New Year Wishes & Blessings

I wanted to wish everyone out there in blogger land a happy New Year! It's been a great year for me, and I've made many new friends with similar neuroses...bird dogs in particular! I wanted to share a few of my favorite memories! Happy New Years 2009...may it be your very best!

Jibbers and Ginny Girl...two of my very most favorite bird dogs...both chasing birds in the great CRP field in the sky!
The Perfect Church...thanks Marc P for the photograph! That looks like great quail habitat in the back ground!
My daughter Kyli and Ginny Girl a few years ago. Kyli and her wonderful husband Kevin are expecting a boy...yes, I'm gonna be a grandpa at 41...I'm very excited!
This is my brother-in-law Eric with a Ruffie taken while we were sharp-tailed grouse hunting in Idaho. Eric has been accepted to Nurse of Anesthesia School in Memphis, TN
This is one of my very best memories...valley quail heaven in Idaho...Farley had over a hundred points in one day! Wild birds make good bird dogs! What a wonderful day of wing shooting with my family!

KANSAS GROCER

This is my very favorite way to prepare quail for the table. It's not very original, but it's delightful on the palate! I let my birds age in the bottom of the fridge for 5 days before I consider eating them.

Merry Christmas to ALL!

Fillet breasts from the bone
Costco Maple Smoked Bacon +/- Jalapeno
Smoked for 30 Minutes with Hickory and Apple Wood


Grilled until the Bacon's Cooked

Bon Appetit!!!!

Kate's Coming of Age!

My friend and client Rob Warne just sent me this photo of his striking pointer bitch, Kate...pointing a rooster on an edge of Kansas CRP/Milo. I'm sure that Rob is proud!

As Good As it Gets...in Kansas

My retired Delta pilot friend, Mark Kastler, and I headed back out to Kansas last Thursday and Friday to pay gentleman Bob our respect. We were fortunate enough to stay at my gracious client's house in NC Kansas and headed out from there. I love those small towns in Kansas. The people are pleasant...I enjoy kicking the dirt with them. The weather was different...fog and ice storms and snow all in the mix. But gentleman Bob was home and very willing to play with the dogs and us. I love chasing Bobwhite Quail with pointing dogs! If I had to choose only one bird to chase with my dogs, they would be it! My setter, Grouse River Gretchen, is 1 & 1/2 years old now, and she's really becoming a fun dog to chase birds with. I'm convinced that wild birds make good bird dogs!




Mark Kastler and Ranger

Mark waiting patiently for the Chikins
Ranger's got a Covey Nailed

Gep Enjoying the Kansas Life After a Cold Day's Hunt
Ms. Ellie on the Retrieve

Tale of the Two Bands

I can't think of anything I'd rather do than chase birds with biddable pointing dogs! Yesterday I met Sterling Monroe (a client and friend of mine) here in town, and we headed to scaled quail country for the day. We had a beautiful Colorado day with long-sleeve weather...and a decent lunch with a thermos of coffee to enjoy. Enjoy we did! We found a few birds as a bonus for the day! Sterling had never hunted with pointing dogs before (he's a die-hard Lab guy), and my girls didn't disappoint...Sterling was able to connect on two scalies...both of which were banded by the DOW. What a great day afield...

Counting Quail & Quail Dogs

Wind swept Kansas will be in my dreams for the days to come! Day dreams of plum thickets, milo'd edges and Western Rag Weed and tumble weeds will consume my every thought. Red grass and whirring wings with staunch dogs on point. Hearing the coyotes bark and roosters cackle while we patiently sat waiting the chickens to return to the corn fields at dusk. Beat up dogs from giving their all and sore tired muscles from trying to keep up with hard-charging bird dogs! Kansas's what quail hunters dream about.

Darby the pointing Lab...canine member of the "A Team"
Matt Lucia walking in on his pointing Lab
Grouse River Gretchen


Matt looking at the "Wall of Shame" in our lush Kansas home-away-from-home



Gretchen with a nailed railroad bed covey

Perils of birddogs...hard charging Ellie with a battle wound


Darby wore her sweet smelling nose out!