ARRGGHH! #&*%#!

Just a handful of the several dozen porcupine quills my girl Ivy came back with in her mouth yesterday. It was a beautiful day, and we had just gotten started. I got all I could, but had to quit and head to the vet to get the rest. Kudos, however, to my local vet (Bear Paw) who took her right in and got her taken care of. And for much less $$$ than I had anticipated.

Today was an even prettier day, about as good as it can get. High's in the 20's with crystal clear blue skies, and a nice layer of snow on the ground. A terrific day to be in the field! And I'm stuck here at home waiting on some electricians to do some work at the house. Maybe tomorrow... And hopefully the weather holds out for me...

The Montana mixed bag

Well we finally had a cool enough day around here I could actually hunt past lunchtime. We went out to a new spot I hadn't tried before but it looked real promising. Well, it turned out better than expected! I could have had a limit of sage grouse and also sharptails, but I let quite a few fly. Pheasant season doesn't open until next weekend, so this is one of every prairie bird currently in season.

(L to R - 3 sharptail grouse, 1 sage grouse, and two Hungarian partridge)

Warm-Ups!

Well after many long days of waiting, the bird season is finally upon us. We'll be kicking things off tomorrow morning, though we may have a rain delay. In anticipation of the season, I've been trying to get the dogs out for some practice.

Here's Ivy on a practice run.

And here's Bull nose to tail with a group of three sharptails...