Kingcreek
Member
I don't remember doing it when we were youngsters but I started celebrating the END of the hunting season over 30 years ago when I had a particularly good pheasant season with a young dog I trained myself. The end of a good season is like Thanksgiving II for me.
Somewhere around 1983, I had a young male golden retriever and no wife or family. We hunted Ringnecks hard that year. I started in Nebraska with cousins, up to South Dak with a friend, back south into Nebraska and Iowa before coming back to hunt Illinois. Even got in a long weekend in Missouri for some quail and roosters. I saved 1 tail feather from each rooster my dog retrieved that season and stuck them in a mason jar. Then I filled a second jar. Last day of the Illinois season, I cooked 2 nice steaks for me and the dog Buckskin. Sat down and counted 88 rooster tails and reflected on what a great hunting season it had been.
Done something special at the close of the season every year since, except for one when I had right shoulder surgery and missed the whole season.
This year, my wife was gone to a church women's retreat and driving home in a midwest snow storm. I told her I would have dinner ready.
We had cold smoked pheasant and a spinach salad, venison and wild mushroom stroganof and sauteed veggies and finished a nice bottle of wine with a fire in the fireplace.
Anybody else do anything special? I figure the alternative is deep winter depression over the end of an enjoyable activity. I do something different every year, but I always try to celebrate and mark the end of another season. Every season has been successful in some way.
Somewhere around 1983, I had a young male golden retriever and no wife or family. We hunted Ringnecks hard that year. I started in Nebraska with cousins, up to South Dak with a friend, back south into Nebraska and Iowa before coming back to hunt Illinois. Even got in a long weekend in Missouri for some quail and roosters. I saved 1 tail feather from each rooster my dog retrieved that season and stuck them in a mason jar. Then I filled a second jar. Last day of the Illinois season, I cooked 2 nice steaks for me and the dog Buckskin. Sat down and counted 88 rooster tails and reflected on what a great hunting season it had been.
Done something special at the close of the season every year since, except for one when I had right shoulder surgery and missed the whole season.
This year, my wife was gone to a church women's retreat and driving home in a midwest snow storm. I told her I would have dinner ready.
We had cold smoked pheasant and a spinach salad, venison and wild mushroom stroganof and sauteed veggies and finished a nice bottle of wine with a fire in the fireplace.
Anybody else do anything special? I figure the alternative is deep winter depression over the end of an enjoyable activity. I do something different every year, but I always try to celebrate and mark the end of another season. Every season has been successful in some way.
