Maria's first duck hunt

Maria went with us teal hunting today, very few birds.  The only one that flew in Was shot by Will.

2nd teal hunt

Sorry, forgot to post.  Will and I hunted the following Friday, September 13th.  

6 birds, Bosco did great finding 3 that I know we would not have found. 

46 hunters went out Saturday and Sunday and only shot 6 teal combined.  

First Teal hunt of the season

Got up at 3:30, hit the marsh around 5:00.   Setup and at 6:33 had the first single blue wing in the decoys.   Will made a good shot, one bird down.  About 20 minutes later, a Green wing teal drake lit in and another good shit had us with 2 birds in the bag.   A pair flew in, bad shooting and a pair flew out.  A big group flew in, Will dropped 1, I got 2.  One of mine flew a ways before dropping into some tall grasses.   Thankfully Bosco was able to hunt it up and retrieve for me.

We decided to pick up around 9:00, we moved to the top of the levee getting gear organized when we spotted another large group of teal.  We hit the deck they came in and Will got 1, I had poor shooting and didn't get any.  

Total for the day: Will with 4, dad with 2.

Came home to find this in the yard. 

Duck season 2013-2014 begins tomorrow

For us that is, it actually started last Saturday but with the high temps, we skipped it.   

Here's hoping this front brings down some birds.  

Working on the orchard

Spent some time with the kids at the farm on both the apple trees and blackberry plants. 

Dove Season Opener - 2013

September 1st was the start of hunting season for 2013.  Will and I headed up near Valley Falls, KS to hunt the Perry wildlife area in a mentor/youth field.  We left the house around 4:20 AM, arriving at the hunting location close to 5:40.  We went ahead and setup, while setting up, lightening was off in the distance, by the time we were done, it had started to sprinkle.  We went back to the truck and had to wait out this.

 When the rain cleared and the sun came out, the field was actually looking pretty good.

We had plenty of cover to hide in, they had left a good stand of sunflowers around the edge.

Shooting was pretty good.

So good, that Bosco had to take a break.

Double limits.

The eyes have it!

Maria snapped this picture of Anna on my IPhone.  She is growing so fast!  How can I tell her no!

All the begging paid off!

Maggie Sue has been begging to mow with the tractor.  Finally after non-stop begging for months, we found the perfect time to have her try.  There were no distractions (a.k.a. other siblings) at the farm so her Dad let her give it a whirl.  She looks so big on the tractor.  I can't believe I am going to have a teenager soon!

http://youtu.be/pgtspTr5ZrQ

When she was done she was as happy as Po is here running around the farm.