Mark Your Time in Seasons - Football and Hunting, That Is!

Jet and Trap, heading out to their trialing field.

Trap the German Shorthair starting out his hunting. Hunt 'em up, boy! Doesn't he look happy?!

Trap, retrieving his first bird of the trial. He knows what he's doing, and he loves it!

This is Jet and Trap, immediately after their first run. I don't know who's more excited!

This past weekend at the field trial, I met a young couple named Jet and Stephanie. Actually, I met Jet a couple of months ago, at Pet Smart. Zanna the WonderPup and I were at Zanna’s puppy training, and this young man comes up to the window to introduce himself to me. Seems he has a young shorthair named Trap, and he and his wife seemed pretty new to this area. I told him about the field trials, and the Llano Estacado Bird Hunting Association, and he told me he was interested in getting involved and meeting other hunters. Jet is a football coach, so he told me his time would be limited until after football season was over.

This weekend was Jet’s first field trial with Trap. Though I attended, I didn’t hunt - just trying to get 100% well after my bout with the respiratory junk. Another young man ran Zack for me.

Jet comes up to greet me, and I went over to meet his wife, Stephanie. She’s a sweetheart, and is a teacher in our local school system. We visited for a while, and while talking, I asked her how long they had been in town. Her response?

“Two football seasons.”

I cracked up, thinking “Uh-oh. I’ve got to introduce her to shooting. Once Jet gets addicted to hunting/field trials, Stephanie will have two seasons by which to mark her time. she might as well be involved in one of them.” She laughed, as well.

We visited for a while, then I went on to take care of some business. It was almost time for Trap’s run, and Jet comes up to me again. He asks me to take pictures during his run.

I just could not turn him down. How many people get to document their first run?

Jet and Trap did well, and as I predicted, Jet got adrenalined up - he now loves field trialing. And so does Trap the German Shorthair! Here are some of the shots, for your enjoyment. I know you love good hunting pictures. (I’ll convert all of you yet!) Oh, yeah - and now, Stephanie’s ready to start shooting!

Little Brother, Advocate For the Elderly

Little Brother when he first wakes up...how do guys do this?  He's so cute. And yes, that's his sock in the background.  Looks like he slept on the couch last night.

Little Brother (LB) called Friday night and begged to come stay the weekend.  (He always gets his timing just right!)  I picked him up at Whataburger, where he had just finished a double Whopper with bacon and cheese.  It's so good to see him! We then went to meet friends at the new Chinese/Japanese/Thai restaurant, Ginza.  

There, LB ate Sesame Chicken.  While we were there, we also picked up an entree for ThatManILove, who was stuck out in the field and hit the house around 10 p.m.  Whereby, LB sat down at the table with ThatManILove and finished off his take home box of sesame chicken.  The kid is a bottomless pit, I swear.  He cracks me up.  And he's tall and skinny...I don't know where all this food goes??

After the field trial yesterday, we stopped by  my brother Scott’s Auction House in Big Spring to see what he would be selling at his auction on Sunday.  An auction house is full of adventure for a 12 year old, just saying.  LB met all of Scott’s helpers, two of whom are disabled and are on electric scooters due to their ailments.

LB poked around, asked questions, and generally entertained himself for an hour just by snooping.  We were about to leave, and LB discovered a couple of electric scooters.  One wasn’t charged - but one was in full operating order.  LB ran to Scott, and asked permission to ride it, which Scott gave, grinning.  Everybody loves LB.

LB carefully rode around for a while, then  came back to where we were all congregated, and starts talking to Scott’s helpers again.  While doing so, LB backed the scooter professionally into its original parking space.  Everybody’s watching, and enjoying him.

LB turns off the scooter, and stands up, grinning like a cheshire cat, and says loudly, “Wow.  Now I know how elderly people have fun.”

He really means it.

Hunting Pheasant and Chukkar in Santa Anna, Texas...and Pheasant Phighting Throwdown!!

ThatManILove is missing out on all the fun stuff. Earlier this year, we, along with another local family, pooled together and bought a pheasant/chukkar hunt at a Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation fundraiser. The hunt was at the Santa Anna Hunting Area, which is one of the premier bird hunting places in Texas.

And yesterday, we went on the hunt. One of my customers, Dave, took MLH’s place. Our family friends (dad, mom, son and daughter) went with us, and we had a good time hunting together. There was much excitement, laughing, and encouragement.

I think we walked 10 miles, over stubble and high grass, hunting those pheasant and chukkar. I am a very, very tired girl. Gerry and Eldena Sterns, the owners of Santa Anna Hunting Area, will spoil you rotten on one of these hunts. Gerry takes you out with his dogs, and the hunters fan out across the field and walk in a line across the field. The dogs are working to the hunter’s right and left, and when one goes on point, the others all go to back him up. It was so much fun. These dogs were amazing – brittanys, pointers, and even a French spaniel. And you can tell these dogs love their owner! The shooter guns the bird, and then the dogs retrieve it, and Gerry carries all the birds. Some of the best hunting in the world. The birds are beautiful, and there were some black pheasants out in the field. They're really show-stoppers, big beautiful showy birds.

