Todd Duncan Tennyson
Well-known member
0440hrs:
i stumbled out of bed and into alex’s room
flicked the light on
“come on alex, it is time to get up”
he did not move
i watched him for a moment to see if he was breathing
he was
he laid there
unresponsive
so i went to the kitchen
got a cup of coffee
i clanged his bowl on the countertop
finally he staggered down the stars and watched as i made his food and lit the woodstove
“where do you want to go today?” i asked
“i’d really like to go to the big bend in the river and try for mallards and gadwalls
and then see if we can get some sawbills off of the point” he answered
“ok old man
eat your food and meet me out back when you finish and we can go” i replied
i left the door cracked
alex finished and loaded in the truck as i hooked up the connections
he noses his way out
he knows where to go
we pulled the boat into the roadway and pointed it uphill
about a bathtub full of water blew out of the drain hole
when it was finally purged
i pumped the tires up
since they are never full
alex slept on a pile of wool blankets and gear
i turned on the radio show he likes
made the drive downriver on 7 of 8 cylinders
we arrived at the river and rolled the big boat into the water
& made our way
into blackness
sideways water and mist
drifting and riding on a swollen river
over sandbars and shoals
along long wing dams and pilings
we have figured it out over the years
through the Braille of scraping skeg
rolling hulls across rotting pilings
and the occasional stranding of it all
reckon
it is nearly a part of us now
so many times we’ve made this run in the dark
it is always part terror
and part elation
lights blinking red and green and white again
from across the channels and shipping lanes
reflections and ripples
apparitions
prayers for safe passage
fingers crossed
he stood up on the bow like he always does
i was going to call him back to the stern
but figured he deserved to ride the bow
we beached the bomber and hauled our gear another 200 yards
i ditched the anchor and he took off and looked for coons and coyotes
in the brush and swales of the islands
i knew he’d be able to smell the menthol on my wrists and neck and shoulders
he would be able to hear my swearing
and splashing
he would see me fiddling around with my headlamp
and join me
when it was time to shoot
by shooting light i had about 18 decoys and a 4 pack of canvasbacks deployed
alex was no where to be found
it was nearly legal time
and my dog was missing
“alex, get back here”
i shouted
there was no response
“damnit alex”
i shouted even louder and was starting to get mad
wondering if he was in a fix
soon the ducks were winging overhead
i went to sit on the hump of land and almost sat right on him
“hey watch it, i am trying to get some sleep” he grumbled.
he’d been laying there
waiting for me to sit down with him all along
the hump of mossy ground was warm from him laying on it for a while
i said “sorry i yelled at you and cursed at you old man”
“it is ok
i couldn’t hear you anyway” he said
birds winged in
i shot and missed
shot again and no report
my firing pin was rusted in
i swore some more
alex ran to the waters edge
he shook his head and said
“let me know when you get one
i will go get it for you”
i just grumbled
smacked the firing pin free with some pliers
more birds blew through the set
bufflers and bluebills
and widgeons
the wind was pushing them past us at about 60 mph
rt to left crosses on singles and trios
rocketing by so fast that i couldn’t even squeeze off a shot
we lucked out on a few
and finally had something to hang on a strap
alex was ready to go
“hey
these taste like acorns and sculpins” he said
the tide rolled in and the time had come to hit the point
we had a sandwich
alex decided to rest up as we rounded the point to set our longlines
we beached the bomber and i set alex free
he tore off and ran that beach like a young pup
our first hunting trips were on this spot many years ago
it was good to see him running hard and free like that
he was all fired up
i raced alongside him with the bomber
he hit the afterburners and took off
rolling in the sand and digging
really enjoying himself
i stopped and looked at him and laughed
it made me feel good to seem him run like that
his spirit is strong on that long sandy spot on the river
we settled in after i was on anchor again
the wind changed and things started to get a bit rough on the water
we waited as the tide was working in
“you remember that time with brother zachariah
you shot once and 3 birds fell off this point?” alex asked
“yep, i always think about that here
we’ve had some good days” i replied
“i remember the time i got hung up in the lines
you cut them with your knife from the boat to free me” alex said
i said “you’ve been a good dog alex,
i reckon
i’d eat bees for you” i replied
in a moment we had a big sawbill cruising in
alex was in the water and on the bird
before the smoke had cleared
“that is a fine sawbill and you did a good job fetching her” i said
upon the handoff
it bit him on the sore spot on his nose
“wait a minute, i am not done” he said
he circled back
we ended up having to pick up shortly after this
the river changed and got ugly
there were 3-4 foot standing waves to roll through
the point was under 2 feet of water
with wind and waves crashing ashore
i was able to motor out and yank all of the longlines in
and picked alex up off the bluff that was still above water
about 30 minutes later
we had a very wet ride back to the launch
alex opted to lay down in the stern behind the spray
i got soaked
and smiled all the way back
as we left
an old man pulled up in a pickup truck
“you go out there all alone in that whipped up chop and rollers?” he asked
“yes sir, but i had my hound dog” i answered
“bout 30 years back, i’d of joined you and we’d have shot em up”
he laughed and nodded
“well
nobody’s really all alone if they have a good dog” he added
i nodded and helped ol alex into the rig
“you enjoy these days” the man said
“yes sir
