DEATH OF A SEASON

[nomsduckhunter]

DEATH OF A SEASON

How painful it is to watch it pass away. As the sun sets on the last day even though we have seen many of these they are all truly spectacular, you know you wouldn’t be anywhere else and you now know this is the end. How sad and agonizing this is to watch and wait. How did we get to this very traumatic and even disturbing time in our life?
Well it started, excuse me as I wipe the tears away, lets continue. It started as any life begins. We look and wonder, what lies ahead on this day, a happy day, a great day, the opening day of the season. The anticipation is anxiety building and spine tingling, as we do not know what the day has in store for us. We expect so much out of this beginning of life. Who knows what the morrow may bring? The season is in its infancy now, it’s young and the excitement is high with great expectations. The resident duck population is unwary and working to the decoys with a little coaxing from the call. They swing wide to take a look, keep your head down. They’re looking at you; you’ll looking at them. All of a sudden they go behind you and your straining to find them. Where are they? You turn to look and their wings are set and they almost knock your hat off. “All right, take em’”. This is what you wait for. As a young child the season couldn’t get any better. What a wonderful time this is. We’ll still learning and having fun even in our mistakes. As it progresses we move into the teen years and this is when we realize something is not quite right. We’ve analyzed and planned from the very beginning to make this transition as smooth as possible. But nothing or nobody wants to cooperate. People are overwhelming you and your doing things you normally wouldn’t do. The ducks think they know everything and then nothing. We know from previous years hunts, exactly what they will do. But like teens they do just the opposite. I don’t understand this. I’ve said one thing and they do something else. Now we’re struggling for everything. Nothing comes easy, we do this, and they do that. We set up here they go there. Nothing is cooperating, the weather here is bad, and then the weather up north is not bad enough. We can’t beg rain, and then we can’t make it stop. Why does this have to be so hard! Why do I have to go through this? Now this is what separates the men from the boys. Duck hunters everywhere are quitting. All I hear is “I’ve had enough, I don’t have to put up with this, just leave them alone. I can’t figure them out so they’re on their own. I quit!” Ah, but then there are a few of us who limp through this time of despair. Do we like punishment? No. Do we give up easy? No. Are the rewards even sweeter after going through this? Yes. We want to see it through to the next step. Things aren’t always better, but sometimes we understand it a bit better and this makes it easier. We learn what to expect, the unexpected, and we embrace every minute. We truly believe we are a better person/hunter for making it through this. We go hunting every chance we get and we take what the good Lord gives us. Do we deserve anything, no. All that we receive is a gift. The anticipation still runs high for we never know what the next wind may bring.
Well, we’ve made it to the twilight of our season. We now know the end is in sight. It is unwanted but unstoppable. Everything is in order and we are ready. The weather is cold and crisp as we begin the last morning on the last hunt. The sun slowly creeps over the horizon in the east and the wind is at its sharpest. It cuts through the morning and swirls around and in my coat. I pull it tight around me but I know the cold is only a temporary feeling. The gray dawn reveals dark shapes over the trees and a chill runs up your spine as the whistling of wings is heard overhead. One can never forget that sound that comes from the wind rushing over wings as they go past. From the small Teal that sounds as if a jet is swinging right past your head to the whoosh of the Mallard as the wings set and they gracefully float as a leaf into the decoys. This is why we do this. The sky turns crimson and the reflection on the water is breathtaking. We get to look at a different painting every morning. Only a hand from heaven above can make these colors so brilliant. You can’t explain this to anyone you have to live it. The sun is warm and the birds are plentiful. This is the place to be. It is only proper that one is with friends or family at the end. We do this so we can share these experiences. We’ve been through the tough times and that makes these good times even sweeter. We keep all of these times in a snapshot in our memory. We pull them as needed throughout the day or even the year if only to bring a smile to our face. The day is winding down and you have now finished off the last of the coffee and even that last little bit of biscuit you found in your jacket pocket. The realization finally hits home, this is it. The day turned bluebird and you watched ducks all day looking for that one resting spot. You stare into the sky and are alone in your thoughts just as this season has been alone. The sun is going down and the time is near. You dare not move to pick up dekes or start putting things away as this will only speed up the end. I’ll hold up as long as possible and just maybe this will slow things down ever so slightly. I know I can make this day last longer if I just wait. It’s no use. I tried as hard as I could to hold the sun, wishing with all my might but it continues on. As the sun sets, the eyes close on another season. You remember the shots made, shots missed, falling down, getting wet, conversations had and friends made. These past three months with all it held, has gone by in the blink of an eye. We nurtured this season as a child because we know it gives to us much more than we can ever give back. How truly small we are in the grand scheme of things. The eyes are shut; the season is laid to rest. This is the death of duck season. Our one hope is this; we know that just as a baby is born to replace those who have gone on, in a long nine months a new season will also be born…..

[webbmaster]

Use paragraphs. Much friendlier on the eyes

[Deltaduk]

that was nicely said,but hell, you sure put some thought into that.

[cooter]

that was good

[nomsduckhunter]

Deltaduk...offseason, what am I gonna do?

webbmaster...I pasted and everything left justified.

Thanks to Comeback for getting me into this..