After the hunt, we returned to the main facility. The Stearns grandkids were there, and had our birds cleaned, bagged, and in a cooler in no time. Here they are: Hunter, Cheyenne, and the tiny one, “Tay-wah” (Taylor). Beautiful, sweet young people. Eager to please, and very personable.

Taylor stole all our hearts, she’s a sweetie, and will tell you in no uncertain terms she’s too “wittle” to hunt, but she’d love for you to stay and “pway” with her! And…she’s a camera ham. Can you tell?

This is Gerry Stearns with his granddaughters Cheyenne and Taylor. You can tell they're all the best of friends!
Here’s a pix of all of the hunters. I’m the chunky monkey in the bright orange. And the wind was blowing so hard my hair was screaming, but Lordy, we had a great time!
Here are some pix I caught of rooster pheasants fighting and bowing up to each other. They jump up in the air and fight with their claws. It's almost dark, and I didn't have my big flash with me, but if you click on pix, you can see the vibrant colors of their feathers. I can't believe we got this close to them. (No, we didn't shoot them.) Aren’t they beautiful?

See how they puff up their feathers? Just like some men I know! Oh wait...men don't have feathers!

So…if you’re wondering what to get the hunter in your life, call the Stearns – buy a hunt. Your hunter will love you forever.

Or, heck. Forget that! Just buy me one!

On another note entirely - does anyone else love the Chelsea Lately show as much as I do??

Hunting Field Trial and More Hunting Dog Pictures

Okay, I have to show off pictures of Zack the Wonder Dog and Zanna the Wonder Pup from this weekend. They are so awesome. The dogs, I mean. The pictures? Yeaaaaaah, they're okay, too.
My friend Steve put out a live quail for Zanna to chase, and chase, she did! She caught it, and is bringing it back to me. With zero training. She is so funny!
And here are a couple of Zack the Wonder Dog on point. I never get to take these pictures, but this time, Kellygirl was with me, so she held my gun while I took pictures. And then, yes, I shot my quail. But that's another story unto itself, right, Kelly?
This is Steve's dog, Abby the English Pointer, on point. She's a beautiful gal.And this is Steve, walking up to flush the bird. Notice Abby never breaks her point? She's stout, stout, stout. I think she's beautiful.
And of course, LB1, who spent the weekend with me. The little guy woke himself up at 4 a.m. and stayed awake so I wouldn’t be late for the field trial. At 5:30 a.m., he knocked on my door.

LB1: Miss Janie?

Janie: Hey, little dude.

LB1: Time to get up! We don’t want to be late. Can we go get a burrito on the way out?

The kid is a bottomless pit, I swear. I can’t keep him filled up. God bless his Mom. I don’t know how she does it! We ordered a large pizza for supper, and he ate everything but the two pieces I had. He does love him some pizza! (Notice, Kellygirl, he has on your snake gaters!)
LB1 was so great at the field trials. He loved driving the golf cart, and timing the events. I think his second best thing to do was to blow the horn at the end of the timed sessions. He is such a funny, bright young man. I love hanging around him!

Here are Zack and Zanna, tied to the tail end of my new ride while awaiting their turn. Well, Zack's turn, really, since Zanna's too young to "hunt" yet.

Zanna asked to be put in her crate after Zack kept running over her while tied out. He just will not settle while hunting's going on. He thinks he has to be in on every run.

I’ve had a rough weekend, missing That Man I Love. It's been six weeks today since he's been home, and I’m more than ready for him to come back to Texas. Zanna has already doubled in size, and you just wait until Zack sees MLH. He will flat go crazy. He loves that man so much!

Janie: Hey. Can you hear Zanna snoring on the bed, through the cellphone? She is flat rocking out some ZZZZZ's!

MLH: No, I can’t hear her. Is she as big as Zack yet?

Janie: She’s about half his size. She’s grown so much. You know those moms that start talking baby talk when they’ve been around their munchkins nonstop24/7?

MLH: Yes?

Janie: Well, I feel like I’m talking to Zack and Zanna every minute of every day and night allthetimenonstopdoyouknowwhatImean? I’m probably going to start incorporating my doggyspeak into my normal workday. You know, "Down, boy! " " Heel." "Hunt 'em up!" "Come arouuuuund!" "Fetch dead!" Oh, that won’t work at all. (MLH is laughing.) Oh, hang on, Zack has to go outside.

MLH: He’s probably just trying to fake it so he can grab Zanna’s rawhide.

