One of my most memorable is a late season pheasant hunt with my brother, day trip from the Twin Cities to north-central IA in the late '90s, still the good years of CRP there. More than 6" of fluffy snow fell overnight, heavy cover snow-laden, birds still roosting beneath it at mid-morning.

Unforgettable images in my memory. Brilliantly colored roosters flushing into the bright sunlight, glittering clouds of snowflakes breaking open around beating wings. We shot well that morning. Our springers bounded through the fluffy snow, intoxicated by concentrated scent. They brought in retrieves wearing snow-coats, prancing proud through the snow, birds held high.

Gosh ... thrills me again to remember it.

Jay