150,

It's too warm for December, raining almost everyday and muddy as can be. You sid you were a farmer, down here if you were lucky enough to get all of your srops in two months ago you're in good shape. In the past 1 1/2 months there haven't been very many combines running, it's either been to muddy, raining or just too damp in the air to get it done. There are alot of beans still in fields, some corn and some milo still out in some areas. Though many farmers got ahead of usual in September and first few weeks of October since we had no rain at all, many were lucky enough to get almost everything done then or at least down to the last few hundred acres or a day or two's worth of work.
So you're in Nebraska huh, what's the bird huntig like up there, quail and pheasant mainly?

 

I always look at it that way, a bad day of huting is still better than most anythinng else. I do know they can't all be perfect days.
Wind and wet are a part of it, that's why I have boots that are waterproof and that's why I work only one side of a fenceline sometimes because of the wind.

BUT.... when the wind is 20 mph or so with no wind break the dogs have a harder time smelling birds, even when they are downwind of the birds. Plus when they get up they are moving with whatever speed of wind underneath then already, not a problem to me but you have to shoot quick. One reason why Mr. Quail was hit so, hmmmm...exact.
The wet part is a plus, to an extent. When it is wet the dogs noses don't get plugged up with pollen and dust, so having wet conditions isn't bad. But when the corner of every field is about 3" of standing water and the edges of every field we are walking in is 3"+ of mud in many spots it makes for some rougher walking after a few hundred yards into a 5 mile or so jaunt. Also alot of the ares where we would normally find birds were soaked and standing and they ahd to go to higher ground and very thick cover. Not a probelm we have good dogs.
Add in the warm part now, birds do not sit tight in warm weather, it's a given. Add a few inches of snow or below freezing temps and birds will hold a long time before flying.
Now add the three together: Wind, dogs have trouble picking up scent, Thick cover birds hear dogs coming long before dog smells birds (dogs had to be almost on top of them before they could smell them today), Warm, birds will not hold to a point for long if at all.
Undersatnd a little better now.

 

Yeh its been very warm here too. Weve had some snow and rain. Its extremely muddy here now. There are some crops left too harvest here. It will have to freeze before anybody gets back in the field. It wont dry up now. Pheasant hunting is pretty descent. My nephew shot 3 birds around my place the other day. Theres not a ton off pheasants around here though. I have not seen any quail though. Gots loads of deer around though. Probably because off the hunting in the area there hiding out pretty good.

 

wahwahwah come Bird you still were out having fun.While the rest of us were working picking up your slack. oh yeah BTW HI Bird!

 

PICKING UP MY SLACK??????

Ther is noone alive who has ever ha to pick up mu slack. There have been some who had to take on a project of mine because I was overloaded and couldn't get something done but never had to pick up my slack.
yeah I know most people were working, but there is a sacrifice to the way I live, I'm awake during the day, sleep in the evening and work during midnight shifts, how many gils do you think I meet? How much of a socialife ither than work or hunting do you think I have right now? It's my choice to do this and I am living it up but it does have it's drawbacks, weekends are great though.

 

Hi guys, Kali here.

 

Mornin stranger!

 

So what you're saying here Bird, is that MODERATION is the key??? LOL!

 

6" of snow would be better. When the dogs get tired of working the field you are usually worn out as well. We don't get enough snow here to use snow shoes and only once in my life time have it get cold enough to form ice on top of the snow thick enough you could walk on it. Anyway having to pick your feet up and drag through snow and such will wear you down if you aren't use to it, I'm in pretty good shape but a 4 or 5 miles of it and I'm ready to sit next to the woodstove and suck up some heat or call it a day and head to the nearest restaraunt and have me a brew and a burger and go home.
Ideal woud be a good hard frost in the morning with about a 20-25 degree overnight low and enough cloud cover to keep the sun hidden enough to not warm everythign up right away and a slight if any wind.
Another problem right now with it being warm and wet conditions is grass and other "green" stuff will start growing again. That has a smell that really messes up a dog's smeller and they it is tough to pick up on birds that way. Back when it was dry enough around here to work dirt a farmer down the road chisel plowed a field of bean stubble under and it has since sprouted back up and he has bean plants about 3" tall. If he could cover a few hundred acres with plastic and we had a light enough winter he could probably have a bean crop off of them next year. Not to say it would be the best crop but it would be a crop.

 

hehehe I think I ruffled someone's feathers. Hey there Mike. How ya been? If Mike's here Taz should be soon to follow. Heavnbound how's Alaska tonight. They have put me in QC at work the past few nights. All I can say is wow. I like how the other half live.

 

morning guys, snow in nj monday for opening day of dear yesterday rain today 50 , don't have to worry about a bambi wife totaled our 85 stang sunday hitting a 8 pointer,

 

Morning gents

Mike was checked in

 

Yeah, Mike was here. Mornin Taz, got anymore jokes today?
Ryan you didn't ruffe any feathers, I knew you wer ejoking I just had to lay down the facts here that's all. I was going to say somethign like, "Just cause I'm a state employee and in a union you think I'm lazy huh?" but I didn't cause then you actually would have probably thougth I was mad.
I am a bit of a mad man, but angry, rarely.

 

A joke huh......

Every day, a male co-worker walks up very close to a lady standing at the coffee machine, inhales a big breath of air and tells her that her hair smells nice.
After a week of this, she can't stand it anymore, takes her complaint to a supervisor in the personnel department and states that she wants to write a sexual harassment grievance against him.
The Human Resources supervisor is puzzled by this decision and asks, "What's sexually threatening about a co-worker telling you your hair smells nice?"
The woman replies, "It's Keith, the midget."

 

That was a good one Taz, I have a good one but with out the hand motion to it it makes no sense at all.