Blue injured his right rear leg after a run about a month ago.  The vet diagnosed CCL tear (equivalent to an ACL tear in humans).   I am a huge believer in Medical  insurance for my dogs.  As luck would have it, CCL surgery is one of the exceptions on the policy.  $3500 (+or -) later, he's been fixed up and is home for therapy.  He had TPLO surgery. The doctor carefully explained all the different methods to fix the tear, and we chose this method.  So, all is good now and he should be ready to go in about a month.  Caution is the name of the game, and le ..read more

    The old dog and I put out on a day that was cool, as the sun was about an hour above the Montana horizon.  This was a special spot.  Last year, he and I moved 16 coveys of Huns and Sharptails in the alfalfa fields, along the creek and below the hills that rose up from the north edge of the water.  He moved slower now, but still watched me and bounced around, and woofed at me to hurry up.  All he needed was for me to take a step in the direction I wanted to go, and he would move out, nose up, quartering in the wind, searching for the scent of whatever game-bird this particular pie ..read more

It's been over a half-century since this boy spent any time in a tent.  This hunting trip, I decided to revert to the basics in order to save a little money on the ridiculously sky high diesel prices across the country.  In light of the fact I would drive over 6000 miles, a little saved at the pump could be significant.  Waterproofing, ease of setup, comfort, and cost were all factors in my choice of tent.  I found several I thought would be perfect, but they would take two people to erect. I ended up with this tent by Magellan.  Not only was it amazingly easy to erect ..read more

Unfortunately,  Blue tore his CCL a few months ago.  One month before we were due to leave for Wyoming and Montana. Throughout the process of diagnosis, surgery, $$$$, etc., one bright point was when the vet told us about the Lick Sleeve.  It replaced the Cone to keep the dog from licking the incision site. What a great product! It's so simple, and works so well, I'm amazed I'm only hearing about the now.  Blue out of TPLO surgery.  The incision is inside the knee.  Blue with the sleeve on- no cone! It's made from a slick and tough fabric th ..read more

I loaded the dogs and drove to meet friends, first in Wyoming, then in Montana. I waited a little later in September to try and avoid the stifling heat.  To a large extent, I succeeded.  The first week I camped up in the mountains at 7500', hunting for Blue Grouse.  We were very successful, and I learned all over about camping in the cold! Then we drove to meet 5 other friends for Sage Grouse, Chukar and Hungarian Partridge.  The hunting was exceptional, but best part of this portion of the trip was the food! With at least three "foodies" in the party, we cooked our birds i ..read more

2013 F250 Lariat ​ The Beast has been everywhere and done everything I’ve asked of it. Many of those situations I look back and just shake my head. Over 400,000 miles now, and still rolling down the road. I’d like a new one, but the prices are nearly prohibitive. #Ford I just turned of 405,000 miles on the Beast.  I'm super happy with it.  That is not to say it's been all sweetness and light,  But, I've had nothing other than expected repairs.  The routine maintenance is expensive, but less than a $900+/month new truck payment.  So, I'll keep it until it ..read more

What to do, and more important, what NOT to do when your dog is bitten by a snake! Click the link below to listen to the podcast.    SNAKE Bite ..read more

Whatever Happened to Antonio?   Mearns Quail are special.  Many years ago, through a friend of a friend of a friend, I was introduced to Wally. “Hey”, he said, “if you are going to Arizona, why don’t you call my buddy, Wally, down there?  He’s a specialist hunting those Mearns Quail in the mountains south of Tucson.”  I rang him up, and he agreed to shepherd us along to see if we could find a few coveys of the elusive birds.  It was a serendipitous introduction.   Male Mearns Quail   Wally and I had nearly identical mil ..read more

Wet day in New Mexico. BLOG: www.abirdhuntersthoughts.com YOUTUBE: A Bird Hunter’s Thoughts BOOKS: Endless October/Endless October Season 2 PODCAST: A Bird Hunter's Thoughts- Turn 'Em Loose Audible BOOKS: Endless October  Endless October Season 2 Facebook: Facebook Profile ..read more

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