skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Grouse season ended last Saturday. This was the first season I really got out since coming back to Pennsylvania. My first year in grad school I hunted pheasant and woodcock a lot with Paul as grouse numbers were super low. New puppies the next year meant I had to maximize their contact with birds. With grouse numbers still low, I figured my best bet was to buy quail for training and hit the game lands to chase stocked birds. With stocking numbers shrinking and quail hurting the bank account I joined Ideihl farms and got the dogs on tons of quail, pheasant, and chukkar. This year, the dogs are trained and grouse numbers are finally back into a semi-healthy range. I only got out a few times during the late season, but ended up with three birds by the season's close. Paul, Primo, and I headed out Saturday and had four beautiful flushes. T pointed my bird beautifully (even if I wasn't paying much attention) and it went down with one shot from my new DeHaan 16ga. Great ending to the first of (hopefully) many more PA grouse hunts.
Won't it be nice when we're all able to listen to our president (whoever it is) without cringing or crying? I was going to put a picture up but couldn't stand to look at it. Click at your own risk.
Freezing rain yesterday. Frigid winds today. Is it possible that having less snow on the ground makes cabin fever worse? All those winters in Vermont seemed a lot more bearable even if they were much longer - I'm convinced a few feet of snow makes winter much more enjoyable. So as hunting seasons draw to a close and winter gets a good grip, I'm getting serious urges to hit the stream. Pictures of clear streams shrouded in greenery aren't helping. I think tying a fly after every article I read for my comps is my only outlet...for now.
Although my comprehensive exams for my PhD begin in less than two weeks, creating a blog somehow made its way to the top of my to-do list. I've had limited success keeping up with journals, so I'm guessing this will soon suffer a similar fate. Only one way to find out...
