Reflections on the 05-06 Season
As the traditional fall seasons wind down, thank you for another great year of hunting. TJ (our 5-year old Wirehaired Pointing Griffon) and I were fortunate to be able to hunt nearly every weekend (and a lot of weekdays) since late October and we’ll continue walking the fields of Kansas until the end of January. TJ continues to amaze me with her naturally developed abilities, especially on these late season roosters. I read one time that “the training of bird dogs is best left to the birds.” Don’t get me wrong; we need to help our dogs understand “Come” and “Sit” so they’ll be more pleasant around the house. And “Whoa” is necessary to avoid a dangerous or smelly (e.g. skunk) situation; but beyond that, exposure to birds is all that is needed to develop a good dog. The more time I spend with TJ in the field the more this lesson rings true. My sympathy goes out to those upland members without a four legged hunting partner. In the spring we’ll be welcoming a WPG puppy to our home. I’m confident that by this time next year, much of what I thought I knew as a dog-handler will have been challenged. The learning never stops. This year the duck hunting was somewhat disappointing for us. Throughout October and early November, I kept burning up the phone lines to family and friends in North Dakota and the answer was always the same: “Very little migration so far…ducks are still in Canada.” Then the tough weather hit up there and the birds headed south, but it seemed we had the northern birds here in Missouri for only a couple weeks, and much of that time our ponds were froze up. Next year, I plan to do more field hunting. I have a friend in North Dakota who only field hunts ducks. He told me they set out 5 spinning wing decoys (no others) and the mallards pour in. I’d be interested in hearing in the updates pages about success or challenges from other club members who are field hunting for waterfowl. Jon and John, I have always been impressed with the hunting land you arrange for the members. But you also do a great job of attracting and keeping good members. TJ and I met several folks this year and each time it was our pleasure. We tried to lure teal and chased pheasants with Ed and his black lab from Kansas City; we joined up with father-son combo Chris and Charles (along with their yellow lab) from Georgia for a day of Kansas pheasants (“Charles, the straight-away flying rooster is the toughest shot for me as well”). I sat with two Floridian, long-time, hunting partners, Robin and Ben, in a duck blind in Missouri and witnessed their well-developed and playful hunt-rituals. For example, when Ben stepped out of the blind to relieve himself, Robin poked me in the ribs and with a smile warned urgently: “Ben...ducks...get down.” And at 9:00AM exactly, cookies and Diet Cokes were announced, distributed and savored. It was as precise as English Morning Tea. Another day, I shared that same blind with Mark. There was 2 inches of ice on the water that morning. I was wheezing like an asthmatic in a dust storm after struggling to free a patch of water the size of our kitchen table, while Mark (whom I later learned was a Kansas City Firefighter) smashed the ice on a stretch as big as most folks’ back yards (Note to self: “improve physical conditioning or always hunt with Mark”). The opening of Missouri’s pheasant/quail season provided another example of the quality of the membership. A true gentleman had arrived at a choice piece on a small farm just before us and then graciously offered to let us join him for the hunt. Encountering sports men and women of this caliber adds so much to the hunt. I have only two constructive critiques for management this coming year. 1) Jon and John, please ensure an early freeze-up in Canada and the northern portions of the flyways, while maintaining moderate temps and low cloud cover for us here in Missouri/Kansas/Iowa. 2) Shawn, when I call for a reservation in the future, in addition to your pleasant voice and helpful demeanor, please warn me of any skunks scheduled to wander those particular properties on those particular days. TJ got into a disagreement with a skunk around Thanksgiving; despite numerous hydrogen-peroxide and baking soda baths, when she gets damp that black and white critter’s calling card still lingers (albeit) faintly. Your prompt attention to these matters will be appreciated. Again, thank you all for all you do so well. I’ve included a couple pictures of TJ doing the things she does well. The continuing story...Staff of MAHA,
Thank you so much for another great year of hunting. Given the continuing (and even worsening) drought in Kansas last fall, I know it was a challenging year to maintain the land quality in the western part of our hunting range that we members have grown accustomed to. I’m predominantly an upland hunter so it was disappointing to see several properties with severely stunted CRP growth this year that in the past have been solid bird producers. Although the moisture we’ve gotten in the form of freezing rain these past several weeks may take a toll on the immediate bird population, maybe it also signals the end of the drought. That bodes well for our farmer-partners, the habitat and game conservation in the long run.
