Aldo Leopold wrote, ""There are two kinds of hunting: ordinary hunting, and ruffed-grouse hunting."" Like Leopold, Mark Parman takes to the woods when the aspens are smoky gold. He distills twenty seasons of grouse hunting in an evocative almanac that chronicles the early season of the grouse hunt through its end in the snows of January. He writes of old dogs and gun lust, cover and clear cutting, climate change, companions male and female, wildlife art, and stumps.
Preface
Introduction
EARLY SEASON
Some August Day
Grouse Opener
The Bird
Dogless
In Praise of Old Dogs
Scalopax minor
Ox
The Cycle
How to Hunt Grouse
MIDSEASON
Flushing Wild
Small Presents
Hunting with Diana, Grousing Around with Susan
Like Trees, Walking
Costumes
Paul’s
On Wildlife Art
Empty Hulls
New Wood
Sauntering Along
The Mythical Bird
Soul Food
Shooting and Eating Locally
Acres of Goods
Cover(t)
Gun Lust
Shooting Flying
The Ruffed Grouse Capital of the World
Nine Mile Stump
Knowing Our Limits
Getting Lost, Staying Lost
LATE SEASON
Confessions of a Grouse Hunter
Grouse Weather
A Fall of Woodcock
Things Unseen
Black Friday
Narratives in the Snow
The Beauty of Clear-Cuts
Snow Walker
The Last Day of the Season
Gunnar’s Last Hunt
Counting in Dogs
Bibliography
Mark Parman is a member of the Ruffed Grouse Society and the Loyal Order of Dedicated Grouse Hunters. He is coauthor of Fat Tire Wisconsin: A Mountain Bike Trail Guide and teaches English and journalism at the University of WisconsinMarathon County. He has written for Sports Afield, Pointing Dog Journal, and other outdoor magazines.
Parman's writing is insightful, fresh, and informative. Regardless of whether you hunt grouse, or not, with or without a dog, carry a 28-gauge or double shotgun, there's something in this hunter's almanac for all who enjoy autumns in the north."" - Jerry Davis, syndicated outdoors columnist
""Notable and quotable. Parman stakes out original territory and provides a vivid snapshot of the Northwoods."" - John Motoviloff, author of Wisconsin Wildfoods: 100 Recipes for Badger State Bounties
""Extremely rich and detailed. Parman puts forth original and genuine experiences."" - Richard Yatzeck, author of Hunting the Edges
""Parman celebrates the intricacies of grouse hunting and, through his experiences, the reader learns valuable information from dogs to habitat to gear, while being challenged by issues that need to be answered for the sake of grouse hunting's future."" - Ruffed Grouse Society blog
""Pays close and wise attention to woods and habitat, to the behavior and lives of his English setters, to the ways of woodcock and grouse, and to his own thoughtful evolution as a hunter. ... A worthy addition to the grouse-hunting bookshelf."" - Gray's Sporting Journal