We pay for the sun.
In endless days of gray, the drizzle never stops.
The sound of the rain on the roof washing into a cold downspout,
is the lullaby that we hear,
Out here.
Had to have the roof man out to repair my roof after the last big storm,
"$855," he said.
"That's ok," I said, "Send me the bill."
Can't very well have a leaky roof, least not my roof.
Once in a while, we are given a blue sky.
An icy launch, frozen lines, and a gun nearly rusted shut.
This happens in the late season.
Me and John and Alex decided to hunt a spot that looked right,
The sheriff wished us a good and safe trip, tipped his hat and was off into the darkness.
The Duckbomber left the dock
the sound of Ice under her hull.
Sheets of cold irridesce and flow,
crushed by her weight.
angry,
& forced to give way.
With a rusty old dog on the bow,
A rusty old gun in its case,
And a solid friendship held close within her gunnels.
The motor's thermostat closed tight from the cold,
The moon in our sky,
& we're underway.
A hunt can be tough when the moon has been out all night.
Birds leave the big river to feed,
The tide pushes hard.
We were fortunate today, and seemed to be where the birds wanted to be.
John and his 870 are a part of the same organism.
And when he pulls the trigger, he hits the bird.
Had some older shells that may have had the shot rust together (see the pattern in this photo.)
I had some earlier this year that messed up the breech of my O/U,
Took it to the gunsmith,
$50, he demanded,
"That's OK" I said,
"Send me the bill"
Alex was a little apprehensive when he took his first swim of the day.
Reckon I'd be if I was 77 years old and had to take a swim in the river when there is a skim of ice on it.
We watched that big ship pass by and I could see the waves crush the far shore.
The water started to get pulled away and we were in a new spot that I was unfamiliar with.
I was afraid we could get high centered.
I said , "hey John, lets pull up and get to deeper water, that freighter has a bad wave".
John Said "Roger that,"
and we pulled the stops and got going.
Just in time,
as the waves nearly broke over the bow out 25 yards past the spread.
Had we stayed where we were,
We'd have taken them broadside and been sunk,
Without question.
We motored back after the waves calved off another part of the shore.
Hooked into the anchors we left and had birds working in a matter of less than a minute.
John was ready and made good with his 870.
Alex got to it and brought it back.
We settled in for more.
Had birds land in the spread.
Had birds try to land on top of the boat a few times.
I lucked out and got a good shot of a lesser scaup and a greater scaup (hens) in a comparative flight posture.
The lesser is on top ...
She's got a smaller build, and the white on her wing feathers doesn't extend to the last few primaries.
We let the girls fly by.
Hoping that their boys would follow...
They did.
We called and cussed and smacked the side of the boat,
Got one of the drakes to spin back and land in the spread.
"Hold it"
John said.
"Were Done"
We had our birds, and let this old boy take a breather.
So we shouted him back off the deeks, and maybe he'll be a little smarter for the next season.
After minding a set of twins for a mighty long spell,
John was elated to even get out for a run in the boat, but a day hunting in the sunshine and good tide made him really let out a war Whoop!
We shook hands on a great hunt and got the ganglines rolled up., the weights stowed and made our way back into the launch.
Of course,
We decided to stop off at the coffee mart and got Ol' Alex a brace of cornered dogs.
He sure likes em.
Me and the coffee mart lady remarked at what a great day it was.
Blue sky,
Sunshine,
She added,
"We'll, I'm sure we'll pay for it soon."
"That's ok" I said,
"Send me the bill."
https://toddduncantennyson.substack.com/
In endless days of gray, the drizzle never stops.
The sound of the rain on the roof washing into a cold downspout,
is the lullaby that we hear,
Out here.
Had to have the roof man out to repair my roof after the last big storm,
"$855," he said.
"That's ok," I said, "Send me the bill."
Can't very well have a leaky roof, least not my roof.
Once in a while, we are given a blue sky.
An icy launch, frozen lines, and a gun nearly rusted shut.
This happens in the late season.
Me and John and Alex decided to hunt a spot that looked right,
The sheriff wished us a good and safe trip, tipped his hat and was off into the darkness.
The Duckbomber left the dock
the sound of Ice under her hull.
Sheets of cold irridesce and flow,
crushed by her weight.
angry,
& forced to give way.
With a rusty old dog on the bow,
A rusty old gun in its case,
And a solid friendship held close within her gunnels.
The motor's thermostat closed tight from the cold,
The moon in our sky,
& we're underway.
A hunt can be tough when the moon has been out all night.
Birds leave the big river to feed,
The tide pushes hard.
We were fortunate today, and seemed to be where the birds wanted to be.
John and his 870 are a part of the same organism.
And when he pulls the trigger, he hits the bird.
Had some older shells that may have had the shot rust together (see the pattern in this photo.)
I had some earlier this year that messed up the breech of my O/U,
Took it to the gunsmith,
$50, he demanded,
"That's OK" I said,
"Send me the bill"
Alex was a little apprehensive when he took his first swim of the day.
Reckon I'd be if I was 77 years old and had to take a swim in the river when there is a skim of ice on it.
We watched that big ship pass by and I could see the waves crush the far shore.
The water started to get pulled away and we were in a new spot that I was unfamiliar with.
I was afraid we could get high centered.
I said , "hey John, lets pull up and get to deeper water, that freighter has a bad wave".
John Said "Roger that,"
and we pulled the stops and got going.
Just in time,
as the waves nearly broke over the bow out 25 yards past the spread.
Had we stayed where we were,
We'd have taken them broadside and been sunk,
Without question.
We motored back after the waves calved off another part of the shore.
Hooked into the anchors we left and had birds working in a matter of less than a minute.
John was ready and made good with his 870.
Alex got to it and brought it back.
We settled in for more.
Had birds land in the spread.
Had birds try to land on top of the boat a few times.
I lucked out and got a good shot of a lesser scaup and a greater scaup (hens) in a comparative flight posture.
The lesser is on top ...
She's got a smaller build, and the white on her wing feathers doesn't extend to the last few primaries.
We let the girls fly by.
Hoping that their boys would follow...
They did.
We called and cussed and smacked the side of the boat,
Got one of the drakes to spin back and land in the spread.
"Hold it"
John said.
"Were Done"
We had our birds, and let this old boy take a breather.
So we shouted him back off the deeks, and maybe he'll be a little smarter for the next season.
After minding a set of twins for a mighty long spell,
John was elated to even get out for a run in the boat, but a day hunting in the sunshine and good tide made him really let out a war Whoop!
We shook hands on a great hunt and got the ganglines rolled up., the weights stowed and made our way back into the launch.
Of course,
We decided to stop off at the coffee mart and got Ol' Alex a brace of cornered dogs.
He sure likes em.
Me and the coffee mart lady remarked at what a great day it was.
Blue sky,
Sunshine,
She added,
"We'll, I'm sure we'll pay for it soon."
"That's ok" I said,
"Send me the bill."
https://toddduncantennyson.substack.com/