At this point, Zanna wakes up, and runs to the door to be the first outside. She may be small, but she’s totally dominating Zack. And Zack? Doubles back, hops on the bed, lays down…and grabs Zanna’s rawhide. I am not even kidding you.

MLH is just heehawing on the cellphone – I guess I’ve given a narrative while I laid down the phone, or he figured it out by what I said to Zack. Which I’m not even going to repeat, so don’t go there.

Okay, enough whining already. Have a great week!!

New Blogger in Town!! Meet Kellygirl!!

Today was a great Friday! I went to work, and then was scheduled to go practice with Zack, as we have a field trial tomorrow. Around lunchtime, I got a call from our newest Midland blogger, Kellygirl at Life in the Sahara. Kellygirl just moved here from the Metroplex. We decided to meet for lunch.

We’d never met before, so Kelly and I had to do the “I drive a new blue Sequoia.” and “Well, I’m the girl sitting on the bench at the KentKwik where they’re washing my car.” No problem. We knew each other immediately…and when Kellygirl got in the car, and got in, well, I had a surprise for her - someone was on the speaker phone, namely, In_Spired at For Love of Home. Kellygirl’s circle of influence includes In_Spired’s pastor in Munday, Texas. And In_Spired introduced me to Kelly, so the rest of today is In_Spired’s fault! (Right, Kellygirl?) After everyone visited for a bit, we said “Bye” to In_Spired, and went to lunch at Schlotzky’s.

I knew right away that Kelly and I would get along. It was fun! And when I told her I had to go hunting, she expressed interest. So, I asked her to tag along, and she did! What a trooper! She even caught some pictures for me (will post later!) It was Kellygirl's first bird hunt (maybe her first hunt ever!)and I think she really liked watching the dogs work. She never missed a step, following us all around that field. We all had a good time watching little Zanna chasing a quail around, catching it and bringing it back to me. Zanna did well!

Oh, yeah! I had outfitted Kellygirl with some protective gear, and I sort of explained it, but as it unfolded, I’d not explained it well. We got the dogs loaded back up, and got in the truck to leave.

Janie: What did you think about that, Kellygirl? Did you have fun?

Kellygirl: It was fun! I'd like to go again! The only thing that bothered me was that snake skin. (Kelly walked right across where a bull snake had shed it’s skin.)

Janie: Yeah, that’s why you’re wearing those snake gaters over your jeans, just in case we ran onto a snake.

Kellygirl: Snake gaters?

Janie: Yeah. Rattlesnakes can’t bite through them, so they’re protective gear.

Quiet. Deeeeeeaaaaad quiet.

Kellygirl: Oh. Okaaaay.

Janie: I'm sorry, I thought you knew what they were when I handed them to you. (Well, heck, she just put them on like a pro!)

We laughed. She took it very, very well. Kelly decided to make it a day, and join me in the rest of mine. We decided to go eat Mexican Food…’cause you know they don’t have that West Texas kind of Mexican food in the Metroplex!

We ran home, put the dogs up, and picked up Little Brother #1, who's hanging with me for the weekend. We then met Bob and Cherie, who’d just returned from Toledo, at Casa Madrid. I believe Kellygirl had a great time! She and LB1 got along well, and I know she enjoyed meeting fellow bloggers Bob and Cherie!

Now I’ve flung a cravin’ on the Kellygirl for shooting, so we’ll be going and trying out some sporting clays on her next day off. What y’all wanna bet I’ve got her hunting before long?

Y’all go meet Kellygirl at Life in the Sahara, and give her a good ol' West Texas welcome!

CaCa Patrol

Well, I am surviving without the MLH being about and around. Not saying it’s easy, by a long shot, but I’m surviving!

I have noticed that somehow, the house is staying cleaner…(translation for Jill Jill Bo Bill: I’m only having to “pre-clean” for about 20 minutes as opposed to 1 hour)which makes for a happy housecleaner that doesn't qui-yut you! And I’m getting to hook up with my girlfriends a little bit, when I’m not watching the Zanna-meister. And she is the master of this house, at this point. I will get it turned about, but, she is wearing me out. Seriously.

Overall, Zanna BoDanna is doing better acclimating to the house. She kennels on command almost 100% of the time. When I get home, we (Janie, Zack, Zanna) go into the tv slash music room slash storage room and shut the door and lounge for a bit. When she wants to go outside to pee, she goes to the door and sits. Now, that’s what I’m talking about.

Pooping, however, is entirely a different matter. I can’t get Zanna’s rhythms down. She is consistently pooping, but at inconsistent times. I feed her, and about halfway through feeding, I’ll take her outside. Because that was her pattern...eat a bit, then poop, then come finish eating. Now, as she’s growing, she’s changing her ways. Just like a woman. Dang it.

