Uncategorized
Whistling wings in Big Sky Country
Published
10 years agoon
By Mike Everett Explore Big Sky Contributor
There are few moments that can best a southwest Montana sunrise. One such moment is sitting in an early morning duck blind with a good bird dog that’s shivering from excitement and anticipation. You warm with a thermos of hot coffee and hear the unique whistling that only duck wings can make. The pinnacle is the smell of burnt gunpowder from an empty shotgun shell, the contents of which were just discharged at a passing gadwall.
The first Saturday in October begins opening weekend for Montana’s waterfowl season. Brian Taylor, Joe Hoffman and I made up the crew filling the blind that morning. The week prior, Joe and I built a handful of blinds to be fully prepared for opening day.
In years past, we were often the only people hunting on this lake, which is located south of secret creek, behind no-tell mountain (a wise hunter never divulges his prized hunting spots).
We would regret this wake up time, at first. Across the lake, we could see the faint glow of headlamps where we had built a blind the previous week. That’s public-land hunting for you: The early bird gets the worm, which in this case, was the best spot on the lake. We made a quick decision to load up and head to a secluded bay on the south end of the lake where we hastily built a blind and hoped that it would provide enough concealment from the sharp-eyed fowl. It turned out to be a wise decision.
On the way to the area, we saw more than 1,000 geese roosted in the bay. We built the blind then threw out two dozen duck decoys and a dozen full-body goose decoys. As we sat in the blind before sunrise, we could hear thousands of birds quacking and honking all around. We were on the “X,” as water-fowlers would say.
The first couple of flights soared past us, wings whistling, and didn’t pay much attention to our calls – the dogs were more upset than we were. But soon enough a large flock of mallards
It was a great hunt with great friends, and I hope to witness more sunrises in the coming months of Montana’s waterfowl season. Hopefully I can have just as much luck, too.
_________________
RECIPE:
Duck Marsala
This is a simple duck dish to prepare. I aquired the recipe from a chef friend of mine who specializes in Italian cuisine. The Marsala wine highlights the naturally sweet taste of the duck breasts.
Ingredients:
4 duck breasts
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon thyme
¾ cup heavy cream
11/2 cup Marsala wine
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
mushrooms (as many as you like)
olive oil
parmesan cheese, grated
salt/pepper to taste
Season flour with salt and pepper and dredge the duck breasts in the seasoned flour until thoroughly breaded. Brown the breasts in olive oil in a 7-quart Dutch oven until golden brown. Remove breasts, add onion and cook at medium-high heat until onions are soft. Add garlic, thyme, duck breasts and mushrooms. Deglaze the pan with all of the Marsala wine. Let wine reduce for five minutes then add heavy cream. Finish the dish with parmesan cheese and serve over any pasta, rice, or potatoes.
Megan Paulson is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Outlaw Partners.
Upcoming Events
april, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
more
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
Time
March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
Location
Santosha Wellness Center
169 Snowy Mountain Circle
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
more
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
Noon until 6PM.
$170.
Time
14 (Sunday) 12:00 pm - 28 (Sunday) 6:00 pm
Event Details
Trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Waypoint in Town Center. Participation is free, food and beverages available.
Event Details
Trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Waypoint in Town Center. Participation is free, food and beverages available.
Time
(Wednesday) 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location
The Waypoint
50 Ousel Falls Rd