Farewell to Duck Season

Yesterday I had the pleasure of accompanying my love on the last day of duck season. While we didn’t kill any ducks, we did actually see a lot, and even got to shoot at some twice. It was fun and I know that Ryan loved having me there with him (his words, not mine!), but like with every new adventure I ended up learning something.

On my first duck hunting adventure I learned the true meaning of waders. This, for all of you who aren’t 100% sure, means you will literally wade through water to get to your destination. For a girl that stands only 5’3” if will be up to your chest and you will swear you aren’t going to make it. Add layers of clothing to prevent hypothermia, a few “light” (read: heavier that what you would expect) things to carry, and absolute fear of the unknown it can be pretty intense. But, once you are out there you are good to go.

I also learned the feeling that no hunter wants to experience in freezing weather- getting water in the sneaky (heavy) waders. It was horrendous. Going completely under water like I was diving for coins at the bottom of a pool was not exactly my idea of fun. I think I was in shock, but I didn’t once get mad at my husband…I simply got up, poured out my gloves, and declared how nasty the water was. I’m a trooper. Here? Here I learned that 3 people on a four wheeler crossing a creek is not the brightest idea.

On yesterday’s hunting trip I added to my list:

I’ve hunted in timber and off a pond with no blinds or anything. Yesterday, we used blinds. Blinds that require you to lie down in while covered up in hay. Hmm…okay. I can do this, I was thinking on the way to our destination. When we pulled up and started putting on waders, getting his gun, the decoys, 2 blinds, and his man purse (I cleverly dubbed) we were headed off for a 15 minute walk. I luckily fit into my waders. (Carrying around an extra 17 pounds in my stomach left me a little nervous, but since it was warm and there was no need for layering I was in the clear.) We started trekking along and it just so happens that when someone is calling in ducks it’s necessary to “look down” if you aren’t properly concealed in your blind. Really? At that very moment I realized why the guys on Duck Commander always have their faces painted. Brilliant.

I realized that a 30 weeks pregnant hunting partner is not that helpful when carrying all the stuff required for a hunt. I was in charge of the gun and the man purse. Poor Ryan carried 16 decoys and 2 blinds. It was a little challenging I could tell…and I felt ALMOST guilty. (He knew what he was getting into.) Setting up “camp” I wasn’t much help either. In fact, I lay on my side, head propped up with a hand (yes I was trying to looking sexy. Ha!) and just watched an armadillo wander from bush to bush while Ryan did everything. He finally got my blind set up and told me to “get it.” Well, okay…I can do this, I thought. There luckily was an incline for me to be propped up against. (Blind makers had pregnant ladies in mind when designing these puppies.) I slid in feet first and got situated. Now, there is a “hood” or “lid” or “helmet” or “top” or “thing” that raises up and down so that you can conceal yourself quickly and pop it open with it’s time. I noticed it when he got it laid out, but never thought anything of it because I was confident that my camo attire, hat, and hay bed were enough to conceal me. Wrong. As soon as it was “time” Ryan said, “cover up.” My response? “With what?” In that instant the thought of pulling out some of the hay from my blind and placing it MORE on top of me crossed my mind…but without hesitation, the hubs said with your lid. Oh. Right. That makes a lot more sense. So I did and instantly confused the smell of hay with cat pee. I tried and tried to think of when a cat had pissed on this blind and couldn’t figure it out. Then, about an hour later I realized it was just the smell of hay. I’ll admit being preggo I was concerned and then felt at ease about lowering my hood at those needed times. I got told about 20 times to put my (whatever choice of wording Ryan decided to use) down. Finally, I got to the point where I kept it down and ended up simply taking a nap. A nap that got cut short every time I heard a gun go off. It was so cute though because I know the baby in the oven can recognize loud noises and he’d be all mellow, but as soon as Ryan began shooting that little baby started kicking like a maniac. Aww, we were all bonding. That, or he was irritated.

And, truth be told, I am a good duck-pointer-outer and got lots of “good jobs.” See, I am an asset…

It was getting close to 5:30 and we had been out there for nearly 3 hours…momma was getting hungry, I had already popped a squat very awkwardly –twice, and found it was time to be heading back home. So, with the okay from daddy-o, he said I could retreat out of the cocoon. So I did…mistakenly though because as soon as I was out of that sucker (which BTW took a little work because in case you didn’t know, it’s hard to get up off the ground being pregnant) Ryan told me “get back in!” This is a joke right? I just said bunney I can’t and did something stupid…I laid back on the ground, behind my blind, head-down of course, and instantly regretted my decision because I was laying on my belly. What? Are you high? Yes, at that moment I was slightly delirious from lack of food I believe. Also, being told “don’t move” was a bit much. I went against Ryan’s advice and moved. Gasp. I was probably the reason why the ducks turned to go the other way. Oops…it was either that or smash our baby which I wasn’t really down with. After the baby smashing incident it was finally time to really go home and trek back in the dark. All in all it was a great day spent with Bunney…we had fun. I learned something and best of all? I get many, many days of sleeping in on weekends with my love. Um, at least 10 more weekends or so until our little man gets here and sleep becomes a thing of the past…