And Zack just looks at me, shaking his head, like he’s saying, “C’mon, Mom. Dad say’s you’re the freakin’ horsewhisperer. Can’t you figure this little heifer out? I tried to tell you, I did.” As. I. Pull. My. Hair. Out. Hard.

And you know, you can only correct wrong behavior in the first 30 seconds, or itisoverwithdonegonenowlet’sgoplay in the dog’s mind. First thirty seconds? I can’t even breathe, her poop is so rank. It permeates the house. How the heck can I correct the Zanna Montana within 30 seconds? Arrrrrrrrrgh.

At first, Zanna would come out of her kennel, grab her blankie, whining for a good 10 minutes. This absolutely didn’t mean she needed to go outside, though she would…dragging her blanket, wouldnotletitgo dragging, which resulted in her dragging a now wet blanket back into the house (wet grass, rain, or she pees on it because it is under her, since she drags it around.) (I’m going to have to catch this on video so y’all can see it, it’s hilarious.) She whines whenever she has something in her mouth – she’s still teething, so she always has something in her mouth. Whine, whine, whine. And if the ZZ crew is in the outside kennel, after her first initial burst of freedom, Zanna has to run into the house to her kennel, grab the blankie, and do it again. Whine, whine, whine.

Zanna still does that, but just this afternoon, I noticed another whining. And I didn’t pay attention to it, so, yup, caca happened. Maybe that’s the key. She may be telling me now and I’ve missed it. I’ll let y’all know on the next ZZ Crew update.

My boys are 27 and 20 and I.have.regressed.to.poop.patrol. Once again.

I really didn’t expect it to happen until one of us became incontinent in our late 90’s - hopefully, not me. Or, the grandkids arrive, which if you measure this by the rate that our boys are getting wedding bells ringing in their heads (not.at.all), will be the 12th of never. In which case, when and if you get grandkids, you hand them (the grandkids, that is) back to their parent, with elegance, i.e., little fingers extended, right? I mean, it’s their job then, our sons, that is. I’ve paid years of poop duty. And that was before they had the reward training potties with little targets and bells on them that they do now. Ah, well. I honestly don’t know how Jon and Kate Plus 8 are still living.

Zack and I went to practice on birds on Wednesday, and took Zanna. Zack was a hunting monster. He’s so amazing. I tied Zanna to the truck, and sheloveditsoverymuch. (It’s not time for her to be close to shotgun sounds, but it exposes her from far away, so she gets used to the sound.) She really did well. When we returned from the field to the barn, I released her, and she followed Zack back out in to the field like a machine. Zanna tried to keep up with his every step. I threw a live lock-winged bird and she retrieved it every time. She is liking that retrieving thing.

She’s getting more socialized, there were dogs and other people around, and she was a flirt. She gave up on Zack in the field, and started playing with Laci the Lab, and they went into the pond together. That Zannagirl will not give up. If Dog 1 is in the water, she wants to be there – first. And she’s scared of no dog.

The cost of entertainment is a relative truth. Or I’m pretty simple.

You tell me.

Hey, MLH, if you’re reading this, I love you and miss you. Have fun. Make money. Come home soon. Zanna will probably be housebroken…or I’ll be taking valium.

Uh-oh. What’s that smell?

Grace - That's Me! and...more hunting pictures!

Friday found me hunting with customers at Moss Creek Ranch, east of Big Spring. They drove in from Oklahoma City to meet me at the ranch (now, that’s wanting to hunt!) A great time was had by all.

The beautiful terrain of Moss Creek Ranch - that flat top mountain is Signal Peak. Hoss is the dog on point!

We are trekking through the bushes, dogs pointing quail and chukkar, and I’m taking pictures of my hunters shooting. The terrain is beautiful, the dogs are beautiful…and.then.I.fall. It was one of those long falls, you know, the kind… that…takes…forever? And thank God, I had my brand new Canon 40D camera in my hand, and not just hanging from the strap around my neck. It was fitted with the 300 zoom lens on, and that would have been the first thing to hit the ground. But no…I have it in my hand, so I start trying to roll, to protect the camera.

And I land somehow on my right hip.

The guys run over to me, as I’m getting up. Don’t you know that was a graceful sight? I’m full of little cactus thorns and stickers, and I’m.still.trying.to.protect.my.camera. I’m glad no one else had cameras with them! I finish hunting, though I know I’ve done something to my hip. It’s not painful, it just feels weird, like it’s out of joint Saturday morning, I wake up, and amazingly, I’m not sore! We leave town at 6:15 a.m. to head out to the ConocoPhillips Halliburton Bad Boy Blast, where we shoot and have a great time. One of my customers shot a 90! My customers then drove back to Oklahoma City. I called them at 9 p.m. to check on them, they were about two hours out. They are tough!!

