A new partnership between the Alabama Wildlife Federation and the Thomas & Cindy Harris Foundation is helping young people across Alabama experience the state's rich outdoor heritage — and Quail Forever is proud to be part of the effort.
My grandfather was a man of few words. Towards the end of his life, when he was physically unable to farm, he would sit outside the barn in an old chair, "watching the birds," he once said. To me, it always seemed like he was remembering.
Discover how a simple day at the range can ignite a lifelong passion for hunting and wildlife conservation.
When I was 13, my mother remarried. Not long after, we moved from a small town to outside an even smaller one in rural Oklahoma. To say my world changed is an understatement. I was turned loose in the outdoors and ultimately adopted by the man she had married. Shortly after moving to our new home in the country, I watched him call a bobwhite onto the porch railing one afternoon. That moment started my life on a collision course that has brought me to where I am today.
There comes a time in your life when you're so moved by someone's generosity it leaves you feeling guilty. You feel ashamed for not being able to come up with the right words to properly show the gratitude deserved. But then again, sometimes the space found between the words "thank you" represent much more than the words themselves.
Like most kids growing up in rural America, I was exposed to hunting at a young age and began receiving guns as Christmas gifts as soon as I was mature enough to handle them safely.