I Don't Even Know Who the Expert Is..... Thanks 2022.

Sure, I know it's been too long since I last shared an update. And yes, I realize you want photographic proof that my puppy is still alive. And of course, you would also like to hear about all the fun we have been having. Well today is your lucky day because I'm going to catch you up on all the haps.

OG X2

So here goes... last we talked Ladi was acting more and more the 'Duck Dog' she is supposed to be. I had been to The Point and she had 0 chances to see weather or not she remembered that putting a fallen duck in her mouth was her job and primary mission in life. Fast forward to today and she still has not had that opportunity. Even with the meager snow and my inability to go skiing due to my aging knee, we have only made a few attempts to get out into the blind. Mostly, the weather has been uncooperative and the lakes mainly frozen over. Word around town is that the hunting now is not very good and rather than test that theory we have been going on walks. Lots of walks. 

 Well all that changed a few weeks ago. Work was to take me to Portland and I had heard that the Old Old Spot had been forever altered from the way I remember it. I was intrigued by the photos I had seen and wanted to pay a visit to the old stomping grounds. We loaded up the Swedish truck and headed to Ladi's second home in the city. After a couple of days doing the work thing Fred G and I packed up a bit of hunting gear and off we went to what has now become a dog walking paradise. A far cry from the days when we had to bust brush and brave tall grasses in order to find the river. Now you just follow the well worn path. We set up in a likely place and waited for the Greenies to pile in. They did not. Just like all the other days out there we did see a few ducks and even pulled the trigger a time or two, but nothing fell. 

What did happen though is that Ladi became a swimmer. Back in the day the Sandy river met the Columbia at a sharp point. hunters only had a few yards of wade-able land to work with and more than once we went in 'over the waders' in an effort to find a space or retrieve a duck. No longer. Now there are little islands and small inlets to hunt, a much better experience that ever before. It was on one of those islands I had to cross to that Ladi followed me into the water that was over her ability to wade. She swam. It was only a few feet and it took some coaxing, but I was very happy to see her decide to follow. I made a great commotion about what a good dog she was and we walked to the end of the island and back, proud as could be. On the reverse crossing there was some whining and reluctance but again, she took the plunge. What a good dog. The day ended with a nice easy walk back to the truck and a dinner of delicious tacos. Mmmmmm tacos.** 

The end of the line.

Back at home in Idaho we also hunted the closing day of the season, more to say we did than to expect great results. Again the weather here is not 'ducky' and most of the lakes were still frozen over and at very low water levels. We went, where else, The Point and set up in the (happily) unfrozen channel that is now only inches deep. Expecting nothing I was pleasantly surprised to see a few ducks and geese come our way. One set of mallards even worked our minimal spread and were only scared off by a bounding red and white fur bag coming from behind the blind. Guess we will be working on that in the off season.  

On the way home we stopped at Killarney and were stunned to see multiple trucks and even a group along the frontage road hunting. Guess the last day of the season makes people do crazy things. Well aside from those stories not much has changed here in North Idaho. The snow is very much less than we expected after an amazing start and hopefully the rainy, gloomy, foggy conditions will be gone soon and the snow will return. I am including a pic of the cabin just before Christmas and all the snow you see is what has been carrying us through mid January. Somebody burn a ski or fifty and get things on track again. I go to the knee guy in a couple weeks to see what can be done to get me on the hill again and hope to either make some turns soon or get started on fixing things for next year. In the meantime we will continue to take lots of walks and work on basic obedience in the hopes that next year will be our breakout season. GBCH

**tacos are nice but the FGM pizza is outstanding, fyi.

I Apologize for the Following Post, It seems the 'Run On Sentence' Style is the Only One Supported

