It's amazing how the seemingly small things always bring back the memory of the marsh and duck hunting. The smell of the marsh is like no other. The odor of spent paper shells, the sounds of huge flocs of blackbirds filling the skies and the sound of cattails blowing in the wind will always remind me of duck and goose hunting with my father and brothers. And I'll never forget the first time my father allowed me to hunt the marsh alone, just me, my 12 foot home-made duck skiff and my trusty Sterlingworth (and the hen mallard that I brought home). Finally I was a man.
I grew up hunting the famous Horicon Marsh in Wisconsin and hunted it frequently until recently when my yellow lab became too old to make it through the cattails. Although I get out a few times a years with my brothers and their Chesies who still hunt it 2-3 times a week during the season, my time is now spent hunting grouse and sitting on my deer stand.
Although duck can be prepared into a tasty but still somewhat gamey dish, I agree that there is nothing like a grouse prepared with a blackberry and currant reduction!
