Mar 1st - COLD & windy with frozen ground - no snow......no excuses......official training started
                         total time door to door = about an hour.....frozen face & "lost" one finger for awhile
                            note: set up orange bumpers at the "old" Four Phase Drill blind...mostly for Gunny
                            note: "routine" off the van was the primary focus with conditioning secondary
                            note: Taffey & Kooly ran first - each were lined three times, they enjoyed the runs  
                            note: Gunny was run three times, first starting half-way, the next two times were
                                     incrementally increased with the last one full length - very alert & sharp!
                            note: Daisy was run last, this forced her to deal with the anxiety of waiting, her
                                     routine off the van & to the line was slower and longer, she ran really well,
                                     was focused, responsive (made good eye contact) and easy to set-up
                            note: the past winter's "focus training" (done inside) showed up nicely today & the
                                     "plan" is off to a good start
                                                                           (left click to enlarge)

125 yard pattern blind

"up close"

                        Interceptor for all
                        Several electric fence posts have been topped off with rings made out of soft plastic
                        decoy cord. After adding snapped raffia hanks removed from waterfowl layout, dog hide
                        and boat blinds....these will be used to give a more natural look to drills. They make a
                        simple "faux bush". Several in a row will present an anti-flaring barrier with spaces to
                        move through once a dog is closer or if spread out in a couple of bunches create
                        a natural looking slot. This will be a special focus during Gunny's transition work. 
                        When setting up blinds, they will generally not be the "target"....just part of the terrain.
          Mar 2nd Taffey, Kooly, Daisy & Gunny ran the pattern blind before and after a 150 yard cold blind
                        off to the left into the bean field.....straight north  
                                note: Taffey started scalloping at 100 yards on the long blind
                                note: Kooly started taking larger angle back casts at about the same place
                                note: Daisy broke down and started hunting in the erosion strip - got there
                                note: Gunny broke down with the distance - got there  
          Mar 3rd  Taffey, Kooly, Daisy & Gunny ran the "Hide Steady" drill - holding blind, Avery Ultra
                        Low Dog Hide, HRC bucket, cap gun, duck call, 2" white bumper & an Avery ATB teal
                                                                The Hide Steady Drill (Link)
                               note: Daisy went to her OB lesson, left early - we're finished & time to move on
                               note: Gunny is skipping his last OB lesson (nothing more to gain) 
                               note: Taffey was first and Daisy was last, routine off the van with leash to air
                                        1st, leash to the holding blind and leash off after leaving holding blind.
                                        dog is place/kenneled in the hide, HRC bucket is 10 yards away, duck call
                                        single with cap gun report, wait awhile, walk to hide, dog comes out to
                                        heel, dog sent & retrieves working slowly and emphasizing the standards,
                                        repeat another single, then finish with a double, dog works off both sides,
                                        leashed when finished & back to van
                               note: Taffey was really ready and remained very steady - very good
                               note: Kooly stood up on the first single, I picked it up and ran again, 2nd single
                                        he was asked to re-heel from the left side to the right side and after he
                                        did, Kooly let out a loud bark, Kooly went back in the hide, I picked up the
                                        mark and ran it again = no bark on the second singe, he ran the double
                                        clean = steady and was responsive at the line - this drill had him
                                        "amped" = success!
                               note: Gunny buried himself in the hide, he doesn't quite know what is going on,
                                        ran the first two singles fine, but after running two doubles he was still
                                        having trouble remembering the second = steady though!
                               note: Daisy broke on the first single, picked it and ran it again, the rest of the
                                        drill was very nice - the drill provides for a very  clear understanding of
                                        being steady & enhances the responsiveness (no "ready...set...go" mode)
                               note: Gunny ran the 125 yard pattern blind twice.....it got dark quickly
                               note: still below freezing & had to drill holes in the frost for the holding blind
                               note: left home at 4:45 pm & back at 6:10 pm
                                                                           (left click to enlarge)

"Taffey"	"Taffey's setup"	"Kooly"	"Kooly's setup"
"Gunny"	"Gunny's setup"	"Daisy"	"Daisy's setup"

