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Oct 1st morning -
Daisy, Kooly &
Gunny "roaded" 2.2 miles at 15 mph,
Taffey went 2.2 miles at 8 mph
dusk -
Gunny trained at the
Square Pond - ran the "parallel pattern blind" twice &
afterwards
did four tight hand thrown doubles with the focus on
push/pull skills (and to dry off)
note: kind of a surprise, he went in correctly and
stayed on line....NICE!
excellent attitude and "mo" & push/pulls were sharp
Interceptor for all
(left click on thumbnail)
"parallel pattern
blind - 100 yards"
note: picture from past training session |
Oct 2nd day off for all
Oct 3rd "roaded" - started at 11:45
am - finished about 12:45 pm
Daisy, Gunny
& Kooly ran
3.0 miles at 15-18 mph (individually) and
Taffey
went 2.5 miles at 8-9 mph
note: all four did their runs easily,
Taffey is allowed to "pick" her speed
note: sunny with stiff northwest breeze & 54°
evening
Frontline Plus for Daisy,
Taffey & Gunny....Kooly
new
Preventic
collar
Oct 4th day off for all
Oct 5th dusk
Daisy & Gunny
ran four cold blinds at
BT's - used mallards at 150 yards out 225 yards,
Kooly ran the two longer blinds
and Taffey finished with the
two shortest
note: ran short to long
note: Daisy was very sharp &
lined the first two, one whistled the third & two whistled
the
225 yard blind, Gunny ran good
blinds and shows the same tendency that I finally
recognized with
Daisy.....when he looks lined
up correctly, he consistently ends up
farther right than he looks like he should.....pay more
attention!
note: was running out of light, thus
Kooly and Taffey spit
the blinds (two apiece)
note: both were sharp....Taffey
one whistled the 150 yard blind and lined the 175 yard,
very fast.......the "old girl" still has "IT"
(left click on thumbnail)
"four cold blinds" |
note: Mississippi River flood crested at 17.7 feet
today.....needs to drop back to less than
15 feet by Oct 14th.....Illinois duck season starts the
16th.....doesn't look promising
Oct 6th day off for Taffey,
Kooly & Gunny.......Daisy
trained with Bob and "Jack".........she ran a
schooled a triple using 3" Flagged Avery Flashers, went well
except for the temporary
suction of a large piece of white paper off to the left of
the second mark
note: didn't see the paper until it was too late (Duh!)
worked on hunting "stuff" today, here's a photo showing all
the materials needed to prepare
"riggings" for just my 48 diver decoys.....even DIY is not
simple or inexpensive. J Anchors were
made out of pouring melted lead into molds routed out of a
piece of red oak and the long-line
anchors were made using aluminum cans (small & large) for
molds.
DIY Anchors
 |
six large, red large mainline anchors, Performix Plastic Dip
(covering anchors), a 4"X1"X4' piece of red
oak, Ryobi router, Bosch ¼"X⅝" straight router bit,
heavy duty deep-sea rigging crimper, a Dewalt drill,
Electronic Scales, hog rings, zipties, wire battery brush,
metal chisel, small hammer, screw divers, bulk
bungee cord, bulk 120 tarred line, aluminum crimps, 400#
Superior Nylon leader material, Palmer Hot
Pot (to melt lead), bulk chopped lead chunks ($1.50 per
pound), 48 stainless steel, swiveled drop clips
and one of 48 flocked diver decoys
The results of this work was 14 J Anchors weight about 15
ounces, 14 fourteen smaller J's weighing
about 8-9 ounces and 6 large mainline anchors. The molds
were aluminum cans (regular size and
short). This does not take into account my goose floaters
and puddle duck decoys (which are rigged).
Then there's the boat, duck camp trailer, four dogs to train
and hunt plus maintaining hunting sites.
Preparing permanent and temporary blinds is a continuing
process. I use an enclosed trailer for
hauling an ATV and loaded with decoys (goose and duck) for
field hunting. Then on top of this
there are gun, shells and license expenses with a wide
variety of clothing needs. This all adds
up to a not only money, but large chunks of time and energy.
Duck hunting is so easy. 
