Quack, Quack, Cackle, Cackle

Being a glutton for punishment, Forrest and I went to McDonald's again this week. It was morning, I entered the building confidently thinking "I got this". Afterall, I only wanted a sausage biscuit meal. 

I approached the kiosk and started pushing buttons. I push "meals". Surely, a simple sausage biscuit meal would be in that section. Nope. I search a little more, nothing. Finally, I turn around and walk up to the counter. A girl comes up to me and says "Can I help you?" "I would like a sausage biscuit meal, no egg". "Did you use the kiosk?" she asks. "I could not find it on there", I respond. She starts pushing buttons.  "Meal?" she asks, "Yes, sausage biscuit, hashbrowns and a coke". "No egg?, she asks again, "No egg". "What would you like to drink?", "A coke". I then pay for it thinking, "I did it, I defeated the system, I did not use the kiosk and am getting exactly what I want". 

We get our orders and return to the truck and head on down the road (we were headed home when we stopped). I open my bag, unwrap my sandwich and what do I see? I got my sausage biscuit all right, but with a f*#%ing egg! and not one, but two hasbrowns. I promptly take the egg off and flip it over my right shoulder to Dakota. She worked hard over the past week and deserves a little extra treat.

But that was not my only mind-boggling encounter with technology this week. I had another one when I borrowed one of the trucks to go to town. Everything was going normally until I stopped at my destination and turned off the truck. The display then flashed "Check backseat for infants". I do not remember bringing an infant with me, but I checked anyway just in case one magically appeared during my drive. One had not. But during each one of my stops it asked the same question, each time I looked, but no infant. Imagine my horror had I turned around to find an infant staring back at me! I get it, I know why it asks and if one baby's life is saved from it, it is worth it, but I did find the messaging amusing. 

But, back to my week with Forrest. We had a great time! We arrived Tuesday evening and met Dylan at the Pour Choices bar in Max for supper. After getting set up back at the farm we went to bed with alarms set for 5:30am. I slept in Chris and Holly's big 5th wheel while Forrest took the camper. I will not go into each individual duck hunt, but we set the alarm for 5:30 all 5 mornings we were there. 

We hunted fields, we hunted water, we made some great shots, missed some easy ones. Had a lot of laughs and filled the freezer with birds. I don't remember the last time Forrest and I shared a duck blind.... over a decade for sure, so it was so nice to settle into the blind with him that first morning after setting up our field decoys. We are joined by Dylan, Pete, and Chris. 

I will warn you now that the rest of the post has some dead bird pictures, it also has lots of dog pictures and yes, a couple of videos. Dakota went along on most trips, she is not a fan of hunting on land, but get her near a muddy slough and she is in heaven. You can tell in the picture above, she is not entirely loving it as we were on land. The rest of the photos were taken when we were water hunting so you will see a noticeable difference. 

As many of you know, there are two different classifications of ducks; dabblers and divers. Dabblers are what most people see in parks; Mallards, Gadwall, Teal, Widgeon, Pintail..... These ducks are the ones that tip their butts up in the air and put their heads under the water when eating. Then there are the divers who dive when they eat. These include the Scaup, Redheads, Canvasback, Bufflehead and many more.

To me, the dabblers eat better than the divers, so we try to go for them as much as possible, but depending on where you are hunting, they might not be around. 

You are only allowed 6 birds a day 5 of which can be mallards and of those mallards, only two can be hens. You can only shoot 2 canvasback and redheads, 1 scaup, and pintail. So, not only do you need to be able to identify the species on the fly, in some cases, you need to identify the gender within that species. Not always possible so a lot get passed on. 

One evening we were hunting big water where a lot of divers hang out. Big water is fun as it allows Dakota the opportunity to really get out there and swim while retrieving the birds. Here is a video that Forrest took of her retrieving one. 

We were just getting ready to wrap up when this bird comes zipping across in front of us and Forrest shoots it. Upon retrieving the bird, (a female canvasback) we noticed that it had a band on its leg! This is super rare, I have only shot one banded bird one time in my life, many have not shot any. 

When you shoot a banded bird, they ask that you call in the date and location of the harvest so they can use that data for their records. They in return send you back the information on the bird. 

Each morning we went out to various potholes or fields throughout the area. All the hunts were fun and memorable, but the most fun ones for me were the ones where Dakota got to get in on the action. Just look at the expression on her face.....

One spot we were hunting was kind of out in the open and the ducks kept flaring as they got close to us. We finally figured out that while we were in camo, that white dog down there was scaring them. Solution? Cover her with a decoy bag!

Saturday was another big day, the pheasant opener! So, we switched from ducks to pheasants. We put on miles and miles walking across the fields in search of these elusive birds. Dakota is not a pheasant dog, so she sat these hunts out, but we had fun watching the other dogs. These birds proved to be our nemesis, most of them getting away, but between the 7 of us we managed to get enough for each of us to take a few home for the table. 

One morning it was crazy windy. It was almost mezmorizing walking through the grasses watching the grass sway in the wind. The birds held super tight, but we still managed to miss more than our fair share. 

That night, the winds died down, making for one of the most beautiful settings you will ever see in a pheasant hunt. What an end to the day. 

Our week was over way too soon. Well, not really, we had plenty of birds, sore feet and were ready to sleep in. So, again at 5:30 in the morning we woke up, loaded up and hit the road back home. 9 hours later we pulled into our driveway, stretched out legs and opened the back door to let Dakota out. I wish I had taken a picture, but what do you think I saw in the floor next to Dakota? Some of you may have guessed it, but there on the floor, uneaten, was the egg from my "eggless" sausage biscuit. It might be a sign that I should not go to McDonalds anymore if even a dog will not eat their food!