My goodness, it's been a while since I followed throgh as promised in keeping you up to date on the progress my little bundle of toothy joy has made. As we speak she is rolling around on the rug trying to erase the stink from yet another duckless day from her Master. Of course we went hunting today on our day off. Not skiing. Not opening day of chair 3 & 5 and maybe all the runs on chair 2. Not after another 2 feet of fresh fell on our little ski hill here in North Idaho. We went hunting. And where else would we go but to the Point.(the Tip actually). Last time out Clider took a long long walk all the way down to the inlet on Anderson to see if all the No Tresspassing signs were real or not. He assured me that their legitimacy was questionable and staying on the high water line or lower presented no legal ramifications. I trust his judjement afterall, he stayed in a Holiday Inn once. So after a bit of snowy road driving we made it out to the tip with plenty of time to set up the meager collection of decoys I brought. I did bring T.J. (Hooker, the 6 foot hook) due to the fact that my dog has yet to fully swim in the frigid waters here. And T.J. came in real handy placing all the blocks and one rippler in the meat of the channel. We were looking good if I don't say so myself. The lake was frozen over most everywhere except the flowing swath of water in the channel and we could sit within 10 feet of the water. We made such good time that I had a 20 min wait for the opening bell. Now this time is a wonderful time to sit and listen to the world wake up around you, the skies start to fill with wings & whistles and the light is too dark to see. It's also at this time that all the Greenies land perfectly in your decoys, right in front of you with no prompting at all. There must have been 12 to 15 ducks touching down in the pre-dawn darkness to our little spit of open water. The kind of scenario that makes you believe anything is possible. Boy, it was sure nice to sit there and watch nothing happen for the next two hours or so. Some snow fell. I saw 2 bald eagles fighting. Some geese flew over my head twice in shooting range. The second time around I fully considered taking one down but the last time I did that I had a giant bird to clean and figure out what to do with the meat, so no. It was tempting though. Finally as we were going for a walk we noticed another group of hunters stopped on the road high above in their truck. All the birds hunkered down in the tiny little hole next the bridge and below the road (You would know why we don't hunt it if you were here) pulled up and flew around. I got two shots off, missing both times, but was very happy to see Ladi come running around the corner from where she was, looking to see if I had shotten something. She is making good progress. Speaking of progress... The reason you are here is likely to hear about the progress of my Little River Duck Dog, no? Well, let me tell you she is becoming a 'good dog' faster than most people think is normal. I certainly see improvement almost daily but today she was the perfect companion out on the water. She never barked, came when called, sat by me (albeit on a leash for both our safety) was fine off leash and generally looked to the skies and was interested in the birds. Now I say this is an improvement but I know full well the next time we are out with June Bug and Clider she will forget all her manners and just want to be the annoying puppy she is at heart, for goodness sake, she's only 6 months old. She's just a puppy! So there it is. My recent update accompanied by a lot of pictures. Please forgive me if any spellings are off, seems my ancient computer is not working with spell check anymore and I am notorious for spelling thingsz like aboot incorrectly. Disirregardless, enjoy the photos and I'll try to post more as things happen. The pictures will contain captions that may shed light on their place in the last few weeks time. GBCH

It's Everywhere

Somebody Shot a Greenie!

Small dog, smaller gun.

 Hunting season has started and already my dog and I are behind in the standings.

Our opener was October 1st, two weeks earlier than normal and just in time to coincide with the most beautiful batch of fall weather that I have ever seen in North Idaho.  Temps in the 70's and 80's every day for weeks. Blue sky and not a stitch of rain.  Perfectly clear nights with a big bright moon.  All the things you don't want for duck hunting.  Of course we were out there every chance we got. I pared down the bag to just the essentials, 3 decoys, an extra pair of gloves, water and of course dog food.  All of this made it easy to carry to whatever spot we ended up with and I added a new gun to the ranks, the lowly Marlin .410 I had loaned Clider when he broke his shoulder(?). We were ready for anything.

The pictures tell the story, no ducks flying, no ducks dying.  What we did get was a beautiful first day out complete with a close encounter with big bull moose and his posse.  A second day learning how far  I could put decoys out on the Other Side without getting my boots pulled off by the mud. And today I got an unfortunate lesson in how piss poor a .410 is at shooting a Widgeon. On the plus side the weather has changed literally overnight.  Last Thursday was 78 degrees and beautiful and Friday was cold with clouds moving in.  It snowed on the mountains the next day and the cold rain has yet to stop.  Hooray, duck weather is here.

I'm sure we will be out again next day off I have but until then just know there's a new 'Expert' in town, and it ain't me.

GBCH

It's Aboot Time!

Spooky.... right?

 That I put up a post about what has been happening in the world of puppy ownership and the joys that go along with it.  So here we go......

Vaccinations are done!  Now I can bring the Little River Duck Dog out on hikes and walks that don't involve the backyard.  We have been to the golf course, the airport, the golf course, the other side of the golf course and of course, the golf course.  There are many different parts of the golf course to go for walks in and after 11 years of being 'The Golf Course Guy' I feel that going to the golf course is entirely my prerogative. On top of that the woods surrounding the course are chalk full of smells and wild animals.  Bones have already been found.  The airport is the other destination that is now open to us.  Turns out there is quite a nice local dog park out there.  Not too many dogs and lots of open space and water to explore.  I'm sure we will go there more as the weather turns bad up higher in the mountains.

"I'm here to ruin your great tee shot"  Ladi.

On to the good stuff.  Recently the puppy files include playing golf and shooting guns.  Starting with the playing golf thing, after we closed down the course for the season the riff/raff that works there had a day to go and have the course to ourselves.  No meddlesome golfers, no angry grounds crew, just the average Joe's that work everyday to give the people the best experience possible.  And now made even better with a puppy!  Every putt was ruined.  Every drive was distracted by barking and jumping. Every fairway shot had to be timed to correspond with the dog out of the way.  My coworkers were thrilled!

The gun shooting went much better.  Clider, June and I went to the quarry to see if gunfire would be a problem that made me trade my new lovely puppy in for a kitten.  Turns out I'll be keeping her.  Good news all around.  She didn't even flinch when Clider brought out the Retreiver 'R' Trainer (harken back to the 50's for a glimpse into 'Water Dog') and we fired off a few dummies progressively getting closer to the loudness.  Next was the .410 and once again Ladi preformed admirably.  I believe that the fact that June Bug was along for the fun was a major factor in the overall performance that she displayed.  we kept the training short and kinda easy but the end result is that I feel good about bringing her to the hunting areas this Monday.  Stay tuned...