Oct 7th worked on diver decoy rigging
day off - no training
Oct 8th mid-day
Taffey, Daisy, Gunny & Kooly
"roaded"
only 1.5 miles - 75°
and sunny
note:
Taffey
was kept at 5-6 mph and the other three went 15-18 mph (all
individually)
note: raked up 2 full garbage cans of soy bean stalk debris
for field "camo" project
afternoon
- help Bob train "Jack", Gunny
ran a "schooled" triple, did fine on the memory
note: had a problem getting out of the van, "Jack" was
supposed to stay where he was
at, but he came around the corner of the van as
Gunny was getting out, stuck
his nose in Gunny's face and he
turned into "wolfman" instantly, defensive
aggression surfaced, no bites, but hackles, teeth and
posture were clearly
not good, after training, I asked Bob to bring "Jack" out on
a leash and do
several "stop and greet" interactions like we do in AKC OB
classes and Gunny
was fine......no aggression, but he consistently avoided
making any eye
contact with "Jack", we were away from the van and his crate
which are his
"triggers", can't help but think back to his interaction
with three dogs at
duck camp he went up wagging his tail and a Lab and Pug came
to him the
same way....friendly with no issues, then he got blindsided
by a very aggressive
Belgian Shepard, snarling and snapping....fortunately
Gunny is quick and agile,
he must be part mongoose because the dog just could not get
him, did he learn
this behavior or just instinctively reacting to his
protective/possessive instincts?,
need to be proactive about preventing this at all times
around new dogs
note: the Flocked canvasbacks are rigged and bagged, took a
look at the spacing by
running the long-line from the road down into the garage
"12 Canvasback long-line"
6 new GHG OS &
6 old G&H Super Magnum Canvasbacks (flocked)
 |
Oct 9th day off for all, work on decoys, a "diver" boat
cover and a bean field layout blind "cover"
note: weather - a high of 89° at 4:00 pm, sunny and
hot..........duck season ?????
Oct 10th late morning -
Daisy, Kooly & Gunny "roaded"
together (it was warming up rapidly, went)
2.0 miles (at 14-16 mph, Taffey
went afterwards and did 1.5 miles (at 6 mph)
note: temperature was 75° when we finished....all were good
with the run, was able to
keep them in the shade of a tree line about a third of
the time
Oct 11th day off for all
Oct 12th Daisy, Gunny & Kooly -
"roaded" 2.5 miles at 12-16 mph,
Taffey did 1.5 miles at 7-8 mph
Oct 13th morning moved duck
trailer back to shore site
Oct 14th Daisy, Gunny & Kooly -
"roaded" 3 miles at 12-16 mph, Taffey
did 2 miles at 7-8 mph
Oct 15th repaired temporary blind on the Mississippi River
Oct 16th opening day duck season in Illinois - Daisy was up
first - story to follow
Oct 17th Gunny went second - see entry below
Oct 18th electrical problems in the trailer park - "lost"
refrigerator, radio, a fan and maybe the
power inverter......luckily neither the furnace or
air-conditioner were being used,
after-the-fact is the wrong way to learn about an RV Hi-Low
portable surge protector
sorted "stuff" out and came home
note: van to the mechanics - bearing in steering column near
wheel is shot
note: removed leaves from front yard......job too high-tech
for 20 year old grandson,
the excuse was "I didn't know what you wanted."
Oct 19th Daisy's paw puncture is healing just fine and
Gunny's ear infection looks much better
note: scouted geese this morning, not in field before 7:30
am
note: van won't be ready until tomorrow
Oct 20th day off no van, work on new "camo" diver cover &
seat for the boat
| - |
2010 Illinois Waterfowl Opener Story
(see October 17th)
When you’re seventy…another Illinois opener on the
Mississippi River is almost always good!
With
the recent flood, I lucked out. After checking the
framework of a temporary blind built before early teal
season, the grey line showed the water came within a
foot of the top. Everything below that had a muddy
coating. I only had to tie fresh bailing twine around
the old to tighten things back up. However, there was
still 2-3 inches of water over the island in
the spot I normally hunt (and worse everywhere else).
Opening morning Daisy and I got there very
early....mostly because I couldn't sleep. The small
piece of plywood to stand on wasn't going to work, but
we were in luck as the water had dropped some. There was
a small patch of muddy ground high enough to put her
ultra low on. The water in front of the island blind was
almost waist deep and fairly easy to walk in. Using my
trusty ski pole and the boat as support, I put out 24
decoys - geese, mallards, teal and some flocked coots. A
teal and baby hen MOJO flanked the setup. We were ready
early, so sitting in the chair catching a few zzzzz'z or
watching for shooting stars passed the rest of the time.