        Mar 4th -  Taffey, Kooly, Daisy & Gunny ran an old set of three pattern blinds at the Industrial   
                        DTA, at dusk drove to the Square Pond DTA and Gunny ran his pattern blind twice
                                note: Taffey needed one whistle & lined the other two, Kooly needed two
                                         whistles and lined the other two, Daisy lined all three 
                                         Gunny lined all five of his and is ready to run the Four Phase Drill  
        Mar 5th -  What a mess!... +30º warmer, big thaw & mud everywhere..........decided to do a
                        "slacker day" 
        Mar 6th -  trained at the Industrial DTA (no mud) - run four winger singles off HRC bucket, focus
                        on "watch", steady, calm, quiet, work slow, focus, quiet, eye contact and handling
                        plus the routine off the van........use holding blind at the line and in front of the
                        wingers, cap gun, Avery Flashers and a pinch collar & do a "warm up" toss off to
                        the right with an Avery Teal (easy singles at 50 & 75 yards)
                        afterwards went to the Square Pond DTA to work on Gunny's Four Phase Drill
                        blind - ran it twice (fast & straight)
                               note: the Avery Flasher with flags are exciting that the cap gun raises the level
                               note: Taffey 1st - test dog, winger #1 took a while to fire off, fixed connection,
                                        she was her usual dynamic self
                               note: Gunny 2nd - Wow! he was way better than I expected - excellent OB off
                                        van, to the holding blind and in it & left there for a few minutes, going to
                                        the line and steady = easy marks - looked super!   
                               note: Kooly 3rd (the project) - very "amped", creeping = I picked up two marks
                                        (once for creeping and another for a "yodel"), worked with the Teal for
                                        several more retrieves making him sit still and switch from left to right
                                        (and back) heel positions - worked slow and calmly, he finally settled
                               note: Daisy was very excited but dealt with it - focused and fired when told,
                                        big improvement on the returns - more responsive & flashy, the fourth 
                                        winger must have fired inadvertently when I pushed #3, after seeing
                                        the winger had released, the Flasher was just barely visible to me
                                        (standing up), decided to use this as a "go as sent" lesson, gave her
                                        the routine......"get your mark, that's it, good", long pause, hand down &
                                        waited for a sign of commitment, sent her & she took right off, not
                                        totally positive......but the effect was excellent = next time she'll
                     remember we did this when she wasn't quite sure.....something
                                        was there and she got a reward
                                                                          (left click to enlarge)

HRC winger marks

            Mar 7th - rain - all day = day off
            Mar 8th - rain - all day = trained indoors - detailed OB session
            Mar 9th morning - trained at Sq. Pond Bean field - did a session of walking baseball & Gunny ran
                         his Four Phase Drill blind twice...start full drill tomorrow
                         drove to the east side of the Industrial DTA & all dogs did a HRC bucket "here/heel" 3
                         three piles of bumpers wagon wheel, worked the "off the van/2 holding blinds" routine
                                    note: see Spring Training Focus = Monday sessions (below)
                                    note: Daisy & Gunny were very sharp = excellent progress
                                    note: Kooly was much more responsive without loosing any style = sharp!
                                    note: Taffey still has trouble taking a straight back, on the HRC bucket "thing",
                                             she scoots into position much more efficiently than the other three
                                    note: very pleased with all four in this morning's work.....with repetition it will
                                             be even better and more automatic = excellent habits are the goal
                         afternoon - trained at the Macktown DTA, holding blind with two sets of wingers at
                         50 & 80 yards hidden behind a winger blind, had holding blind at the line and the van
                         routine was followed = used only the "heel/here" cues from this morning's drill
                                    note: Taffey ran a double and a single - hot & steady
                                    note: Kooly ran a double - excited but responsive & worked off both sides
                                    note: Gunny ran a schooled double and a single = marking not so hot on
                                             the longer go bird.....pretty good cover which is new for him
                                    note: Daisy ran two doubles "momma/papa" style - very good manners & she
                                             was focused and responsive = best marking of all four   
                         drove to the Rockton Sport Complex (DTA) - Gunny did 6 walking singles 75-150 yards 
           Mar 10th morning - OB with Zig-Zag & Gunny ran "by" bird boys in the Four Phase Drill, 4X's
                                    note: Taffey did every other bumper in a 9 bumper Zig-Zag (lined up well)
                                    note: Kooly did the same thing - was happy about the work
                                    note: Daisy did all 9 perfect - good focus and responsive
                                    note: Gunny was very good doing his 7 bumper Zig-Zag  
                         afternoon - Gunny, Daisy, Kooly & Taffey ran the Renegade drill (C. Cassity) with two
                         piles & off a place board, moved back to 60 yards with no issues (all four ran it great)
                                    note: moved left and right to make lines tighter for Taffey & Kooly  
                                    note: each dog was sharp and went right back to the place board really well  
                         drove the Macktown DTA and threw Gunny 8 walking singles for extra marking work
                                    note: his marking improved as the session progressed - longest mark last one
                                                                      (left click to enlarge)

