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| Weathered but ready for action: a punt boat full of decoys seemed like the perfect still life primer for the excitement and enthusiasm that goes into duck hunting preparation |
I don't feel like I'm a procrastinator, and Roy and I pride ourselves on planning ahead. But somehow, the last few days before the main duck season opens always feels like I'm running with my hair on fire. Tomorrow's the day.
The reality is we are and have been in pretty good shape. All of our major projects should be behind us -- barring something truly unforeseen. Roy is a master at anticipating the unexpected. He's been down this road a few times.
And the punters (particularly Jimmy) really make preparation for hunting itself pretty painless for the rest of us. He handles all the eager phone calls from adrenaline-infused lease holders on the West Marsh. And my guys leasing the East are very self-sufficient. Once we get the water levels where they need to be -- to facilitate access by both the hunters and the ducks, a task that is now just about complete -- punters and hunters put the finishing touches on blinds, insure access lanes are trimmed, and get the dogs and decoys ready. It's quite a ritual. But after decades and decades of fine-tuning, it's a pretty well-oiled (albeit unconventional) machine. People know what they need to do. And some of the fun of pushing finishing touches to the end is that it just builds excitement. For an avid duck hunter, the year really boils down to these few months.
The table is set. All we need now is for the weather -- and the birds -- to cooperate. Should be fun.
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| Much of yesterday was spent installing this 20' dock in the access to the Tower Marsh; I rebuilt itin two sections a year ago, so I've been waiting a while to get this photo -- project completed |
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| Our pedestaled boat blind as it is getting "grassed" (camouflaged with clumps of Phragmites and willow limbs); the beauty of this system is the combination of mobility (it floats and pulls easily) and stability (the corner posts drop to the bottom and make it as fixed as walking in your living room) -- it is as comfortable as anything I've ever duck hunted in |
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| "New #16" -- a modest 2-3 person fixed blind, now in place and ready to go near the footprint of its legendary predecessor ("Old #16"); the colors will blend as the temps drop and the surrounding vegetation continues to brown |