LUMP REMOVED

With hunting season over it was time for Dakota to have his operation.Judy dropped him off at Midshore Veterinary Service Tuesday morning.That's my friend Steve's clinic. Steve went out to South Dakota with me this year. I had him take some pictures of the operation. Here's a shot with the hair shaved away, you can see how big it was getting.If I was doing this I would have a dotted line here.The cuts been made and Steve is pulling out the fatty lump. Congratulations Dakota - you lost 2.5 pounds.He's back to being a mean lean bird hunting machine. Steve installed a couple of drain tubes. Steve sewed him up real good. That evening he got to stay in the big house. He's doing just fine and would like his friends to come see him - bring t-bones and beer.

LAST DAY

Saturday was the last day of the season for duck,geese and deer. Canada geese were using my flood pond Friday. Bill, Rick and Rachel came for breakfast at 6. We had egg and sausage sandwiches. We got to the blind at 7 and put out the decoys. There were a lot of geese flying by us and a lot of shooting from the west. Some of the flocks looked at us as they flew by but were headed somewhere else. Janey got bored and went squirrel hunting. When she had one tree'd I went and shot it. Dakota made the retrieve.Around 10 Uncle Buddy called me and invited us to his blind. He had a group of hunters who had got their limit of geese and were going to breakfast and then to duck hunt at the farm. When we got there one goose was out in the water that they couldn't get, so Janey retrieved it for them. While she was bringing it in a mallard flew over and I shot it. Uncle Buddy moved some decoys around and then tried calling some geese in for us.Most of the geese were high in big groups and Uncle Buddy couldn't trick them into coming down. Finally one did come in and Bill made a long shot across the pond.That's the only goose we got and we stayed until sundown. It was the last day for deer hunting so these deer can relax now. Their antlers are starting to drop.It will be nice to see how this one looks next season The deer have been using the corn and bean plots a lot

HUNTING

It warmed up and the ice melted so the ducks started using Bill's flood pond.
We put up a blind Friday at lunch time.We decided to come back at 3:00 since it was going to get cold over night and may freeze up. Uncle Buddy came too. With his help we got our ducks.
We went back Saturday morning and it was all frozen up - no ducks were flying.
I had planned a different kind of hunting for the afternoon. Made arrangements with Wayne, from Ober Automotive Warehouse, to come over with his friends who hunt with hawks.
Bill and his son Bill, both have their falconry permits. Bill,Sr, had brought a Northern Goshawk. His son had a Red Tail.We started with the Goshawk. It sat and watched from Bill's glove while we beat the brush. We didn't go far when I jumped a rabbit. The hawk saw it and dove for it but just missed since there is good ground cover for them to hide in. We jumped another rabbit and it got away too. Something got the hawk's attention near the woods and off he went. We found him in a tree.Bill showed him a small piece of meat and down he came. Then it was the Red Tail's turn. Bill released him and he followed us by landing tree to tree. I jumped a rabbit and the hawk had him before he got twenty yards. We jumped two more and they were lucky - the hawk just missed. The hawk saw a squirrel and caught him in the top of a holly tree. It took a few minutes for the hawk to get his wing out of the branches and down he came with the squirrel.

RABBIT HUNTING

Calvin bought his dogs over Wednesday morning for a little rabbit hunt.
It was me, George, Calvin and six dogs against the bunny's.We jumped the first rabbit when we got to the woods.This was a clever bunny.I saw him coming my way when he stopped at about 40 yards and looked around and headed the other way.The dogs stayed on his trail.He took the dogs down to the bottom wet ground and kept making small circles. Calvin moved in on him and after a while I heard the shot.Calvin got him.
It wasn't long and the dogs were running anther one and he gave the dogs the slip.
I jumped #3 and got the dog on him. This rabbit made a small circle and came out to the edge and stopped about 30 yards from me.I waited a minute for him to take off and give me a running shot.I guess he was waiting on the dogs to get closer but I remembered I had my pistol.I put my shot gun down and got my pistol out of my holster and took aim at his head.I shot and missed 3 times, He just sat there but on shot #4 he did a flip and down he went. I hit him right behind the ear. First rabbit with my Ruger .Calvin jumped #4 and got the dog on him . Calvin got a shot on him but missed and he went by George and the rabbit wasn't so lucky this time.It was noon time and we headed back to the house. I jumped one more on the edge of the clover field on the way back. The dogs ran him back to where I jumped him where I was waiting. He gave me a nice fast running shot and I rolled him. That made #4 and I had to go back to work.

TAYLOR DEER FARM

Bill and I went deer hunting on his farm last Saturday afternoon. We got to the field at 4 o'clock and there were 12 deer in the field already. When they saw us,they headed towards the flood pond.I had my crossbow and got in the stand on the east side of the field. Bill was across from me on the west side. About 4:20 a button buck and his sister came out and feed on the green briers right under my stand. Then in a few minutes, I saw bigger does coming down the same path. The biggest one had one more step to take and I would have a clear 20 yard shot. However, when I brought my cross bow up, a bottle of water fell out of my coat pocket. When it hit the stand floor they all jumped back - the big ones went around the stand and stayed out of range.Then in a few minutes, I had a deer come out right in the field near me. It was a buck - I'm after a older doe. Then out came an older buck with a nice 8 points. He walked by, made a few grunts and feed in the field with the other deer.Wasn't long and I could see another deer coming my way. It stepped out in the opening and I decided take her. When she wasn't looking my way, I got the cross bow up. Had her in my sights when I saw a bigger doe coming. I decided to wait for her to come out. There were two more smaller ones with her and she looked right at me. She just backed up and ran off.I waited till dark and headed back to the truck. Bill had 5 deer around him but nothing he wanted to shoot. We will be back.

SNOW GEESE

Uncle Buddy invited me over to the farm to shoot snow geese.He has a nice pit by a small pond to hunt over.Uncle Buddy put out the decoys. Bill swept some snow off the blind.It had been snowing and we had about 4 or 5 inches. Cousin Stevie, Uncle Buddy's son, and his friend joined us.We had Janey for our retriever.It wasn't long and we had some ducks circling. Uncle Buddy said take them and we did. A snow goose was out there too. Janey went for it first.I had my double barrel 20 and managed to bring a mallard hen down.Uncle Buddy's been doing this hunting thing for a long time and knows what it takes to get the birds.He got out to dip the duck decoys and brush the snow from the geese decoys. Here's a good picture of the pit - the top slides open.
We had a big flock come over us and the fellows brought down 15 of them. The one I picked out kept flying - they were a little too high for my 20 gauge.Janey and I had a great time.Thanks Uncle Buddy - I've got goose meat now.

SQUIRREL DOG

Janey's become a good squirrel dog. This weekend Bill and I took a walk with the dogs
in the woods.Bill had his 22 and we weren't in the woods far when Janey started barking up a tree. I was the spotter, Bill the shooter. Bill knocked the first squirrel out the tree. Within no time at all, Janey was barking up another tree.I spotted the squirrel and Bill shot. This time the squirrel ran down around the tree right to me.I chased him back up. Bill would get a shot off at him and he would come back down again.That went on a few more times and then the squirrel went right past me and made a run for it on the ground. Janey had him before he got too far. Within a few minutes Janey had another one up a tree. Bill located it and shot. It came down the tree really crazy with good reason - the top of its head was missing. I'm sure Bill could have gotten his limit of six but we ran out of time and had to get back home.