THE JOYS OF THE SEASON

Happy Holidays December, 4th 2012.  We are in the midst of a much anticipated  winter storm here in Reno, on  the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada.   Ellen, Patrick, Nicholas, Catherine and Thomas are in fine health and great spirits.

In Winter, we started the year desert camping, hunting  and motor biking in southern Arizona.  In February, Patrick returned to Mexico to continue scoping out a comprehensive business development and conservation plan to develop  sustainable fisheries in the upper Gulf of California. The livelihood of 2.5 million Mexican fishermen and their families depend on the Gulf resources.   In 2012, Ellen and Pat completed two in-depth project.  Ellen finished developing a predication/forecasting models for the telecom industry and then  completed with Pat an extensive data mining/ biology compendium database looking at the impact of habitat and predation upon the massive decline in Nevada's Mule Deer.  It was a herculean task assembling the raw data but in the end the deer will be better managed.

In the Spring , Nick and Pat along with some friends and hunting dogs took a motorcycle/fishing/ camping  trip through the Sierras up to the Oregon/California border.  Nicholas is in his last semester of Civil Engineering.  A natural fixer, he could convince a vegan to eat steak and enjoy the experience.  His interests are to work in the booming Canadian Oil fields (Alberta) where he spent many Octobers being home- schooled.  Like both his grandfathers, he likes to know how things work.  God help the Canadians,  he is a force to be reckoned with.

 In April, Cate, our independent and very  "Happy Hipster"  left her idyllic lifestyle in Tucson to work for AmeriCorps in the Mogollon Rim (near Flagstaff,  Arizona).  She loves being in the outdoors like her mother.  She packs her reading books alongside her camping gear.  And in the fall after her AmeriCorp stint,  she returned to San Francisco to pursue her writing and reconnect  with the vitality and intellectualism of San Francisco.  She couldn't get us tickets to the World Series.  But like the elections, the good guys won impressively.

In June, Thomas finished his last two years mastering Mandarin at the National Taiwan University in Taipei and returned this June to the University in Reno to finish his studies in Asian history.  He is amazing with a deep  understanding of past events --  the who's, what's, when, where's and whys.  An  impressive educated man.  He hosted Pat and Ellen in Taiwan for 3 weeks and without his mastery of  Mandarin, the visit would have been much less colorful.  Instead it turned into one of our most memorable  adventures.  Tom is scheduled to complete his degree with Nick in the early summer.  Thomas brings his Taipei street habits home, demanding we drink oolong tea, behave civilly and listen to calming new age music.  And he still brings his laundry home.

  

Late summer, Patrick  and Ellen traveled to British Colombia to meet Canadian fly fishers for a fishing conclave.  We had a spectacular trip catching the large native Cutthroat Trout on large dry flies,  a favorite of Pat's. Our encampment was in the midst of the awesome Canadian Rockies.  The trip  extended on thru October in Saskatchewan with camping, dog training  water fowling,  upland hunting and visiting many friends who love dogs and fine English shotguns.

In the Fall,  upon returning from the Canadian Prairie and the Giant sweeping the World Series,  it was on to Chicago for Patrick and Ellen the day after the 2012 presidential  election.  We stayed several nights at the Chicago Fairmont where President Obama,  his family and staff celebrated their victory.  The city was charged from the results.  Patrick took the 40 minute drive back to his childhood home in the villages of Barrington and Trout Valley, Illinois.  It was dreamlike, extraordinary memories of happy days of trout fishing, camping skiing and having a Huck Finn youth.  Ellen met her relatives for dinner, all were giddy over the Obama victory.  They're holdovers' from the Daley machine.   After Chicago, on to West Lafayette, IN, where Ellen and Patrick's Professor from Purdue was being  honored by the University.  We were invited to attend the celebration that weekend.  A dinner and awards evening honored a great man, Dr. Charles Rhykerd .  His children came and it was a special honor and  a memorable gathering of the "best and brightest" of Purdue.  The next day Ellen and Patrick toured the campus and were amazed how well Purdue was doing.  It was a wonderful experience to see our labs and fields that meant so much during our graduate studies.  As a graduate student, one seldom has time to explore outside one’s own research and course work.  We concluded that Purdue was like M.I.T. and Cal Tech “on steroids”.  What an amazing science and engineering school.

Patrick's youngest brother (of eight children), Mark Collins Maxon, named after Michael Collins the martyred Irish revolutionary , completed his theology program and was ordained a diocesan Priest in the Roman Latin rite in 2012.  Mark is 51.  He was in the Army in Virginia for 4 years, returned to earn an engineering degree, a  P.E., married then divorced (annulled) and  worked as a hydrologist for seven years.   He spent six years in the seminary studying for the priesthood.  Although not a Jesuit, he has the schooling.  Presently,  he works for the Fresno Diocese in a parish where the Pastor is almost as young as Mark.  At last,  our Irish mum (88) got her last earthly wish!