I had my spotlight on so's others could see where I was
set up, too. Little did I know how meaningless that
would prove to be later on.
At
6:35 am (ten minutes before shooting time - ON OPENING
DAY) a boat moves in. They started to setup about 70
yards from me. I asked, "Hey? What's up with this?" They
were so close I didn't have to shout. I had scouted that
shoreline the day before (after repairing my temporary
blind) and there was no evidence of anyone being there
recently. They must have come in late Friday afternoon.
Their reply was, "We have a temporary blind we're
hunting out of. Are you using a boat blind?" I should
have said, "No and what difference would that make? The
pool rules are the first one in means anyone else is to
setup 200 yards away." However all I said was, "If you
look 30 yards in front of you, my boat is tucked up in
the purple loosestrife." The retort was, "Are you new
here?" My answer was, "No, I've hunted this spot for the
last four years with the first year getting
permission from the guys (from an Illinois city when
blinds sights were registered) to use their permanent
blind when they weren't." Final comment from
them...."We're not moving". From me, they got a silent
expletive.
And
that's my excuse for not shooting well.
Daisy and I had our opportunities, but I was in "whiff
mode" all morning. I did manage to get two birds for
Daisy to retrieve. A green wing was first. Then about
8:30 am, the "intruders" on my right knocked down a
lively drake mallard that landed in my decoys. So I
sluiced it and sent Daisy. I heard them call back their
dog.....which gave me kind of a contemptuous sort of
warm feeling. After the retrieve, I said to the north,
"That's your duck!" Meaning, if you've got the guts or
gall (don't know which) to come and get it, I'll give it
to you. They did and I handed it over. Of course there
was no offer to return the shell is spent doing them the
favor.
Sunday morning, it was Gunny's turn. We didn't arrive
quite as early and the setup was two goose decoys
smaller. I couldn't resist setting them up farther to
the north (to take up more space). Unfortunately, it
never turned into the message I wanted to deliver
because they didn't come back the next day.
The
water was lower by a few inches and Gunny's ultra-low
dog hide location was dryer. The wind was in a better
direction, too. Five minutes before shooting time, a
blind full of hunters on the backside of our island
emptied their guns. A teal buzzed right over my head,
but I waited. About 30 minutes later, I caught a brief
flash of a duck coming from behind me. The sun was now
in the eyes of the hunters back there and they must note
have not seen it fast enough.
It
was a pintail headed straight for Iowa under a full head
of steam. I didn't have time to think. Which was a good
thing for me (the not having time to think part). One
shot and it fell out of the sky. You know there are
shots when your mind is racing with the thought, "Dam!
Am I good.........or what?" The "what" is the
unspoken......."lucky".
Gunny is very advanced in his training but rather
experienced in duck hunting. In addition, the slot in
the high shoreline weeds where the dog hide is located
didn't allow for much marking. Therefore, this turned
into a 150 yard, "out to sea" cold blind. The distant,
ominous horizon is the other side of the Mississippi
River. However, he took a good initial line, swam about
70 yards and in the distance spotted the deceiving small
top of the only exposed stump in the high water. I was
not ashamed of using "terrain tools" to my advantage. It
was directly in line to where the pintail would be as it
drifted downstream with the current. There was no
hesitation in his determined swim.....so I let him roll.
When he reached the stump, Gunny realized his error.
I
blew the whistle, shouted, No!” and gave him a loud
"Back!" Much to my relief, he took the cast. After
swimming for awhile, he finally spotted the prize. I was
pumped! In all the years that I've duck hunted, this was
my first pintail. Gunny was probably wondering why I was
a bit more animated with the "good boy" repetitions (or
not). 
About hour later, Gunny made a very nice retrieve of a
drake mallard. Then the biggest non-event of the morning
began to unfold. Three geese came over.....low. I shot
one, but only broke a wing. It bounce down about 70
yards out and it too headed for Iowa. Gunny was in hot
pursuit, but it was fairly clear when he got near that
even though the goose was "going west" the situation was
headed "south in a hand basket". The goose could jump up
and fly a few yards at a time and if caught was clearly
going to be a handful for any dog. In reality there was
no way he was ever going to catch up. Gunny was on the
proverbial wild goose chase.
