Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Finally On The Road again!!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Woodcock in the Backyard
I am fortunate to be able to hunt right outside my back door. Peaches (top) and Ace (bottom) are both pointed on Woodcock. I have a creek and swampy bottom that runs along the back of my property. The Woodcock hit this creek every year in their migration from up north to the nesting spots on the gulf coast. They are such an overlooked species down here- the season is only a month long- and most bird hunters don't even know what they are. It's like shooting a butterfly- they juke and jive and twitter...... It sure is fun and my dogs love it!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
First Lock Down point for Lily
The bottom picture shows 8 mos. old Lily locked down on her first covey with Robert going in for the flush. The top picture shows me holding a bird harvested in the rise with Lily and Ace, her daddy. You know, in this case, the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Lily went on to be one of the go-to dogs on the string by the end of the trip for Robert. I may need to grab a dog out of the next litter. I was going to wait one more year, but he's throwing great pups and I do like working with good ones......
Hey, this is a lot of fun! Keep hunting...
Friday, December 12, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Perfect final day
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Osage Orange Tree
Hunted duck today. Wind was 25-40 mph with intermittent snow. "Great day for ducks" they say. Got a pintail and a teal- had a great time. Birdhunters got nothing on duckhunters- those boys are crazy, no doubt!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Old Church on the Prairie
2 by 0900
Heading Out
Until the Super Walmart shows up, I guess. I'll have to change along with America, since I found out shopping is patriotic and what better place to shop than the Great Wall of Mart.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Darn!
The good news is I pass several Cabela's and Bass Pro's on the way- as if I needed an excuse to stop.
On the Road again!
I just filled up with diesel at QT for $2.55- gotta love that.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Next Hunt on the Horizon!
Kansas will be fun. You never know what's coming up- pheasant or quail. After a few days there, I may ease on up to my friend's farm in SD for a little more pheasant. They are getting hammered by a blizzard today....I sure hope it won't mess up his cutting the beans and corn. They had such a late start cutting that he said they may not get it all in this winter! I wonder if he needs a retired knot head to help him drive those machines? Humm?
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Heading Home
Only 1489 more miles to go.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Last Day- Wow, it was a beauty!
Folks, it's been a great trip. From 70 to 17 degrees and calm to 60 mph winds. We saw some wonderful dog work and some other kind, too. But overall, the dogs were awesome and I wouldn't part with any of them. The birds are plentiful and that always makes for a great trip. Most of all, the memories are stored forever somewhere- to be resurrected with a smell or a cool breeze or the sounds of a flushing bird. Too many times, I will remember a bird flushing, the shot and the retrieve and not remember the state or the year. That's a good situation to be in, I guess. I hope you will end up having too many good memories, too.
Lord only knows when the next trip will be- maybe a month or two down the road. Maybe to SD again for pheasant or NM for blue quail.....we'll see about that. In the meantime, there are trials to win (field trials), dogs to train and wives to placate. Later.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Yikes- the storm is passing!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Storm's a brewing...
Bo the Old Campaigner
Hunting the open prairie
Friday, October 24, 2008
Randy and Ace with the Limit
all about the dogs. If I didn't have them, I wouldn't be here.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Birds in Wheatfield
Just driving out after hunting all day, the biggest problem is taking a bird in the windshield. Dennis took one in the left front and broke one of his lights already. They don't photgraph well with the equipment I have, but, really, there's a bunch of them.
The birds a very plentiful this year. Here are a few just sitting around along the road.Wednesday, October 22, 2008
What a view!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Ideal Weather.
Trappers Cafe
Monday, October 20, 2008
Prairie Humor
North Dakota
Great Hunting Lodge
On the way to ND today. Will hunt public land on the way.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
First Bird of the Trip
Wheat Mountain
Familiar Site
Am trying to make it north of Aberdeen to some public land by the noon start time. I'm looking for a store for a few supplies and a SD hunting guide, too. Figure I'll hunt my way across SD and ND to reach Regent by Tuesday am and meet my buddies.
The dogs are really ready. Old Bo's done this a lot. Peaches is laid back as ever, and Ace is 100% as always. This should be a good day if we can find some decent lad this aft.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
That's good diesel!
On the way
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Tritronics Alert!!!
I'm learning the hard way, again. If you have one of the new Tritronics Collars- KEEP THE THINGS IN THE CHARGERS ALL THE TIME WHEN NOT IN USE!!!!! If you do not, and I did not, the range will start to decrease until it is unusable. Then you'll be calling about the range issue and they will either, 1) tell you to send it back right before you leave on a hunting trip, or 2) tell you to read the instructions and keep the collars charged in the cradle at all times and then give you a procedure to fix the problem. Don't take my word for it- call 800-456-4343 and ask tech support about the range and battery issue. I talked to a lady that sounds like a Yankee (wish I'd gotten her name) and she was all over the issue and knew what she was talking about.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Checklist
I'm going through that checklist we downloaded. It's a great thing! So nice to be able to have a starting point- I'm so lazy I had to have someone else provide it.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Guest Dogs
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Hanging in there and waiting for the next trip!
This is the October backyard at the house. Looks nice, but "really nice" is the ND wheat field loaded with pheasant, or an untapped grouse trail in WI! It was 82 deg here yesterday! A cold front is on the way though and we may finally get some cool weather here in the South. All the dogs are ready for the 19th- we blast off for SD, ND and some pheasant hunting! The Jones trailer is practically packed already.
I bought some coffee bean burlap bags and fill them with cedar chips as bedding. It really works well and I can recommend it. Here's the link to the site: http://www.burlap.biz/. I use plastic tie wraps to seal the open end. This is not an original idea either, I got it from Jack Williams in an email. It's a great solution to a difficult problem of long term bedding .
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Hunting Checklist
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Next adventure- 19 Oct.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Ace (Stinky) and his Trophies
Next hunt will start 19 Oct for the pheasant extravaganza to SD and ND- stay tuned.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Driving in to Hunt
Last day- heading to the honey hole. 8 flushes so far. The cover is very thick and these boys are wiley and FAST! Having a blast hunting the best gamebird on the planet.
Last Day of First Hunt
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Smith Rapids Covered Bridge
A little vet action
Perfect day again. Sunny and 50 deg.