But it doesn’t always work out that easily. The first geese we saw turned away. They noticed something amiss and landed a few fields away, to our great disappointment and frustration. We had observed the field for several days, and there was goose manure all over it. There had to be something about us that was too obvious. Were the decoys not placed correctly? Was our camouflage inadequate? Was it the dogs? We had to think carefully, and we had no choice but to re-arrange the decoys and try to position ourselves differently. Of course our geese on the neighbouring fields took flight during all this fuss, and afterwards it was as quiet as the grave. The skies were empty, dawn was starting to break and stomachs were beginning to rumble. This waiting time, where you cannot do anything other than what you are doing, is the hunter’s sanctuary. There is no room for work or other disruptive elements. Your thoughts wander like the geese. Some are high, others appear slowly through the mist and drift calmly away to unknown regions. And that is how you miss your first goose. You descend into yourself and are no longer attentive. What a great start as a goose hunter! My fellow hunter draws a question mark in the air with his finger as he laughs. It is an amicable laugh. He knows what happened, as all hunters do.