I
called him off and headed for the "tucked" boat. Getting
underway and gathering up Gunny took awhile. With the
gun cased and Gunny in the boat, we caught up with the
goose way out in the middle of the channel. Closing in,
I shut off the motor, loaded the gun and tried to get
myself in a position where Gunny was totally clear (he's
in the boat). Just as I mounted my Benelli, the goose
flipped over and dove. My high emotions sunk just as
fast.
We cruised the area for at least twenty
minutes......nothing. There was no "snake like sneak"
either. Just a bit down from where the goose dove was a
red channel marker sitting on its nasty looking concrete
pedestal with the high current forming powerful eddies.
I think the goose got caught up in the rip-rap.
Witnessing the "death dive" of a valiant wild goose is
not the best way to end a hunt on the river,
but Daisy,
Gunny and I had another truly wonderful opener to
remember.
(left click on thumbnails)
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"blind peek"
|
"sunrise coots"
|
"well hidden"
|
"9 flocked coots"
|
"Daisy" |
"her two retrieves"
|
"Gunny's mallard" |
"up close" |
"Gunny sunning"
(blind needs mudded!) |
"two drakes" |
"mallard & pintail" |
"wild goose chase" |
Oct 21st day off for all
Oct 22nd afternoon -
Daisy, Kooly & Gunny "roaded"
two miles, Taffey went one mile
Oct 23rd Milton "Euro" shoot - lots of pheasants, happy dogs
and good friends
note: ran
Kooly & Gunny in tandem each
picked up about 8 birds apiece, not the
best station to be at........high cover and narrow, but they
had fun
note: didn't want to take a chance on re-opening Daisy's
puncture even though it
was close up....so she didn't run
note: Taffey came out afterwards in hopes of getting her a
couple of "finds", she
picked up two roosters and one was a trapped cripple (she
was happy)
Oct 24th day off for all & they
slept really well, worked on "camo" and decoys
Oct 25-29th too warm to duck hunt and an extremely
windy stretch of weather coming up (maybe
50 mph gusts), this definitely sets back the duck trip until
at least Friday afternoon
note: in "total slacker mode" - still working on new "camo"
ideas
A new "camo" cover was made for my
Carsten Bluebill. It is specifically for diver hunting.
The shadows
of several coots were "flocked" directly on the Denier
fabric with Weldwood Contact Cement.
There are "side and overhead" views. This will give me
15 extra decoys.
(left click on thumbnail)
The bottom hem has lead weights to hold it from
whipping in the wind.
|
|
Oct 29th back to Mississippi
river for duck hunting
Oct 30th morning
Daisy - 1 hen mallard
note: not an easy morning
(left click on thumbnails)
"five decoys"' |
"goose decoys" |
"Daisy's mallard" |
"her hide" |
Oct 31st afternoon
Daisy - 1 hen canvasback
and totally
forgot about photos until it was too
late,
great retrieve with a very special
view........arrgghh
(left click on thumbnails)
"Daisy scanning" |
"mainline" |
"duck camp" |
Nov 1st morning
Gunny 2 drake mallards & 2
gadwalls
note: tough hunt, very rewarding
The sled made two trips in to hunt and two trips out to
finish - tough hunt
(left click on thumbnails) |
"the
spot" |
"layout & hide" |
"a few decoys" |
"Gunny's hide" |
"the big view" |
"pack in from trees" |
Nov 1st morning
Daisy - too nice, had a few
shots, but no luck
note: easier than yesterday, went lighter, rising water help
float sled often
note: scouted new areas for about two hours (higher water
made it possible)
found some ducks.....back in two days
afternoon
Taffey went out for a canvasback - did not have a
shot
note: towed the mainline back to shore by rowing, getting
dark quickly and bagging
the mainline in deep water would have been more difficult
than doing it on
shore with a camp light, photos are significantly enhanced
with additional
brightness & fill flash editing
(left click on thumbnails)
"cans in tow" |
"waiting"
|
"sunset mainline" |
"view to the north" |
Nov 2nd tired & day off - watched canvasbacks flying all
day, worked on boat "camo", wrong lens
for the distance involved
(left click on thumbnails)
"passing cans" |
Nov 3rd Gunny - 2 green wing
teal, 2 hooded mergansers & 1 coot
note: finding the previously scouted area in the dark proved
frustrating, finally got there
(left click on thumbnails)
"sheet water" |
"five retrieves" |
note: spent the rest of the day cleaning, sorting and
packing.....plus winterizing the
trailer (water lines & tightening up cold air gaps)
Nov 4th back home at 1:00 pm.......need to recharge
batteries (mine) & out of clean underwear
note: a hot shower after a week is almost
as good as shooting a double on mallards
note: Interceptor for all
Nov 5th scouted for geese - arrival time
& the X - one came by at 8:17 am and didn't land...looking
for company, two dropped right in at 9:00 am........the rest
never showed
Nov 6th Taffey,
Daisy & Gunny each ran a pheasant upland hunt for a
local youth hunts sponsored
by a local Pheasants Forever Chapter
The Short Story
After a hard week of duck hunting, today
was different. The local Pheasants Forever
Chapter was sponsoring pheasant hunts for youth hunters. I
ran Daisy, Taffey and
Gunny for three very anxious and thrilled young men.
