[mobirdhunter]

It seems the end of the season is always intertwined with weather, and this year was no exception. We ended our Iowa season with snow drifts above our knees, and our finale in Oklahoma was in 60 degree weather that was preceded by torrential, flooding rains. I felt for the birds, and we took only a "trophy" bird from the coveys we found in both states.

After walking in deep, crusted snow, and then slogging through quagmires of Oklahoma mud, we felt like we had been on a challenge course. The one constant throughout these last days -- the wind. Still, it's always hard to leave the field on what you know is the last day of the season. The older I get, the more I mourn that last day.

Photos:

1. While working a ditch in cover, Aspen put his nose up and cat-walked across 80 yards of open field (those are his tracks). Before he could make the fence line, about 20 pheasants erupted and sailed off the property. A good sign for next season.
2. You can find yourself mesmerized by reading the snow. There was plenty of pheasant sign on this farm.
3. One of the singles that gave me a chance. Coveys usually do not hold in deeper snow cover, but singles will often bury themselves and need coaxing to get up. It's hard on the nerves -- the dog's and the hunter's.
4. Alder had this single nailed down, or so I thought. I just knew the bird was in front of her, but, as you can see in Elaine's photo, it managed to sneak out behind me and directly toward Elaine (you can just see it flushing behind my left leg). We both saluted its luck...or ingenuity.
5. A "trophy" Bob. One bird for an outing is perfect this time of year, especially if you only have the right barrel to clean when you get home.
6. Winter skies are distinctive -- and memorable.
7. Oklahoma was warm and wet. Bird numbers where we hunt were down from a poor hatch and an October ice storm. Aspen pinned this scattered covey, but they got up wild offering no shots.
8. If you look closely at this photo, you can see that my gun is pointed down. The bird Aspen pointed flew over the edge of the creek bank (hidden in the photo). Fortunately, I was able to make what is normally a poor shot for me. Unfortunately, the dead bird ended up across the creek, inaccessible to us. Aspen had not seen it go down, but I don't know what he would have done about crossing the creek. An unrecovered bird is one of hunting's biggest regrets.
9. One of many nice things about hunting in warmer weather is that you can spend time on the tailgate with the dogs. Elaine said that Alder looked like "The Hunter Whisperer" in this photo. What she whispered is our secret.
10. Afternoon sun on the last day always makes images more poignant.