Todd Duncan Tennyson
Well-known member
moonshine, flying dogs, and a bad case of the shakes.
at 0330 hrs there is no one up and out
i get up and turn on the coffee and try to sneak out the door
without making a racket
without waking wife or my hounds
i stumble in the darkness and spill the ammo box
into the mud and turf
its been turned nearly to liquid after a while
from pulling the boat in and out of an unpaved spot in the yard
muddy pawprints mark the way into the house
through it
and back out
it is the end of another season
i pick up the shells and make my way to the mill town rendezvous
i’m there to meet with mike and kodi
we shake hands
load bags of decoys and gear that is tired
wet
well broken in
as broken down as we are
i lift kodi up into the truck
he settles in
mike knows how to run the river
a better crewman would be hard to find
running the bowlight for years
on the bomber with me
setting ganglines and running clips on leads
working in the worst conditions
always with a funny story to tell
and a “can do”
way of life
putting the blocks out while i hide and cover the bomber nearby
we’ve done this screenplay as a team for so long that the lines are all memorized
he knows the miles of darkness ahead
with his hound kodi by his side
we follow the tide
i follow the rolling river down and mike points out deadheads and snags that have drifted in
the moon is huge
plenty to read a paper by
we were in the moonshine
this last time
the ride out was smooth
we pushed through the coves and around the shoals
i dropped mike with the gear and dog
he got to work setting out the decoys
bufflers and widgeon
i motored out about 30 yards and ran some single canvasbacks
a rare and cherished bird in this place
some years we don’t see a single one
but we always run a few canvasback decoys just in case
in the dark with the boat idling i could hear him swear and splash
i swore and splashed too white the bomber idled and smoked and steamed
we got the set in place
we sat there
and talked a while
me and mike and kodi
about the future
about the past
and about shots we’d wished we’d made
there was no one else in the cove
we listened to the wings above us
the faraway calls from out above the moonlit river sounded good
soon it was time to get kodi some birds
we managed to scrape down a few
kodi blasted into the water
he was in the moonshine so long before the hunt
that he started to show signs of the shakes
a sort of duckhunters delirium that happens after a run on moonshine
i had it too
i’ve had it since i was about 10
mike didn’t say
but i suspect he was soon seeing flying dogs
(a sure sign of overexposure to the moonshine)
i know i was
me and mike realized that kodi had the shakes
and today
more than most times
birds strafed our set
tough right to left crosses on the deck at about 45 mph
it is hard to connect
but we managed a few more
the moonshine had given kodi the worst shakes of the season
i do not recall ever seeing a dog with so high a degree of affliction
i was talking with mike about the canvasbacks
how they liked to work the spot we were in from the left to the right
about 10 minutes later
i looked up
i am not sure why i did
there was nothing going on
i saw a single bird high up nearly behind my left shoulder
it was pumping hard about 45 yards straight up
and over the willows
had a full head of steam
i lifted and shot more out of instinct than anything else
a lucky once in a lifetime connection
the bird was folded dead in a single shot
mike shouted out
“ hey that is a big drake canvasback todd!”
