Sitting Here Reminiscing

In honor of dove season, which opens this week, I’m reminiscing about a pleasant evening hunting dove in South Texas last season.

The sun was setting and though it was hot, there was a gentle breeze.

The reason for this particular trip was a program that I volunteer for called Wildlife Intensive Leadership Development that trains young people pursuing conservation careers in public speaking, leadership, and advocacy. We were staying in South Texas to learn about native habitat restoration in areas of oil and gas development.

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of having doors held open for me or hearing Yes ma’am, No ma’am, Please, and Thank you ma’am. It may be why I volunteer for the program. They work hard on their school work and care about taking care of all living things.  And they tuck their shirts in.

For this weekend, a couple in South Texas let us stay at their ranch and see how they had restored habitat over an underground pipeline. While we were there they let us get a dove hunt in!

They dropped each of us off about 100 yards from each other around the perimeter of the tank. This is my little set up. I’ve got my boxes of ammo, my jacket, and a stool to sit on. All you need for a peaceful evening.

The sunset was spectacular.

If I could sum up “home” in one picture, it would be this one. A big sky and a sunset that goes on for miles.

We all were successful and got a few dove apiece.  Here we are with our harvest.

Here we are cleaning the birds and making them ready for consumption (removing the feathers, etc.) I use the term “we” here loosely—I mainly watched. That’s the benefit of having ten energetic teenagers at your disposal!

Here’s my dove dinner I cooked a few weeks later. It was delicious, and you can find the recipe here: Buffalo Style Dove.

A perfect weekend.