Ahhh. Feel that? That was October. And it’s always too fleeting.
Thankfully, the deer gun season helps ease its passing.
But it sure is the most wonderful month to be a North Dakotan, especially if you like to do anything outside.
In another life I may have complained about the temperatures staying above 60 and the weather being “too nice” longer than usual, luring more people out in the field, but in toddler parent life it has been ideal for tailgate hangouts, “spooky” walks through the neighborhood and bike rides past dark.
We’ll miss these days when the snow flies.
It’s been bittersweet to be out and about in the countryside as much as we have this month.
We’re finding our toddler has a few more opinions these days, including less interest in being contained in a backpack for extended periods of time, and that’s OK.
We don’t want hunting to be something he dreads, and if he doesn’t want to go in the field, one of us stays at the truck.
Armed with his beloved Radio Flyer Retro Rocket, a week’s worth of toddler rations, plenty of trucks and whatever treasures we find in the nearby ditch, we seemingly have just as much fun chasing tumbleweeds and hauling gravel.
It's during one of these tailgate stints that I hear hundreds of ducks taking off from a pond, startled by Scott and Finley in pursuit of upland roosters.
And I can feel my heart smile.
October on the prairie is unmatched.
The sound of flapping wings brings thrill, joy and nostalgia all at once.
“Ducks!” I say to Fischer.
To which he replies, “quack, quack” and continues driving his monster truck on the pickup’s running boards.
Again, in another life, Scott, Fins and I would have acted on this impromptu find.
We probably would have continued the morning in the uplands, raced home to eat and swap gear (if it wasn’t already in the truck) and headed back for an evening duck hunt, ignoring that tomorrow started another work week.
But not today, and that’s OK.
And what’s been refreshing is that this season I genuinely do feel OK about it.
Hopefully one day, it will be Fischer begging us to come back for an evening or morning duck hunt.
And having all this extra time we once spent living out of our pickup has allowed us to slow down and enjoy everything else October has to offer.
We’ve actually seen a few Vikings games rather than listened to the comical, but sometimes confounding Paul Allen broadcast, enjoyed at least one, if not multiple, nightly walks to see the fall colors and Halloween decorations, visited the pumpkin patch, carved pumpkins, and filled the kitchen with the aromas of homemade venison chili, fish chowder, venison pasties, pheasant pot pie, venison cheeseburger soup, apple pie and apple crisp.
And at least for now, it looks like October weather is hanging in there, so don’t be surprised to see a little red rocket off some gravel road.
And, somebody, please shoot a few ducks for me.
