You are not getting older. The ducks are just getting wiser.
Goodnight Mrs. Calabash wherever you are. 8>)
I used to push myself pretty hard when hunting. Being “ beat” afterwards was half the point. I’m sure you and the dog will sleep well. And recovering with a roast duck dinner is good, too.
Beau took up goose hunting last year - went to South Dakota and hunted Snow Geese. They made the BEST summer sausage!
Glad to hear that you can still enjoy hunting in CA. :)
Hey it definitely beats the alternative!
Repeat after me:
“Youth is wasted on the young”
It helps
:-)
I haven’t felt like hunting for several years. I have a lifetime Florida hunting and fishing license because of my age.
Of course getting old beats not getting old.
A friend told me he took an extended goose hunt, back in the day. On his way home, he rescued a damsel in distress, that was stuck in a snowbank, after dark, and in some peril. He said she took him to a motel and showed her gratitude. When he got home, his dad looked at him and said “Boty, you better slow down. That goose hunting is gonna kill you.”
Nuther old CA hunter here. And yes, it’s a bit tougher on us oldsters.
I turned 82 today. I have been having back and muscular problems for the last few years. Going twice a week for physical therapy and I’m having a steroid injection tomorrow. I’m beat too.
Well what’s old?
Now you have me worried.
51? 61? 71?
I’m 51 and going through a “bought a Dodge Challenger” midlife crisis. That’s a serious one!!
“I pulled a 2-dayer and just got home. I’m beat.”
I’m beat just thinking about it,
Not a bad day. I put some lamb shanks in the crockpot and went hiking in the woods for a few hours. When I got back, the meat was falling off the bone and the wine-based broth was rich with garlic, onion, mushrooms, tomatoes, and a plethora of spices.
I feel your pain. I work at a duck club in the Sutter Buttes Basin and I’ve been working my ass off the last two weeks getting all the canals and blinds and boats and buggies and cabins pretty so you guys can come out and thrash them.
At the last family reunion they gave out a few door prizes. One was for the person taking the most prescriptions. I won with 22 a day counting those I take twice a day as two. No one else was even close. The doctor has dropped several now that I have my blood pressure under control.
I am 72. I have a Brother-in-Law who is 82 and in remarkable shape. He takes no medications at all. He is a former Naval Aviator. My Sister is 79 and also in great shape.
Nothing beats shooting over a dog! Yeah! Not even that.
Haven’t fired my shotgun in 30 years. Would probably break my shoulder if I started again.
I should be jealous! I went fishing for trout yesterday. (”Put and take” season just opened.) Rather than go to one of the more scenic spots, I decided to go to a very “plain” pond further away where my wife and I always have good results. My wife could not go, so I solo’d.
For my trouble, I caught one 5” bluegill (way too small to eat) and one 7” largemouth bass (way under legal size, and also way too small to eat.) Another couple that had been there both in the morning and came back late in the day left shortly after my arrival, saying they had not even had a nibble. Another group of 3 showed up just then, and left just before I did, at dark. Between the 3 of them they also caught a small bass. One fish. This despite the trout jumping all over the place. At what I don’t know. There didn’t seem to be any significant number of insects present.
I think this may have been my worst outing for several years. The “why” beats me. Maybe the water temps were still too warm? It’s only recently tuned fall-like cool, in this region (Mid-South).
At least it was sunny and the fall colors on the trees were nice!
Kudos, old man. I wouldn’t trade all my days for those spent in the field. It has been great around here for a couple of days. I’m happy to sit by the lake and let the fish tempt me. Some have jumped out of the water within a line’s cast. I know arrowheads are waiting for me on the other side of the lake. It’s a hard hike for an old man, but it’s always pleasure and sometimes treasure. I’ll be beat too, but wearing a smile.
I’m an offshore fishing guy. I can tell you that after being on the water all day, especially if it’s a little snotty is not what it used to be. Getting some fish is a lot more work and hurts way longer than it did 10 years ago.