Thursday, February 28, 2008

Waterfowl Widow

Well, that time of year is upon all of those mighty hunters who want to preserve the tundra in Northern Canada and help thin out the snow goose population. With the warmer weather approaching, the geese are moving in large flocks from their warm southern homes to the Canada wilderness. They are making their way through the "Fly Way High Way" a/k/a Kansas. The hubby spends countless hours on the Internet, tracking these migrating creatures. He watches the weather and the clouds and the wind. He reads blog postings where other hunters report their sightings and keep tabs on these flying prey as if they were on house arrest and are wearing tracking devices. The husband also spent numerous hours piecing together and building an electronic goose caller that has been tested and retested. Not to mention the never-ending phone calls and text messages from the hubby's hunting buddies. For me....this means taking care of the house and the children alone for several weeks....as the hubby will come and go as frequently as the geese fly over our house. The 'hunting' alarm goes off at 4 a.m. and the hubby is able to drag his arse outta bed, load up the vehicle, and venture out into the cold February air to set up decoys and lay on a the cool ground beneath blinds...for the hopeful chance that his hard work pays off long enough for that adrenaline rush as the unsuspecting snow geese light upon a field of decoys. The family takes a back seat during these few weeks of heavenly hunting. The garage is filled with random decoys and hunting gear and the freezer fills up with wild game that will probably never be consumed by the family members eating my cooking. At any rate, the Waterfowl Widow presses on....as the winter pushes out and spring creeps in, I have the hope of sunshine filled days and long evening walks and the smell of freshly cut grass, as the yard work obsession will soon take over my husband's free time and the waterfowl decoys will be tucked away until the fall season approaches.

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