i surely will” i ended
i stumbled out of bed and into alex’s room
flicked the light on
“come on alex, it is time to get up”
he did not move
i watched him for a moment to see if he was breathing
he was
he laid there
unresponsive
so i went to the kitchen
got a cup of coffee
i clanged his bowl on the countertop
finally he staggered down the stars and watched as i made his food and lit the woodstove
“where do you want to go today?” i asked
“i’d really like to go to the big bend in the river and try for mallards and gadwalls
and then see if we can get some sawbills off of the point” he answered
“ok old man
eat your food and meet me out back when you finish and we can go” i replied
i left the door cracked
alex finished and loaded in the truck as i hooked up the connections
he noses his way out
he knows where to go
we pulled the boat into the roadway and pointed it uphill
about a bathtub full of water blew out of the drain hole
when it was finally purged
i pumped the tires up
since they are never full
alex slept on a pile of wool blankets and gear
i turned on the radio show he likes
made the drive downriver on 7 of 8 cylinders
we arrived at the river and rolled the big boat into the water
& made our way
into blackness
sideways water and mist
drifting and riding on a swollen river
over sandbars and shoals
along long wing dams and pilings
we have figured it out over the years
through the Braille of scraping skeg
rolling hulls across rotting pilings
and the occasional stranding of it all
reckon
it is nearly a part of us now
so many times we’ve made this run in the dark
it is always part terror
and part elation
lights blinking red and green and white again
from across the channels and shipping lanes
reflections and ripples
apparitions
prayers for safe passage
fingers crossed
he stood up on the bow like he always does
i was going to call him back to the stern
but figured he deserved to ride the bow
we beached the bomber and hauled our gear another 200 yards
i ditched the anchor and he took off and looked for coons and coyotes
in the brush and swales of the islands
i knew he’d be able to smell the menthol on my wrists and neck and shoulders
he would be able to hear my swearing
and splashing
he would see me fiddling around with my headlamp
and join me
when it was time to shoot
by shooting light i had about 18 decoys and a 4 pack of canvasbacks deployed
alex was no where to be found
it was nearly legal time
and my dog was missing
“alex, get back here”
i shouted
there was no response
“damnit alex”
i shouted even louder and was starting to get mad
wondering if he was in a fix
soon the ducks were winging overhead
i went to sit on the hump of land and almost sat right on him
“hey watch it, i am trying to get some sleep” he grumbled.
he’d been laying there
waiting for me to sit down with him all along
the hump of mossy ground was warm from him laying on it for a while
i said “sorry i yelled at you and cursed at you old man”
“it is ok
i couldn’t hear you anyway” he said
birds winged in
i shot and missed
shot again and no report
my firing pin was rusted in
i swore some more
alex ran to the waters edge
he shook his head and said
“let me know when you get one
i will go get it for you”
i just grumbled
smacked the firing pin free with some pliers
more birds blew through the set
bufflers and bluebills
and widgeons
the wind was pushing them past us at about 60 mph
rt to left crosses on singles and trios
rocketing by so fast that i couldn’t even squeeze off a shot
we lucked out on a few
and finally had something to hang on a strap
alex was ready to go
“hey
these taste like acorns and sculpins” he said
the tide rolled in and the time had come to hit the point
we had a sandwich
alex decided to rest up as we rounded the point to set our longlines
we beached the bomber and i set alex free
he tore off and ran that beach like a young pup
our first hunting trips were on this spot many years ago
it was good to see him running hard and free like that
he was all fired up
i raced alongside him with the bomber
he hit the afterburners and took off
rolling in the sand and digging
really enjoying himself
i stopped and looked at him and laughed
it made me feel good to seem him run like that
his spirit is strong on that long sandy spot on the river
we settled in after i was on anchor again
the wind changed and things started to get a bit rough on the water
we waited as the tide was working in
“you remember that time with brother zachariah
you shot once and 3 birds fell off this point?” alex asked
“yep, i always think about that here
we’ve had some good days” i replied
“i remember the time i got hung up in the lines
you cut them with your knife from the boat to free me” alex said
i said “you’ve been a good dog alex,
i reckon
i’d eat bees for you” i replied
in a moment we had a big sawbill cruising in
alex was in the water and on the bird
before the smoke had cleared
“that is a fine sawbill and you did a good job fetching her” i said
upon the handoff
it bit him on the sore spot on his nose
“wait a minute, i am not done” he said
he circled back
we ended up having to pick up shortly after this
the river changed and got ugly
there were 3-4 foot standing waves to roll through
the point was under 2 feet of water
with wind and waves crashing ashore
i was able to motor out and yank all of the longlines in
and picked alex up off the bluff that was still above water
about 30 minutes later
we had a very wet ride back to the launch
alex opted to lay down in the stern behind the spray
i got soaked
and smiled all the way back
as we left
an old man pulled up in a pickup truck
“you go out there all alone in that whipped up chop and rollers?” he asked
“yes sir, but i had my hound dog” i answered
“bout 30 years back, i’d of joined you and we’d have shot em up”
he laughed and nodded
“well
nobody’s really all alone if they have a good dog” he added
i nodded and helped ol alex into the rig
“you enjoy these days” the man said
“yes sir
i surely will” i ended
