An Outdoorsman's Journal

The One-Legged Goose

Hello friends,

   This week's column is a bit different. Generally, I write about very positive experiences, that is not 100% the case this week. Due to some setbacks financially and health wise, the field work that I generally immerse myself into is going have to take a break. Not that
I will be lying in bed or hiding from bill collectors, I just have to heal and get my bearings.

   Thursday, July 20th
   High 82, low 56

   I love Ferryville, Wisconsin, the Mississippi River and the entire area. Good, tough people living in paradise would be a great description. Two days ago, I had a triple chunk of hard reality hit me and later that night another. First, I was told by Red's veterinarian that she probably only had 1 pup in her. That x ray meant I had 5 sad phone calls to make and that I would not be keeping a pup as well.
   When I arrived home, I checked my hose that was running to my pond and was wondering why there was no water running out of it. Long story short, my water pump had burnt up. While I was still looking at the pump my daughter Selina called from Salmon, Idaho. Selina will be making a big move in late August and her car had issues that would not allow her to pull a trailer and she had planned on coming home to see family and friends before that move.
   There was not a chance that I was going to leave her hanging, so dad is going to be spending some time heading north of the border with The GMC Hotel.
   The night after what I just described I was lying in bed and became quite ill at 2:00 am with the embarrassing subject of diarrhea, chills, a fever and body aches and now two days later, it was not going away.
   My plan for this week's trip was to head to Ferryville and immerse Red and myself in the maze of islands and channels, fish, camp and live large on a piece of river that I have explored for the last 54 duck seasons.
   So, I am driving the War Eagle through a channel that heads west and pretty excited, my 90hsp Etec dies and that is rare. I start it, it kills, etc., etc... I decided to anchor and live where I am at and use the trolling motor to bring me back to the landing when the adventure is over. Good luck heads my way when the Etec runs. A bit rough but I start heading west and then north.
   I come across a Canada goose that is on a shoreline of an island that I first camped with my Dad and brothers 54 years ago which is where I had my first duck hunt. The goose only has the use of one leg and does it's best to travel on land but obviously is struggling.
   I fish for about two hours in this area and start heading north towards Lansing, catching is slow, fishing is good.
   I think about my days onboard The Universal Trader as an 18-year-old deckhand pushing gasoline and diesel up the Mississippi River from New Orlean's. I remember when Captain Ed Cox told me to take the old American flag down, burn it and hang a new one. That flag is still hanging in my machine shed at home, that was 1980.
   Later I came across the same goose, and it was attempting to swim and it was not a pretty site. With each pull of its only leg, that leg would clear the water and hit its back, survival of the fittest!
   I made camp on a sandbar about 7 miles north of where I started, no beer on this trip, which is a sign of my health, generally I have one or two every night of a trip like this.
  I caught fish from shore with ease, Red loved life and her litter of one pup was supposedly only 3 days off. I slept on the sand as I have well over a thousand times and enjoyed that as well.
  In the morning I started fishing towards Ferryville. The Etec was leaking oil and running very poorly. The last 3 miles was a gift and taking a chance as the Etec was in trouble.
  I dropped the War Eagle off at the marina where I get my work done, good people that I trust, lower unit issues, hydraulics and plugs totalled $1100.
  I have the best job in the world and am well aware of that. Currently it is 14 days from the start of my bad luck, my health has taken a big crap, spending money just got flushed down the toilet but you know what? I am far better than the one-legged goose!

  Live large,

  Sunset