My Mid- West Family

November 19th-30th 2025

How lucky are we that we cry when goodbyes are said. I started this entry on November 19th and on through my travels. Not knowing that Steve Hall would quote just about the same feeling but better, "You know when people are tearing up saying goodbye that you're doing something right." Gratitude overflows to your eyes as the tears run, thinking about your mid-west family. When days move by so fast with laughter and the smell of the gun powder at first light. You wait all year for this moment. Wadding thru waters watching as the lightning flashes off to the south. Watching dogs work from beginner to advance. The tail thumps on the wood, as the bullshiting, side by side, turns to a whisper as you check for the next duck that is coming in. And you laugh til’ you cry, then you cry as you pack up your truck for the next state over. The moment is gone and only the memories remain. To think that the average person doesn’t even "get" this makes you feel even more blessed for the little of us that do. Hunting from sunrise to sunset. Your eyes are tired, heavy when the alarm goes off but you know the blind, the tree stand, the fields feel better than the warmth of the bed. We hustle; we work hard for these days on the road and the memories we make. The mid-west is special. If you have got the chance to experience it, you understand. Your view of the world gets altered, as the crops and the cattle seem to be more important than your next social media post. The way the wind is blowing in from the northwest today at 10-15 mph. The next snow fall is coming and there is 2,000 acres left of corn to cut. The way you look, the way you dress all becomes less important than the next bird you get to drop, and your dog retrieves. It is the place I will always run to for the deepest sound of silence and to revive my soul again. Where families work side by side to keep their farms going. They fight the corporate office desk and the sounds of heavy traffic. To watch the combines grind through the night, to fed their livestock, that put food on the tables. My mid-west family is something special, I have found them in Missouri, Iowa and South Dakota. By chance and by connections. And I am forever grateful. Every year as I pull into their gravel driveways, I am greeted with smiling faces and hugs that could last forever and always a beer in hand with tail gates being dropped. Families of all shapes and forms: Kids, grandchildren, dogs of all breeds and ages, the local barn cats and the livestock that go on for miles. So how lucky are we that goodbyes are so hard and catching up between hunts at a local bar, a wooden dinner table or a back deck seem to fly by (literally). Sitting under the stars to chat about every avenue, path and trail that you have taken and what's to come. Its heaven on earth out here to watch the dogs run these land and waters to work for the next bird. Chasing whitetail might be your calling but no matter what, it all ends in peace, gratitude and God. The moment that it clicks and you get to exhale knowing that this is your life. You have made it this way to experience the great outdoors with loved ones and your dogs. You give everything you got in the off season for a moment like this. We do it for the dogs mainly but it’s the in-between memories of strangers becoming friends after a weekend of loud laughter and shenanigans of a lady’s hunt. The conversations, the stories shared. "I'm going to bed early, long day, door is unlocked, basement is free, have at it." - Lucy, South Dakota. We do it for the hugs, the embrace and the tears that fall when goodbyes are said til’ next year… You get the itch to return as soon as the last dirt road runs out, and the last waterway or field has been hunted. The dogs are tired, but they would do it all again tomorrow if they could. This is what we live for, the return of the mid-west every year to the families, friends and meet the new strangers and new dogs that will become a part of this pack. It becomes a part of you to take the road less traveled and sometimes get stuck. The next coordinate to hunt even if no birds are found. To sit for one night in a tree stand and experience the most profound sunset as the evening ducks land safely to their habitat. All while knowing all the hard work that has created that safe place to land, just like the places we stay and hospitality that is offered. "Don’t spend Thanksgiving alone or on the road. We will have another plate at the table for you." - Mark, Missouri.  You won't find it in many places I can guarantee that, but the mid-west has always been home away from home for me through the land and the people. Theres one thing I always pray for and that is: it won’t ever change. So until next year, I will hang on to the mental pictures of sunrise over decoys, dogs working fields with a line of ladies with shotguns, driving around and laughing with your best friends, the return to myself in South Dakota for quick chance for my dogs to get a few more days to find their birds. Thank you for all the memories and time you have given me, the dogs and everyone along the way. See you soon. Be Safe. - Amy, IG:

Orange Army, Iowa

Sunrise, Moonset- Missouri

Juniper, South Dakota

Dirt Road, South Dakota

The Shop, South Dakota

The Killin Krew, Iowa

Rain Day, Iowa

@amiehebe32