GBCH

ladies and Gentlemen..... Mr. & Mrs. Cliffy!

Married... Ya, Married... Geeze

 A vacation to Portland?  To See Cliffy get married?  And let Fred G. meet the puppy?  OK.

7 hours in the car later and we arrive to an empty house and a backyard full of distractions.  See, Fred and The Lovely Rachel are off helping Cliffy and Mrs. Cliffy do marriage stuff and it's not until hours later that they show up and finally meet the greatest puppy that ever lived.  By then she had already eaten a bunch of cherry tomatoes and a few overripe pears off the ground.  I was dreading the next day as her little system has only been processing puppy chow and the occasional pinecone.  The race to rid her mouth of potential problems would be a loosing battle the whole weekend.  Turns out she is exponentially faster than I am and much more agile.  She must have eaten 6 pears and countless tomatoes.  Bad Dog!

The next day we (meaning mostly Rachel) played in the yard and tried to get the YaYa's out before I got to go to the wedding and get some time without a 24/7 distraction.  After putting her to bed and then following a local 'Portland Residential Clean Up Person' (see pic #3) for a good solid block and a half at .007mph, we headed out to the wedding.

The Dogfather

And what a wedding!  Anyone that has a wedding at 5:00 in a bar on a Saturday night should be given a medal.  All the cool kids were there and I got to see some old friends, some H7HT friends and of course the Legendary 'Expert' of the '05-'06 season, Cliffy.  He looked pale.  (Speaking of pale, Andee was there sporting a new batch of Band-Aids to cover up what can only be described as Ebola.  But that's a story for him to tell)  The vows were said, the crazy kids were married and nobody passed out.  As they say in the paper, a good time was had by all, thanks Cliffy and Willow!

Captain Sum Ting Wong

The next day we headed home after a hearty breakfast omelet that did not include celery and most of the way I was worried about the 'pear and tomato' factor which actually didn't even matter.  Ladi was sound asleep for most of the ride.  I took a quick nap while listening to the 49ers Seahawks game on the radio because it was so stupidly boring. The truck drove itself from Tri Cities to Ritzville so I got a good slumber. The earlier Giants win over a powerhouse Panthers team took all the energy I could muster.  All those field goals can really zap your energy in a hurry, Yaaaaaawn.  We arrived home in time for a puppy full of insatiable energy and no Rachel anywhere.  Not to worry, the next morning we went to work where Ladi acted like a punk ass biaaaatch all day, my penance for a 7 hour car ride.

Tomorrow we are off to the Vet to get the last of her 3 shots.  Finally it will be time to head out into the woods for smelling tours, water sports and likely wildlife encounters.  Stay tuned.

GBCH


 

Don't Eat That!

 Behold my new mud room shelves.  Now all of our everyday shoes and boots can stay above the level of puppy destruction and avoid the fate of my black slippers.  Seems we have entered the phase where the puppy knows full well what toys are hers and which ones require her to run from me when they reach her mouth.  And by the way, the mouth still contains a Dune Sandworm level of sharp, flesh tearing teeth. So, along with our other issues, we have added a shoe fetish.

In other news Cliffy is soon to be married and although I have previously committed to going we are still fleshing out the details.  Seems the venue is not in fact puppy friendly as I had believed so that leaves us some problems to work out.  I will have to come to a decision soon as whether to attend or not.  Although the drive is long more worrisome is the fact that Ladi suffers from a massive case of separation anxiety.  As long as she can see me or knows that I am around she is fine. But take her person out of the equation and she sounds as if I have deposited her left foot in a blender.  We are working on a couple hours of alone time in the kennel on my days off but in the meantime we are together 24/7.  Great for the dog, tiring for me.

Now as we are entering the fall and Ladi is growing I am beginning to look to my recreational future.  While I'm sure we will be doing some rudimentary 'hunting' this year ski season is a huge question mark.  Problem is my knee has finally come to the point where it hurts all the time.  I can wrap it and get on with the day but from time to time I twist it just right and in addition to the pain, I have to limp around for a while before things crackle and pop their way back into shape.  I'm thinking that a trip to the knee specialist is in my future.  If the time to operate is coming that puts the mallacka on the ski season and beyond. (ATTN SKI FRENDS: if there is an operation prepare for the best ski season on record guaranteed!) Wish me luck.  I am also enclosing a photo of the quiet moments of dog ownership that almost make all the other problems go away. Almost.

GBCH

Puppy School Dropout

If Frankie Avalon was around today he would be singing to us instead of Frenchy.  You heard that correct, we are Puppy School Dropouts.