A mentor walked along to assist each youngster as the dog
handler dealt with the
field work. The shooting was not the greatest but all the
proper behaviors of a hunt
were followed. The brief but exciting hunts were safe and
memorable. Each of the
three youth hunters ended up "seeing" their two pheasants.
One shot his very first.
I had a lot of fun, but I'm sure glad the clock gets turned
back an hour tonight. I need
the extra sleep.
note: Daisy's first point was
solid and resulted in a nice, close flush by the "crew"
her second point was much longer (25 yards) after several
seconds, she
relocated to the next patch of cover and held until the
rooster was flushed,
the young hunter missed both "encounters"
note: Taffey's first point was
made after finally pinning the rooster after a long trail,
very cool intense point, (clean kill shot), the second
flushed as she pushed it
too hard with no shot because of a safety call
note: Gunny worked his two
birds nicely and flushed both in range (he did not point),
the young hunter had good, close chances, but just didn't
react quickly enough
note: all three were well behaved and fun to hunt over
Nov 7th goose scouting - too nice out, most staying put on
water & not hungry
note: knees really sore this morning
Nov 8th morning - ran
Gunny on six cold blinds (used
orange bumpers) focused on "lock", "mo",
square sits and taking the correct casts = nice job!
ditto on the weather......worked on boat "camo" & moving
leaves out or flower beds
Nov 8th this is getting boring....warm again (in the 60's) -
good for one thing.....finishing leaves
Nov 9th morning
- worked on leaves - yard work
Nov 10th morning - ditto &
prepared for trip to the Mississippi
Nov 11th left at noon - many hunters out & decided to scout
mid-day Thursday with Taffey,
the
two blinds south where the original plans were to hunt were
already occupied, went
back into the area hunted last trip and there was a large
group of hunters (four boats
and 100s of goose decoys) locking up the entire area, decide
to hunt the nearest spot
with Daisy the next afternoon
(saw some ducks there)
Nov 12th had a real good hunt with Daisy, two mallards and a
ruddy were bagged, the highlight
of the day was when a drake golden eye piled right into the
three flocked golden eye
decoys......of course that was when I was standing up
handling Daisy to the crippled
ruddy duck.......gun empty and pretty much out of
reach....he flew off....."lucky duck",
the last duck was a drake mallard that came in five feet off
the water, very hot and
swooping toward the decoys, as he cleared the muskrat mound,
he flared his wings to
splash down.........it was the last thing he did....right
out of a movie...it was awesome,
that moment will forever be etched in my mind.....and he is
going on the wall
(left click on thumbnails)
"refuge wall"
|
"mallard retrieve" |
"Daisy"
|
"up close" |
Nov 13th hunted nearby again, very windy - shot a drake
mallard for Gunny, then
waited...hoping
the wind would die down.......gusts way over 30 miles per
hour......with sunset nearing,
it didn't, had to make a move for it and be really cautious
maneuvering back across the
bay to camp, the wind was out of the south and I had to go
east, angled to the south
east, way past camp and then cut back at an angle toward the
shore......using the motor
speed to keep waves from breaking over the bow....wasn't
easy either, but it all worked
out with no real issues....except getting soaked, good thing
it was not a great distance,
experience and necessity were the secret, the plan to stay
close was important
note: The Shot - Last year when diver hunting, the layout
boat greatly restricted my
rotation to the right when in a sitting position (getting
old and not very flexible).