Speaking of Irish Mums,  Ellen’s mother turns  90 this December and Ellen will join with her four sisters in Arlington, VA  to celebrate the big birthday this  December before we head to Arizona and Mexico.  Genevieve is a vital and energetic woman who has traveled the world, was educated at the University of Chicago, raised five daughters, and learned to trout fish.  She is well and fit enough to be in her 50's.

To end on a more pastoral note, our garden this year was superb.  With keen interest from Nick , a hearty rototiller, plenty of compost and an impressively hot summer, the Maxon Farm produce 2 pound heirloom tomatoes, eggplants, kale, potatoes, lettuce, chilies, bell peppers and a young  RATTLESNAKE.  The backyard was so lush it attracted the young rattler that lived under our air conditioner.  We live in the foothills of Reno,  amid wild mustang horses that eat from  our apple tree, or Mule Deer that fed on the alfalfa fields close by,  the quail and doves that fed each morning in our front yard,  or the red tail hawks that often nested in the back yard and great horned owls that hoot in winter evenings. 

 Mother Nature abhors a vacuum and so as the seasons change we age and the cycles seen and enjoyed by more mature eyes, the Maxons come to be more thankful for the bounty and blessing bestowed upon us. This is the time of year to celebrate the joys of the past year and to appreciate the future filled with wonder and hope. It is certain that goodness and righteousness prevail.                      

Feliz Navidad y prospero ano nuevo or Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

Patrick, Ellen, Nicholas, Catherine, Thomas, Fe and Tess Maxon 

THE 2012 CANADIAN HUNT

This fall was different.  I was prepared to upland hunt with two old time friends I had not traveled with for over 10 years.  The eldest was in his early 80's fit as they come being an Ph.D. former human physiology professor at a well known University.  He was an Idaho farm boy that went east to school and returned to the West to pursue his love of hunting dogs, finely made side by side shotguns and a sportsmanlike behavior.  His mom moved him away from the irrigated fields of Idaho as the young beautiful Mormon gals wanted  his companionship in high school.  His Mum had different plans and moved the family back east away fron his temptress.  Still today, Don missed the companionship of the farmers daughter.

 The younger hunter in his late 60's was a gentle giant who appeared as though he stepped off the boat from Sweden. He was farm boy from Iowa who loved the outdoors so much he traveled to Alaska to hunt and fish after finishing his civil engineering degree. He tells me stories of moose hunts, sheep climbs and many days on the river.  Above all his love fore Iowa pheasant hunting controls his love affair with dogs and an excellent collection of differently designed double smooth bores. In the end I enjoy them both because the are sportsman and love dogs, great wine scotch and fine weapons.

Twenty years ago I invited them to travel with me to Saskatchewan and experience the wonderful farming families, wide open spaces and great bird hunting. Each year they return to the same place while I moved around always looking for different spots and meeting the homespun kindness of Saskatchewan rural families.
This year in this particular area the numbers of spring clutches was down.  The Huns had not recovered from the devastating Prairie snows of 2010.  It will take several mild winters to bring the number back., but there was enough to keep the sprints high.

Our first bird drive was about 10 minutes from the motel and campground.  I timed our hunt to make sure most of the birds were in cover after their morning feed of wheat. I spotted a covey  racing through the wheat stubble to the Caragana. I was a perfect setup.  I let my companion out and instructed him to inform the others not to start the drive through the cover until I was in a flanking position.  The birds would be focusing on me as I drove across the stubble making all sort of comotion.  The drive had begun and several adult blew out of the cover both able to head over the nearest rise in the stubble. I knew there had to be more birds and when a great horned ow flew fro
 the bush. I knew there was prey to be had.   The wind was favorable but strong.  I figured the birds would lift into the wind have a tailwind. The hunter would have to be quick.

Then by design a horde of pheasants busted out.  Often female hen can be mistaken for Sharptail and surely these excitable men having the sun in their eyes might mistake one for as delicious grouse.  The pheasants keep flushing as I got closer.  I counted 15 birds when the covey of Hun with their red tail lifted caught the wind and after six shoots not a brace to be had.  They were marked about 400 yards to the west in the middle of stubble and the hunt was on again.

Don the magnificent was in automatic and he knew how they would lift to the wind.  Chuck the newbie took the flank and at once I show Don aim and two birds went down before I heard the crack. Chuck had his shot and one fell but was a runner.  After 15 minuted and giving the Brittany time to hunt the runner up, I turned loose the lab and the wirehair.  The puppy lab was all excited and hung close to the hunter. Over my shoulder from the spectators, yelled that Fe the wirehair was on point.  She had found the cripple.  Age is a wonderful thing and having a 12 year old wirehair outhutting a lab and Brittany was fondly remembered.