By two p.m., with the rain coming down in sheets, the patient resting comfortably, my football team getting clubbed like baby seals on national television, and the dog looking downright vindictive, the right play was feeling a little claustrophobic for all concerned.
There can be no light without darkness, no life without death, no joy without despair. I can make peace with the inescapable truths. But, as the days grow longer, and chukar season grows shorter, how the hell do I explain these facts of life to my dog? Maybe it’s for the best that she, Read More
Seven or eight miles of heavy brush brought us to the last forty-five minutes of daylight, and a fork in the trail. A warm truck and cold beer waited down the right-hand path. Straight ahead lay more half-frozen river, drifted snow and one last crease of thorny cover. The reassuring bulk of roosters cradled against, Read More
“Sit.” Math isn’t you strong suit huh? “Stay.” Need to check your watch? “I want to get a picture real quick.” We’re a bird shy of our limit. “No!” And we’ve still got an hour of shooting light left. “SIT!” Take all the pictures you want. I’m going to find more birds. “Alright. Alright., Read More
“I told you so.” “Yeah, but you’re just a puppy. I thought…” “I was sniffing a lot… hard.” “Right, I saw but…” “Chopping with my tail” “I…” “Chop, chop, chop. That’s what I did. I did that.” “Got it, but…” “And tight circles. I did those too. Lots of ‘em. I worked it over,, Read More
Grouse season is still two weeks away. But there’s no telling her that this is a dress rehearsal. “Scrimmage” doesn’t compute. I make room for gradients, progressions and half-measures, but she lives in a world of absolutes. There either are feathers, or there are not. And there happen to be some feathers very nearby., Read More
Parents often tell me that having and raising kids really cemented their place in a community. They’d been disconnected from whole populations of neighbors, ignorant of critical institutions and uninvolved in many cultural rituals until the demands of parenthood thrust them into the fray. I think that might be overstating it a bit, and, Read More