The author, nephew Nicholas, and author's father pose for a winter grouse hunting photo with bird dogs Bleu and Trammell.
I shaved my 2009 hunting beard last night (don't worry, I'll leave the hunting beard odes to Anthony). After 15 minutes of sheering, trimming, and cutting, I uncovered my dad's face smirking back at me in the mirror. Yes, any photo of Robert Joseph St.Pierre gives me, Robert Alan St.Pierre, a sneak peak at what I'm going to look like at some point in the future. And while my dad backs away from microphones and I grab for them, we have pretty darn similar personalities to match our clone-like looks. Some folks bristle at the idea of turning into their parents. I'm pleased to say I'm proud of the comparison. So on this day - my dad's birthday - indulge me as I tell my dad "thanks" for shaping my love of the outdoors . . . and sense of humor. · Thanks for passing on your odd way of naming bird dogs. Who names a bird dog after a flavor of PowerAde? · Thanks for teaching me how to call fish from a canoe – a.k.a. farting. · Thanks for passing on your odd wild game cooking recipes like pike omelets smothered in cherry pie filling or Coke & ketchup venison stew. · Thanks for showing me how the trees are always to blame for a missed shot at a grouse. · Thanks for showing me every evergreen's value as a urinal. · Thanks for passing on your complete inability to operate electronic devices. · Thanks for teaching me your unique outdoors vernacular: Big Charlie = a big buck or big fish What's the cactus? = are the fish biting? Dirty potlicker = the one that got away or a politician Buck = what my dad called any of my friends, my brother, or me · Thank you for teaching me that I don't have to be an expert in every outdoors adventure to enjoy the pursuit. · Thank you for showing me how to mark my territory to prevent wolf attacks. · Thank you for teaching me that some days are just too cold to sit in the deer stand. · Thank you for opening up the world of napping in the outdoors – in a canoe, deer stand, tall grass, truck, ditch, or pretty much anywhere under the sky. · Thanks for teaching me how to REALLY set the hook and not fall out of the canoe. · Thanks for showing me how to find the outdoors from the back door and not always dependent upon a week long adventure to Canada, South Dakota, or some other far off destination. Happy Birthday Dad.