Four Phase Drill                                                                        (bird boy intro)

       Mar 11th - cold and windy = day off
       Mar 12th - cold morning, Gunny, Daisy, Kooly & Taffey trained in the afternoon at the Macktown
                        DTA - each ran eight walking singles in good cover & brought Daisy out to run three
                        more afterwards (used a 3" flagged Avery Flasher & have a sore elbow tonight)
                                  note: excellent session by all & Gunny is showing steady improvement
       Mar 13th - Taffey, Kooly, Gunny & Daisy ran HRC walkups at the Square Pond DTA - four for each
                        dog (set all wingers in a "camo'd" pod)
                                note: spent time on OB heeling before each walkup, picked up the first mark for
                                         each dog while they watched
                                note: all of Taffey's were steady to "whoa" & she picked up two after asked to
                                         relocate to a "heel" away from the "whoa" spot, the other three sat on
                                         "the flush"...Daisy & Gunny were very solid & focused  
                                note: e-collar corrections on Kooly & Taffey....stick on Gunny & Daisy 
                                note: Kooly was asked to heel backwards and relocate to the opposite side
                                         before retrieving, he was "amped"....no vocal issues  = very responsive
                                                                        (left click to enlarge)

HRC walkup                                4 winger pod

dog's view

Taffey     (steady on whoa)

      Mar 14th - afternoon Taffey, Kooly, Daisy & Gunny ran a wide "double" Renegade Drill at the
                       Industrial DTA (two different angle backs....tight one verbal & the wide....silent)
                       with a total of twenty-five 3" Avery Flashers 
                                note: Daisy did the best = very sharp and full of it, made her work slowly
                                note: Gunny needed teaching at a closer distance and finished strong
                                note: Taffey is coming in heat and was having trouble with tight "backs",
                                         would (or could not) make a pivot past the visible wide angle piles
                                         unless there was a lot of attrition
                                note: Kooly decided this was work and went through the motions in an
                                         animated way only because of my "cheerleading outfit & pom-poms"
                                                                        (left click to enlarge)

"wide double Renegade"

                      drove to the Macktown DTA - all four ran 4 cold blinds with orange bumpers in
                      heavy cover, 90 - 125 yards...Daisy did extremely well, Taffey was good with some
                      scalloping, Kooly took nice lines with not a lot of style, Gunny was buggy at the
                      line and was hacked to each blind (compared to the more experience dogs)
                               note: actually Gunny's work was decent for where he is at = need more
                                        challenging lining drills with decreasing visibility
                      took Gunny along to pick up the four blind stakes and he got 5 walking singles
                               note: marked really well in the heavy cover
                      dusk - drove to the Square Pond DTA - Gunny ran the Four Phase Drill A (behind the
                      gunners) did it "Poor Man" = walking out with Gunny at the line and throwing a mark,
                      walked back to send Gunny for the mark and run a blind, repeated same way at the
                      next three stations......steady, patient & clearly knew what he was doing....ran hard 
                               note: with all the earlier work today, doing it "Poor Man" gave him a little
                                        rest between each mark/blind combo
                               note: with my other dogs I did this drill with wingers, but due to recent interest
                                        in training alone threads, I decided to show that you don't even need
                                        wingers if the dog is taught a few concepts to compensate (no wingers
                                        or help)   
                                                                         (left click to enlarge)                     

Four Phase Drill A                                                                       (past the gunners)

      Mar 15th morning - trained at the Square Pond DTA  Gunny -  ran Four Phase Drill B & did the
                    Kwick Lining drill using orange bumpers
                          note: repeat Four Phase Drill B until he does it with zero handling
                          note: he ran the Kwick lining drill with style (nice work & looking out)
                    Taffey, Daisy, Kooly & Gunny -  Ruff Stand steady drill (duck calling & primer shotgun)
                          note: holding blind, lots of calling, short toss of an Avery Teal with a shotgun primer,
                                   dog has to stay steady on the Ruff Stand while I call, toss and shoot from the
                                   HRC bucket, afterwards I get up and walk to the stand, the dog is then called to
                                   to heel and settled before releasing for the retrieve.......I picked up the first
                                   one of the four each dog saw (all were steady).....the repeated message is that
                                   retrieving is by permission and the expectation is established by making it
                                   clear that where they are placed is not a "launching pad"
                                                                         (left click to enlarge)

