44 Nebraskaland • October 2025
the rodents' handiwork until our
attention turned to a piece of old
farm machinery partially buried in
sand. Harper climbed onto it as Greg
and I pondered its one-time use. We
concluded it was a piece of horse-
drawn haying equipment used long
ago by local ranchers, when this part
of the ever-changing floodplain was
meadow, not marsh.
Soon after, our thoughts returned
to hunting. As we approached the
beaver dam, Greg caught a glimpse
of ducks rising and settling again on
an oxbow farther downstream. Seeing
an opportunity for jump-shooting, he
and Harper snuck to the oxbow's edge,
hidden by shoreline rushes. When
they arrived, about 40 birds sprang
from the still water. A single shot rang
out, and a bird fell back into the marsh.
Greg retrieved the green-winged teal.
In the excitement, Harper didn't
get a shot off. Jump-shooting fleeing
ducks requires quick reflexes and
is tough for a child, especially one
bundled in a thick coat and waders.
For now, Greg prefers teaching her
wing-shooting over decoys, where she
can prepare for shots at birds with
cupped wings floating in to land.
As we examined the teal, Greg
noticed Harper was tiring. She had
walked a fair distance in waders since
leaving the decoys, and we still had
some hiking to do. We called it a day
and headed back to pick up the decoys.
I was impressed by Harper's stamina,
which Greg credits to the hours she
spends in athletics and jumping on her
backyard trampoline.
The rising sun illuminates Greg and Harper's decoy spread on a bend in the Calamus River. Here, the river reaches a
maximum depth of 2 to 3 feet.
