February 2025 - 38

RECREATION
SECOND PLACE
Best friends
Big Horn Basin
Jim Gates | Worland, Wyoming
Panasonic DC-S5; 1/80 sec.,
f/3.5, ISO 100
S
everal years ago, my wife and I
adopted Jake, an adult mixedbreed
dog, at the local animal
shelter. I was excited and knew we would
have many adventures together, but I
wasn't expecting bird hunting to be one
of them. I soon noticed he's pretty good
at finding chukars. Evidently, he has some
natural hunting instinct and just needed
some training and encouragement.
We're still polishing his skills, and I think
he'll always be a bit rough around the
edges - but that's OK. I don't measure
success by how many birds we harvest.
Instead, it's all about being outside and
exploring our public lands.
On this crisp fall day, we hiked many
miles on several parcels of public land,
harvested three birds, and we were a
great team. It was a day well spent. At
sunset, I was tired, sweaty, dirty and
happy. I put the camera on a tripod and set
it to take a picture every 20 seconds while
we rested and enjoyed the quiet evening.
In this photo, we are watching several
raccoons foraging by the river.
Someday, years from now after Jake has
passed on, I'll come across this photo and
others like it while looking through my files.
I'll close my eyes, remember how we had
so many adventures together and smile.
38 | February 2025

February 2025

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2025

February 2025 - 1
February 2025 - 2
February 2025 - 3
February 2025 - 4
February 2025 - 5
February 2025 - 6
February 2025 - 7
February 2025 - 8
February 2025 - 9
February 2025 - 10
February 2025 - 11
February 2025 - 12
February 2025 - 13
February 2025 - 14
February 2025 - 15
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February 2025 - 30
February 2025 - 31
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February 2025 - 33
February 2025 - 34
February 2025 - 35
February 2025 - 36
February 2025 - 37
February 2025 - 38
February 2025 - 39
February 2025 - 40
February 2025 - 41
February 2025 - 42
February 2025 - 43
February 2025 - 44
February 2025 - 45
February 2025 - 46
February 2025 - 47
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February 2025 - 50
February 2025 - 51
February 2025 - 52
February 2025 - 53
February 2025 - 54
February 2025 - 55
February 2025 - 56
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/december-2024
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/july-2024
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/wyoming-wildlife-may-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/april-2024-e-edition
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