Four Phase Drill B                                                     (past the old fall)

Daisy - Ruff Steady

                     dusk Daisy, Kooly & Gunny - did HRC bucket "here/heel" 3 pile wagon wheel (cap gun)
                     at the Industrial DTA (Taffey watched)
                            note: used orange bumpers, "shot the blinds", marked off cap gun & sent on "back" 
                            note: all three are getting better at moving around the bucket....even with 180º
      Mar 16th high 66º - beautiful day wasted, loaded up ATV trailer and arrived at the Stoughton
                     field trial grounds......there was just enough battery in the ATV to get it unloaded and
                     to the first winger station......spent the rest of the afternoon trying to fix the ATV, the
                     new battery from Walmart was not charged, went back into town and bought a car
                     winch. finally got home about 8 pm......one of those days!      
      Mar 17th high 74º doctors' appointments.....thaw birds from freezer......setup new ATV battery
      Mar 18th late morning - Taffey, Kooly, Daisy & Gunny ran several Retriev-R-Trainer singles
                    and doubles from a remote mat using the "steady routine"...Square Pond DTA
                             note: cleaned bumpers and R-R-T'r, got much more consistent distances
                             note: first time for Gunny seeing a R-R-T......did extremely well
                    dusk Gunny - run Four Phase Drill B with "Poor Man" return to line marks
                             note: much better than the first time......two days ago
     Mar 19th morning -  reviewed walking fetch with birds
                             note: Gunny was excellent with a great attitude and mouth
                             note: Kooly was really "amped", but under control with a really good mouth
                             note: Daisy was "hot" with a lot of mouthing.......used seperate OB exercises,
                                      slowing down, review of hold, working on "good sit" meaning "no busy
                                      mouth" which produced a visible improvement........came out an hour
                                      later to repeat & had even better results......none of this would have been
                                      possible without all the work this winter in improving her responsiveness,
                                      however, this is going to have to be a regular maintenance effort
                            note: Taffey is in heat & did not want her in the training area.....preventing
                                     Gunny's teeth from chattering and/or him being distracted and/or drooling
                     dusk Gunny - run Four Phase Drill B (3rd time) 
      Mar 20th 8:00 am 23º - no way! rest of the day - business of the "not fun kind" 
      Mar 21st  late-morning Taffey, Daisy, Gunny & Kooly trained at "The Bowl" in Bong Recreational
                     Area near Burlington, WI
                            note: purchased a season sticker for all Wisconsin public land, a dog training
                                     permit (good for three years) and thirty game bird leg tags
                     Daisy, Gunny & Kooly ran four inline winger singles 40 - 120 yards with stickmen using
                     an HRC bucket, mat, duck calling, cap gun (with long barrel), two holding blinds &
                     running by a dozen full body mallard decoys
                     early afternoon - Taffey, Daisy, Gunny & Kooly set of four cold blinds (80-130 yards)
                                                                   (left click to enlarge)

"four inline singles"

"four cold blinds"

                     afternoon - Gunny & Daisy ran an easy concept winger double with (wingers hidden
                     behind "camo" blinds), same "equipment at the line" used for the inline singles
   dusk Gunny - ran the Four Phase Drill B (last time) - did it cleanly (long day for all)
      Mar 22nd late-morning - all 150 yard "inlines" marking drill (4 wingers & Flashers) at Stoughton,
                     used mat, HRC bucket, cap gun & stickmen
                            note: Kooly went first and stepped on each one - short to long.....sharp!
                            note: Daisy broke down early on everyone but the first - tried to run short to long,
                                     probably should have run long to short (need to run longer marks more
                                     often if the expectations recently have been a hundred yards or less)
                            note: Gunny went right on the first long one - suction of cars, trainers and shooting
                                     going on across the field to the right....stepped on the last three
                            note: Taffey ran long to short and stepped on all four....sharp! 
                     afternoon - Daisy and Gunny ran a 100 yard X-Box marking drill & they both stepped
                     on all four marks.....fast & sharp!  
                     afternoon - Gunny & Daisy ran a set of doubles using mallards and decoys
                           note: Daisy went first and stepped on them
                           note: Gunny lost his memory after picking up the "go mallard".....repeated it with
                                    better results
                                                                        (left click to enlarge)

"easy mallard double"

                     dusk Gunny Four Phase Drill C (under the arc - first time)
                                  note: first time - ran it fast, with style & no mistakes 

"Four Phase Drill C"                                                                        (under the arc)