Last night we drove an hour to go to a recommended puppy school and when we arrived I was already a little worried.  This was a 'puppy' class and while there were certainly a few puppies there were also plenty of adolescent and older dogs as well.  The other thing was that there were no less than 12 other dogs and up to 20 people milling around waiting for the class to start.  Ladi is very social with people and likes to meet & greet, we made sure of that.  But also she rarely sees that many dogs in one place.  So right after we arrive the teacher tells us all to find a chair and sit 6 feet apart from one another in a circle, dogs not allowed to be closer than 3 feet nose to nose.  She then spends 15 minutes telling us about her own dogs, methods, next weeks class, homework etc.  Poor Ladi made it all of 5 minutes of being calm before she started to get all antsy about the lady standing next to us talking all loud.  She wanted nothing more than to meet other dogs and people, so she gets upset.  Another 10 minutes of this and she is struggling to get away and do anything but sit still at my feet.  Now let me say that although we had been in the car for an hour, we had spent all morning running around getting the 'YaYa's' out.  By now it's embarrassing.

Our first project is to walk on a leash, something we already do.  I was told to use the term 'Let's Go' and pump treats down the dogs mouth every time she followed me.  When Teacher came to ask how we were doing I told her I already use the words 'come on' and she told me in no uncertain terms that I should use 'Let's Go' instead as to not confuse my puppy when it was time to introduce 'Come' to her vocabulary.  Now call me old fashioned but maybe I get to determine what words I use to call my dog.  Also every time I say Let's Go! all I can think of is Brandon and the idiots that have that expression all over the back of their lifted Dodge 3500 Dually MegaCab.

My excitable dog

Well, it only got worse from there.  Ladi was strangling herself trying to just get to meet one other dog or person, and I was wondering why I needed to bring string cheese to the next meeting.  The answer, "It's a high value treat for training purposes".  She also said we would know if our dog was lactose intolerant if after eating the cheese they vomited or had diarrhea.  Good system!  We did not make it to part three of the training which was fine.  We already know how to sit and look at me anyway.

I decided to call it quits right then and we left early.  Me upset that I didn't do my due dilligence and research the class better and sad Ladi who only wanted to make one friend out of bunches of dogs.  (She seemed to have a crush on the French Bulldog next to us)  I'm guessing that people thought she was a high strung out of control puppy but the second we got in the car and pulled out she was fast asleep.  Slept all the way home.  Next time we will look for a trainer who works with duck dogs only and has a meet & greet and maybe even a class size more like Green Mountain College and less like the University Of Phoenix.

GBCH

Still Alive After Fourteen Weeks

 One of my main jobs relating to this puppy is keeping her alive.  The amount of things going into her mouth, the attempts at running off into the road, the sheer disregard for dangerous tools and situations are all things I must look out for.  Let's take today for example.  I had to change a door speaker in my truck and rather than watch me in all my door panel removal frustration, she decides to eat the door clips.  See what I mean?  No regard for her own safety.  The picture here shows the result.  Nobody likes being tied up to the bench vice, nobody.  But that's exactly what happens if you keep chewing on speaker wire.  Looks innocent enough in the photo though right?

Today was also change of the bed linens day.  I treated myself to some new flannels now that the weather is changing and I thought that Ladi might like a bit of change herself.  So we spent $67,999 on adding a new room to her kennel.  Now in addition to having a living room, she also has a bedroom.  I think she will appreciate the extra space now that winter is coming.  I hope her heating bill is not too difficult seeing as though the walls are very very thin.  

In addition, notice the new bed.  That's right, pure Shimano.  I mean of course other dogs have it good, Waylon only drinks Fiji for Hestons sake.  But Ladi now has the highest tech bed in town.  Waterproof & breathable with an ergonomic side bolster, this is the dog bed that puppy dreams are made of.  Thanks June-Bug for being such an obese cow of a dog.  We appreciate you!  

Well, that's all on the dog front for now.  Stay tuned as next week we will be filling in at the golf course for Tuesday shift.  Seems that 'Going back to school' is an acceptable excuse to bail on your job.  Way to have it your way children.

GBCH

 

A Tale of Two Sally's

 This is a photo of two Sally's.  There's a story to go with them so sit back and read a little.

When I first met Paige she was living in a house with some, what I would describe as, unsavory characters.  You know the kind.  An artist, a fellow theatre worker and worst of all, a guy that worked at William Sonoma. Trouble to be sure.  Also living there was a sweet lab named Chloe.  She was a good dog and over time I heard how she had adopted her Sally toy as the one thing she would not destroy.  I guess some dogs latch onto one thing in particular that gives them comfort and won't harm that thing all the while terminating any other toy that comes down the pike.  So somehow, Sally survived.

Fast forward to the time that Chloe was no longer around and I noticed that Sally would soon be homeless.  For whatever reason I took her with me when Paige and I moved into our first home.  I don't really know what it was about Sally that made me bring her along in all the following years, all of our different homes and finally to the cabin that we live in now, but as time went on each time I saw Sally I figured it would be a nice bridge to the past to give her to the dog that someday I would like to have.