This is what you call a double flush - a bird has already flown to the shooter's left, and one is currently flushing on his right. The hunters got both birds - and I got a great picture!

I’ll see these same guys on Monday, when I go to OKC to shoot in the CASA shoot with more customers. We had such a good time Friday and Saturday!

Last point of the day - Zack the Wonder Dog, Prissy, and Ann - a beautiful sight indeed!

Last night, around 10 p.m., my chiropractor friend, Kevin Willhite, who owns Soft Touch Chiropractic in Midland, met MLH and I at his office, and performed an adjustment. He said I was in a bind – and by then, I knew I was. I feel better this morning, but I’m still going to take it easy.

That is, until I have to pack and get myself to the airport.

It’s never boring around here!

Janie's Version of Field Trialing

I thought I would take the time to explain a field trial to you.

Preparation: (this week, without MLH).
1) Load collapsible cage into Yukon.
2) Load guns, shooting bag, vest, collars, leashes, dog bowls, water, shells into Yukon.
3) Corral dogs, who by now are visiting every house in the neighborhood.
4) Load them into said cage. Zack self loads. Zoie acts like a girl and needs a little help...she is almost as big as Zack. (She's plenty able to self load.)

Then, I drive to the field trial site, which is about 30 miles away, in the country. Way in the country. And. It. Is. Still. Very. Cold. The wind is blowing about 30 mph. Gonna be fun.

I get lost. Have to call my partner. Then I get lost, again. Have to call back one more time for clarification. Ten minutes later, I find the field. I get there, and find the field is filled with stickers. I have no dog boots. So, I have to borrow duct tape, and make boots for Zack. Zack is so excited, I have to get help to control him while I put the boots on. (Zoie is howling loudly, “Please, let me out of this cage. I can too hunt! I’m big enough now!”)

It’s time to go. We have to get into the “blind” so we can’t see where the birds are being planted. Birds are ready, they release us. I have to loop the leash around Zack’s belly to control him, he is so excited and ready to go. We go to the edge of the field, and I take Zack’s leash off. I load my gun, and signal my partner. We’re running doubles, double dogs, and both shooting. And, we’re off.

Zack and I go left, my partner and his dog, Ram, who happens to be Zack’s litter mate, go right. The hunt is on. It's a timed, judges walking with you observing your every move, twenty-five minutes of hard hunting in major tough terrain, complete with mega-stickers, making sure your dog doesn’t get overheated, trying to find 6 birds, shoot them, and bag them, and go again. In huge wind, and very dry conditions. It was a hard day. The terrain was very rough, very sandy, and hard to traverse, especially in a fast walk. I was exhausted, and Zack was, as well.

Zack worked like a dream…he is such an amazing dog. We didn’t place, but Zack and I both got a good workout and he is a happy, tired dog. It was fun hunting with Zack and Ram. And we’ll get better at this. I’m improving at simultaneously handling my gun, my dog, my whistle, and my commands, all the while staying within the field boundaries. If I did it every day, I’d be a skinny minnie! It’s hard, hard work.

And now, you know a little more about field trials! I’m heading over to the Ugly Dog Hunting website and order the ZZ crew some boots. We’ll be better tricked out for the next round!

Field Trials with Zack and Zoie

I’m leaving to go to a field trial with the ZZ clan. For those of you that are having Zack and Zoie withdrawals, I’ll try to post some new pix later this weekend. Wish us luck!!

How to Win Friends and Influence People 101a

My friend Pam O is flying in today.

I called her earlier to let her know that I was making alternate arrangements to pick her up from the airport.

Me: Hey, I’ve got a service quality meeting, so Younger Son will be picking you up from the airport.

Pam O: That’s great!

Me: So, call on his mobile when you hit the runway, and he’ll be at the baggage claim when you come down the escalator. Then, he’s going to take you to lunch, and to the house, and I’ll call you when I get loose.

Pam O: All right, that will be good.

Me: Oh, by the way, we’re going hunting in the morning with some of my customers.

Pam O: (silence)

Me: Not really hunting.

Pam O: Oh, good! (sounding very relieved)

Me: Well, we really are going hunting, but we’re not hunting, I’m just going to be taking pictures.

Pam O: Oh.

Me: It will be fun, I promise. (Oh, yeah, I’m selling hard – I’m thinking Pam’s not quite the hunting type.)

Pam O: (hesitantly) Okay.

Me: So, we’ll have an early morning, but the good side is, we’ll get to hang out together all day.

Pam O: (way less enthusiastic than me) Ooooookay.

That Pam, she’s a trooper! Hmmmmm…wonder how she’ll feel about wearing camo and an orange vest?

Zack is Back!

Zack is back from the trainers, and is in fine fettle.

