Stuck in the muck

It had been a while since I’d scared myself.

I was hunting the marsh with Jem a couple of days before the pheasant opener. We were loaded for ducks, but the primary purpose of the trip was to scout for roosters.

Jem, my black and white springer spaniel, is the only one of my dogs that will enthusiastically retrieve waterfowl. Spot’s reluctantly brought back a few ducks that she could reach while wading, and Ace will corral them on land. Jem, however, can even perform blind retrieves, if I direct him with rocks thrown in the direction of the fallen fowl.

I’d shot a couple of mallards o...