Ernie Glup "Fliling the Void"

 
Ernie Glup has had a Burt County hunting operation for over 37 years.  I first met Ernie and his brother Jerry while hunting at Kohler's.  Ernie purchases a sizable farm, of the beloved Tekamah bottom, Prime Tiger S*** Gumbo.  He was in the land leveling business and got busy building a hunting lake, on this farm.    
Ernie's hunting club, is made up with members and several, local hunting friends.  Ernie, has had many of his member, for years on end.  As time does to you, as the older one retired or passed on, there were other that was eager to join his club.  Ernie took a couple of Ralph long time members even tho, he was exceeding his maximum numbers of member he wants.   For this we have to thank him for his efforts, of "Filling The Void".  
Ernie has always been successful, killing his share of ducks, and Canada geese.  The operation consist, of three long heated blinds, built on the order of the Kohler blind, but much longer.  Think they total up to something like, 68 feet, of seats. The area around Ernie operation Is flat, and once the corn is out, you can see the birds coming for miles, not many sneak in on him.  Of course there are the bluff that are along, both side of the Missouri River, these lie, to the west, just a few miles of his lake.  I understand that the Canada migration path actually, comes over these hill or bluffs, just north west of his lake and not following the river as we would expect. They seam to be very vulnerable to spreads of decoys and calls, after leaving the rough land of these bluffs.  You look toward the river a couple three miles to the east.  This area is all, open big flat fields in all direction.  An ideal arrangement for waterfowl hunting.
Then I asked Ernie, how is he handling the personal side of, filling the void, of Ralph retiring.  After a long pause he got to the root of, what all of us, will and are missing.  It was Ralph that taught us all, not only how to hunt, that is a given, but much more important,  Ralph taught us how to love all creatures, that not only fly, but walk on this earth.  Ernie then asked, "Do you think we would appreciate the spider migration if he had not shown it to us. The monarch butterfly, the Hawks, the Eagles, and all the migrating, creatures we see setting in a blind".  Ernie got my mind working, right there I knew I had my story for this page, of Filling The Void.
This past fall I wrote in this blog, about the huge groups of Hawks we were witnessing, migrating that even Ralph had never witness before.  I would have to do research to name the type of Hawks, there were two different species that it could be.  One we are located on the very eastern edge, the other we are just a few miles west of their normal migrating path.  The wind can shift their path by many miles, very easy.  But nothing passed Ralph eye.  For most of one day we watched as flocks after flock, from 40 to 150 birds, and maybe even bigger, were circling inside of what we had to assume, was an up draft, gaining altitude, then dive to the next updraft, to repeat the same process.  Very little pumping of their wings.  No effort to make their way to their wintering grounds.  You could see  one to five flock at any time, most of the day by, looking up and down the bottom.  As Ernie, suggested, we would not have seen and loved this if not for Ralph's nature class.  We learned some of these events, were a few days long and some were just hours longs.
As I reread what I have just wrote, I am forced to point out, YES, there is a Spider migration.  Check it out.  It happens every year.  They ride the warm north winds, early in the fall, using ball of web to carry them, up and south.  Most of you have seen it but let it slip by with out investigating it. You just didn't have Ralph to inform you of what you were looking at. Yes he left a void there, but also some skilled eyes, eager hearts to look and enjoy, for the rest of our days. 
This has went long enough, so remember tonight as you prepare for you night of rest to include the troops in your prayers.  
Thank you, and see ya.     Carl                    

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