That only means one thing…life at our house has entered a new season of craziness. Zack is a very calm dog…but now, he has a 3 month old ball of energy attacking him at every second. Zoie the Wonder Pup will absolutely not leave him alone.

If, by chance, we get her in a situation where she calms down, all Zack has to do is shake his collar and the Zoie-monga is up and running full speed again. She is so afraid she’s going to miss something!! At times, we have to crate her to get her to settle.

Zack is handling everything well – he is down to the “every once in a while when she’s crossed a huge boundary” warning growl. Overall, I’d say their relationship is progressing along nicely.

Zack and I have a field trial this weekend, and I’m looking forward to hunting with him. We’ve definitely missed his presence around here!

But a heartbeat...

Field trials are usually held…in the field. If enough pre-planning is done, someone usually has an RV or a tent or something in which to do the required paperwork – computing, filing, and general things that happen in a contest of most any type. It becomes a gathering place, of sorts – a place in which to escape the elements, enjoy some water, a snack, and fellowship.

Saturday, I was in and out of one such trailer. Visiting, playing with one of Andy’s new pups, helping tally scores, whatever was needed. I met some people I’d not seen before. After lunch, Andy’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, showed up. (If you read this blog regularly (God bless you!), you know that Andy is Zack the Wonder Dog’s trainer.) Andy’s parents are sweet, precious people. The Andersons are the ones that instilled the love of dogs and hunting in their boys, Andy and Sammy. And Andy and Sammy have passed that same passion for training dogs and hunting to their own children and relatives, as well as to many people in West Texas.

One of the people I met was a young man named Chris. He lives in Wyoming, and works for an oil well service company. He is an avid hunter, and loves dogs, as well. I enjoyed talking to him throughout the day.

At some point, I’m sitting at the table in the trailer, working on scores. I glance over towards the couch. Andy is sitting on the couch with his arm around his dad. It’s all I can do to keep from crying. That man loves his daddy, and his daddy, at age 81, has been diagnosed with cancer. The doctors aren't giving the family much hope. Today, that's hard for me to reconcile. Mr. Anderson tells me about his life – after he served in the war, he went to work for Conoco, and served them 40 years before retiring. He talked about raising dogs, and hunting, and asked me questions, as well. Sharp as a tack, he was. Then Chris comes in, and sits on the opposite side of Mr. Anderson, and puts his arm around him. Sammy steps up into the trailer, and sits at the table beside me. I ask him a question about Chris, and I’m quietly told that Chris is their nephew – he is Mr. Anderson’s grandson.

It all comes together for me, then. And somehow, I realized…my camera is right in front of me. I grabbed a couple of shots of Mr. Anderson and Andy, then asked and was granted permission to take pictures of this family. We got some wonderful shots. I developed the shots that night, and delivered pictures and disks the next morning. Everyone seemed very pleased.

My favorite shot of Andy and his father - natural lighting. Gotta love it!

My brother and I would give anything for pictures of my Mom late in her life, or better yet, with all of our family. Days like Saturday bring it on home for me - how I miss her.

I encourage you - grab your camera – set up some shots with your family. This weekend, I was reminded of the brilliance of a life. Capture it while you may. Today is only one day – and the length of this day may be but a heartbeat.

Zack at the Texas State Championships

Update 11/11/07 - Due to the high temperatures, we had to finish the field trials on Sunday (we didn't want the dogs to overheat). Zack won a very respectable 5th place, and we are very proud of him. Andy said Zack is maturing well, getting lots of "bird sense" and Andy is expecting him to rise to the top soon!
Zack the Wonder Dog...

If you enlarge this picture, you can see four things...

(1) Andy Anderson (Zack's trainer who is also a crack shot!)

(2) The shell casing ejecting from the gun (to Andy's right)

(3) Bird falling

(4) Zack, going after the retrieve

Similar shot - can you see the shell casing?

I didn't get to shoot over Zack due to the fact that the trials started Friday morning before my plane landed; thus, Andy will follow through to the Finals tomorrow. It did, however, allow me to take pictures (finally!) of my own dog during a run. Zack is currently sitting in fourth place, with a 448 total score. Zack had a 5:33 minute run today (out of 20 minutes), so it kicked him on up there a bit.

I loved this shot of Zack dropping the bird off on the fly...

We'll be back in Coahoma by 8am to start the finals. Keep your paws crossed!

Ace the beautiful Elhew English Pointer...is for sale!

This blog has been paused for a commercial break. I’m showing these pictures of Ace for a friend of mine. (Translate this disclaimer to “I need a website, Eric.” )I have shown pictures of this amazing dog Ace before, but here are more for your viewing pleasure.

Ace is a registered Elhew English Pointer, 4.5 year old light orange and white stud. Ace is fully trained on bob white and blue quail, chukar, and pheasant. This dog has several local wins and, as you can tell by the photographs, is a performing machine. If you know of anyone looking for a great hunting dog, let us know!

