Lost and Found

It seems we've misplaced spring up here. Has anyone seen it? It never got above zero today, wind chills in the -30 degree range, and light snow all day. The picture below is the official back porch low from last night.

If you see spring around anywhere, please send it this way!

Good friends and good dogs

Last weekend the dogs and I made a run down to Lewistown to visit with my friend Brad, and a couple of his fine dogs. Brad's a fellow Montana bird hunting fool. Not to mention, he's got some fine dogs too.

Here's Brad walking in on his shorthair, Deacon. I believe Tiegen is in there somewhere too, but I cant find him.

Here's Brad walking in on his setter, Tiegen.

And again...

Notice a trend here?

Here's one of Bull and Ivy getting in on the action.
All in all, we had a great time. Who knew Lewistown was in the banana belt? It was 60 degrees that day, and 17 when I arrived back home, three hours away. Brad, you've got a spot here come this fall.

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)