My post-waterfowling routine is borderline ritualistic. Once the birds are plucked, I put two ducks in the oven, pour myself a light brown beverage and record the day's events in my duck journal, all the while enjoying the aroma of roasting duck skin. I note wind and other weather conditions, as well as decoy placement, ducks seen and brought to bag, and any other interesting facts worth remembering. It's amazing how quickly one forgets small details. For instance, recently I was looking through some photos from last season when I found a cell-phone image of my numbskull pals attempting to clear enough ice for a diver spread:
Wow, I thought, All that effort. Did we even kill a duck that day? So I referred to my journal and found the appropriate entry: December 30, 2010: Broke thick ice with sledgehammer to launch boat. Treacherous ride to blind. Eric shuttled Jon first while I stayed behind to lighten load. Lucky for me—they broke ice whole way. Sun coming up when Eric returned. Noticed small fire going on opposite shore. Jon has started breakfast! I thought. Nope. Jon built fire because so cold he genuinely feared loss of fingers/toes. Never did get breakfast. Shame. Why we out there if not to eat? Blind struck by ice floes overnight—a leaning death trap. Finally righted it hour after legal shooting time. Tried to clear ice for diver spread. Futile effort. Threw out decoys anyway. Looked like doomed Russian flotilla. Barely a duck flew. Somehow managed four bluebills and a ringneck thanks to good shooting by Eric and Jon. Ducks froze to bottom of boat during return to dock. That hunt took place exactly six months ago today, and I had already forgotten so many details. So, you see, it's important to keep a duck-hunting journal. Otherwise, how will you remember just how miserable you were?
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