Merry Christmas

Looks like we got our white Christmas this year. A little more white than these old bones like, but there are lot's more people that are loving it right now. As far as the animals, I'm sure most of them aren't caring for this last storm that dropped another 6 inches of snow up here at my house. The quail are enjoying the warmth of my porch

and the deer don't mind looking at me through the window as long as I leave them a little food.

 It looks like we have another cold spell coming through after Christmas that will keep the snow around for a while. As long as we get some sun shine, the southern slopes will be where the game animals will congregate. The problem for us chukar hunters is getting to those slopes. Check out Bob McMichael's "Chukar hunting" post and see how the tough guys hunt with snow shoes. With this last storm it may be the only way to get to them.

I'm glad I got out a couple of times this week before the big stuff came. I could still negotiate the slopes enough to get to the higher burnt off ridges. The two spots I hunted this week looked like this

going up but opened up and was more negotiable towards the top. The problem for me was having enough energy to keep hunting once Jake and I reached our destination. The frozen ground under the snow made for some exciting approaches to Jakes points.

Even though the birds were holding pretty good my shots were usually from a compromising position and Jake would watch the birds fly across the hill untouched. I could go on and on about this weeks hunts but I'll keep it short by just saying I was on the ground as much as I was walking upright, but it was worth it and somehow fun. Here's a few of my pics from our snowy hunts.

Jake loving the cold early morning start.

A cold point

One of those long points that you know the birds will probably bust when you are about 50 yards away.

A retrieve that makes the side hilling worth the effort.

The kind of ending that makes me proud of such a wonderful dog.

Another day of great dog work.

with plenty of action.

And more birds than I probably deserve.

Merry Christmas to all of you and here's to hoping 2017 is the best year your dog's have ever seen.

A short P.S. We took a Christmas Eve hike and I found that although Jake likes to point turkeys

he wasn't as excited about me doing the flush.

Maybe he was afraid I might shoot one and he'd have to try and retrieve it.