Winter Arrives . . .

Well, friends, this is gonna be a rough one. We ended the first split on a whimper and patiently waited for the second season to make its way around the corner hoping all the while that the birds would reset and give us a shot at redemption. And it shook down exactly like we'd hoped it would . . . With one blindingly painful exception: we didn't see the weather coming. For purposes of recording the matter for future reference, I shall quote from the weather channel's forecast:

Friday: ICE STORM WARNING. high of 29 @ 7:00 a.m. With temps falling. N winds @ 15-25 mph.
Saturday: low: 18. High: 21
Sunday: low: 23. High: 30 with snow
Monday: low: 9. High: 30. Partly sunny
Tuesday: low: 10. High: 28
Wednesday: low: 12. High: 34

 Do you see the problem here? Unfortunately, waterfowl habitually inhabit areas with water in its liquid form. We're fresh outta that stuff for the next week or so. We knew we had problems when temps hit 20 degrees on the second day of season.

The pattern has played out exactly as expected. With that in mind, we looked to wreck em while we could. And we did. Thursday, as a last ditch to get what we could while we could, we started in on em on the home field in the morning with a seven man crew, including Grey, the Bakers, John, Brant Tosh, Brian Elders, and myself. We stepped out of the blind early with 36 ducks and a speck. Thereafter, we took a few mystery guests out to break the seal on Chuck's and smoked another 27 birds.

Total for the day 64 birds.

 Memphis Blind:
8 mallards
10 gadwalls
12 GWT
6 spooners
1 speck.



 Chuck's:
15 gadwall
6 mallards
4 GWT
2 shovelers



Sunday: Johnny & the Gipper in Memphis . . . 1 hoody

Saturday:  Reece, Blake, John, Garrett, Gibby. 10 birds in Memphis.

4 GWT
4 Shovelers
1 Mallard
1 speck



Friday a.m.:  8 birds. Reece, Blake, Johnny & the Gipper; Memphis

4 redheads
2 GWT
1 gadwall
1 Mallard

Friday p.m.:  Blake, Reece, Johnny. Chuck's on the east side. 2 Gadwalls.

Nope. We did NOT Forget the Proper Technique For Spanking a Flock of Mallards

Alright, so it looked like things were going downhill fast. Saturday was a hot shoot, but temps in the lower 29's and 20 mph north winds wore us out on Sunday. Disgusted, I blew off the Monday hunt, and on Tuesday we broke ice for only a handful of birds. Having had enough of that, I deemed it an appropriate move to get off my lazy butt and scout em on Wednesday.

Found em on the southeast corner of Chuck's, and John, 2 mystery guests, and I went to task on em. Killed a trophy in the process, too.

 Wednesday, November 27, 2013: Johnny, Gibby, and two guests who choose to remain anonymous. 23 birds
18 mallards
3 shovelers
2 gadwall Tuesday,

November 26, 2013.  Dave, Garrett, Gibby

4 Shovelers
1 GWT
1 Wigeon

 Sunday, November 24, 2013. Franks, Garrett, Grant, John, Blake, Gibby
5 Specks

Game On

Alright, it's been a while since I've posted. Let's face it: I've been a bit busy. Nonetheless, whilst not completed, the barn is functional, and opening day has come and gone. I must say, the barn ain't too shabby . . . As for the hunting picture: I've got mixed reviews. As of Wednesday, we were holding something in the neighborhood of 15-20,000 birds in the Home field. Problem is, most of them were holding there after dark. Thus, I've been running em out for a week. Anywho, on Thursday, a blustery cold front blew through and mixed everything up. Forecast for the opener was for highs in the 40's with STIFF north winds, and that forecast was spot on. Bad scenario: facing south, with clouds, and heavy winds. Even so, we whooped 'em. Tasha, Johnny, Franks, Dave, Papa, Blake, and yours truly, left the blind carrying full bags at 8:01 a.m. Once we got back to the barn, we noticed that one of the pins we took was BANDED. Awesome morning. 44 birds 15 shovelers 12 Gadwall 5 GWT 4 Pintails 3 Mallards 2 Scaup 2 specks 1 merganser.

Progress Continues . . .

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