"Land Of Oz" Youth Hunt

I headed to Kansas this past weekend with my son Grant for the Kansas early youth opener. The birds were present in decent numbers and of course the hospitality of the Kansans was like a breath of Spring air. The weather was a little on the warm side in the low 70's and very dry which made it tough on the dogs, but we still enjoyed some good dog work. I was able to scout out some new WIHA and discovered some nice cover during our trip. I also spent some quality time with my son, which was way over due.

I want to thank the state of Kansas for their foresight in creating a special hunting season just for kids. Time in the field with a mentor and little competition for hunting areas or shooting opportunities are just what beginning hunters need to motivate them to carry on the upland tradition we care so much about. Kansas is a great state.

Elhew Swami Passes

Elhew Swami "Bama"

As Gigi progresses with her training I continue to be impressed with her intelligence and bird finding desire. Now in her second season she is about to be considered a "finished" gun dog, holding point to wing and shot. She is an unbelievable bird hunting machine, owing this to her breeding of some of the most successful pointers to have ever been bred.

I was saddened today to learn that Gigi's grandmother, Elhew Swami or "Bama" as she was called, passed away on May 11, and Swami's sister Elhew Sunflower "Jill" passed away a week later. I always wanted a dog with close lineage to Swami and Sunflower, as they were some of the best shooting dogs to ever compete. It was a rare find to have the opportunity to purchase Gigi, a decendent of both Bama and Jill. It is a good feeling to know that those genetics are alive and well in their offspring.

A Visit To Dave & Fay Walker Kennels

Recently Julia and I took a father / daughter trip to Southwest Idaho to visit Fay and Dave Walker Kennels. Julia had been waiting patiently since early January for one of the Walker's famous Brittanys to deliver an orange and white female, but through repeated breeding's, the orange and white did not materialize. Fay advised me that she was going to hold on to a particular liver and white female just in case Julia could be persuaded to change her mind regarding color. I think I was as anxious as Julia for a new pup around the house so after a little persuasion, we were off to Idaho to collect a new bird dog for our string, and hopefully slip in a little reconnaissance mission for future bird hunting opportunities in Idaho.

The Walkers welcomed Julia and I as if we had known them for years, and I knew immediately upon meeting Fay and Dave in person that I had selected the right breeder. The puppy Fay had selected for us was everything she said it would be, a beautiful field trial or bench prospect. The walkers reputation for breeding and handling champion Brittanys comes from 30 years of dedication to their animals, and the continued enthusiasm they have for their animals is energizing. I was fortunate to be able to tour Dave's training grounds with him and pick up lots of pointers on his management of bird cover and raising and utilizing game birds for training. Dave, like myself, has a continuing habitat improvement project going on his plantation and it was good timing for me to be able to draw on his experience.

Julia & Dave Walker

Julia decided to name her pup Ginger, (With a little persuasion from Fay) after the pups Dam. So her registered name will be Snake River Ginger, in recognition of the beautiful area close to the Snake where Dave's plantation is located.

Twilight

The ever present breeze mysteriously subsides a moment just before sunset. To the West, a sea of prairie grass is back lit by a furnace red sky and creates the illusion of infinity. Roosters cackle as they give up their secret coverts, and in a sudden clash of wings migrate to the tallest grass that will be their security for the night. A wave of cool crisp air descends from above and challenges the last radiation of the setting sun. In the fading light the imagination projects images on the consciousness of wisps of smoke rising from hide tepees, and herds of bison grazing on the horizon. To Southward a lone butte is silhouetted in the twilight, a place of ancient ceremony and buffalo jumps. All motion in that moment seems to cease, as if the earths magnetism has locked all animate objects into the indelible image of a still photograph, black and white. The dogs sense hesitation and briefly pause to check in but remain on sensory overload with the sight and sound of birds in the air, and better scenting conditions from the settling atmosphere. Like us, they are addicts who must consume this perfection to its greatest extent, as unconsciously we know these moments are not absolute.

In Memory of Havilah Babcock

Havilah Babcock, a True Southern Gentleman

Quote

"Educator, author, and outdoorsman, Havilah Babcock was born on March 6, 1898 in Appomattox, Virginia, a son of H.C. and Blanche Moore Babcock. He married Alice Hudson Cheatham in 1919. They had one son, Hudson Homer Havilah. He received a Bachelor of Arts in 1918 and a Bachelor of Philosophy in 1919 from Elon College in North Carolina. His Master of Arts was from the University of Virginia. Babcock received his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1927. Prior to that he had served as professor and head of the department of English at Elon College and associate professor and head of the department of Journalism at the College of William and Mary in Virginia.

Whether in good health or bad, Babcock could not resist the pleasures of hunting, fishing and gardening, which occasionally came into conflict with his teaching duties. During one hunting season, Babcock’s enterprising and fore-sighted secretary posted on the bulletin board, “Dr. Babcock will be sick all next week.” This great love of outdoors provided the inspiration for many of his essays and short stories."

My bet is he scheduled his infirmity for the opening week of quail season. As Jimmy Buffet so eloquently stated "Yes I am a pirate, 200 years too late, the cannons don't thunder theres nothing to plunder I'm an over 40 victem of fate." That feeling rings true to me when I read of Babcock, or the Lewis and Clark expedition. How would it have been to participate in such an epic adventure as the exploration of the land West of the Contenintal Divide, or to spend a day shooting Quail with a man such as Mr Babcock? One can only imagine.

Product Review

Cabelas Dry Plus Chaps



Just wanted to pass along news of a really good deal. These Dry Plus Chaps from Cabelas are quality gear and a great addition to an upland hunters tools. I start using mine on those mornings in the mid season when the frost covers the prairie, but turns to dew late AM. Those days can soak your feet from the moisture wicking through your pants and into your socks. These chaps totally eliminate that problem, and provide protection from briars to boot. I find this product far superior to the waxed cotton we bird hunters have used in the past. They are much lighter, easier to put on and take off, and allow moisture vapor to escape so no sweating. They are also just heavy enough to provide some extra insulation on those very cold days, but light enough you hardly know your wearing them. They are on sale now for $29.99, and at that price I am going to buy an extra pair myself!

Where Have All the Good Times Gone?

There has been quite a bit of conjecture over the current state of Mearns Quail habitat in Southern Arizona this year. 2007 and 2008 reportedly produced the best range conditions and therefore the best reproduction years in recent memory as accounted by those who have hunted the birds for years. My observation is that conditions this year were a shocking comparison to the last two. Blow one was the result of poor monsoon rains in the Summer which did not allow the grass that the birds rely on for survival to grow. The knock out punch was landed through poor judgement by the National Forest Service which allowed grazing to continue and in some cases increase on ground which should have been out of the grazing rotation in this poor range year.

Grazing is an important element in the management of public range lands in the West, and proper management of grazing leases on public land is fundamental to the health of these resources. There is continuing debate on how much grazing is too much, and plenty of scientific theories to support either side. I truly believe we could achieve better results by tempering the scientific with a little plain common sense. I have visited most of the last remaining grasslands in this country and without exception where public land is leased for grazing, it appears overgrazed.

Just like every other facet of the federal government, the process is so cumbersome that the process drives the decision making. Common sense would dictate that on a poor range year, grazing animals per unit should decrease with the available grass. But to change management decisions on a seasonal basis would require a lean and flexible system, nothing like the clogged and no common sense system of management by our government that we have all become so accustomed to.

Is it common sense or a complicated scientific equation that we cannot be expected to understand without a masters degree in biology? You decide.


Canyon X 2008



Canyon X 2009