The Annual North Dakota Wild Chicken Hunt

Happy Weekend,
I hope yours is as peachy as can be.

A bit belated, but well worth the posting, here are some pictures and details of our annual hunting trip to North Dakota. Every year for opening day of Pheasant, we pack up and head east to meet up with our Colorado friends at the Stein's place north of Dickinson for bird hunting. I am the only lady invited, probably for good reason. Clearly, it is man bonding time including shooting, cocktailing and hunting, but the kicker is that we jammed 6 people and 8 dogs in a single wide trailer for four days of festivites, and really no privacy. But I love it, and the boys keep inviting me back, as the only lady with first right of refusal. I would be silly and stupid to give up my spot! Really all the boys, after they limit early, strategize and help me to bag a bird or two. This experience provides for belly laughs, multiple dog howl offs, plenty of Bloody Marys and whiskey. Oh goody, our annual red neck hunt, and it was such a blast.

Bella, our Brittany, is on injury reserve. She tore her shoulder muscle hunting and probably powered through it. She showed no signs of being lame or whimpering until we were in the truck and headed home. Bella cried and wined from the Steins to Glendive, MT....well I may have cried that long too. It was torture. Currently, she is on the mend after pain killers, anti-inflammatories, and muscle relaxers. We start physical therapy next week and she is getting better, slowly. So as quickly as our bird hunting season began, it quickly quieted to a whisper until we get our star pointer back to racing form.

With great elation, I did limit one day on Pheasant and also shot a Hun that same day. 4 birds is the most I have bagged ever in a day with a total of 9 birds on our hunt. Thank goodness all the training, skeet shooting, and Fletcher hunting strategy has come to fruition. In past years I have nearly chewed through my plastic whistle in annoyance and angst, but not this year. My bird hunting zen has finally found a home, and with the help of Bella, all the Fletchers are having way more fun hunting. Shooting better doesn't hurt either. We ended up bring home two dozen Pheasants, 4 Sharptailed Grouse and a few Huns, a nice mixed bag of wild chicken.

Disclaimer: It may be quite possible that some of you as readers will find the below photos of our birds to be offensive or gross. But I would rather have it this way. We harvest birds that we have worked hard to find and hunt, it is just not that easy, for me at least. There is something very serious and wholesome in taking a critter's life to sustain yours. The Flethchers have seemingly built a lifestyle around this philosophy and take great pride in personally harvesting our meat, knowing where it came from, taking the time to process and freeze our game, to picking out the ideal recipe to compliment the game's wild and yummy flavor.

Thanks for reading and thinking a bit :)

Another good reason for fingerless gloves,

you can still shoot your gun.

The Steins' Place,

along the Knife River,

our hunting grounds.

Framed Crested Wheatgrass,

I think it looks like a fish skeleton,

an easy identification.

Home Sweet Home

Gary took these awesome sunset pics.

A Day's Harvest:

Eric w/ Hank and Sammy

Scott

Bella and I

Puddin

and Gary...

Porter is in camo up front.

Hard workers:

Porter the GSP

with the Brittanies...

Remy, Cooper, Bella,

and Hank.

I love feathers, the colors,

and the patterns of Pheasants.

Sharptailed Grouse

More Pheasant Feathers

How you move a picnic table in

No Dak, eh?

L'nette Stein and Eric

Bella and I

(Gary took this)

I love this old house,

built of mud, straw and brick.

Asshole to belly button,

in the trailer.

Gary, Zach, Eric, Scooter,

and Andy

Bella and Porter

Puddin and Cooper

Zen-Huntress

Bisquit of the Corn

Ciao,
Shooter

From the Field to the Table

Hola la Gente,

I hope your Monday is going swell as can be.

Last weekend the husband, puppy and I went out for a walk in search of birds. It was 85 degrees and hot a heck, so we didn't have a lot of time. We did find one covey of Huns (aka Grey Partridge) and with the help of our pointing puppy, we bagged a threesome. One for me and two for Hubby. This was my first bird hunt of the year and my first shot proved to be a success. I thought that there was no safe shot I could take, as the birds rose and flew in front of Scott and Bella. Huns are incredibly tricky to hunt, and knowing this, I waited only a second more and one Hun pealed off to the right in front of me and I had time to make a safe and targeted shot.

Upon returning home we cleaned up up our goods and promptly made Hun Noodle Soup with vegetables from our friend's garden with egg noodles. Boy howdy, this was tasty soup. There is a very satisfying feeling putting your efforts and skills to work in a hunting dog, practicing your shooting skills, spending a wonderful day in the field with my family, and FINALLY bringing home food of which you know for certain where it was harvested. I think that is why the soup tasted even better.

Bella's post hunting swim

Huntress of the Prairie,

Bizcochilicious

A Great Trip

We made it home and had an amazing time. The weather was in the mid-50's most days with clear skies and very little wind, just perfect for hunting. We were thrilled to have no rain. Moisture makes these roads turn into what we call "gumbo". And it isn't any joke, we always take chains with us and have had to use them. I really love the landscape in eastern Montana: grass, coulees, Big Sky as far as the eye can see, antelope, more deer than people in this county, cows, Ponderosa Pine, sandstone buttes. We were successful and Scott got a nice White Tail buck, Sam and Steven both got Mule Deer does. Really, Scott and I spent most of our time "deer hiking" in this gorgeous country and weather. I also enjoyed smelling forbes, the dried Yarrow and Sagewort, the vanilla in Ponderosa Pine bark furrows and watching the green moss still growing. When hunting, you have an amazing amount of time trying to be the quietiest while listening and looking. Very little of your time is actually harvesting the animal. I shot once and missed a nice White Tail buck. I will be going to the gun range, as well as, getting some shooting sticks. I know I can shoot, I just buckle under the very intense moments of hunting. But I really do love it, quiet time in the forest with hubby. And the best part, I am getting to be a better hunter. They don't call it GETTING, it makes you hungry and proud all at once.

Enjoy the pictures, click on them for more detail.

sandstone buttes

Wagon Wheel Restaurant:

the whole show is run by two ladies easily in their 70's, a must dine.

This road is CRAZY!

battery operated blender

Steve made us salmon stuffed with Brie and crab,

YUMMY!

The Fletcher Condo goes anywhere.

target practice in the grass:

Brenda and Steven

camoed up

This area was frequented by Teddy Roosevelt in the early 1900's.

Me, Brenda, Scott, Steven, Sam

The Fletchers

Downtown Ekalaka, MT

Geeez, we are busy. So we repacked and did laundry tonight so we could turn around and drive east for Thanksgiving. We are pheasant hunting with some friends from Colorado in Sidney, MT. The trip is our maiden voyage to explore this area and we are excited. I have more prep to do before I am ready including a pumpkin pie, custom jewel orders, work, and a handful of other chores. I guess I will sleep when I die because I may possibly never catch up in this lifetime.

Have a swell Tuesday,

since now we are on to the next day,

or a nice Monday ending, which ever.

Burning the midnight oil as usual,

xoxoxo, KLF