A bluebill came in low to my right and as I tracked it, my
left arm fell away
from the gun right before the shot. The bluebill folded up
with a clean kill. My
reaction was that was way too cool and very lucky. Today six
mallards came
flying out of the refuge right over the wall of trees. They
flared to my right and
my instant reaction was "Can't rotate that far, but lock the
gun up and keep a
firm grip so it doesn't kick me in the face." The drake
mallard I picked out
folded up with a clean kill. Gunny had his retrieve and I
was very "amped" with
what appears to be not such a bad idea. It is certainly
something I would never
attempt unless I was hunting alone. After mentioning it to
Jerry (the duck camp
manager) he said that many years ago he hunted with a friend
that shot one
armed (no choice). It can be done (I'm two for two).....and
I know I'm not going
to become any more flexible.
Nov 14th came home in the morning....too much wind -
thinking of a bigger boat
Nov 15-17th - recharging batteries, cleaning up issues at
home & "slacking"
note: made duck jerky for the first time, tasted
fine......however, found out
making it is very time & labor intensive and prefer the
grilled duck
rolls over jerky (but of course.....jerky "travels" better)
(left click on thumbnails)
"grilled duck rolls"
(mallards & gadwalls)
|
"mallard jerky"
|
Nov 18th morning - drove to duck
camp - Cans everywhere in water behind trailer,
took lots of photos and wished there was a better lens
on my camera
(left click on thumbnails)
"single Can" |
"a trio" |
"bunch" |
afternoon - took Taffey on her
first diver hunt, shot a hen canvasback and
it was a very special day for me.....not much flying
(just needed one)
"Taffey's 1st Can" |
Nov 19th met friends for a diver hunt, shot a nice drake
canvasback & watched
"cans" fly over land in and just keep coming for an hour
and a half after
we had our four.....what an amazing sight!
(left click on thumbnails)
"Diver Blind" |
"scanning" |
"Can(did) Photo" |
"taxidermy Can" |
Nov 20th drove home Saturday (early in the morning)
Nov 21st headed back to duck camp....why not?
Nov 21st headed out for diver hunt with
Gunny, friend
saw us drive to launch, got an
invite to hunt with his group, I didn't shoot any ducks,
but Gunny retrieved
his first drake canvasback.....great day for me, it
really is about the dogs!
Nov 22nd headed out to hunt divers early, boat ready to
launch, but lightening off to
the south had Daisy and I sitting in the van for an
hour......strong thunder
storm, it let up and we headed out, placed 42 decoys and
waited....and
waited......nothing was flying as the sun came out with
warm temps (almost
60 degrees), then a can flashed in for a quick look, I
dropped her with one
clean shot, Daisy picked her up and I decided to call it
a day, took my time
picking up the decoys, but a storm was bearing down on
us from the south,
got back to the launch and raced for the
trailer........just beat the storm, cold
strong winds, hail and lightening.....the same storm
that later spawned a
tornado farther east
| |
|
"world's largest dog
hide" |
|
|
Nov 23rd too windy for small boat - went home & raked
last of leaves in yard (for 3 hours)
note: scouted for geese - found some
note: the goal was to shoot a can for each dog on their
own hunt
Taffey & Daisy have
theirs.....Gunny....has one
now & Kooly is last
note: a drake & hen canvasback are being sent off for a
"duo dead mount"
Nov 24th up early (ready at 7 am), set out nine goose
decoys, three in the water (Dakota
floaters), three
just "walking out" (Avery FFD lessers) , two feeding
& a big sentry
(Dakota FB)....just
before 9 am three geese came straight in from the south,
banked into wind from the east and were "hot and calling", never wavered and
just piled in,
set their wings to land
with the decoys that looked like they just
landed....only
one left...Gunny picked two up (both sailed some) and we were
home a
little after 9
am....good plan, geese
did just what was expected with the
east wind and
more importantly only one of the
16 geese that were there yesterday
was "educated".....warden
checked me out about
7:30 am for license and stamps,
FOID card, steel shells,
a plug in the gun and
any "other" shells in the bucket,
no issues......pleasant guy
note: This morning went well! (all except the
getting very cold part)
(left click on thumbnails)
"the setup" |
"Dakota floaters" |
"Gunny's hide" |
"Gillie blinds" |
"long retrieve" |
"making time" |
"pond inlet" |
"looking sharp"
|
"Gunny's prize" |
"2nd retrieve" |
"way to go!" |
"the big one" |
"Good job!" |
"We're finished." |
"time to pack" |
|
Nov 25th Thanksgiving at home - forecast = mid-"thirties" early followed by
lower temperatures,
days left are questionable....ice??
