The Progress, Albeit Slow, Continues . . .

Well, at this point, the framing is FINALLY done. That said, if anyone tries to tell you that you can't frame a 3,000 sq.ft. house with a $64 Harbor Freight nail gun, I'm walking, talking proof that they're wrong. HVAC guy is finishing up the AC. Lawson is well on his way with the framing, septic is down, and the plumber is scheduled to be there tomorrow to finish the inside plumbing. With some luck and a little help from my friends, I'm hoping to get upper level flooring, the rest of the insulation, balcony handrails, the rest of the security cameras, and interior wall covering knocked out by mid-week next week. Wish me luck . . . I'll need it.

Short of Time & on a Deadline, I Call in the Reserves

Everybody getting in on the action. Gotta get that floor done . . .

Level 1 Is In The Rear View

Finally, Franks, Dave, Papa & I got the last of the floor joists up today.

Slowly, But Surely

Okay, so I won't be winning any races, but we're getting there.

So, Let's Review . . .

Having FINALLY decided to move on the compound, I selected a suitable location last December. After clearing the area, I called in the dirt guys and got the place somewhat leveled. In comes rough plumbing and the the concrete truck. and, of course, the metal building. . . . foam insulation. Acid stain for the floors . . . And the the fireplace, designed and constructed by none other than Gibby, himself. and finally, we're raising a few walls.

A New Career in Construction? Yeah, I Don't Think So.

Lets face it, some days are just frustrating. Today was one of those for me. I spent the day building something, only to tear it down before leaving for home. And nonetheless, we're making progress. Building's up, 1/3 of the walls are framed, the fireplace is coming along slowly, but nicely. Floors are stained, and I can see the distant flicker of what might be a light at the end of a very long tunnel. Would it make code? I sincerely doubt it. Do I care? Heck NO. it'll be solid as an oak, and I'll be able to say that I did it with my own two hands when it finally gets done.

The Legacy

Well, Hunter & I tried 'em hard on Saturday morning and again Sunday Morning.  While the birds were certainly there, my girl simply failed to connect.  To say she was demoralized would be an understatement, but then there's all the motivation we need to get better for next season.  It'll happen next time, and that's all-but guaranteed.  Either way, we saw lots of birds close-up and enjoyed two very pleasant mornings in the blind. 




Garrett and Franks ventured out onto the Lost 20, and had a successful shoot.  His bag included 2 Mallards and a Specklebelly.  Afterwards, they moved in behind us on the south line of Chuck's and bagged another Mallard and a GWT.



For the morning:  5 Birds.
3 Mallards
1 Speck
1 GWT

Lost 20:  3 Birds
Chuck's:  2 Birds.

On Sunday afternoon, Garrett, Olivia, Hunter, Franks, & I slipped in on the back side of the Lost 20, where a number of birds were rafted up.  Unfortunately, they flew out and never came back.  Garrett popped a Shoveler and, at 4 o'clock, Squid, Hunter and I decided that we'd go give Baser a try. 

Was a good choice.  We closed the season out with another 5 mallards.

Baser:  5 Mallards

Finale'

Well, we were hoping to get to 700.  Didn't happen.  Dave, John, Blake & I started out Saturday morning on Amy's, hoping to catch a raft of birds that were feeding there the morning before.  Didn't happen, but we did manage to bag a single specklebelly goose flying by.  As fate would have it, that would be the last bird of the season.  John & I went back to Chuck's Sunday morning and again with Dave & Blake on Sunday afternoon, but there just weren't any birds to be had.  It was, as depicted below, however, a beautiful sunset on an excellent season.  We simply couldn't have asked for anything more. 

Sunday:  Chuck's.  Skunk.  No love.

Saturday:  Amy's.  1 Specklebelly

THE END.



The Breakdown:

·  Season 702

·  Mallards 359

·  Gadwall 114

·  Green Wing 69

·  Pintail 56

·  Northern Shoveler50

·  Speck. 32

·  Snow Goose 11

·  Wigeon 7 

·  Ring Neck 3

·  Canada 2

Total Hunts:  44

BPD = 16

By Location:

Charles: 

537 Birds/31 hunts:  17.32 BPD

Mallards:  286 (53%)

Gadwall:  96 (18%)

Green-Winged Teal:  56 (10%)

Pintail:  41 (8%)

Northern Shoveler:  32  (6%)

Specklebelly Goose:  15  (3%)

Wigeon:  6  (1%)

Snow Goose:  4  (<1 p=""> Canada Goose:  2 (<1 span="">

Amy's:

66 Birds/5 hunts:  13 BPD

Mallards:              31

Shovelers:              15

Gadwalls:            08

GWT:              01

Speck:              06

Wigeon:            01

Pintail:            04

Jones':  

20 Birds/4 hunts:  5 BPD

Mallards:            6

Gadwalls:            8

Speck:            3

Pintail:            2

Shoveler:            1

Baser:

63 Ducks/4 Hunts:  16 BPD

34 Mallards

12 GWT

09 Pintail

03 Scaup

02 Gadwall

02 Specks

01 Shoveler

Marvins:  8 Birds

7 Snows

1 Speck

Lost 20:  7 Birds. 
4 Specks
2 Mallards
1 Shoveler

Going Out With A Whisper

Well, it's pretty slow around the Trigger Happy Hunting Club.  Blake and I slipped into Chuck's blind this morning to get a birds-eye observation of how the ducks were behaving.  What we found was that the few ducks that were on that side of the farm weren't interested in what we had to offer.  We left at 8:30 with 2 birds, and popped a snow on the way out.

Charles'
3 Birds
1 Mallard
1 Pintail
1 Snow Goose

Let's Face It: It Could Be Worse

Nick Pierce and his 10-man crew rolled into town on Friday, January 18, to take a crack at the frozen tundra that was formerly Charles' Field. They slipped into the blind well after 4:00 p.m. on Friday to set their blocks for the following morning, and managed to down a single mallard drake in the process. On Saturday, the 19th, they returned and scratched out a respectable bag, but on Sunday they left with only 4 birds.

3 day's hunting:
Charles: 25 Birds
14 GWT
5 Mallards
5 Gadwall
1 Pintail

In the meantime, I was honored to have none other than Ryan Dawson join me in the blind on Saturday and Sunday, and we, along with Gates, Johnny, and Meredith bagged 16 on Saturday in Amy's field and another 3 Sunday morning. The weather was rough, with lows in the lower 30's and heavy winds from the SSW. Bluebird skies made the scenery nice, but the conditions just weren't there for popping birds that were returning from a frozen flood.

3 days hunting:
Amy's: 19 Birds.
10 Mallards
4 Pintails
4 Specks
1 Gadwall

She's an Icebox

It's hard to win the game when you can't get on the field . . .

Noah Had an Ark . . .

. . . prolly gonna wish we did too.  I left the rain gauge out at home through the snow and ice, which broke the glass.  Ultimately, that means I don't know how much rain we got.  What I do know was that it was a lot.  The farm is an ocean, so when Johnny, Blake and I laid tracks for Chuck's it was more an effort to clear our gear from the blind than to hunt.  Nonetheless, we brought out 8 in the process.

8 Birds
4 grey ducks
2 mallards
1 GWT
1 juvie snow