Oliver is a little 9 year old boy that lives two doors down from us. We have know him for five years, and over the last year or so, he has really taken to our family, and follows my 15 year old son Bobby like a puppy. Anytime Bobby is home and not out and about, you can count on Oliver knocking on the door just to come in and "hang out" with Bobby. Bobby is a good kid, and just sort of goes along with the fact that a 9 year old towhead is going to be about two steps behind him everywhere he goes.

One thing that needs to be pointed out is the fact that Oliver is not his real name. His real name is Michael, but he got the monniker from our family because he bears a striking resemblance to the character Cousin Oliver from the old Brady Bunch series. Oddly enough, Michael accepts his name, and just about everybody around the neighborhood now calls him Oliver.

After Christmas, we were sitting around with friends and neighbors watching the Cowboys lose to the Seahawks in the playoffs, and I asked Oliver if he wanted to go out deer hunting during youth season with Bobby and me. I told him that all he would need to bring was some long underwear, warm clothes, and waterproof boots. I also told him that we would leave for the lease right after he got home from school on Friday, and that he would need to make sure he was packed and ready to go on Thursday night. Oliver is one of those little kids that takes things very seriously, so I knew he would follow my instructions to the letter. He was so excited, he made his dad take him to the store the very next day to get a pair of boots, and he made sure I knew last Thursday when he packed up his bag to go hunting. He even made sure I knew that he had a pair of binoculars to bring along as well. Last week, as Friday approached, I knew that Oliver was about to explode with anticipation. His parents told me that he did not sleep a wink on Thursday night, and we all know that he did not learn a darned thing in school that day. Well, it finally arrived and like clockwork, we loaded up the truck, and headed out for the lease. As we pulled out of the driveway, it was just starting to drizzle a cold rain.

As we headed southwest toward the lease, the rain started to pick up, and the temperature started to drop. When we pulled into the gate of the ranch, it was raining pretty good, and it was one of those rains that chills you to the bone. We settled into our camper had dinner, and sat up pretty late, mainly because everyone is always excited and pumped up and ready to go. Oliver did fall asleep watching TV over at Chases, and I had forgotten how hard young children can sleep. I had to carry him over to our trailer and put him to bed.

The following morning, I took Oliver out for a deer hunt, which is the subject of another entry. We had a great day deer hunting, but rest assured, it was one of the coldest, muddiest, and most miserable days (in terms of weather) that I have experienced in a long time.

The evening of the 2Oth of January, we had a nice dinner, but we were all tired from a hard day of hunting in cold, wet weather. We decided that we would all go out and duck hunt together, even though we still had 1 buck tag and several doe tags to fill. Oliver told me he had never hunted ducks, and he wanted to see my dog Laverne hunt ducks. I told him no problem, and that we would go out and shoot some ducks if that is what he wanted. We all agreed to meet at 6 a.m.

As a side note, the hunters for the duck hunt were; my son Bobby, our good friend Chase, Oliver, and me. Chase, Bobby and I agreed that it was important for Oliver to have fun and be successful, so we would allow him to shoot at any ducks we were able to charm into landing in our spread. Gun safety is a serious issue with me, especially with young hunters, and I did not want a 9 year old waving a loaded shotgun around with other hunters in the blind. I have a breach loading single shot .20 gauge that I taught my son to hunt with, and I brought it for Oliver to use. Oliver carried the gun, but the shells were in my pocket.

We got into the blind around 6:30, and quickly set up the decoys with a WSW wind that was blowing almost directly at our backs. This is ideal for duck hunting, but oddly enough at this particular blind is a rare occurance. Unfavorably, as well as we were set up and how great the wind conditions were, there was not a cloud in the sky. We knew the hunting would be fast and furious early, and that getting shots for Oliver would be more difficult as the sun rose in the sky.

As shooting time came and went, we waited for the ducks to come, and around 7:20, a single duck came in from the SW, turned quickly and landed about 25 yards out. Based on the shape of the duck from its silhouette, I thought the duck was a ringneck, although a big ringneck. I quietly picked up the single shot, handed it to Oliver and and whispered to him to shoot the duck. We all held our breath, as the duck nervously swam around as we was checking out his surroundings. Oliver took aim and finally pulled the trigger. He shot the duck! It was a great moment. High fives all around.

The sound of the shotgun had barely faded when ducks really started to grease our spread. The shooting was quick, and the big boys took over. We had 7 ducks down on the water within minutes. Luckily, a single Green Wing Teal aggressively landed out front, again Oliver popped up took aim, and BAM!, another duck. He was feelin' the love at this point. Oliver was a duck hunter. Hooked for life. I left the blind, and got Laverne to working the downed ducks. Laverne brought in his first duck and what a surprise! A really nice Redhead drake. We all fussed over and made a big deal out of his trophy. He told us right there that he was going to get it mounted and that he would either hang it in his living room, or his bedroom, if his Mom wouldn't let him hang it in the living room!

After that, the sun was blistering in the sky, and the hunting really slowed down. We ended the day with 10 ducks down, and it was barely 9 a.m..

I took some pictures, one of which I am getting framed, and we picked up and headed out to our local Taqueria for some Huevos Rancheros.

At breakfast, Oliver let us know that he really had fun deer hunting, but he liked duck hunting the most. Oliver is a man of ACTION!!

P.S. I have added a picture of the real "Cousin Oliver" just to show you the uncanny resemblance.

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