note: quick goose "shoot" in the morning, same
setup - left at 7:30 am and
back at 8:45 am......two drake mallards and a goose,
first for mallards
off this pond....bonus day.......bunch of geese came in
today, way too
many educated...........won't hunt tomorrow (scout)
note: the goose gave Daisy a good, long run up into the
bean field and
she loves geese in "track shoes"
(left click on thumbnails)
"mallard two" |
"almost
finished" |
"quick hunt" |
Nov 26th-Dec 2nd winter break......parked duck camp
trailer (wind and ice too much)
note: zero geese using bean field, pond frozen and no
"traffic" ????
Dec 2nd Interceptor for all
- start winter maintenance training
Dec 3rd no geese flying and we will soon be snowed in
(earlier than last year)
Dec 4th-6th this is not fun....putting "stuff" away and
planning for next year
Dec 7-10th more of the same, snow yesterday with ice
storm tonight
Dec 11th Today I learned a new word on the Internet - "snarky".
My freshman high
school English teacher insisted that words do not become
part of your vocabulary
until they are used in everyday conversations.
Therefore.....,
Dec 12th after shoveling 2" of slush off the driveway at
1:30 am this morning I was
very snarky. Then again
later in the day, it became clear this was a good move
because high winds coupled with snow combined to produce
huge drifts.
Fortunately, snow removal was easier without 2 inches of
ice underneath.
For effect, this makes the third year in a row that
cold, snow and ice have halted
goose season nearly a full month before it officially
ends. I have become snarkier
with this.
To continue, I have come to the
conclusion that present weather conditions may
be the catalyst in precipitating (no pun intended) the
recent rash of the snarkiest
posts of 2010.
In conclusion, the strange thrust of this vocabulary
barrage is that whether
someone else is snarky (or
not) depends mostly on human perceptions which are
often shaped by snarky
projections.
| |
adj. snark·i·er, snark·i·est
1. rudely sarcastic or disrespectful;
snide
2. irritable or short-tempered;
irascible
British slang from
sarcastic + nasty |
Dec 13- Dec 26 snow, wind, ice and cold = hibernation &
running out of room to put
snow from the driveway
January - all had their
Interceptor no
improvement in the weather, decided to just
shut down until the middle of February
Feb 1st all had their
Interceptor - very cold
(below zero weather)
Feb 14th Dremel all dogs nails
Feb 15th cleaned out Wood duck house, blocked any cracks
with Gorilla tape
Gunny's right rear outside nail bleeding at the skin
line (not bad).....crusty
ice on top of deep snow
(left click on thumbnails)
"clean"
|
"sixteen failures" |
"ready for 2011"
|
|
Feb 16-17th big thaw & snow disappearing rapidly
Feb 18-19th slippery ice with ruts - dangerous just
walking
Feb 20th - rain & windy changing to ice and snow, wrote
up preliminary training plan
Mar 2nd Interceptor for all
four
Mar 7th morning & afternoon
- short OB sessions
afternoon - conditioning....free run in the mud
Mar 8th repeat
Mar 9th morning - OB
& short walking singles marking session
Mar 10th morning & afternoon
- OB & run brief session of walking baseball
Mar 11th morning - OB &
short marking session, afternoon
run "remote drop drill"
Mar 12th afternoon - run
double T (bumpers) & marking drill (with ducks)
Mar 13th afternoon - run
Renegade casting drill
Mar 14th afternoon - set of
short cold blinds (with ducks)
first warm day run The Long Wait Drill
review Definitive Casting Drill concepts
run the Zig-Zag lining drill
run land doubles with ducks & wingers
Front Page extensions were "dropped" by the server host.
This "eliminated"
any editing of kwicklabs.com. The almost year long
"vacation" from "working"
the Website ended in early 2012.
Much of the missing year has been restored in
with a GoDaddy.cm josting account. A special link to
missing entries can be
found at
Welcome
to KwickLabs II (link)
and/or in the
Missing Year (link).
|
 |
April 1st -
Interceptor
to all four
March 15th - tick applications start
automatic refill of 12 Interceptor
on Feb. 15th from Vetcentric
eight Frontline Plus on hand (PetCare Rx)
- Daisy & Gunny
three Preventic collars on hand -
Kooly & Taffey
|
|
