[NSR]Tomorrow, September 1st...

[The Reverend Floater]

...is one of my favorite days of the year.

The alarm will start its beeping thing about about 6am but I'll already be awake, lying in bed staring at the ceiling. Hitting the clock, I'll spring from my bed and put on my light weight brush pants over my boxers and tuck my shirt in to the waist. By now Paco will be stirring in his kennel, staring at me through the grate while Bella will take the opportunity to jump into my now vacated bed while the pillows are still warm. Carefully pulling and deliberately lacing, I'll put on my Danner boots so that they're tight in the ankles carefully knotted all the way up to my shin. Upstairs I go, getting a little water boiling and filling a camel back with cold water. Once I've got my cup of coffee, I thow my camel back over one shoulder, another familiar strap from a different sort of bag goes over the other shoulder. Back to my room I go to release Paco from his kennel. Out the front door and into the soft early morning light I happily march, brown dog by my side, straw hat on my head, a pocket full of shells.

I'll drive the Goat up the canyon not 7 minutes from my house, past Ahnold and Maria's place and onto the national forest dirt road for another 10 minutes. At around 6:30am, I'll arrive at the mouth of a canyon and stop the car but keep the music playing. It will be Bon Jovi. It will be Bon Jovi's "Dead or Alive". Coffee now in my belly, I'll pull the can o' Copenhagen from my coin slot by my stereo and slide in a lipper, all the while staring out my window at the beautiful, sage-carpeted canyon glowing in the light of dawn. The scent of sage and of the pine trees that line the northern aspects is overwhelming in the misty morning air and there's nothing quite like it as I open my door and walk to the back of the Goat. The magical feeling of this season gets better as fall rolls on, aspen leaves decompose and snow falls in the peaks.

I pop open the top window of the camper but I don't let Paco jump out quite yet. It's a very special day for him--the very first day of his life to do what his instincts have been begging him to do since he chased his first dove at 14 weeks of age, a moment I'll never forget. Very similiar in appearance to a brown piglet, he could barely put one foot in front of another but when those whistling wings flew over head, his tiny little ears pricked up and his eyed focused with intent on the buzzing dove as he tried to run along underneath it, eventually tiring 5 yards later. But he's big now...about 80lbs of solid muscle and an impressive beanbag to match. He has trained his entire 1.25 years of his life for this morning, retrieving, searching, getting shocked and being rewarded. In an annual ritual previously reserved from my other dog, now retired, I'll remove his leather collar while he sits at attention in the back of the pickup, and replace it with a bright orange reflective collar. Then, much to his delight, I'll put his training collar on, the weight around his neck telling him that it's "time to work and that he's got a job to do." His tail will thump like a hammer on the bed liner of my truck and he'll be itching to jump out and get to work. I'll instruct him to sit there as I slide three shells into my all black Winchester pump, punctuating the moment with a spit of Copenhagen into the soft, damp dirt. Smiling, I'll release the lower tail gate and let Paco out, knowing my favorite season has just begun.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I sure as hell ain't no hunter...but I give that http://tetongravity.com/ubb/icons/icon14.gifhttp://tetongravity.com/ubb/icons/icon14.gifhttp://tetongravity.com/ubb/icons/icon14.gifhttp://tetongravity.com/ubb/icons/icon14.gifhttp://tetongravity.com/ubb/icons/icon14.gif

[Woodsy]

Rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells

ducks on parade

Come wit it now!
Come wit it now!

]
http://www.altmusic.ru/bands/RATM/photo/Rocha12.jpg

[Karl Stall]

It's also a great day to be born

[Foggy_Goggles]

Werd. I might get on some dove this weekend. One more month until waterfowl.

[The Reverend Floater]

Originally posted by Woodsy
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells

ducks on parade

Come wit it now!
Come wit it now!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nah, ya hippy! It's upland season, not ducks! Pffffft.

[vinzclortho]

what I always liked about september 1st, was that it's moving day in Boston and EVERYONE would move..except me of course ...for 4 years. we'd just hang out in our gawkin spot in front of our apartment, gawkin at the girls, killing beers and doing some street bbq and just watch the commotion. good times.

actually one of my finest sept 1st memories was this girl who had been a total bitch to me and my roommates about 3 or 4 times came out of the building and asked if we would put our beers down and help her move a dresser or something as she was leaving town. We looked at eachother and I responded "I'm not really good at helping people do stuff. So by not helping at all, I'm helping more than if I actually helped." She looked confused for a second and said "are you going to help or not?" "nope." and went back to drinkin my beer.

[lemon boy]

BRING IT!

[Crinkle]

Originally posted by The Reverend Floater
...is one of my favorite days of the year.
Knowing my favorite season has just begun.....Redneck Season....YEHAW

sorry couldn't resist.

Woodsy, you are killing me

[bad_roo]

Man, the Rev lives on a whole different planet to me. Sometimes I guess I just need reminding.