So here we are today.  It turns out that we have a dog.  She has her moments of  being a 'good puppy' and I dug out Sally from the depths of the garage to see just how our puppy would react.  Cautiously I gave Ladi the Sally toy and told her to be gentile. The last thing I wanted was for our dog to disrespect the memory of Chloe and go tearing up a 20+ year old toy I have been carrying around for her.  Puppy teeth are sharp so I gave her time with Sally on a limited basis.  She liked Sally and between the two of us we kept her safe.

I come home the other day and Paige tells me that she has found some dog toys online from the Peanuts Gang.  She orders them and to my surprise they are exactly the same toys!  Now Ladi has the whole gang to play with.  Currently she seems to enjoy Lucy the most and Paige has wisely kept Linus from her.  Linus looks a little scared to be mauled by puppy teeth anyway.  I took this picture of two Sally's, form roughly 25 years apart, and hope that Chloe is happy and Ladi will find her favorite to play with for a long time.

GBCH

She's ok I Guess.

 

Well another week has passed and the puppy continues to grow and find new ways to both impress and aggravate me.  This is the 12 1/2 pound picture. I look at this as a terrific chance to build my upper body strength due to all the times I have to lift her out of danger, out of an area she does not belong or just up into the truck.  As she grows the workout gets harder. You may notice the dirty paws. This is from her digging a hole next to the pine tree. See, impressive digging skills, bad application. I hope my arms are jacked by the time I need to lift her out of the 8 foot deep hole.

She spent some time with June Bug thanks to Monica bringing her over for a play date and was mostly concerned with trying to bite her in the mouth. June, not Monica. Monica was great at keeping June from biting back but I was all for it. Puppy needs to know her place right? Good dog.

This was also the second trip to the V-E-T. Vaccine shots, kennel cough goop and the ole' thermometer a 'la Navin Johnson.  Through it all she was quite composed and calm.  Even during today's thunderstorm she was not concerned about certain death or the end of the world. Impressive right?

Our puppy obedience classes start in 2 weeks but even now we have 'come here's and 'sit' (complete with a hand signal) down pat. Again impressive.

This is also the week she bit me in earnest from trying to get a food wrapper out of her mouth, runs away from me as I attempt to get her to bed, continues to eat the pinecones behind the fence that no longer is over jumping height, refuses to stop eating the strawberries and generally tests my patience and sleep patterns. Not a bad trade off I guess.

Stay tuned for more updates

GBCH

Birdy? Or Stone Cold Killer?

 As the training continues I have come across two possible directions for the newest member of the H7HT. The first is 'Is this dog a demon sent to kill me?' or the second, 'Is she just waiting for the birds to come?'

Last week as we played in the yard a small batch of razor sharp teeth jumped up and bit me through the lip. It was unprovoked.  I never made any commentary about her lineage or spoke up about her less than perfect bathroom skills.  Heck, I was only trying to play ball and then this happens.  Now at work people look at me like I have a good old case of Herpes.  Even though one of my youthful co-workers thinks I should be proud that a guy my age could 'pull the talent' for herpes, I would rather not get that look.  I call foul.

Speaking of Fowl....

This week we had a day off and were playing in the house, trying not to fall victim to the aforementioned bathroom skills, and it turns out that the Cabin housekeeping skills are not as perfect as I thought.  Ladi was scrounging around under our living room chair and pulled out a duck wing I thought was long gone.  See, I used to snap off a wing for our Little Kitty.  She was birdy AF too she certainly enjoyed playing with a wing or two in her youth.  I just figured that my broom or vacuum would have found the wing in the 6 or so months since then.  Well, after the wing was found it was on.  Ladi was like Fred G after he shot his first bird.  Jumping around and showing off her prize like she invented ducks and how to find one.  It took me all of 2 seconds to realize I had to stop this before it got out of control.  The wing now sits in the garage, waiting for the time when it will come in handy for duck training.  We have to crawl before we can run after all.

Stay tuned for more Ladi news and to see whether

or not I need some antibiotics to get rid of my new case of herpes.

GBCH

Water Dog, And Other Adventures.

Ladi and I went again to the water today.  Actually 'The Water' is more like 'The little End of the Stream' that empties out from the bottom of Government Gulch and makes some small pools and some shallow running water spots.  It is the best area I have to introduce her to the water.  I wish we lived at the beach or had a big house on the lake , but we can't all be like Uncle Dick.  So instead we do the best we can which in our case means the stream.  We have been a couple times before and every time she is a little more ready to jump in with all four.  The first time I brought some tennis balls and a chair and sat in the stream and talked her in.  She was a little tentative at first but soon was wading in and splashing around.  As we were sitting there I saw something dark red under the water and I reached in and pulled out a pair of Smith ski goggles from under the water. Instant favorite. Forgot about all the tennis balls floating around and she decided that whatever these stinky muddy things that came from the bottom of the streambed was the best thing ever.  I used that to get her almost all the way in but she's not quite ready.