Or, for further information, please call Steve at Blue Quail Kennels, 432-561-8228.

Abby the Brittany Spaniel

Lest you think I’m partial to pointers, here’s some pix from our Saturday morning hunt. This is little Abby, the Brittany Spaniel.Though Abby is a local dog, she was professionally trained by T&T Kennels, Christoval, Texas. This was Abby’s first run with her owner, Jeff. She is a beautiful dog, and did extremely well.
I was pleased with the pictures. I know Jeff is pleased with his little girl Abby! And Miss Abby? If that smile on her face is any indication, she's pretty pleased with herself, as well.

And so should she be.

Girls just wanna have...camo!

It’s midnight, Friday night. I returned from Lubbock about an hour ago, and Zack the Wonder Dog greeted me at the front door. MLH has a rig running and is staying at Pecos, and will be in tomorrow evening.

I had a great time in Lubbock – had supper with my friend Suzan Thursday night, then we met Elder Son and a friend and watched them eat supper. We all stayed up way too late, and then got up early this morning and made the grand opening of Lubbock’s new… (wait for it!)

Gander Mountain!

(Well, what did you expect? I shoot, I hunt, I fish, I have a sport dog, and dude, they have the cutest camo stuff for women!! Woohoo!! And Suzan was after the Pink Ladies 20 gauge Remington – it’s so cute…it has “Shoot like a girl – if you can!” carved into the stock.)

MLH calls while I’m checking out. The reason for my trip was a haircut and shopping to augment my portfolio of formal wear for our impending annual Santa Fe business trip/boondoggle. Here’s the drill of the call:

MLH: “Hey, sweetie, whatcha doing?”

Me: “Wow, Suzan and I are in Gander Mountain, I’m about to go to my hair appointment. This store is way cooler than the one in Houston! They have the neatest clothes and I got you a new field jacket and both of us matching Columbia orange fleece jackets for hunting and I got Zack a new leash and some choke tube lube and...and...what? What did you say, honey?”

MLH: “I said, Jane, you’re supposed to be shopping for formal gear, and Gander Mountain has no formal clothing line. Don't forget the purpose of your trip, girly!”

Me: "But..."

MLH: "Jane..."

Me: “I know, I’m heading to Dillards and Coldwater Creek, I promise.”

MLH: “You’re 5 days to countdown, get that shopping done, girl, so we can get you packed Sunday. Spend the night, if you need to do so.”

Me: "I can't, we have a training run with Zack at dawn Saturday!"

MLH: "Zack can wait until we get back from Santa Fe, woman. Get. The. Shopping. Done."

Me: “I’m on it, I’m checking out now. I did find some cool stuff to wear at Santa Fe here, you’ll like it!”

MLH: “Jane. (Pregnant pause, in a very sweet, yet exasperated way.) Formal stuff.”

Me: “Okay. I’m all over it…right after I get my hair cut. Wait, wait, ma’am…before you total my ticket, can you snag me that cute pink camo Mossy Oak cap, please? ... Okay, yes, honey, I'm listening! I'll call you when I'm finished, okay? I love you!”

I did get my shopping done. I think I’m good. Had supper tonight with Suzan’s family, and Elder Son joined us. It was good to see everyone.

And MLH is going to be so very happy…at least until he sees his bills.

This Week's Hunting Dog Pointer Pictures

Honey, it is hot in Midland, Texas on an early fall day at 7 a.m.!! Every Saturday morning, we’ve been taking our dogs out and working them on quail. Those dogs love, love, love their jobs, though, and they get to it, and quickly. Hunting dogs are such a pleasure to watch. When I’m through working Zack, I grab my camera and go trekking out behind the next competitor. Here are some pix from this past Saturday.

Here’s Zack the Wonder Dog – ready to go for his second time. If we didn’t give him a rest, he would go all day. He loves hunting.

I haven't quite figured out how to take pictures of him and shoot over him simultaneously, but here's one pix of Zack on point. I may have to get Awesome Photographer Extraordinaire Eric out to hang with us one Saturday so I can get good Zack pix. What do you think, Eric, are you up for it?

