Ducks Back on the Pond

Finally the waters have returned to our ponds in the hills.  The ducks enjoy the fresh water and so do Bailey and Chloe.

Bailey and Chloe love a good swim.  Nothing more fun than swimming after ducks.

 The ducks get some flying time. They were getting lazy floating around.

There one Minute and Gone the Next

A few years ago I posted "Faith-based training" on this blog.  How when you hike in thick fog your dogs are there one minute and gone into the white blanketed distance another.

This morning, we once again headed up to Briones Regional Park for a 4.6 mile loop in the fog.

Unlike three years ago I did not worry where Bailey and Chloe disappeared to.  They would return.



On the same bench a month prior.

Great Fall Hill Hike - Morgan Territory

 
 
 
 

Morgan Territory Regional Park is a great get away from it all.  Up here the dogs and I can get away from all signs of civilization.  For two hours we enjoyed both the ridges and the valleys of this wonderful hidden treasure.

 

During the hike I reached a goal a long time in the making.  337 days ago I set my GZ One Smart phone to a Virtual Trek.  It counts your foot sets with a built in pedometer.

  I chose the Amudsen-Scott South Pole Station as my goal.  1,679.3 miles from the start. (I had already completed the other 15 shorter hike virtual treks).  My goal was to keep at a 5 mile per day pace.  It ended up being 5.0365 miles per day.  During that 337 days, Bailey, Chloe and me had some great adventures in the mountains and hills around mostly the Bay Area.

Fall Hill Hike with Vizslas after the First Rain

Eight miles along the trails of Briones Regional Park this morning.  The trails were a bit muddy from the rain that had come through the area yesterday. The air was crisp.

Happy Camper - Life is Good

Chloe showing her whitening face as Bailey looks down the valley

The muscle development on these two dogs is amazing to me

Bird Dog Kentucky Whiskey

A classic 1973 Heritage china hunter and hunting dog decanter Ezra Brooks liquor bottle #185, A Hungarian Pointer and pheasant flushed picture framed, and a pint of Bird Dog Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey.  These items seem to go together very well.

Never would I hunt with ANY liquor in the blood, but after a good day in the field, a nice glass of  quality Kentucky Bourbon "neat" makes for a fine finish of a great day.

Hidden Treasure - Salt Lake City - Neff's Canyon

Neff's Canyon.

  http://alltrails.com/trail/us/utah/park-city-ut

 is a hikers wonderland in the fall. 

Erie and Seeker stand next to me at the entrance to the trailhead.

 I was lucky enough to have to be in Salt Lake City late this week and took the opportunity to meet up with some local Vizsla owners for a brisk 2.5 mile hike up Neff's Canyon just south east of down town Salt Lake City.

Kadee and Tunde show me the way up the canyon

These pictures were taken from my new Polaroid Cube.  A cool little unit,

It fits in your pocket, takes videos and does a good job on hikes.  Just came out this month.

On a bright and sunny Saturday morning starting at 9:00 a.m. Three local Vizslas (Tibor, Erie and Seeker) joined Kadee, Tunde, and me for a two-hour hike up the canyon.  The canyon goes up for 5.5 miles and climbs a total of 3,600 feet.  We did a little less than half of the climb before running out of time.  I had to get to the airport.

Thanks Kadee for showing me this hidden treasure.

Next time that I am in Utah, I hope to bring Bailey and Chloe.

I'll make it to the top!

 This was the second hike I took east of Salt Lake City.  I had gone out the afternoon before on a trail just east of the University of Utah campus.

Vizslas Along The San Francisco Bay

 Point Pinole Regional Park 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

October 9, 2014

 

 

 

 

 Sometimes I just let the pictures speak for themselves.

 

Ramon was good enough to join us on our 6-mile hike.

 



Three Ways an Artist Cooks Pheasant

https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#A35GH8MqGuJWfA

The above attached thirty photo set shows how an artist prepares pheasant. (Tap on above link to open)

Maria is a friend who had never cooked a pheasant before.  So after my hunt Sunday I visited Scott and Maria  ("California Transylvanian Hounds") with three birds right from the fields of Hastings.

 

 

I showed Maria how to dress the first pheasant and she learned quickly and had the other two birds done flawlessly after that.

We're on the way over to give her efforts a taste.  Very much looking forward to it.

A Perfect Water Retrieve

 First pheasant hunt of the season was this morning.  Perfect weather. 55 degrees at 7:30 when Hastings Island opens the fields to hunters.  This is Bailey and my fourth season.  We are comfortable in the fields as a team.

The first pheasant of the season.  We always take time to thank the bird and nature for the harvest.

 

Below is the small river that borders the northern edge of Hastings Island.  I had heard the bird from a distance in the fields.  I headed that way and Bailey started searching the bank.  He locked up on point looking down the bank.  The bank was covered with bramble brush with red berries.

 A rooster wild flushed about 10 yards away.  I took one shot as the bird flew hard to the right behind trees that lined the bank.  I thought I had missed it.  As I got to a clearing after walking another 50 feet away, I saw the bird in the middle of the river.  I had wounded it but the bird was swimming to the far bank.

Bailey hadn't seen the bird go down, but as he came near me, he looked down into the water, saw the bird and he found a way down to the water.  With no hesitation he plunged into the river and headed for the bird.

He caught the bird just before it got to the far shore and brought it back to me.  A perfect water retrieve.