All of Goldthwaite’s white wing doves didn’t fly to San Saba.  Yesterday morning, as the sun was coming up, Mickey Donahoo and I were sitting in a field north of San Saba awaiting the early morning flight of dove, mourners, white wings and ring necks.  Here’s Mickey sitting comfortably as he waits for a shot.

The area around San Saba is no different than the rest of the southwestern United States, locked in a bitter drought!  This field, normally already mowed and baled, shows the poor first growth, the victim of no rain!

As we were walking out to our places, unloaded of course, we jumped a skunk that took off away from us.  Getting seated and taking the above pictures, up popped a skunk not a hundred yards away, hefting my shotgun, loaded now, I took off after it.  Walking to within twenty yards, I let fly with a load of 12 gauge, AA, 8’s and chalk up one stinky predator.  As I shot, not 30 yards away, up popped a black tail, a second skunk spraying out a cloud of stink, shucking out the spent shell, I swung on it and let fly, a double on skunks!
    
Two hours later, Mickey and I had shot several holes in the sky, but we had tallied a white wing, 2, mourning dove and a brace of skunks, not many hunters, not much shooting, so not that many birds flying around.  However, it seemed that most of the dove came in from behind us and, by the time we reacted, or shot, they were too far away. Walking back to my truck Mickey said, “Why don’t you go get both of those skunks and hold them up by their tails and I’ll take a picture.”  My silence indicated that I was declining his kind offer!