Brrrrr! It turned cold last night. Our low here was 23. It was so cold that the wall heaters in the master bedroom and bathroom came on automatically. It was so cold that I covered my neck with a shawl -- a cold-weather trick I picked up from my little Hallie. (Tonight I will wear warmer pj
s.) The coyotes howled, the wind shrieked, and I was awake a long time. (Our high today was 49 at 3:30.)Despite a night that wasn't exactly comfortable, we had a productive day. Mike got his deer this morning and we were both relieved. Once you go to the expense for the license and tag, you feel obligated to keep hunting till you get one. And in this place, the earlier the better. With continued cool weather and changing conditions, s
uch as plowed fields, the deer will disappear into the canyon.I also tramped behind Mike and Nellie as they hunted birds, both today and yesterday. The fields are steep but I make myself go with them because I love the views and I need the exercise. I carry the camera and do shooting of another sort. Mike has lamented that his shooting has been off lately -- says he feels about his shooting like I do about my sewing -- somethin
g you love to do but it just doesn't go right. Well, you just have to keep doing it then, I told him, reassuring myself as much as him.Mike and I were discussing the fact that one is bound by state game laws even when hunting on one's own property. I remember when I asked my dad about that. Yes, he told me, the game laws apply even on private land, and then with a chuckle he recounted a time when they were having out-of-season pheasant for supper, and the game warden (Harry Walrath at that time) ambled up and requested dinner. They had to quickly alter the menu and kill one of Ina's "egg-money" chickens.
