Minnesota Waterfowl Hunting

...... The first whiff of fall. That first night, windows open, and overnight temps drops into the low 50s. Heavy condensation heightens it as the moisture carries that first scent of early fallen leaf detritus.

Before the first round of storms two weeks ago it came close. Barometer dropped, temp dropped, and summer showed it's first signs of weakening. The sun is starting to lose strength as it's lowering angle of inclination and the decreasing photoperiod offer the 1, 2, punch. It takes months, for sure, but in Space Time, it's a blink of an eye. Certainly, we'll see 80's into duck season, but they're weaker and their dwindling strength is evident as the deer, black, and horse flies start sitting a bit too long and the swatting success goes up markedly.

Quite certain, as what seems like most years, my opener will involve sun screen and bug spray. With any luck there will be wind and the drag-in WPA I have in mind won't get too much attention.

My travel patterns for work will change this fall. Hope to open up some new grounds. Nothing better than driving to that next meeting or sales call with a brace of birds in the trunk.

An early teal season would be nice. Saw on another site that Alabama teal is Sept 10-25. Damn. Thinking about all the teal I've shot on certain years hard to believe there's enough that far south at the same time we're looking at YWD.

Lock and load. 6 weeks to go.

..... And there it is.

It's been a week in coming. The rains, as if we needed more, are washing the green off of leaves. Combines lights are starting to dot fields. When the humidity clears the air stiffens like an air dried sheet, fresh and clean.

The "hot" day this week had no bite. Summer is getting tired.

Last evening, on the last leg of a 900 mile/24 hr "show and tell" criss-cross of MN, the invitation was delivered: from half hour before sunset to half hour after the temperature dropped 12 degrees.

Then it arrived.

This morning's temp was 51 degrees being pushed by a stiff and steady West wind. I had to shut the cabin window. Only one window though, for air flow control.

Coffee at the dock for sunrise was quick. 1cup. With no heavy sweatshirt and a body not yet "seasoned", I scuttled back to shelter before the mallards had swam out of site.

They're getting bigger. A late hatch, but will soon be flying.

The start to this day doesn't answer any questions. If anything it creates more: questions on priority and the "whys" in life. The Macquarie books-on-tape-xferd-to-CD are getting a work out. Mac always seems closer to an answer then I can ever get.

One month to go.

You pining for a gig in outdoors writing?

Yep, fall is in the air. Bittersweet.

Not really. Spending 80-100% of my time on the road..... brain us a bit mushy.

deet wrote:You pining for a gig in outdoors writing?

Haha I was thinking the exact thing. Nice write up Lanyard.

Fall is definitely in the air. I really started to notice it after this last cold front last weekend. Normally by now I am super stoked for fall and ready to put away the fishing gear but this summer went way too fast. My good buddy just lined up a couple wheat fields close to home that a decent number of geese are using so that's got me a little fired up for the change of seasons. There aren't many fields in my neck of the woods so it will be good to hit the fields a little closer to home for a change. He also got connections to hundreds of acres of wheat fields in NW MN that supposedly hold a lot of ducks and geese each year. Might be a field hunting year in MN if things turn out. Fall is looking up.

Today's trip was essentially a loop: Alex to Clara City to Appleton to Fergus.

Big sloughs are now lakes and the small sloughs look full to shore grass through the cattails. 90% of the birds seemed to be LOVING sloughs from .5 to 2 acres right now.

Mallards, woodducks, teal. The wooidduck crop appears thick. Driving along, a bunch of sloughs will have a few birds on them, then you'll find one that has 3 or so family groups on it. Years past, this has made for those openers at 9 or noon when 3 guys could clear a limit in an hour or two with the right wind..... there's one spot that I get a bit excited about when the water is sitting like this..... It's public with a capital "P", and I normally wouldn't mess with it because it's such a hack job to get to the good spot.... you've got to know how to find it once you're floating a boat inside 6' high cattails..... then hope the idiots took their Idiotrizinze that morning are half-way CTFO.

Lanyard... you're good. It doesn't have the twists and turns of Old Man and the Slough. But you sure can make a guy imagine he is else where. These posts combined with it being Stiftungsfest weekend n Norwood has given me the itch for fall.

Yup. Tough to compete with sodomy.

Lanyard, once a month you should do a write up about the outdoor musings of yours.