Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

To my friends and family. I wish you all the best.

Flat Land

Bryan, Dad, Parker and I all spent Halloween weekend in a little farming community in N. Dakota this year chasing pheasants. It was Parker's first big hunting trip, and I decided I wouldn't miss it if I could help it.
(Not pictured: the best looking one in the group.)
I remember how excited I was at his age to get to go hunting with my dad and the rest of the "F troop". I would be so excited that I'd usually wake up before my Dad, which was no small feat.
I think back to all my favorite memories of hunting as a kid, and mostly they are about the people and the good times we shared. That is the reason that I mostly hunt today.

I almost didn't go on the trip because of work, but when I heard that my nephew, (the book worm), was excited about going; I knew I couldn't miss it. I am very glad I didn't.

This year I did very little hunting for myself. Actually those pheasants were the only thing that I harvested. Thanks to Lena, we have deer and elk to eat...
However, I had a great hunting season despite the tough archery season and the never ending rifle season. I did a lot of guiding this year, even though I took a little time off. I got to guide with my big brother for almost two weeks, and hunted for two days with Dad, Bry, and P.K. That is the most hunting I have got to do with all of them for quite a while.

The pheasant hunting turned out to be quite good. We got lots of birds and had lots of shooting. The dogs did pretty well for the most part. I have to say that I saw my dad loose his temper like I haven't seen for a very long time. Bad Casper. Betsy is not a bird dog, but seemed to enjoy the heck out of eating them. Her and Casper are big pals.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was hanging out at night with my family. We had a few beers, played rummy, and sat in the hot tub. Parker loved the water slide at the hotel. I will look back on this trip for a long time. It was fun to see my dad and Bry swell like toads over Parker when he got his first bird.

Long live traditions.

I've been busy.

Ok, I am going to start trying to blog again. I have tried a few times this summer and fall, only to be hindered by my computer. I don't know why but it wouldn't let me publish my last few posts. I have been very busy lately, but due to the winter things will be slowing down somewhat. I will do my best.