Ace is an English pointer. He is beautiful. He stops well away from the bird, giving you time to get up to the bird to flush it. Ace will not move - if he could talk, he would say, "It's up there, go get it, so I can do my job!" And in the field, this boy is a machine. If a bird acts like it’s going to flush, he stands. He may flinch, but his feet do not move – he will not move prematurely. Amazing.
Here, Ram is bringing the bird to his master. Notice any similarities to Zack? Ram is Zack’s littermate. Ram’s really a sweetie, but he’s not much on this practice penned birds game. He’s a wild bird man, himself. Ram wants the real thing – he wants quail season to open. Still, he did his job, and did it well. Meet little Miss Tracy. She’s a young pup, but let me tell you – the girl is automatic. Yesterday, there was no wind. She would get past the bird bag, and just lock down – her body would be facing the way she was heading, but her head would be pointing back at the bird, as in this picture below. The orange bag has a live quail in it, which the shooter releases in flight. And Tracy would not move until you let that bird go. She’s so precise, it’s almost comical.
Tracy’s owners moved to West Texas from California, and decided to get into the field trial and shooting sports. We are enjoying getting to know them, and I think they’re settling into Texas life really well! They drove up from San Angelo yesterday to meet us at dawn so they could work their dogs. That's dedication to their dogs and this sport, I'm telling you. I'm proud of them.

It's a good thing I don't have to choose between hunting dog photography and shooting sports - I am loving both.

The Wind Blows

Dawn found us again in the field, each of us spread about a block apart, awaiting the dove. The sun rose, and everything was beautiful…fresh…peaceful. There was a heavy dew. Rabbits were hopping about. I could hear the sound of a gas pumpjack starting and stopping, muffled by distance, to the south of where I was sitting. A huge hawk circled over the sunflower field, looking for his breakfast. He was absolutely gorgeous. There was plenty of cloud cover, and the temperature was cool. You could see Zack’s breath as he wove in and out of the sunflowers - a beautiful sight.

In all the hustle and bustle of our days, times like this are precious to me. A breeze blows across my brow – a gentle reminder that the Father, He who created heaven and earth, is here with me.

Give me a chair in a field at dawn, with my Father, any day - and the awareness to recognize it as an appointed time.

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." John 3:8 NIV

Two in the Bag Beats One in the Bush

Dawn found us heading to Moss Creek Lake east of Big Spring for a field trial. This was my third venture shooting over Zack the Wonder Dog. It was a very hot day, so we threw Zack into the horse trough prior to his run. He just stood there and cooled down. He loved it.

Other than the brush being butt high and super wide, we did pretty well. Zack couldn’t run in it, the brush was so thick, but he looked absolutely beautiful jumping over those pre-tumbleweeds. Finding birds after they were down was very difficult.

I shot my first chukkar, and Zack brought it back to me, almost…for a partial retrieve. The second one, same thing. It was so hot, Zack thought close enough was…close enough. The boy drank 2 bottles of water in the 20 minutes we were out there. I shot my third bird, and Zack went for the retrieve. The bird got up and flew again, and I didn’t know I could take another shot at him. My trainer was walking beside me, but because a judge was with us, he couldn’t advise me. We timed out.

I’ll get all these rules down. Andy (my trainer) called me this evening and told me that if I had bagged three birds, I would have been in the top three finishers. That is a testament to the heat of the day, and again, the thickness of the brush, because there are some stout shooters and dogs out there. One of the guys told MLH that “once that girl gets all the rules down, she’s going to be a contender.”

High praise from a bunch of hairy legs, as MLH calls them.

We had a good time. And we’re leaving at 5:45 a.m. to go pick up a customer and go dove hunting. Woohoo!

Saturday, in the park...I think it was the 4th of July

I always liked that song!

Busy day. MLH got in from the oilpatch late last night, and was exhausted. This morning found us south of town by dawn at the hunting field. Ran Zack on three quail – all went pretty well. I never missed a bird, which means Zack was a very happy camper. He retrieved two to hand, the third was full of stickers, and he brought it within one step and dropped it. In a field trial, we would have rocked. I consider it a win, just because he pretty well obeyed.

I was able to take more hunting pictures of Rowdy, my friend’s dog who has gone blind. I’m pretty happy with the shots, I hope my friend will like them as well. I’ll post some of them when I get them downloaded.

We then ran back in to town for my nail appointment (maintenance is key!), then home for showers, and off to Goldsmith we drove to the Annual Fife-Waters Invitational Shoot. It was a lot of fun, but mucho caliente! Saw lots of friends, and met a lot of people. One lady asked advice about shooting lessons, and I mentioned Dan Carlisle comes to Windwalker Farms. She told me he was booked up this weekend. I looked at her, and the light bulb went on. I’m scheduled for shooting lesson at 8am Sunday morning. I’m so glad she mentioned it, I had totally forgotten…I had made the appointment months ago and didn't write it down.

Then, Elder Son called, and wants us to meet him in Big Spring tonight. It will be around 10pm or so, based on his current location down I-20. He’s hauling horses cross country for some PRCA team topers, and won’t be back in the area for a month or so. Since it’s been that long already since I’ve seen him, we’ll be trekking east in an hour or so – what a day!

We are tired. We really had intended to dig in this weekend, call this one to be a rest weekend, alone, with no distractions. But, um…things happen.

After my shooting lesson in the morning, we’re shutting down for the weekend.

More than ready. Y’all have a good one!