11-18-14

The cold, ice and lack of wind made it rough this morning. Paxton stayed home in order to mend her foot. On the previous hunt she tore a toe up pretty bad chasing after some mice under some wood . A few hunts before that she gashed her back pretty good on the fence chasing after them. I guess she is pretty mad at them. When she doesn't go on a hunt she is always waiting to grab a bird and carry it around on our arrival back home. I was getting ready to clean the birds and there was one missing. It seems as though Henry has developed a liking to duck head and neck.

Frozen blood on my gun...



Whipple waiting for a call to arms...



This guy was watching the action...



Some ice...



A hull stuck in the ice...



The birds...



All it takes is one little mistake...



Henry with his precious...

11-20-14

Had several birds come in early this morning only to leave before legal. Whiffed at more birds than I'd like to admit. A single crow came too close and after being hit tried to fly off only to fall right in the middle of the lil pond. Took Whipple to get it and when she hit the water a wounded duck jumped up and flew haphazardly into the field over a hill. When it jumped I tried to run back 10 feet to grab my gun that I had laid down but I wasn't fast enough. We looked for it but could never find it. I am still baffled where it came from and where it went. My only guess is someone had shot at it the day before and it tried to find refuge in that lil mud hole and maybe went further over the hill than I had thought. I am happy to report that Paxton did exact revenge on the mice.

The sunrise...



Some birds moving around...



Whipple with a Redhead...



Paxton picking up the hen...





Paxton with a Teal...



Whipple with the Crow...



Looking back on the spread from the lil pond...



Whipple waiting to be called back...



The strap...

nice

11-21-14

Took Whipple out this morning for her birthday hunt. She turned 4 years old today. There were plenty of birds and abundant opportunities. You know the old saying "couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo." It definitely rang true today. She still had a good time though.

Whipple with the first bird of the morning...



The decoys...



Whipple with a cripple she had to run down...





Whipple with one half of a pair of Ringers that came in...



Whipple getting after the other half...

Whipple watching some birds that swung behind us...



Some birds that came over...



Whipple with a Gaddie hen...



Whipple with her haul of the day...



She loves it when the vest comes off...

11-26-14

This morning started off with quite a few birds in the decoys quite early. Apparently it was more than the dang ole dirty early shooters could bear. To my surprise the ducks eventually trickled back in. There was a variety of other birds than came in as well.

Paxton bringing in a GWT...





Whipple with a GWT...









Spencer on the hunt...

Whipple picking up a Gaddie a few minutes later...



Pelicans came to check things out...



Paxton with another GWT...



This guy was on the hunt...





Some geese that came over while we were leaving...



The strap...

11-27-14

Went to get a quick hunt in this morning before doing the Thanksgiving thing. Birds worked pretty good. Shot a double on a couple of teal that circled and dropped in. Took out a single that came in. Then shot a triple on three that decided to check things out. The third bird tried to get away by flying low out into a field to the left and ended up crashing by a fence. When I went to find it and finish it off a hawk happened to fly towards me down the fence line carrying the bird. I changed directions and went to where I saw him land. I never saw the hawk again but found the teal at the bottom of the fence.

The Pelicans showed back up and decided to stay for a few minutes before heading out...









Paxton picking up some GWT...





Whipple waiting for her turn...



Whipple picking up a couple...





The take...

11-30-14

This morning was a very bittersweet hunt. My buddy (gf's nephew/"son") was in a bad head on collision Thanksgiving night. He was in a car and on his way home with his gf, their 5 year old daughter and his gf's 14 year old sister. His gf ended up with a few scrapes on her left arm. Their 5 year old broke her left wrist. His gf's 14 year old sister was killed on impact. My buddy had to be care flighted to Temple and ended up passing away the next day. He was an organ donor and we got the call that they were taking him into surgery at 11:00 while throwing out decoys. It was also my old gal's 11th birthday today. So, we did a very quick birthday hunt before heading to the hospital. There were early shooters again and as usual the birds did not cooperate with us, so I ended up shooting a snipe for Ms. Paxton.

The only birds that came in this morning...



The spread...



Paxton wondering where the birds are...



Found this lil guy in a cow hole...



Paxton excited to retrieve her snipe...

The girls taking a swim...



The birthday girl coming back to shore...



Paxton with her snipe...







Had to throw out the bird for Whipple...

Great pics. Keep them coming.

12-3-14

Fair amount of birds moving around today. Had quite a few birds on the water before legal. Even when legal came we had to wait to shoot because we couldn't see with it still being pretty dang dark. I ended up limiting in eight minutes and had to wait a bit for the GF to finish up. After watching her chase a Teal out in a field that kept eluding her I went to help. While out in the field chasing that bird we had several Gaddies land in the deeks. I bet next time she will let me (like usual) go get the birds that sail off into the fields. Had some geese come over when picking up.

Paxton picking up a bird...



Whipple picking up a bird...









Paxton with another...



Paxton with the one we had to chase down in a field...

The spread...



Paxton picking up a bird that crashed into an adjacent pond...





Geese flying over when we were getting ready to leave...



Paxton getting after a mouse...



The birds...



The girls with the birds...

12-4-14

Plenty of birds in the area this morning. Problem was very few of them were giving us a look. So, I decided to venture onto the interwebs. Not long afterwards, I happened to look up to see a lone Ringneck that seemed to be trying to land on my head. I think we startled each other equally but I got the last laugh when I winged him as he tried to escape to the right. While in pursuit of the Ringer I was surprised by a flock of Redheads that screamed over the pond right at me. I took a reaction shot and dropped one somewhere behind the tank dam. Birds trickled in after all of that excitement.

Whipple watching for birds...



The crippled Ringer...



Whipple getting after it...









Paxton searching for the Redhead...



Paxton with the bird...



Paxton picking up a Teal...

Paxton watching Whipple chase a Gadwall...



Whipple picking up the Gaddie...







Whipple with another Gadwall...





The take...

Wonderful pictures. What is it about duck hunters? Y'all required to take a class or something? Thanks for sharing with us.

12-7-14

This morning had lots of birds moving around. Bad thing was we had to leave early. Birds were flying strange all morning. Got surprised by quite a few that came from behind us and we never got a chance to react. On several occasions (after I had my six) I could hear wings and I would tell the GF to be ready and zoooooom a bird would buzz low between us from behind without her being able to get her gun up fast enough. I just laughed at her each time. We swear it was the same bird just messing with her. We definitely had chances for the three other birds but it didn't pan out.

Paxton picking up a bird...



Whipple picking one up...





Whipple after another...

Two of three birds that came in together. The third bird is on the shore to the left...



Paxton picking up a bird...





Paxton on another retrieve...



Whipple picking up a bird...







Empty hull...



The birds...