The Cost of a Good Meal

We just returned from a weekend of pheasant hunting. We have enough birds for one meal. So, let's add this trip up.

• $110 non resident SD Small Game license
• $75 in fuel
• $50 Motel (Jake was so happy that we finally got to stay in a "M"otel instead of a "H"otel!)
• $80 for shells and what I will classify as hunting food from Fleet Farm
• $100 for dinner (treated the guy who let me hunt on his land) - at least he bought my 15 captain morgan's after dinner....like I needed THAT!
• $35 breakfast today

That adds up to $450.00! 3 birds makes it $150 a bird. I could have gone to a game farm 10 miles away and bought 56 pheasants all cleaned with no lead in them and frozen for that much money!

Obviously, this is worth so much more. Seeing Dozer (old man Black Lab) possibly on his last hunt. His hips are shot. If not for drugging him with doggie asprin and other hip stuff, he'd not be able to walk. BUT - he did hunt 1/2 of both days. Good for him. He was so happy out there.

Plus, this was Indy's first hunt. By the end of Saturday, he was completely off of the check cord and we never used the shock collar. He totally responded to the whistle which was new for me to try vs. the shock collar. He was completely in his element and instincts took over. For a 6 month old dog, he did wonderfully.

Add in that Jake got to ride in a combine with a 35' head that was picking beans and see how it all works. He was even in there when they did a moving dump into the hopper being pulled next to the combine. Then, later he was able to ride in the other big tractor that pulled the hopper and he got to DRIVE that. He said it was the most awesome thing EVER!

Now as I lick my own wounds from walking through the long grasses, falling over clumps of dirt and running in boots after partially dead pheasants, it is fun to look back on the fun we had as a family this weekend. Very cool. Even if it was $450!