It was also a challenging year for our hunting party of three. TJ of Plum Creek, our six year old Wirehaired Pointing Griffon, had to tolerate the arrival of a pesty Griffon puppy in July. Actually Berkano of Hundgaard (aka Berk) arrived at our home accompanied by three of her whiskered sisters. As a member of a Griffon breeding club I was transporting the three extra Griffs for the first leg of their journey to new homes further west. So these four yowling and nipping puppies descended on TJ that day and immediately set about chasing her around HER yard, chewing on HER belongings and (heaven forbid) even pooping in HER yard. Within an hour, she had gathered all HER toys and bones into a pile in the far corner of the back yard where she guarded them aggressively (to say the least). As those of us who have younger siblings know full well: getting dethroned sucks.
I tried to make it through one more hunting season on a wobbly knee, a decision which resulted in me literally crawling my way through the end of the early prairie chicken season and (with surgeons’ schedules being what they are), ended up going under the knife on opening day of Kansas pheasant season. What a revolting development for an obsessed rooster hunter.
To top it all off, Berk came up lame in early October and after a month of tests and pain killers was finally diagnosed with bi-lateral osteochondrosis dessicans in her shoulders. She had arthroscopy surgery during the second week of pheasant season to remove excessive cartilage in those joints and had to be crate restricted for 6 weeks. Another revolting development.
Well, we (literally) limped through the early part of the regular season but came on strong down the stretch. TJ seems to have accepted (albeit begrudgingly) Berk’s annoying existence. Berk got vet approval to hunt the final three weeks of January and did a beautiful job on some late season roosters (see included pictures of a snowy hunt). And I healed up enough to attempt to keep up with my dogs…a feat that gets more challenging with each passing year.
One of the things I like best about this club is its mission to provide hunting lands for the single on-foot hunter. That structure puts most of us members in our vehicles alone cruising the properties. While I enjoy my own company immensely and my dogs seem to tolerate me pretty well for the most part, it is sometimes a treat to see and visit with other hunters. The staff of MAHA has done a great job in recruiting some really delightful characters. While out hunting this year we renewed old acquaintances and made some new ones. We had a chance to visit, joke and hunt ducks with long time MAHA-members Ben and Robin from Florida. These two are masters of the practical joke. This year we also met their wives and learned “the rest of the story.” Since Ben and Robin don’t get out much for upland birds, I offered “the wives” a few pheasants one day when Ben and Robin were off doing their thing. I learned later that the women had convinced Ben and Robin that they had taken their husbands’ prize firearms, gone hunting and collected the roosters on their own. Putting one over on Ben and Robin would be difficult, but oh so satisfying and heartwarming. My best to them all and especially to Ben who is struggling with some health problems.
We also met a new member (Terry) on one of our pheasant hunts. He is the first upland hunter I’ve heard of who hunts pheasants by choice with a beagle. Terry is one of those lanky, long-legged men who literally glides across the terrain; heck, he has to be to keep up with a beagle on running roosters. He is also a man with world-wide hunting experiences and a knack for telling stories about those hunts.
I also had occasion to meet one of the club’s long time landowners. We had a nice visit about farm machinery, ethanol and the price of corn as well as some of the conservation practices he uses on his land. It was truly delightful to hear about life on his side of the fence.
So again, thank you all for all you do so well. The Hunting Pack looks forward to another season with this great club.
Charles, TJ and Berk |
Jon, John, Shawn and the rest of the unsung heroes of the MAHA:
