Ready, Aim, Fire #97

Every year, we cherish when our boys come back to Maine to either hunt or fish. They enjoy all aspects of the woods, including fishing, hunting and camping. I do think that our youngest enjoys hunting a bit more, but his recent visits have not been that productive, until 2017.

So, Ryan and Amanda notified us that they were going to come for a visit in October. They both enjoy being in the woods and Ryan really had an itch to do some partridge hunting. As I said earlier, his timing had been off in the past because he had not seen many birds when he came. We hoped that this trip would be different.

They arrived on a Thursday evening and we made plans to strike out early Friday and then again on Saturday. TC had planned some meals that we could warm up on the old Coleman stove, so that we would be well fed.

We awoke bright and early on Friday morning to a stiff wind, but bright skies. We loaded up the truck and made our way toward Ashland and then the Six Mile gate. Once through that, we headed up the Reality Road and soon transitioned into hunting mode with Ryan holding his gun by his side. The wind blew mightily but I was soon amazed at the number of birds we saw. They were not very cooperative though. Many of them had their track shoes on and would get out of dodge before Ryan could get off a shot. We logged about 125 miles that day.  Our official bird count for the day was 25 with Ryan taking home 4 and I took home 2. I can still see Ryan’s eyes lighting up as he told me that this was the best day he had ever seen from a bird sitting standpoint. I have to mention our two point people in the back seat that kept telling us “there’s a bird.” Yup, Amanda and TC were enjoying the ride and were also doing an excellent job of sighting them and letting us know. We returned home late that afternoon, satisfied with the day’s results. That evening, we made our plans for the following day and we fried up a few partridge with our special recipe for the guests.

Saturday morning rolled around and once again, we headed out to the North Maine Woods. I was more excited than the day before because of the weather. The morning brought us calm winds and plenty of sunshine. I could feel it was going to be a great day. We passed through the Six Mile gate and headed up the Pinkham Road. The woods offered its beauty with the trees sparkling from the bright sun and the temperatures were again cooperating. We made our way to the Jack Mountain Rd and from there worked across to the Reality Road. There are several roads that connect the two and that is what we really focused on. Then for good measure, we drove over to the Chase Brook Rd which is one of my favorite bird roads. The day started much slower than the preceding one, but we were all enjoying our time together. Ryan was sitting in the front passenger seat poised for a quick pounce out of the truck if need be. He had it down packed, see a bird, jump out of the truck with the gun, load, aim and fire. If need be he would chase them up and over the bank until he had a clear shot. The sightings were a bit down that day. We only saw thirteen but Ryan did get 3 and I got 2.

We have found over the years that time goes far too fast when it comes to visits by our sons. Your instinct is to want them to stay a little bit longer, but understand when they can’t. So, Sunday morning came around and we watched them pack up to meet their plane at eight AM. Our drive to the airport was way too short and they unloaded their gear and headed to the ticket counter. Soon, they called for TSA screening and we said our goodbyes. As we walked out of the terminal, I could not help but think that this trip had been a real productive one. Not for many years had we seen so many birds on their visits. TC and I were truly thankful that they had done so well. We know that this will be the last time Ryan will come during the 2017 hunting season, but we were grateful to have had time with them both. When the plane landed in Boston, we got a text thanking us, and telling us how much they really enjoyed their trip. The pleasure was really ours!