It gets closer and closer
This desire to hunt is an itch that needs to be scratched. It's like the itch in the spot on your back that you can't quite reach, no matter which way you twist, turn and bend. I've got it bad, but honestly, I think it's no worse than normal. It's dominating every aspect of my thoughts. I can barely finish a complete thought without thinking about hunting.It's like this:"Well, I need to get my oil changed in my explorer, take joey to the vet and I also need to do that assign-FUCK Saturday is almost here."
Mom and I were talking about how I decided to get up early at 7ish on Friday. My reasoning was that by getting up that early and running around all day, I would be tired round about 11 oclock and be able to get some sleep. Mom just laughed and said that there was no living way I could. I asked her why. Her reply was "Because that's exactly how I would be."
It's true. Last year, facing a two hour drive, all day spent in the field, and a two hour return trip, I went to bed with the intentions of getting several hours of sleep. My alarm was set for 3:30 a.m. I slept a grand total of 45 minutes. I think it's worse than any kid at Christmas. Amy calls it passion. I may agree, but I think I'm partially sick in the head.
At least on this year, there is no two hour drive looming on the horizon. Only a short jaunt of about 20 minutes. Too bad we have to be there at 5:00 a.m. I think i'll get an extra hour of sleep. Yeah, right. Dad and I did something different this year as we were "pressured" into joining up with the Moundridge boys into their pheasant club. See, about 3-4 years ago when the numbers were so bad around here, some guys Dad and I know got together with the idea of raising pheasants. So they set about and built a flight pen and a catch pen and all this other jazz. They buy 250 fresh hatched pheasants, hoping to get an even mix of genders. Then they are raised in a 40 by 100 foot flight pen with a net ceiling of about 15 -20 feet. On opening day, they half the birds into the catch pen. After they have divided the birds, they will catch the roosters and load them into two specially designed boxes. The way it was described to me was that the hens will be butchered immediately and put on ice for the feast later. The boxes will be placed in the field and emptied. The birds are allowed to run and fly free then. Then a couple hours later, we hunt them.
I know that it's not the most sporting thing, but they do have a chance. The patch we're putting them in is about 4-5 feet high and looks incredibly thick. They do two hunts like this, but also hunt a third time. It's sure to be a good time. We hunted with these guys on the last day of the season last year, but it was a normal hunt. Of course if those same kids are with this group, the roosters have a chance as none of them could hit the broad side of a barn.
Anyways, i'm wiped out and about to hit the sack.
More to come about opening day later.
posted by Rusty @ 10:22 PM
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