I owe it to Jem

I was ready to be done.

Put the guns away.

Rest my weary bones.

I’ve been hunting since September. Back then it was easy. Crawl out of bed at dark-thirty. Get dressed. Heat the coffee. Load the dogs in the truck and hunt for a couple of hours before it got hot.

The easy hunting lasted into November, but the seasons didn’t really change until recently. Now it’s winter. The high today is supposed to be in the mid teens. It’s snowing.

The appeal of the warm house is undeniable.

But there are only a few days left and I owe it to the dogs -- especially Jem -- to hunt until the end of the season.

This is his time of year. He’s a bulldog in thick cover, plowing through the cattails and reeds without hesitation. And when it’s cold, like it is now, the birds are in the thickest cover.

He and I are also the same age this season -- 63. You might guess it to look at me, but you’d never suspect it of Jem. After nine-plus years, he still looks like a puppy.

I had thought by now that our paths would intersect, that he would slow down more than me and I’d finally be able to keep up with him.

It didn’t happen until yesterday and that may have been a fluke. Earlier in the year, especially hunting the short grass, Jem was his old self. While Ace quartered a few yards in front of me, Jem covered the prairie from horizon to horizon.

He’s not a fast dog. He simply moves at a steady lope, never tires, and won’t quit until I put him back in the truck.

However, as much as he loves the wide open spaces, it’s in the close quarters where he really shines. Jem doesn’t avoid the heavy cover like a lot of dogs do. He dives into it. And if I stay on the outside, I can keep up.

Especially if I haven’t trimmed the hair on his feet and he has to stop and chew at the ice balls growing there every few minutes while I catch up.

Next year, when he’s 10 -- 70 in dogs years. I may be able to keep pace while we hunt the short grass. But I doubt it. He shows no signs of slowing down and I’m sure not getting any faster.

So I’ll take advantage of the wintry conditions and hunt him these last few days.

In thick cover.

With ice on his feet.

It’s still the only way I can keep up.

Parker Heinlein is at [email protected]