PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY
Part of the Upland Journey
By
Ray Wolfram
By
Ray Wolfram
THE BLENDER
I just stumbled out onto the two-track and took a curious look up and down the trail in an attempt to get my bearings. I had aptly named “The Blender” (the grouse covert I just exited) for its mixing capabilities, and did so the very first time I ever trudged through it. Tangles of alder and marsh grass so thick I frequently find myself crawling on all fours to navigate from point A to point B. Within it, I once lost track of the sun. And then there was the time that my brother and I were both sure we’d come out onto the road just around the bend from the truck – only to hike over 2 miles before we’d reach it.
We plunge into this nasty, dark creek bottom each fall - driven by the arrival of the migrating woodcock. It is a combination of what seems to be
1) his always short-lived visit and
2) the fact that season after season, the land proves to be quite productive
for woodcock flushes. Note that I said flushes and not harvests.
Sanity comes into question when our return to the truck finds us thinking of scratching this covert off the list, while at the same time, we're counting the empty shotgun shells.
The vest never felt so light!
The canine companion is always fine. Today, I am fortunate for his “scents” of direction, as we’ve hit the road in the nick of time. The gusting winds and darkening skies hinted of a looming storm from within the cover. Only now, standing at the truck, do I get a true sense of how heavy a turn the skies have taken.
Looks like its time for lunch……
THE TRADITION OF A FIELD LUNCH
Walking the endless miles each season, through cover and terrain that really make a man (and dog) work, one musters up a ferocious appetite. We strive to make the most of each season, so optimum nutrition is a must; after all, one can’t go through tangles like “The Blender” on half a tank!
Walking the endless miles each season, through cover and terrain that really make a man (and dog) work, one musters up a ferocious appetite. We strive to make the most of each season, so optimum nutrition is a must; after all, one can’t go through tangles like “The Blender” on half a tank!
There are many classic field lunch items and different camps have different traditions. Ours calls on a meal that is convenient, nutritious and delicious – the PB&J. This grouse season staple is assembled in the field – either on the tailgate or in the cab (such as today).
Our cooler is loaded with an entire loaf of whole wheat bread, the thick, heavy kind you find at a good bakery (full of grains and even sunflower seeds). Add a fine brand of chunky peanut butter and some good old Fruits of the Forest Mixed Berry and you have a weekends worth of sustenance fit for a king! Honey is an acceptable substitute for jelly and it offers up an even higher (and sweeter) level of energy; a thermos of coffee, fruit juice, apples, almonds and pogey-bait round out the essentials. Of course, we occasionally pack along cheese and sausage to eat on the road between coverts - but when its time to get serious……
CLOUDBURSTS
Where were we?
Where were we?
Ah yes, exiting The Blender and “Looks like its time for lunch…….”
I grab the cooler out of the box and dash to the cab, just as the drizzle turns monsoon. Brody is quick to scoot to the passenger seat and sensibly takes up watching me carefully assemble our first sandwich. I finish making my own sandwich. Wayne Larrivee and Larry McCarren are on the radio.
Life is good!
HIS - Brody doesn’t seem to appreciate the delectable mixed berry jelly as much as I do, so I prepare our first sandwich with that in mind and spread a little sparingly. He gets most of the first sandwich anyway. I’ll have plenty of time to prepare and enjoy a second round while he’s busy lapping the sticky peanut butter from the furnishings around his jowls. I hope he gets it all this time – before he makes a mess of the windows!
MINE – As I carefully assemble the second of our two sandwiches, I take great pains to ensure a proper ratio of ingredients. The bread-peanut butter-jelly ratio should be 2-1-1. When you think about how thick two slices of bread can be, that is going to be one hell of a sandwich.
Just then I remembered I had set my shotgun up against a tree just past the rear bumper. Now, my grouse gun is a pretty crude stick (another story, another day) but I didn’t want to deal with any more moisture than she’d already been exposed to that morning. I bolted for the gun and tucked it into the hard case, stashing it away in the tool box. Quickly getting soaked, I returned to the cab – DARN – the door was locked. Reaching for my keys, I realized that in my mad dash for the gun, I had left them in the ignition! I leaned up against the window, peering in to see if I could see them and there was Brody – on my seat, going at the peanut butter jar like a bear on an ant hill. Of course my sandwich was long gone!
Later that night (much, much later) I made the following notes in my hunting log:
October 24th – Brule River Valley
1) Coverts hunted – 1
2) Empty Hulls – 4
3) Birds in Bag – 0
4) Miles walked in monsoon – 5.5
5) Never hunt “The Blender” again – NEVER!
6) Always serve Brody his field lunch in his crate – ALWAYS!
7) Scour training material and NAVHDA Green Book for training
1) Coverts hunted – 1
2) Empty Hulls – 4
3) Birds in Bag – 0
4) Miles walked in monsoon – 5.5
5) Never hunt “The Blender” again – NEVER!
6) Always serve Brody his field lunch in his crate – ALWAYS!
7) Scour training material and NAVHDA Green Book for training
techniques on teaching a dog to unlock a car door - on command!
THE FINER POINTS OF PB&J
Let me begin by stating that it is an absolute sin to pre-assemble your PB&J at home. A quality field lunch requires a freshly made sandwich with only the finest ingredients.
Let me begin by stating that it is an absolute sin to pre-assemble your PB&J at home. A quality field lunch requires a freshly made sandwich with only the finest ingredients.
Another key concept – hit both slices of bread with a coating of peanut butter. Honey, especially, is quick to soak into a slice of bread, so the thin layer of peanut butter works to slow that process. We refer to this as “caulking the bread”.
Grouse hunting is a time-honored sport, full of tradition and rich heritage, so please – no Goober, PLEASE! For those of you who have never heard of Goober – in 1968, JM Smucker Company introduced Goober to the market, an all in one jar of vertical stripes of peanut butter and jelly. Be cautious of the man who brings goober to camp – liable to ground swat a bird and god only knows what else.
NO TIME FOR FLUFFERNUTTER – With the countless hours we spend each season removing burdocks from the coats of our canine companions, no sane man would offer a dog a Fluffernutter sandwich. Fluffernutter? Peanut butter and marshmallow cream……