This week was the first week back to work as well. Of course we have been together 24/7 and I knew that the biggest hurdle would be how she behaved at work while I was doing things like, well, working.  As nervous as I was that she would cry and whine for 10 hours I was very pleasantly surprised to find that she settled right into the routine.  The few times I have left her alone in the bedroom kennel and closed the door she went crazy and led my neighbor Rosie to ask if she was ok.  I know that we will have to address this separation anxiety but as long as she can see that she's not alone she is fine.  I guess growing up with 12 brothers and sisters, 2 mothers, another dog and 2 humans then being displaced to a new home has it's issues.  We continue to work on this.

Time to work on that so off we go.  Stay tuned for more and also realize that the 2022 hunting season is just around the corner!

GBCH.

Well There It Is!

The Majestic Ladi

 Hello everyone and welcome the newest member of the H7HT.  This is Ladi, pronounced Laa-Dee for those that might think I named my dog 'Lady' like the silly people at the Vet.  More on that later.

Last Sunday I took a road trip through the central Idaho and Oregon to the town of Cove.  There I met the nice folks at Forest Cove Tollers and left with this little bundle of puppiness. About 45 seconds into our trip she pooped in her kennel in the back seat of my truck, welcome to the family.  After a qiuck stop to clean up we were back on the road.  It's a long trip and I was expecting a lot of whining and some barking to accompany me for the next 5 hours, heck, the man who sold me the pup even gave me a set of earplugs to go with.  Turns out although there was some general noise made on her part she was mostly a 'good dog' for the majority of the ride.  We stopped a couple times along the way for breaks but basically the trip was easy-peasey.  A good start.

She slept mostly through the night and only required one late night trip outside, something which most people said would be impossible.  When we woke up for good and I carried her outside for play time and as we were leaving the back door a familiar sound came over us.  There were a V of geese flying right over my house.  I never see geese this early and this particular V was literally right over my house.  If it was in-season you could have taken a shot.  I looked up in wonder and decided on the spot that this was a great omen. Ladi, for her part, was looking around to see where the sound came from but she did not look up so I have nobody to confirm this event.

Chilling at the Vet. Arrrgh.

We played in the makeshift playpen I made for most of the day.  Ladi did a lot of napping and I finally had the time to read the book I have been working on all summer.  Later in the afternoon I switched out the lawn chair I was uncomfortably sitting on to one of those 3 part folding loungers and when I sat down the thing collapsed. In the process I fell onto the little girls front leg and she let out a yelp that I hope to never hear again.  Off to the Vet we went.  She was a trooper the whole time and everyone at the office commented on how gentile and pretty she was, even if they tried to call her Lady twice.  Short story is that there was no damage but some swelling and good judgment on the side of caution got her a shiny little leg wrap for a couple days. My prognosis was not as good as I decided then and there that I am a terrible person and a bad parent. I broke my dog within 24 hours of delivery.

Can you spare a treat for a cripple?

The bandage comes off soon and in the meantime we have been out and about meeting people and getting tons of sympathy in the process, the puppy, not me.  Actually every dog owner I met told me of some similar story or about how trips to the Vet for random emergencies are a regular part of the experience.  I still feel like a turd for hurting her but the good news is there is no permanent damage and Ladi does not seem to hold it against me, she does hate the bandage though.

Today Clider and June Bug stopped by to have a meet and greet and both of the girls got along great.  By great I mean they pretty much didn't care about each other.  June wanted to play ball and Ladi was more interested in what was behind the hot tub but at the very least Clider and I had a nice chat.  We seldom see each other in the summertime and he is off on a 2 week work trip but we have made a plan to have the future duck blind buddies get together again soon.  Later today we go and meet the crew at Galena Ridge and maybe, just maybe, if we are lucky go play on some real live golf course turf.  Probably not though. Stay tuned for more adventures.

GBCH

It's Time!

 I'm sitting here in the relative coolness of the cabin while the oppressive heat from the sun burns my lawn and toasts all my flowers.  But do I care?  No!  Because tomorrow I go to pick up the new Puppy.  The breeder is about a 5 hour drive from my house but I'm taking the long way and enjoying the scenery along the way.  My route should take me through Lewiston & Clarkston, Walla Walla and the Wallowa Mountains.  All places I have never been to before (Actually P.T. and I camped briefly at Wallowa Lake years ago but it was all at night and dark out).  The scenic voyage should take about an hour longer but will be well worth it.  The truck is comfortable and has icy A/C so the 100+ temps won't affect me until the radiator blows up in the No Cell Service area of the Idaho Oregon border. Hooray!

