Dig, Dug...dogs?

After four days of crummy weather we finally managed to dig our way out. I think we were actually spared some. Reports of 20 inches of snow fell in Murdo and Mitchell, but we're pretty sure we did not get that much. Our best guess puts us somewhere around 10-12 inches, but the wind blew 30-40 mph, with gusts nearing 50 and 60 mph, so it left us with some good drifts. We took the snow removal a day at a time and pretty much finished up yesterday. It put a dent in every one's Christmas plans, but we survived and managed to gorge ourselves on the prime rib, turkey, ham, and anything else that got in our way.

The pheasants managed to do alright also. Cordie and I managed to get out the last couple of days and check it out. Lots of drifting snow, with lots of pheasants scratching to get to the food underneath it. We found two dead roosters and 2000 live ones, so I think we came out of this one OK. We'll know more by the end of the week, with our friend from PA to shoot all week and the family hunt beginning Thursday that should give us a better idea of how we really did. The biggest problem that we've found so far is getting around. We've been working on our winter driving skills- Cordie driving, me shoveling. I hope we get that ironed out soon also.

Happy Holidays to everyone. Be safe.

Raisin' the Roof

The boys have been hard at it putting the house together. That is until they run out of supplies, then they stick to cleaning birds and other daily chores around the lodge. Yes, that's Jamie, our resident carpenter/bird cleaner/concrete finisher. All right, I guess he's our "Jack of all trades". The plan was to have it all sheeted and tinned before it snows again, but there's been a few delays, so we're not sure it will happen. They're getting more done than we planned, so when the hunting is done Cordie and I will have the pleasure of working mostly indoors. Like Cordie says, "plan your work,and work your plan".

Went huntin' with Dad and all I got was this lousy Jackrabbit...

Not to be confused with the "big hoppin' coyote with lots of ears".

We weren't really hunting for anything other than the jumpin' jacks, but we could have shot our limit of pheasants, which we've been doing plenty of. We tried to put a dent in the rabbit numbers, but success was low. We'll continue working on them for the next couple of months and try to save as many trees as possible.

We're winding down on the regular season with a few small hunts planned along with the family hunt, and there are a lot of birds left , as is apparent in the photo below (click on it to see a larger image). We'll continue plugging along, and when the regular season closes we'll work on the preserve and knock as many out there as we can. Lots left there, too, not sure what we're trying to save other than the pheasants from themselves.

Not Since 1959!!!

The SD Game, Fish & Parks attempted to raise the daily limit of rooster pheasants to 5 for the remainder of the season; something that hasn't been done in 50 years. The Department explained that because of the abundance of roosters and the lack of harvest of fall row-crops, which inhibited the harvest early in the season, this years population could easily sustain the extra harvest. The Commission vote did not receive enough aye votes for the emergency rule to pass. If the rule would have passed we would have been allowed to take 5 roosters a day from Saturday, December 5 until the end of the season. We could have taken on the additional harvest, but I guess we'll just do it three birds at a time, and carry over what's left. Right now that's looking like plenty, but with a month left in the season we'll do our best to put a dent in it. Anybody interested in helping can check the dates at the Inn with the boss.