She has had some recent success in the retrieving department on the last Dove hunt of the season.
She has been a joy to have in the field. Last week we were able to get out early one morning and get after some Quail. I took her out with the sole goal of 1. getting her into birds and 2. knocking one down so she could realize why we were out there. We were successful on both counts. It took a little while but, we were able to find them and I was able to knock one down. We found some feathers and got Lexi on the scent. I was amazed how intense she got. She buried herself into the base of a nasty tree. She was convinced the bird was there. The only problem was a BIG prickly pear cactus under the tree. I looked closer and sure enough the bird was on the other side of the cactus buried under a bush. She stayed after it and I got anxious. I was trying to get her to move around the tree but, she was convinced it was right there. I thought she was looking and I kicked the Quail. I figured she would see it and the chase would be on...DOH! She didn't see it and off it ran. We couldn't ever pick up the trail and I was PO'd at myself. Rookie mistake.
We were almost back to the truck when we flushed one more. I was able to knock it down but, I knew it wasn't a clean shot. Lexi and I rushed over there to see if we could get on it. I couldn't see any feathers and was just hoping to be in the area. I gave her the "dead bird" command and she started searching around. She began to get really birdy and what do you know...She found it!! I was one proud poppa!
Look what I found
Well after that good fortune I was excited to head out today. We were trying a new area and I was excited to get after it. As we got back in there I was starting to get a little worried as there was a fair bit of Cholla Cactus. We started out by staying in the bottom of a big wash. It didn't take long until I heard the little warning call and I knew there were birds close-by and up the Mountain. I was able to see them flush, a nice covey of 45 or so birds, straight up the hill. So off we went, straight up the hill. In short order we were able to get on them again. I was trying to get Lexi on point but, the Cholla had other plans. We couldn't go 25 feet without picking up cactus in her feet. It didn't take long before I gave up on the Quail and was just trying to find a clear way off of the mountain. Sometimes I wonder why I do this! Here are a couple of pictures from the day. There were a couple of bright spots...I got a picture of a very pretty Hawk perched on top of a Cactus and I had a Bobcat run across the road right in front of me! It even posed for a picture before it disappeared into the brush.
The mountain...every bright fuzzy spot you can see is Colla. It may not look like much but the balls break off very easily and they roll down the hill. They were everywhere!
She looks like she is on point but, she is just telling me to get the D@#$ Cacti out of her paw
This one I actually thought she was on point but, it turned out to be false.
We tried one other spot that didn't have as much Cactus but, found no birds. 15 feet from the truck she decided to run under one of the biggest Colla's I have ever seen and this is what happened
What you can't see here is that all 4 paws are pretty much like this. 15 minutes later we had them out and could finally head home...I had had enough.
On the bright side I found a new place that is holding some good Quail numbers and I have to hunt them like Chukars...Straight up hill(I need the workout). The down side is that I can't hunt there with the pup
AZQ
