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.