![SEASON'S END: A RETROSPECT AND BENEDICTION](https://cdn.magzter.com/1409082599/1679685285/articles/nFG31NRgv1679904661547/SEASONS-END-A-RETROSPECT-AND-BENEDICTION.jpg)
Last fall, I had 29 days of woodcock hunting, most of it in my home coverts in southeastern Ohio’s Hocking River Valley, with a couple of bonus road trips thrown in to destinations where grouse were a possibility, too: an early October week in north central Michigan with four old bird camp pals and five days in early November in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts with a group of new upland friends. Considering routine daily commutes to home coverts, long distance out-of-state travel, anxiety produced by unusual weather conditions that fluctuated from drought to sleet and the perpetual nagging suspicion that time afield subtracts from normal domestic and work-a-day duties, that month of pursuit amounts to an intensely compressed physical/emotional experience. It seems natural to feel a letdown when the game is over for the year and equally natural to want to revisit that part of the past to discover what sense can be made of it.
In six decades of uplanding, I have always dreaded the moment at the end of shooting season when the air goes out of the balloon, that inevitable moment when I am faced not only with the question of what to do next to occupy my time but how to explain the sudden onset of relative inactivity to my bird dog, which surely deserves better. Even the finality of necessary end-of-season tasks like cleaning shotguns, sewing torn brush clothes, tending to hunting gear, reorganizing equipment, etc., seemed somehow loathsome and to be avoided at all costs in order to extend the hunt vibe. I confess that’s a form of denial, clear and simple, to which I plead, “Guilty!”
Denne historien er fra Spring 2023-utgaven av The Upland Almanac.
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Denne historien er fra Spring 2023-utgaven av The Upland Almanac.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
![Tailfeathers](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/CUbFfK6X_1723628574370/TAILFEATHERS.jpg)
Tailfeathers
The essence of fly fishing, I think I've decided, is time.
![Ten Questions with Tim Flagler, Fly Tyer/Cook Extraordinaire](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/Cy2kZQTXN1723628280689/TEN-QUESTIONS-WITH-TIM-FLAGLER-FLY-TYERCOOK-EXTRAORDINAIRE.jpg)
Ten Questions with Tim Flagler, Fly Tyer/Cook Extraordinaire
Culinary Creations from Gordon Hamersley
![GREY on the Wing](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/vH4BisIr61723627742625/GREY-ON-THE-WING.jpg)
GREY on the Wing
Hands clutching the wheel of a large, lumbering vehicle whose vintage and purpose partially prompted the invention of \"powering steering,\" disengaged the clutch and applied the brakes, bringing it to a stop.
![James Purdey & Sons Ltd.One of London's "Best"](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/2iiHtftrq1723627559743/JAMES-PURDEY-SONS-LTDONE-OF-LONDONS-BEST.jpg)
James Purdey & Sons Ltd.One of London's "Best"
At the conclusion of a recent breakfast meeting of the Shrewsbury Men's Club of Massachusetts, I was packing up my show-and-tell aids after giving a presentation.
![WAWAWAI](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/YhuSF0afh1723627325222/WAWAWAI.jpg)
WAWAWAI
I don't chase chukars anymore, but from the time I was 16, chukar hunting had been my favorite bird hunting endeavor.
![A FAIR EXCHANGE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/Rw2Bvrrkc1723627050142/A-FAIR-EXCHANGE.jpg)
A FAIR EXCHANGE
Among the concerns faced by many small community gun clubs here in the Northeast is our inability to attract and maintain new and younger shooters.
![Coming to Heel](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/XmtA6RwJO1723626830675/COMING-TO-HEEL.jpg)
Coming to Heel
I'n the world of gun dogs, it's not unusual that retrievers are taught to heel.
![Bird Dogs - Health Matters](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/-nM7XpITF1723626599895/BIRD-DOGS-HEALTH-MATTERS.jpg)
Bird Dogs - Health Matters
Avoiding Medical Mishaps on the Road
![MATT HART](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/iKD2plnwK1723626175684/MATT-HART.jpg)
MATT HART
Matt Hart, owner, designer and artist of Hartist Metals, is a highly skilled metal sculptor based in the picturesque Catskill Mountains of New York.
![Luigi Franchi Imperial Monte Carlo Extra: One of Italy's "Best" SxS Doubles](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1351870/0SAiBgwJa1690522419485/LUIGI-FRANCHI-IMPERIAL-MONTE-CARLO-EXTRA-ONE-OF-ITALYS-BEST-SXS-DOUBLES.jpg)
Luigi Franchi Imperial Monte Carlo Extra: One of Italy's "Best" SxS Doubles
As on London’s gun-maker’s row, Italians had skilled craftsmen who made “Best” guns of superb quality