Duck Season? Wabbit Season? No, Goose Season.

In Pennsylvania, Saturday, February 11 was the last day of Goose Season. I was invited to join some guys from church to go goose hunting like I have several times before. This time, however, I had to turn them down because Shawna had a dentist appointment and I was going to be watching the kids. Friday evening, John and Patty, from next door, stopped over and John invited me to go goose hunting with him. I gave him the same answer I gave before. This time, though, Patty spoke up and said, "Well why don't I watch them?" To this, I had no better response than to say, "OK."

So, Saturday morning, John, a co-worker of his, and I went out and set up John's home-made blind and his custom designed decoys and started calling in geese. Before long a group of 6-8 came in and landed within 25 yards of our blind amongst the decoys. We popped up out of the blind and opened fire. One went down (it's not as easy as you might think) on the other side of a hill. John and I went over to find him, and there he was sitting on a small pond. I got walked further down the hill to a place where he couldn't see me and commenced to crawling on my belly to get as close as I could before I jumpped up. It was there that I finally got my first goose.
Shortly thereafter, another group landed and John got one with one shot.
John and I dressed them when we got home (no, not like one of those cement geese in the front yard) and prepared the meat for eating. We will likely serve it for dinner when Mom and Dad come to visit enext weekend. (Don't tell Mom :-) Below is a picture of mine, up close and personal. They are really a beautiful bird. I never knew how thick and soft their feathers are! It is almost 2" thick. My understanding is that it will taste a lot like beef (not like chicken).