As I mentioned in Part 1, last weekend, Cecilia and I went to Grandma's house, and Jon went over some other rivers and through other woods to South Dakota to go pheasant hunting. He went with our friends Emily & Shawn Martini to Shawn's Uncle Mel's farm in Huron, SD. They drove all day Friday with a stop at the Corn Castle in Mitchell.
There was a large group of hunters that hunted on Saturday and Sunday. Jon said there were 16 hunters and 20 total in the group. They walked and walked and walked through acres and acres and acres of fields, shooting birds as they went. He thinks they walked at least 5 miles each day. The bird population was down this year in comparison to when he was there 3 years ago. This meant that the birds that were in the fields were older, smarter, and faster. Pheasants can run surprisingly fast, and you can shoot them unless they are in the air. This year, they had a dog with them, and Jon was so excited when the dog found his own bird and brought it back to the group. Ah, maybe someday Stella will be good enough to hunt (ya right!). On Sunday, Emily shot her new gun for the first time. She is definitely the most stylish hunter I've ever seen. In all they got about 80 birds, and Jon brought 6 home.
As I mentioned, they were staying with Uncle Mel. Jon felt so welcomed by Mel's family. He enjoyed hearing all the stories about the olden days and sharing cheap beer and cigars. For Uncle Mel, opening day of pheasant season is another holiday. It brings his entire family (and then some) home, just like for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Jon enjoyed getting away and doing something out of the ordinary, and I am glad he got to go too. He was home on Monday before dinner, and Cecilia and I were so happy to see him! Thank you to Emily, Shawn, and Uncle Mel for your generosity, kindness, friendship, and great photos ;)
There was a large group of hunters that hunted on Saturday and Sunday. Jon said there were 16 hunters and 20 total in the group. They walked and walked and walked through acres and acres and acres of fields, shooting birds as they went. He thinks they walked at least 5 miles each day. The bird population was down this year in comparison to when he was there 3 years ago. This meant that the birds that were in the fields were older, smarter, and faster. Pheasants can run surprisingly fast, and you can shoot them unless they are in the air. This year, they had a dog with them, and Jon was so excited when the dog found his own bird and brought it back to the group. Ah, maybe someday Stella will be good enough to hunt (ya right!). On Sunday, Emily shot her new gun for the first time. She is definitely the most stylish hunter I've ever seen. In all they got about 80 birds, and Jon brought 6 home.
As I mentioned, they were staying with Uncle Mel. Jon felt so welcomed by Mel's family. He enjoyed hearing all the stories about the olden days and sharing cheap beer and cigars. For Uncle Mel, opening day of pheasant season is another holiday. It brings his entire family (and then some) home, just like for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Jon enjoyed getting away and doing something out of the ordinary, and I am glad he got to go too. He was home on Monday before dinner, and Cecilia and I were so happy to see him! Thank you to Emily, Shawn, and Uncle Mel for your generosity, kindness, friendship, and great photos ;)
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