I'm ready to hunt

I put the boat away last weekend, and along with it, most thoughts of fishing. Oh, I’ll still cast a line a time or two, but probably no more than that. It’s time to hunt.

Antelope season is already open in some areas, and upland bird starts Sept. 1.

The wait’s been a bit longer this year. I usually finish the hunting season on New Year’s Day, but Barb got sick last year and I didn’t get a chance to go. Ever since, I’ve been anxious to make up for that day I missed.

Cooler weather late in the summer puts me in the mood, and this year is no exception. When I was a kid I was always sad to see the end of summer because it meant the start of school. Now I can hardly wait for August to pass.

For the next four months I’ll follow the dogs through prairie, marsh and creek bottom in search of grouse, doves, partridge, snipe, pheasants and ducks.

I failed to draw any tags so bigger game won’t be much of a distraction. I’ll still hunt deer, but elk hunting, which used to consume so much of my time, is now pretty much relegated to that list of things I used to do.

For the first month of the season I’ll only hunt mornings while it’s still cool. Afternoons are reserved for those chores I didn’t get to in the summer and promised to get to later. At least that’s what I tell Barb.

I used to spend a lot of time gathering gear, stocking up on shotgun shells, and fine-tuning the dogs. Now, however, I’ve got all the gear I’ll ever need, cases of shells, and have come to the realization that there really isn’t any fine-tuning to be done. Like Popeye, the dogs are what they are.

There aren’t as many of them as there were last year with the passing of Spot, but she had retired from the field a few years ago anyway. Jem, who’s 13, will probably be seeing his last action this year. Unlike Spot, though, he’s not going quietly, and howls in the kennel if I leave him at home.

I know the feeling.

And right now I’m straining at the leash. It’s been nearly eight months since I swung on a bird and watched it fall out of the sky.

I’m ready to hunt.

Parker Heinlein is [email protected].