                                              Updated - Place Board Training Pictorial (Link)
          Mar 23-24 cold, rain & windy = two days off     get Canon camera back today  
        Mar 25th - cold & windy....spent last two days reading past Mike Lardy articles in old issues
                    of "The Retriever Journal" - insight & awareness seem to come later than you think
                                note: the first article that was picked emphasized extensive OB work in and
                                         around holding blinds.....on lead, precise and with high standards
                    Gunny went first and did an extended OB lesson in and about three holding blinds,
                    after OB..he worked on a Two Slot semi-Wagon Wheel Drill (lining skill development)
                                note: attrition and teaching compliment each other & Gunny did well
                                note: make slightly tighter slots next time & place orange bumpers farther out
                                                                      (left click to enlarge)

Semi-Wagon Wheel                                                                   (two slot lining drill)

                    the same holding blind setup was the focus for Taffey, Kooly & Daisy's training,                  
                    the new setup is called "The Three Blinds Nice Drill" with honor dogs and a remote
                    drop session - each dog was taken off the van in the order listed above using the
                    usual "off the van" routine....heeled & sat precisely using a heeling stick in and out
                    of each blind with high expectations and consistent standards, after Taffey finished,
                    she sat on a place board honoring the next dog out...Daisy, when finished with her
                    OB, she was put on the second place board, Kooly did the same OB Three Blinds
                    Nice and finished on his place board.....the continuation was to do the Three Dog
                    Remote Drop - Honoring Drill....each put in a solid effort and remained true to the
                    concept of place board honoring
                          note: the Remote Drop Drill consists of each dog picking up a "short" orange blind
                                   and returning to the line, they are then sent to a farther (75 yards) pile of
                                   orange bumpers, on the return they are whistle sat at the spot where the short
                                   first bumper was originally, the commands "drop" & "leave it" are followed
                                   with a whistle "here", upon the return to heel (without the bumper) ) they
                                   are praised and sent to a place board to honor the next dog's run...each
                                   follows the same routine.....pick up the short one and replace it by "remote
                                   dropping" the second
                          note: the remote drop is not taught until a dog is comfortable in transition & used
                                   as a maintenance drill with "high" dogs...........the ones that at times think
                                   they are in business for themselves.........it is an excellent way to enhance
                                   responsiveness and/or indirectly deal with mouth issues - since it is a
                                   technique described by Mike Lardy to deal with dogs that "freeze", it seems
                                   to me this might be a good way to be proactive and do it as more of a
                                   preventive measure ("pay me now instead of pay me later"), besides when
                                   duck hunting there will come a time when "dropping a dead" duck may
                                   prove to be the only way to get an escaping cripple
                                   3 reasons = more responsiveness, better mouth control and/or a hunting tool
                    Gunny came off the van and ran the three remaining orange bumpers (one short and
                    two long) as two cold blinds plus an additional lining  
                                                                      (left click to enlarge)

"Three Blinds Nice"

"three place boards"

"three ready dogs"        (two honoring)

"toward the line"                                                   (remote drop drill)

"Taffey is ready"

                    spotted a couple of unusual ducks in the Industrial DTA Pond - not enough light or
                    "reach", but with a "bunch of editing" one was a great looking Bull Canvasback and
                    the other a colorful Northern Shoveler
                                                                      (left click to enlarge)

"Canvasback"

" Northern Shoveler"

      Mar 26th - mid-morning Gunny ran the Four Phase C Drill second time, did fine....no issues,
                       all four dogs worked off the van to a holding blind and then ran Retriev-R-Trainer
                       singles off a place board, using Green loads, with the wind...got some long singles
                       Taffey went first - really 'hot" at the line and marked all four really well
                       Kooly's first single flew "over the hill" and must have had two or three large bounces
                       (I am going to measure it with a range finder tomorrow, "guesstimate" 200 yards), he
                       came up short, but stepped on the last four (like an arrow)
                       Daisy "lasered" five in a row and was sharp
                       Gunny went last and did five singles (ran faster than I have ever him go...kind of
                       verifies what I've seen every time.....all my dogs get "fired up" over retrieving this
                       way....especially when the hard foam bumper bounces and leaves a "sight trail"
                       mid-afternoon - Daisy & Gunny ran four cold blinds at Rock Cut State Park DTA
                                note: Daisy was sharp and lined two of them
                                note: Gunny was slow off the line, distracted by two dogs off to our right,
                                         had to be corrected for "marking" on the way out (twice) and was
                                         a real "toad"......I think Taffey's heat cycle is beginning to wear on
                                         him - I'll give him a pass for a couple more days.
                       dusk - wavered between re-visiting force to pile or running singles.....ran seven
                       singles at the Macktown DTA, he was fast and marked well (long day for Gunny)
                                                                       (left click to enlarge)

