Summanus - 12-29-2006 at 02:33 PM
UNCLE NORMAN
This event happened to my favorite uncle, Norman, when he was out hunting ducks today in Baja Norte.
As was Norm's habit, he arose early, a couple hours before dawn, and drove his old pickup with a huge bag of decoys to his favorite slough. He pulled
on his chest waders and dragged the bag of decoys out into the ice-cold water...then began to unpack and set out his wooden decoys. The water was
about waist-high and Norm was in a hurry to set up and get back to the shelter of his blind for some hot coffee...and get ready to shoot some geese!
As Norm was setting the blocks, a bunch of Canadian geese and a few mallards began dropping in early...as they often do...much to the delight of my
Uncle Norman, whose passion was a good goose dinner. Norm got done with the decoys, and splashed back through the cold water to the blind in the
cattails..which was still in the water, but thankfully out of the biting cold wind that had been steadily coming up from the north.
As Norm slogged back to his blind, another huge raft of waterfowl settled into his decoys. Now it was almost ˝ hour before dawn...which is legal
hunting time for waterfowl lovers like Norman. Norman was excited because he had heard all those newly-arrived ducks and geese decoying into his
setup. Soon..soon, he would have that fat dinner goose!
Now the wind really came on strong, and frigid....turning the water to ice almost instantly!...a real nor’easter blizzard that blasted sub-zero air
down from the far- north tundra.. It happened so quickly, as it often does in these cold mountain-valley marshes, that the decoys were frozen in
place almost instantly, as were hundreds of live ducks and geese that had flown in previously..all trapped in a wrapping of ice...unable to move.
Now, standing in waist-high water in his blind, Uncle Norman was also taken by surprise as he discovered that his chest waders were firmly frozen into
the marsh. Norm took stock of the situation and sized up things quickly...it didn’t look good. These sudden cold snaps could last a week or two. He
couldn’t move an inch...froze solid from the waist down and locked in place. He looked out at the decoy set with all those luscious live dinners
frozen in place around them in the thickening ice. “I’m a goner for sure!" he thought, "Oh, Well...I might as well take a bird or two with me.”
Norm leveled his double-barreled shotgun full of No. 2 loads and took aim at the densest bunch of geese...frozen in place...an easy target. BOOM! -
BOOM ! The noise was deafening over the ice as Norm knocked over some large honkers with that mighty blast.
WELL! THAT startled. the rest of the waterfowl..about 400-500 ducks, geese (and a few cormorants)...getting them really spooked in their haste to get
the heck away from Uncle Norm! But, being frozen into the slough, all they could do was loudly quack, honk, and furiously flap their
wings...struggling to get away!
All of a sudden the flapping increased to a roar!...and those scared waterfowl ...PLUCKED that entire frozen slough up into the sky! The entire
slough... cattails, decoys, ducks, geese, Uncle Norman and all.. went airborne and quickly headed north. Honking, quacking, and Norm trying
unsuccessfully to reload.
Uncle Norman would have made it fine......
..... except for the fact that the slough thawed out 1000ft over Dallas and he fell to his death.
A 'Flyover' for Uncle Norm...sigh
Summanus - 12-29-2006 at 02:40 PM
Geese and duck popsicles
Sharksbaja - 12-29-2006 at 04:03 PM
Whatcha been smokin' there? Ohhhhhhh Jack.... I see.
Oso - 12-29-2006 at 04:44 PM
A day late... Dia de los Inocentes is !2/28, but great story anyway. Definitely a contender for Liar's Club competition.
Wish I could write like that!
Baja Bernie - 12-30-2006 at 04:17 PM
Capt. George - 12-31-2006 at 05:11 AM
I could read more!
bring it on Summanus