“yep, i reckon it is”
i said
with a feeling of completion and gladness
kodi got it for us
mike snapped some shots on his mobile phone camera
they were kind of blurry
because i had the shakes too
could hardly hold the bird in the frame
“looks like you’ve been afflicted with the moonshine shakes” mike said
“you better believe it” i agreed
i felt lucky
even with such a severe case
the tide stalled out
and came rolling back in fast
eventually the flood pushed us up and away from our spot
we decided to wrap the birds up and go to another location
in the hopes that we could narrow in on some divers
we’d hunted the spot previously this season
but we’d never been there when the birds wanted to be there
today was different
we couldn’t shoo them away
it is always funny to hunt divers with mike
he is someone that is wired a little differently than i am
so is his son christopher
they have a game plan and a blueprint to run on the water
i do not
against christopher and mike, i haven’t a chance…
so usually we swear a fair amount and there is much dialog
about where and how to run the ganglines
i am about dragging it out from the shore and letting it just flow
so long as the lines are not crossing each other
mike has learned that this is how i am
and as a good hunting buddy
a man of tempered patience
he lets me just do my thing with the lines and weights and decoys off the old sandy point
he is a good sport about it
it must look like a 3 ring circus from above
someone is watching the whole thing from above
and we are luckier for it
we re-set and wait on the beach
soon birds are back and bombing in from all directions
sawbills
bluebills
kodi works hard
the rain starts to soak us and i have to shelter the camera some
kodi fights off the shakes again
world class sawbill
birds landed and ripped on by
it felt good to finally be where they wanted to be
kodi loves what he does
even with the shakes
finally the rain stopped and i was able to get some shots with a little more light
it is tough to get action photos that are bright and crisp and clear
when the rain and clouds turn the light so flat
through the longlines and out to the bird
a nice bluebill drake
and kodi with the shakes
a great day out with a great crew
we rolled in the lines and loaded the bomber
we’d been flooded out again
took a few pictures to mark the day
for when our minds can no longer recall
we put on our lifejackets for the last time of the season
shook hands
and motored up and out of that place
mike rode with kodi at the bow
kodi under his arm
we worked into the wind
up the big river
along the crest of the tide
i thought about all the times i have been lucky enough
to make the run with my friends and our hounds
mike and kodi didn’t look back
the whole way in
as we rolled into the marina i said
“it is always kind of bittersweet
that last ride back for the season”
mike nodded and said “yep” not looking back
it was a good day with one of my best friends
probably more moonshine than most folks can handle
and the worst case of the shakes any of us have had this season
we lifted kodi out of the truck and into mikes rig at the milltown rendezvous
“well man
don’t be a stranger until next season”
i said as we shook hands
“you watch out for that moonshine buddy” mike finished
i tipped my hat and waived as i rolled away
mike waived back and I think I saw him smile a little
after moonshine
flying dogs
and a bad case of the shakes
at 0330 hrs there is no one up and out
i get up and turn on the coffee and try to sneak out the door
without making a racket
without waking wife or my hounds
i stumble in the darkness and spill the ammo box
into the mud and turf
its been turned nearly to liquid after a while
from pulling the boat in and out of an unpaved spot in the yard
muddy pawprints mark the way into the house
through it
and back out
it is the end of another season
i pick up the shells and make my way to the mill town rendezvous
i’m there to meet with mike and kodi
we shake hands
load bags of decoys and gear that is tired
wet
well broken in
as broken down as we are
i lift kodi up into the truck
he settles in
mike knows how to run the river
a better crewman would be hard to find
running the bowlight for years
on the bomber with me
setting ganglines and running clips on leads
working in the worst conditions
always with a funny story to tell
and a “can do”
way of life
putting the blocks out while i hide and cover the bomber nearby
we’ve done this screenplay as a team for so long that the lines are all memorized
he knows the miles of darkness ahead
with his hound kodi by his side
we follow the tide
i follow the rolling river down and mike points out deadheads and snags that have drifted in
the moon is huge
plenty to read a paper by
we were in the moonshine
this last time
the ride out was smooth
we pushed through the coves and around the shoals
i dropped mike with the gear and dog
he got to work setting out the decoys
bufflers and widgeon
i motored out about 30 yards and ran some single canvasbacks
a rare and cherished bird in this place
some years we don’t see a single one
but we always run a few canvasback decoys just in case
in the dark with the boat idling i could hear him swear and splash
i swore and splashed too white the bomber idled and smoked and steamed
we got the set in place
we sat there
and talked a while
me and mike and kodi
about the future
about the past
and about shots we’d wished we’d made
there was no one else in the cove
we listened to the wings above us
the faraway calls from out above the moonlit river sounded good
soon it was time to get kodi some birds
we managed to scrape down a few
kodi blasted into the water
he was in the moonshine so long before the hunt
that he started to show signs of the shakes
a sort of duckhunters delirium that happens after a run on moonshine
i had it too
i’ve had it since i was about 10
mike didn’t say
but i suspect he was soon seeing flying dogs
(a sure sign of overexposure to the moonshine)
i know i was
me and mike realized that kodi had the shakes
and today
more than most times
birds strafed our set
tough right to left crosses on the deck at about 45 mph
it is hard to connect
but we managed a few more
the moonshine had given kodi the worst shakes of the season
i do not recall ever seeing a dog with so high a degree of affliction
i was talking with mike about the canvasbacks
how they liked to work the spot we were in from the left to the right
about 10 minutes later
i looked up
i am not sure why i did
there was nothing going on
i saw a single bird high up nearly behind my left shoulder
it was pumping hard about 45 yards straight up
and over the willows
had a full head of steam
i lifted and shot more out of instinct than anything else
a lucky once in a lifetime connection
the bird was folded dead in a single shot
mike shouted out
“ hey that is a big drake canvasback todd!”
