Hunting birds with anything but a camera is not one of my pasttimes, though I once volunteered to carry two recently shot pheasant through a field of corn stubble in Iowa one bleak day November. The only warmth I felt that day was in my hands--the ones around the birds' necks. (The pheasant meat, by the way, was eaten by another than myself who, having not stored the meat properly, feasted on the flesh then became violently ill during a business conference the day. But I digress...

   With the number of Canada Geese I've seen around Olympia and elsewhere, it is hard to imagine they would be challenging to hunt. In fact, I am pretty sure I could walk up to one of the Canada Geese resting on the trails at  the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, put a collar around its neck, and take it for a stroll. As it is now, I just hug the far side of the trail and pass by hoping not to get honked at. Hunters and the folks at Cabelas want to make it even easier with an alluring assortment of decoys. Being a word person, I was amazed to discover that you can't sell decoys in boxes simply labeled "decoys." To successfully lure the hunter-shopper into making a purchase, you have to bait them with jargon.