"next day"                                                                        (two "spoonies)

                            went back to the pond and tried to get closer to the Shovelers ("spoonies")
                             for a better picture - there were two...got a bit closer and had better light,
                                      but the lens just isn't "long" enough to get really good details
   
        Mar 27th -  it's 11 am...31.6 °F & mostly cloudy....not good! (high of 43 °F)
                     mid-afternoon - Gunny ran Phase Four Drill D (through the old falls) with the wind
                     out of the northern and a head of steam down the familiar path he blew by the
                     forth mark to the pile, reran the last mark/pile combination correctly, but still had
                     to stop him.....need to run this phase D at least two more times (go "mo" on all)
                     Taffey, Daisy & Kooly - run four Retriev-R-Trainer singles using yellow charges
                                note: both ran hard, straight and fast
                     Gunny ran two Retriev-R-Trainer singles using yellow charges
                     Gunny ran the semi-wagon wheel slot drill (Square Pond DTA) with a narrower slot
                     and orange bumpers farther away - accepting challenges well 
                     Daisy & Gunny - ran a short winger double off HRC bucket with popper gun
                                 note: right to left
                                 note: Gunny was steady.....Daisy had busy feet & was corrected
                                                                         (left click to enlarge)

Four Phase Drill D                                  "through old fall"

"side view"

"Return to Sender"

      Mar 28th  rain, sleet & snow starting around 4:00 pm accumulation ended up being 2-3 inches of
                     slush, highs in the 30s with strong northeast winds. Gusts up to 30 mph later
                     early afternoon - Gunny ran  the Four Phase Drill D perfectly and he is finished
                              note: wind chill in the 20's, had a bonus concept in the drill, cross wind of
                                       20 mph gusting higher had him fighting the wind on each "go", after
                                       the first one he was straight as an arrow 
                     Daisy & Gunny ran two sets of hand thrown triples off the HRC bucket (each in a
                     different area).......both did fine and "counted to three" easily, steady too
                     tonight - lows in upper 20s, north winds 10-20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph
                     Kooly & Taffey = day off  
       Mar 29th Mostly cloudy in the morning, then becoming partly sunny highs in the upper 30s
                     Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph. Gusts up to 30 mph in the morning, slush melting
                     DAY OFF!
        Mar 30th partly sunny highs in the upper 40s afternoon Daisy, Gunny & Kooly ran three HRC
                      bucket winger singles at the Square Pond DTA with a popper gun, duck call & two
                      holding blinds off the van, afterwards, each came out and did a very deliberate, easy
                      triple with the focus on being steady, marking off the gun and being responsive,
                      drove home and took a two hour break
                      dusk - Taffey, Daisy, Kooly & Gunny ran four cold blinds at the Rock Cut State Park
                      DTA.......literally cold blinds.......wind chill around 30 °F     
                                  note: Taffey lined two and one whistled the other two - very sharp & fast   
                                  note: Daisy lined three and two whistled one - extremely sharp & carried her
                                           lines straight & fast with her head up (best set she's ever run)   
                                  note: Kooly needed a couple handles on each one (initial lines not perfect),
                                           but his attitude was excellent    
                                  note: Gunny ran his best set of blinds (to date), excellent whistle sits and
                                           took every cast....mostly non-verbals (initial lines improved & getting
                                           off the line with good "mo") 
                                  note: one of the those great sessions that creates a lasting smile & the cold
                                           was hardly noticed   

"It's Almost Over!"                                                                                                                                                     (left click to enlarge)

      Mar 31st - 45 °F, wind with rain = at least the morning off - no rain between 2-5 pm
                      early evening - Daisy, Kooly & Gunny ran the HRC bucket push/pull lining drill with
                      a holding blind at the Industrial DTA, drove to the Square Pond DTA, did the remote
                      drop drill with Daisy, Kooly & Taffey, Gunny ran a three slot stretched wagon wheel
                      with six orange bumpers in each slot
                                note: got a bit lazy after about six bumpers, after an indirect pressure he was
                                         all business.....more "lock" & much faster
                      Gunny ran the one short & two long orange bumpers left from the remote drop drill
                                note: with the wind, it seemed very cold at dusk