SIMPLE PLEASURES

The outdoors is indeed a special place. It's even more rewarding spending time hunting or fishing with friends who enjoy it as well. Oftentimes, it's not about the catch or the kill, but the day itself. However, that said, the days when it's just over-the-top good are hard to forget. Such was the case last weekend when the duck season opened back up for much of the state.

A friend of mine, Kent, joined me for a hunt on the river. He doesn't duck hunt much but he's grown fond of it and the scenery. We've had some good hunts and he was looking forward to it as was I. Legal shooting time came and went without so much as a feather. But it wasn't long and our company showed up.

Mallards and gadwalls came in singles, pairs and small bunches. We weren't particular and I gave Kent most of the singles and he dumped them all with a single shot. The action was steady and we finished up with a 12-duck, 2-man limit by 8 a.m. Our tally was two drake mallards, a wigeon and 9 gadwalls. But even more impressive was both our shooting percentages that morning. I fired just six shells and Kent only fired two that didn't connect. That's good by any account.

As we finished up Kent plopped down on his bucket and grabbed a Dr. Pepper and took a big swig. He let out the resulting "Ahhhh...." after a big, refreshing drink and said, "Dr. Pepper and ducks....it just doesn't get any better than this."

I had to agree.