December 2022 - 29

But none of my adventures as an adult
compare to the trip that began my love of
hunting. Mark Twain once said, " It's no
wonder that the truth is stranger than fiction.
Fiction has to make sense. " The story of how
I came to love hunting is strange enough that
even Mark Twain would attest it is true.
On a frigid January morning my father
rousted the 4-year-old me from the toasty
warmth of my bed long before the sunrise.
In those days we lived in a tiny, two-bedroom
house with a single-propane furnace in the
center of the living room that provided
heat for the entire home. Stumbling out of
bed I walked across the carpet to stand in
front of the blazing stove to warm my body
as I dressed. I did not own a set of thermal
underwear, so my father instructed me to tug
my clothes over my pajamas. Once dressed I
sat in the kitchen to eat a breakfast of cream
of wheat and a piece of toast. Soon afterward,
twin beams of headlights from the station
wagon of my father's best friend coursed across
the kitchen wall, which indicated it was time
for us to go.
My father turned to me and said, " Go
get your gun, and I will meet you at the car. "
I dutifully complied and immediately
retrieved my gun from the closet in my room.
Awaiting us in the car was someone I called
Mr. Hilbert. It was not his real name but
how I pronounced it. I quickly left the house,
took my place in the backseat and anxiously
awaited our drive to a cattail-walled rancher's
pond not far from town.
In those days we didn't hunt with a dog.
Instead, my dad or Mr. Hilbert walked into
the water with chest waders to fetch any ducks
we might harvest. We didn't have a duck
blind, either. However, my father and Mr.
Hilbert somehow obtained a picnic table they
hauled to the pond earlier that fall and placed
it amongst the cattail reeds. The improvised
blind was ingenious since the cattails provided
excellent cover. The tabletop served as our
seat, and the wood-plank seats offered a dry
place for our feet out of the water.
After a short drive Mr. Hilbert parked his
car and we quietly exited into the predawn
light. Since I was too small to wade to the
blind, my father carried me. I still remember
what it felt like when my father picked me up
and ferried me over the shin-deep water and
cattails to the wood plank seat of the picnic
table. Once settled my dad quickly took his
place on my left. Mr. Hilbert took his seat
to my right. While the adults loaded their
shotguns, I pulled out my gun and examined
my loads.
My weapon was a double-barreled cork
gun I obtained at the county fair the summer
before. First I inspected the strings and assured
myself they were properly attached to the
forestock. Next I inserted corks into both
barrels and cocked my gun so I was ready
for the ducks.
Wyoming Wildlife | 29

December 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2022

December 2022 - 1
December 2022 - 2
December 2022 - 3
December 2022 - 4
December 2022 - 5
December 2022 - 6
December 2022 - 7
December 2022 - 8
December 2022 - 9
December 2022 - 10
December 2022 - 11
December 2022 - 12
December 2022 - 13
December 2022 - 14
December 2022 - 15
December 2022 - 16
December 2022 - 17
December 2022 - 18
December 2022 - 19
December 2022 - 20
December 2022 - 21
December 2022 - 22
December 2022 - 23
December 2022 - 24
December 2022 - 25
December 2022 - 26
December 2022 - 27
December 2022 - 28
December 2022 - 29
December 2022 - 30
December 2022 - 31
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December 2022 - 33
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December 2022 - 43
December 2022 - 44
December 2022 - 45
December 2022 - 46
December 2022 - 47
December 2022 - 48
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