Friday, September 02, 2005

Dove hunting season started yesterday

And I know this why?



BECAUSE for the past 2 days, I've woken up to gun shots sounding off around us. Shooting hours for migratory game birds, including doves, is half an hour before sunrise, to sunset.

That's one of the downfalls of living out in the country. You are surrounded by woods, and worse, animals which qualify as game.

Granted, there are specific seasons for different game and we're not affected by all of them and it's not year round, but still, last year, our nearest neighbours claimed to have had their house pelted a couple of times by stray shotgun pellets!

Should I seek comfort in the fact that hunting season ends in December with a short winter dove hunt, in the Texas Central Zone, during Dec. 26, 2005-Jan. 4, 2006?

...till then, Henry is NOT going to be tied outside on his tie-down very much, even for a chance to walk around and explore a bit. ( and man, do i need him to go out there for a while each day to get him out of my hair and for him to "explore" )

Who knows what kind of animal hunters might mistake him for....That's ironic seeing how labradors are often trained to be hunting dogs.

Heck, even I'M a little afraid to go outside. Plus, deer ( and other game ) season isn't even here yet....

At least I know that the recent flood-producing rainfall has spawned swarms of young, hungry and very aggressive mosquitoes ( and we have a bunch of them even though we empty everything that can hold water ) might deter some of the less hardy ones..

8 comments:

makuahine said...

DOVE HUNTING!?!?!! What the!?

Man, it's crazy - you have to be all decked out in the orange vest and hat to go outside your own home, eh?

Miss H. said...

UUGH. In NC it was always deer and duck hunting that made my skin crawl. Many of the high school guys were into that sort of thing. Unfortunately, there were always accidental shootings, which occurred "during season". Men would stand out in the road with their rifles waiting for deer to be flushed out by their hounds. So, not only did we have to watch out for the shot crazy, teen-aged hunters, but then we would have to be on the lookout for escaping deer that would ram right into cars on the road. One of my neighbors had the whole side of her SUV destroyed by a huge buck attempting to flee from hunters. The buck shook himself off and ran away disoriented, but she was left with a destroyed vehicle!!

Monica said...

I know people here hunt for deer, maybe ducks but its in certain places like upstate NY ,

Im not sure about Long Island, I never heard of hunting Doves????

I would be afraid!

Laura.Y said...

Hunting doves? That boggles the mind. Why on earth? Being an animal lover of sorts that sounds so cruel. But yes, I'd be a little worried too with all that bullet pellets flying about. Best be careful when you are out.

Jaxon S said...

reminds me of an incident when i was small, working on the paddy field. sky was clear...

then I heard a shot from the woods about a km away. moments later, the bullet pallets came raining down in the paddy field..it was a spray bullet, they must have tried to kill several birds with a single shot!

not sure if the pallets can hurt. when i asked the regulars, they say...nah, no such thing, you are too far away to be hurt by it.

dreaming-neko said...

dove hunting! it's like their shooting away at flights of peace and freedom :(

ahh... but such is texas...

Gene Lim said...

Wow letti, u really experience a whole new adventures over there huh?
Dove hunting? I never heard of that.
Why would they hunt dove??

Chen said...

dove hunting? Something new I learn today :) Never heard of it before this....

I remember during my intern time in Sarawak in the late 90s, I have a very "unlucky" Iban patient being mistaken as "babi hutan" by his friends while they were hunting inside the jungle.. and that happened few days before his wedding !!! He was shot at his thigh & sustained femur fracture and was hospitalised... The wedding was "postponed" to a later date..