Plethora of Puppies

They're here.  Brandon, John Wayne, and I made the trip to pick out our new pups.  Not much choice in my case since there was only one male in the litter. I was plenty happy though.  John Wayne was actually picking for Frank, and Brandon didn't take much time latching onto a cute little female that picked him.  We're still working on names, but my family has pretty much decided that ours will be called "Trigger", and I can't seem to come up with anything better, so it will most likely stick.  Brandon was also undecided, but probably got some help once he got home.  A few weeks of whining and potty training, and then we can move on to the more serious stuff.  Before we know it we'll have them in the field next year retrieving their first rooster.

Kellen and Claire latched on quickly as most kids do.  I'm sure when he starts knocking them down and chewing on their ears they'll have a little different perspective on that cute little ball of fur.  All the pups seemed to be in great shape, so we'll do our best not to mess them up and bring them up right.  That's all we can do along with getting them in the pheasant fields for tons of fun.  Lots of things to look forward to.

Venison Victory!!

Sure I didn't have to fill my tag on the opening day of rifle season, but I saw an opportunity and took it.  Besides that who knew if I'd get another one.  Not a great buck, but definitely respectable and a mature deer.  He attempted to fool me and other hunters by bedding down in some waist-high CRP, but I got lucky and happened to walk right up on him after failing to find him in the binocs.  He took off running leaving me with one shot.  Not one I usually take, but it was my only choice in this case.  I was lucky once again and rolled him with one shot.  Kellen held a leg while I field dressed him, and asked when we could eat him.  I sent him to the locker plant for summer sausage because of time constraints, but more tags will be filled, and soon we will have fresh backstrap on the grill. 

There's a lot of good deer in the country and Cordie, John Wayne, and Brandon have tags to fill yet, along with an archery tag for me.  A couple more does with either the bow or rifle and the freezer should be full.  The rut is in full swing, and the weather is turning more winter like which should provide for a good setting on bagging a big one.  We'll keep you posted.

What have you done lately?

I know, I know.  It's been a long time coming and finally after 28 days of the regular season, I'm sitting down to update the blog.  It's been busy and that's good.  The bird numbers have been great.  Not sure if better than the last couple of years, but close enough to not be able to tell the difference.  The weather has been great too.  A little warm a few days and only two days of rain, with a day of blowing snow mixed in.  Other than that it's been a perfect season.  If the next 40 days are as good as the first part of the season, we'll be blessed.  Today is one of those rain days, but everybody is in the lodge already where it is warm and dry.  A preserve hunt may be in order, since that is what most have been doing to fill the time.  It looks as though some more seasonal weather is upon us, but we're ready for it, and so are the dogs. 

Speaking of the dogs, they're all down to their fighting weight, except for maybe Copper who seems to be holding on to a few extra pounds.  Maybe he's just big boned.  Some new pups are on their way, and Brandon, Frank, and myself are set to get them around Thanksgiving.  I'll do my best to keep everyone updated, but I can't promise anything. 

Deer season is just around the corner, so hopefully we'll have some big buck pictures after this weekend to post.  Thanks for keeping up with us, and we look forward to seeing those of you who are set to come in yet.  A big thanks to those of you who have been here already to make this a great year.