Monday morning I go to meet with the nice folks at Forest Cove Tollers and finally get to learn which one of the 13 little sausages is mine.  I spoke with Steve the owner many times and he seems to have a system to determine which of the pups are the 'birdiest' and from there he determines which pup goes to what home.  My understanding is that they have some homes for hunting, some for agility, some for service animals and some for just all around pets.  I figure he knows a lot more than I do about which will make the best hunters but not knowing which puppy is mine for the last few weeks is tough.  If you go to their website and look at the pictures they are all adorable but all different with the coloring and markings.  All I really hope for is a lot of white on the underbelly which should help in the Tolling aspect of hunting (Again, look it up.  Do I have to tell you people everything?)  Of course it doesn't really matter which one I get, she will be the 4th best dog ever to grace the H7HT blinds.  Clyde, Peat, Waylon and June are all pioneers in the quest to retrieve birds that we shoot, and Ladi should be no different.  Of course I plan to be The Expert in perpetuity from here on out because somehow maybe my shooting skills will improve just by knowing that I don't have to go into the icy cold water to get all my hen Widgeons.  Maybe.

Well anyway, stay tuned for more groundbreaking information aboot our newest member.  I should be back in town on Monday night and by the time I get rested up and out for the 21st potty break I should be able to get at least one picture up of the new heartbreaker.

GBCH

Well, well, well. I'm Back!

 Hey friends, it's me Bob D.

I'm back and ready to resume my position as the poster with the most-er.  Stay with me here as I get all of you up to date on the recent happening's, on new events and what I am about to drop on you.  

I am getting a puppy!

I know what you are saying.  "Holy Heston Bob D, you are finally getting the dog you have been talking aboot for years?"  Yes.  But first let's explore the reasons why this is the venue I have announced this grand news on.

A bunch of 50 year olds have told me that Faceofbooks and Instantgram are all the rage with the youngsters these days but for a long time members of the H7HT always got the word to the street on this very blog.  We told you aboot all of the trials and tribulations of our hunting exploits in long form, with many more than 40 characters and sometimes more backstory and explanations than you may have wanted.  Sure, we might be longwinded but it turns out some of you liked it.  Sometimes we even created poetry and songs and catchphrases that we hoped you might like.  But then that day came when we realized that nobody, NOBODY, actually read the blog.  We believed that we were doing this just for ourselves, and the time we put in to create a posting that we hoped would connect with all our thousands of readers, turned out to be just something that was a giant waste of time.  For Heston's sake, we could be out scouting rather than typing away in the 'hunt and peck' method just to entertain ourselves.  So, the day came when we adapted to the times and used our amazing social media skills to put pictures on thefaceofbooks so that people would know how amazing our hunting skills are.  It seemed that the days of the Blog were dead.

So here I am today knowing that this was all a lie.  People actually not only read the blog, but liked it!  I spent a couple weeks back East with some old friends and they all lamented the dissolution of the Blog. Turns out that old people actually enjoy the story.  They like to read.  They seem to want to hear aboot Tom Foolery and disappointment and all the ways we fail in our duck hunting trips.    Many of them even said we should start up again.  Who knew?

So, without further adieu, I announce today that I am getting a puppy.  A purebred Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retreiver.  And I will use this blog as the space to vomit out all the useless information about raising this dog for tolling (look it up.  Come on, I can't tell you everything can I?) and the joys and downfalls and highs and lows of being and old guy with a new best friend.  Stay tuned......

It's almost time for the retirement swaray!

After 10 years this man is calling it.  Overheard saying:

"Many a year logged, many a shity glove, many a days of no duck.  I'm tired, so very tired."

 

Change Of Seasons.... The Idaho Chapter Slays Powder.

 

Final Day Idaho:

Hey there, it's me, Bob D.

I know what you are saying, "Bob D, aren't you The Expert of the entire 2020/2021 hunting season?" Yes kids, yes I am. It has been a long time coming and after all the years of watching other people hold the title that so clearly belongs to me I must tell you that it feels great.  What feels less than stellar however, is the fact that this has to be one of the lowest Expert totals in years.  As many of you know the Founders Tour this year was more of a learning experience than a slaying fest.  Additionally it seems that after a great early season here in the PNW our weather patterns stayed quite static.  Normally we have many more fluctuations that bring down ducks from the North.  It seemed to me that the normal late season ducks didn't show.  That's okay, we shot ducks anyway.

Today's photos show what occurred on my last hunting day when I went to, where else, The Point.  Normally I would have headed out to The Tip but with all the warmer than average weather I figured that the water would be open in the channel and maybe it would be a good day for ducks.  I had even considered going to the Theatre for a shorter walk but not knowing how the freeze was there got me headed out to what I knew was clear water.  When I left home a light snow was falling but as I neared Anderson the skies opened to a nearly full moon and a million stars.  Not optimal.

The sunrise was great and geese were flying but I did not have even one good shot on ducks.  If I had a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever though,*  I could have used the old tyme art of tolling to bring the ducks, who were loafing way out in the lake, right to me.  I sat around and watched shorebirds fight over scraps, enjoyed the sunshine and called it a season right around 11am.  No ducks to clean when I got home but at least there was a hottub waiting. Thanks Covid.

GBCH

*shout out to all the NSDTR breeders out there, I'm your man.

