A duck blind, it turns out, can be anything you say it is. Sometimes they’re just as the term would indicate – a bit of something natural to hide under and behind while you wait for ducks to do what they already want to do by instinct. Others I’ve seen are as nice as summer homes, with every considerable creature comfort. I’ve spent many a night in motel rooms that weren’t as nice as the duck blinds I hunted from the next day. But that’s what duck hunting is, at its best — facilitated discomfort enjoyed as comfortably as possible.
Getting into position to meet ducks that have cruised down to the Lower Mississippi from their nesting grounds atop the world is an instinctive quest, after all. It’s where our instinct meets theirs and crosses the line. Where that line may lie, and how far along we may meet it, is moved by many variables. It’s sociable and personal, both something best when shared and while being savored alone.
In the quiet times, once the decoys are set and the shooting lanes sorted out, after the guns are loaded and before legal light actually arrives, the blinds put us in position to hear nature speak. It’s the ideal time for that one-sided communication.
Come December, when the insects have gone into hiding and the snakes are long underground, the still, quiet of the morning speaks with a voice that’s been there all along. In the summer it’s lost behind the squawk of jay birds and the chirr of cicadas. The adrenalines of fall cover the sound with our own excitement. Mosquitoes drown it out come spring.
In the winter, though, under blue-white stars over a frosty ground, in the last hour before the eastern sky begins to glow, there’s a hush of anticipation. Beyond what the hunter may hope, the will of a land laid by for winter is on plain display.
God speaks to us in these times with a voice that tells us He’s always been there. What happens after the sun comes up doesn’t matter much then. We’re already listening to what we came to hear.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 26 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