[Woodsy]

Originally posted by The Reverend Floater
Nah, ya hippy! It's upland season, not ducks! Pffffft.

wtf do I know,
I shot a starling once in Tennesee, fucker didnt die right away so I had to go stomp its head.

put me off hunting for life.

plus I been dodging bowhunters in the canyons here for weeks, those dudes come out of nowhere sometimes
( they als drive up the canyon @ 5mph "scoping " the Ridge lines

[lemon boy]

woodsy - blaze orange is your friend (and your dog's friend)!

[Snow Dog]

Originally posted by bad_roo
Man, the Rev lives on a whole different planet to me. Sometimes I guess I just need reminding.

Nah. It's just a whole other continent. I just got back my rifle with a freshly installed muzzle brake. Hunting season is almost here.

[glademaster]

Hunting has never really been of interest to me, although recently the idea of small game hunting has begun to appeal to me for some reason. That post only piqued my interest even more.

[The Reverend Floater]

Originally posted by glademaster
Hunting has never really been of interest to me, although recently the idea of small game hunting has begun to appeal to me for some reason. That post only piqued my interest even more.

I hear what you're saying, GM. Hunting, to me, is not really about the hunting/killing aspect at all. It's one of the BEST excuses to just get out there and walk ridges in the mountains where there are no trails, to scope lines in the peaks that you couldn't see otherwise, and to just get into it! You end up in a lot of places that you'd otherwise NEVER see. Granted, I love the adrenaline rush that accompanies an explosion of 20 birds from a bush or creek and I also love the taste of a well prepared pheasant. The satisfaction of a successful hunt with the strategy and hard work involved feels good.

The dog thing is another aspect to enjoy in itself. I hate to state this, but there is no closer bond between man and dog than man and working-dog. To see your dog perform exactly as you have spent thousands of hours training it and to see how happy they are knowing they did everything right is simply one of the best feelings you can get.

Get out there...your first bird will, indeed, freak you out, but as long as you keep it real, kill only what you eat and eat everything you kill it starts to make a lot of sense. I don't hunt anything besides birds, so you'd have to talk to someone else if you're interested in big game.

[The AD]

Originally posted by Karl Stall
It's also a great day to be born

Happy birthday in advance, old man!

[AltaPowderDaze]

Originally posted by The Reverend Floater
Nah, ya hippy! It's upland season, not ducks! Pffffft.

No it's wabbit season

Duck season

wabbit season

Duck season

wabbit season

Wabbit season

Duck season.....Boom!

[Cornholio]

That's a visceral read, Rev.

I do like guns. I like dogs. I like the mountains on a cool, still morning. I fish. I've just never quite gotten in to hunting.

Anyway, I'll be waiting for a TR tomorrow morning!

[Foggy_Goggles]

Originally posted by Woodsy
plus I been dodging bowhunters in the canyons here for weeks, those dudes come out of nowhere sometimes
( they als drive up the canyon @ 5mph "scoping " the Ridge lines

This deserves its own thread.

[Buster Highmen]

Originally posted by The Reverend Floater
I hear what you're saying, GM. Hunting, to me, is not really about the hunting/killing aspect at all. It's one of the BEST excuses to just get out there and walk ridges in the mountains where there are no trails, to scope lines in the peaks that you couldn't see otherwise, and to just get into it! You end up in a lot of places that you'd otherwise NEVER see.

That happens to me all the time. I'd just rather admit that I'm stumbling around stoned and lost. TJ should take a hint.

[INDY GS]

I don't hunt anything besides birds, so you'd have to talk to someone else if you're interested in big game.

This is big game and a bird? so can I talk to you now?

http://pbskids.org/sesame/images/home_bigbird_body.gif

I don't like hunting, but I don't mind reading a well scripted story like that. Sounds a lot like the beginning of ski season for me.

[dipstik]

September first is awesome for me because it signals the beginning of the time where I like to go out and hide in the woods and wait for all the hunters to show up.

Then, when they least suspect it, I shoot their fucking dog in the head.

I feel that it really makes me one with nature. I get to be out there in the woods all by myself, enjoying the fresh air, and killing peoples dogs. It's awesome. Nothing makes me more of a man, more tough, more cool, than killing other defenseless things.

Then after about a week of this, I like to go and whine about how Bush's environmental policies suck, and how he's ruining nature.

It's ok though, I know that deep down nothing brings me closer to nature than by killing a part of it.

[basom]

wow.

now thats some serious insight.

[The Reverend Floater]

Originally posted by dipstik
September first is awesome for me because it signals the beginning of the time where I like to go out and hide in the woods and wait for all the hunters to show up.

Then, when they least suspect it, I shoot their fucking dog in the head.

I feel that it really makes me one with nature. I get to be out there in the woods all by myself, enjoying the fresh air, and killing peoples dogs. It's awesome. Nothing makes me more of a man, more tough, more cool, than killing other defenseless things.

Then after about a week of this, I like to go and whine about how Bush's environmental policies suck, and how he's ruining nature.

It's ok though, I know that deep down nothing brings me closer to nature than by killing a part of it.

While we previously thought it impossible, you've outdone yourself in both your miopic perception of reality and your flawless demonstration of the mentality of a Bush voter! Terrific!

[teledave]

dipstick, you should probably stay far away from Idaho, and CO, UT, WY, MT, and all of the South. Just for your own good. Cali seems like it might be good for you though.