The End 2020-2021

What a year.  So many ducks so many Experts. After the Founders Tour Cliffy and I went out the following week.  Dismal was the situation.  Not much water, too many hunters, too few ducks (0.0).  I also noticed that the huge pack that I carry was ripping on the shoulder straps, one good pull and I'd have to either leave my blocks or make multiple trips back and forth.  So I figured what better time to call my season.   I wash and packed everything up for the next season.   A couple of weeks go by and  Cliffy so generously invited us over for  dinner for a wonderful delicious Dungeness crab feed.  Cliffy proceeds to tell me about what a great day he had out at the Old Old spot cilin for the King all by himself. Water up, still too many other hunters, but most importantly birds were flying.  Makes sense the season really doesn't start out there until cilin for the King week.  Cliffy, being the Expert once and current OR chapter Expert, coerced me to get my stuff out of storage and join him for a hunt on Sunday.  The next day I dusted off my OG hunting bag that can hold 8 normal size blocks and all my gear along with my OG chair.   

The day promised cold, snow and water up. 5:15 pick up time gives plenty of time for the drive, the walk, the set up and the settle.  We arrive at the lot only to find "Balto." Balto is a husky that lives at the park in a car with a guy that rides the trails at 5 am.  I'm only assuming this because every time we get to the park no matter what day they are always there.  Most times we see them or they pass us on a trail on the walk out.  Today Balto came by to say good morning and give a us a good sniff.  Why are we the only ones there I wonder?  No water?  Too much water?  Season is actually over?  (I thought the season ended every year on MLK day) We make it to the Old Old spot to find perfect water conditions.  Just enough water to slog out to the Point where dog walkers can't make the commute.  Cliffy finds the spot he was last week, a great spot on the Point. Water perfect,  you can throw out your blocks in knee high water that goes 30 yards past your blocks.  I resurrect the blind.  A 20 minute settle.  The promised weather failed to rear its face. After a promising pre fly the opening bell brought nothing.  Some high flyers here and there nothing wanting our limp motionless spread.  Conversation of jerk rigs and Leroy ensued.  Cliffy goes for a walk and of course two GHB fly into the spread and I expertly missed both.  Awkward shooting position. The morning dried up in the light rain and we call it.  Overall a good day at the Point good enough to want to go out the following week.

Another 5:15 pick up time ensures us of enough time for the morning rituals.  We arrive at the lot to find Balto and four other trucks.  Right?  I jump out of the truck and ask one of the guys if they had made reservations.  He looked at me crossed eyed and I proceeded to tell him that you need to make reservations in order to procure a hunting spot.  Went right over his head.  We realize that all four trucks and all four guys are together, great I think just one other party besides us.  As I'm passing the what appeared  to be their leader, he asks me where we are headed.  Another snide remark from me aboot something aboot water.  The young stripling tries telling me aboot the water! Tries telling me aboot where to go! Imagine!  I proceed to tell the young lad who I am.  "Don't you know who you are talking to" I ask? "I've been hunting here since you were hooked to the teat."  We exchange pleasantries as they are packing up a boat on a pull trailer with 4 huge bags of blocks and were off.    A chorus of mallards and geese great us as we make it to the Point, the Point and Cove were packed! Water up slightly from last week slight wind and aboot 40 degrees.  Cliffy suggest a new spread sounded great to me.  I freshen up the blind and we proceed with a 20 minute settle.   Again another disappointing morning fly.  High flyers mostly Pintail at mach speed.  At about 8am another group of hunters decide to join the party, late.  Deciding to set up right behind us, directly behind us in the Cove.  [

Websters Dictionary defines TheCove as:  A place where Bob DaFolder experienced a heart attack and was almost given a Viking funeral] Noisy they were as they threw out their what had to be 50 blocks plus a dozen full bodied goose decoys.  Recognizing that they were way too close to us I wade over to them and give them a what for "Hey you malaccas now that were set up right here!" They recognized that I am a founding member of the H7HT and garnered much apologies.  I suggested that they take into consideration where we were sitting when all three decide to unload their fire sticks at a Widgeon.  And they respectfully did.  The morning ended like every other day at the end of the year.  Enough ducks flying to peak your interest all morning but sadly nothing to show for it.  Conversation on the way out usually is aboot how can we make this almost 2 mile hike easier for these old bones, bikes? game trailer? scout a new better hunting spot? Today I spoke of how much I enjoyed my OG pack, my OG chair.  8 blocks is plenty hunting out there.  We never see huge flocks.  I can fix up, re-flock some old blocks and make new again.  My walk was easy, enjoyable.  We also spoke of our excitement to hunt the Potholes again next year.  Bob D. thanks for your hard work investigating.  Another season comes to end.  A few notables: it was 20 years ago we started hunting together and this season ends with Bob D. as the Expert, congratulations Bob D.

 

Some Photos From This Season

Guaranteed to be 'Expert'

FT20 Learning Curve

Where's Waylon?

 Pothole #7

There's Waylon.

Hangover cove minus the hangover

Junebug: disappointed.

Heavier than all these decoys

Free Texas rigger