couple of inches of snow on the ground. I knew it would be a wonderful evening with those big purple sunsets you only get in the winter. I weighed my options, thought about the regret I would feel if I didn’t go…and started getting my hunting gear together.

I should mention that I am a cold weather guy. I love winter. I dream about North Dakota-type weather settling on Kentucky. I scoff when folks in more northern locales tell me I would grow tired of it. They just don’t understand the way I am built. The cold weather makes me feel alive. It invigorates me. It’s what nature intended for me. I get absolutely giddy when the weatherman calls for snow and I am genuinely sad when it melts.

So with that attitude I headed out to the farm. I immediately knew I had made the right decision. I was dressed warmly so I could enjoy the scenery. And oh, was it just what I needed.

Here are the decoys, ready to do their job:

So the hunting was sporadic, but fun. The birds weren’t coming in their usual steady patterns but instead all the action was in two big waves. Each time well over 100 geese came over, honking like crazy, flying low and slow and providing great shots. I dropped one, then an hour later I dropped another. Here’s me with my first limit of geese:

When the second goose hit the ground I had an experience that was both unsettling and also very satisfying. Not only was yesterday the last day of goose season, but for me it was the last day of my hunting season. My license expires in February and now almost everything is out-of-season. I won’t be hunting again until turkey season in April. It was a very weird feeling to see that goose fall and realize that I had brought closure to a banner year in the field. I’ve never had a hunting season end like that. Usually they go out with a wimper, not a quite literal bang.

I’m looking forward to the time off which is going to be busy with moving into our new house, closing on the old, etc. I’m also filled with a real contentment after having worked hard to become a better goose hunter this year. I’ve learned a lot about calling, flagging and shooting the big Canadas that come through here. I’ve also learned that Murphy still needs a bit of work. He’s a great hunting dog but there’s always room for improvement. We logged over 40 hours in the field over 10 hunting trips. It was a marathon and there were a lot of days when I was tired of no success. The payoff is in the picture above. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity and grateful for another year afield.