Getting Ready...

I have been flogging away, preparing for the Fall trek to birds in beautiful, faraway places. Guns serviced, dogs vetted, trailer updated with new electrics and some shelving, truck tuned and tires checked and rotated. Lists and sublists of things to prepare and pack get written and rewritten. The actual departure date seems to come on so slowly, then it is suddenly just a few days away. The new Garmin updated DC30 collar is supposed to arrive by Wednesday along with a kit of new collars, first aid items and such. 

I will probably hunt with Joe A, and Gundogdoc in North Dakota after stopping at Randy Anderson's camp this coming weekend to pick-up Tommy. Then we'll head for Montana where Pete and his friend Bruce will met me for a week or two of dogs and birds on the prairie. From there we'll probably head West to Oregon to visit some old friends and hunt chukars, Huns, and grouse. With luck, we may fish for steelhead as well.

By the end of October I need to head for the barn, and prepare for some up-coming field trials one of which our club is hosting on November 8th and 9th. But I will be heading to Arizona in December for a week or two, where Ted, Tommy, Jesse and I hope to learn all about Mearn's quail.

Fall is indeed a great time to be alive and moving through the West at no particular speed.