Thanksgiving Week 2025

This weekend, I returned from a visit to my office up north for a few days. For my law practice, as we get closer to the end of the year, it means closing out some matters and looking ahead into the New Year at the business prospects ahead. I spent the last 48 hours running from one pressing matter to another. On the last day of my trip, I was awakened at daybreak by the sound of gunfire echoing over the pond out back. They were clearly shotgun blasts, most likely from over-and-under style break-action barrels, the kind that are stacked vertically and designed specifically for bird hunting and clay shooting.

It has been years since I’ve heard the sounds of hunting on Georgica Pond, with the shots echoing out among the large trees. It is all uncomfortably close to my house. The woods muffle the pounding somewhat, but the sounds are distinctly gunshots. Since the pond has been partially drained—presumably to lessen the chance of flooding over the winter of the houses built too close to the shore years ago—hunters now have easier access for planting their makeshift blinds where they hunker down during the pre-dawn hours to await the flyovers. Why the Trustees of East Hampton allow bird shooting on their pond, so close to all the homes abutting the water, is beyond me. It is unwarranted. There are plenty of open fields and ponds in the area that are less densely populated. Or why not go to a state like Maine, where hunting is a common activity, and opportunities abound? Anyway, I have vented a bit, and I thank Carl for allowing me to spill it out here in the pages of the Mountain Messenger. Happy Thanksgiving to all. Stay happy and be kind to your neighbor, whether legal or not.