“yep, i reckon it is”
i said
with a feeling of completion and gladness
kodi got it for us
mike snapped some shots on his mobile phone camera
they were kind of blurry
because i had the shakes too
could hardly hold the bird in the frame
“looks like you’ve been afflicted with the moonshine shakes” mike said
“you better believe it” i agreed
i felt lucky
even with such a severe case
the tide stalled out
and came rolling back in fast
eventually the flood pushed us up and away from our spot
we decided to wrap the birds up and go to another location
in the hopes that we could narrow in on some divers
we’d hunted the spot previously this season
but we’d never been there when the birds wanted to be there
today was different
we couldn’t shoo them away
it is always funny to hunt divers with mike
he is someone that is wired a little differently than i am
so is his son christopher
they have a game plan and a blueprint to run on the water
i do not
against christopher and mike, i haven’t a chance…
so usually we swear a fair amount and there is much dialog
about where and how to run the ganglines
i am about dragging it out from the shore and letting it just flow
so long as the lines are not crossing each other
mike has learned that this is how i am
and as a good hunting buddy
a man of tempered patience
he lets me just do my thing with the lines and weights and decoys off the old sandy point
he is a good sport about it
it must look like a 3 ring circus from above
someone is watching the whole thing from above
and we are luckier for it
we re-set and wait on the beach
soon birds are back and bombing in from all directions
sawbills
bluebills
kodi works hard
the rain starts to soak us and i have to shelter the camera some
kodi fights off the shakes again
world class sawbill
birds landed and ripped on by
it felt good to finally be where they wanted to be
kodi loves what he does
even with the shakes
finally the rain stopped and i was able to get some shots with a little more light
it is tough to get action photos that are bright and crisp and clear
when the rain and clouds turn the light so flat
through the longlines and out to the bird
a nice bluebill drake
and kodi with the shakes
a great day out with a great crew
we rolled in the lines and loaded the bomber
we’d been flooded out again
took a few pictures to mark the day
for when our minds can no longer recall
we put on our lifejackets for the last time of the season
shook hands
and motored up and out of that place
mike rode with kodi at the bow
kodi under his arm
we worked into the wind
up the big river
along the crest of the tide
i thought about all the times i have been lucky enough
to make the run with my friends and our hounds
mike and kodi didn’t look back
the whole way in
as we rolled into the marina i said
“it is always kind of bittersweet
that last ride back for the season”
mike nodded and said “yep” not looking back
it was a good day with one of my best friends
probably more moonshine than most folks can handle
and the worst case of the shakes any of us have had this season
we lifted kodi out of the truck and into mikes rig at the milltown rendezvous
“well man
don’t be a stranger until next season”
i said as we shook hands
“you watch out for that moonshine buddy” mike finished
i tipped my hat and waived as i rolled away
mike waived back and I think I saw him smile a little
after moonshine
flying dogs
and a bad case of the shakes
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