First of the Year.

Normally by this time I have quit, being out of options for flights and generally speaking, frozen out. Thanks to Global Warming, we have not had our usual mind numbing cold that generally strikes us the first of January. Of course the rest of the country is paying the price for our comfort. Being able to hunt on the Ranch next door has given me a new lease on hunting life, even if it is mostly ditches. Hey, game is game, and like it or not it is a bunch better than nothing. I still reserve the right to bitch and moan about them though.

I have not gone out since Randy left, for one reason or another, primarily because we hammered the ranch pretty hard and I wanted the Lake to settle down so the ducks would start using it again. Jess has been indicating that she really would like to fly, by getting excited each day at flying time, and today I decided it had been long enough and even though it was too warm ( 32 ) to make the trip with the truck through the swamp that is on the way to the Lake, we could try the ditches. The last time we flew the ditches I observed a spot that should give a falcon a good chance to make something happen. When Randy and I flew it last we managed to mess up the flush. ( Not unusual on any ditch flush ) This time I had it all figured out. ( yeah right ) Karen and the dogs and I made the long walk to the last bunch of reeds on the Creek that I was sure held most of the ducks on that end of the Ranch. I stopped to brief Karen on how I wanted to handle the flush. Betsy was busy being an Alpha female, scratching up the ground, being a big dog.                                               

I turned Jess loose and after she got her pitch, we started on the ditch. I was at the heaviest part of the reeds, and of course ducks busted out of the bottom part well out of Jessie's range. The dogs and I ran the rest of the reeds and found nothing at all. I cannot adequately express my distress. Jess finally gave up, strafed me and tried to land on my shoulder. I avoided that, and she took a perch on a fence post. I walked on, heading back to the Ranch and finally decided that the ducks had to be somewhere on the ditch closer to the Ranch. I crossed the fence between me and the creek and continued on towards the Ranch. At the end of the field I could hear the ducks talking over by the ditch. Jess was still sitting on a post at the other end of the field. Sounds close, but I needed bino's to see her. Karen moved down and crossed into the same field that I was in, and I positioned her where if we got a chance to flush, would give us the best result.

Jess was in no hurry and she kept us waiting for about a half an hour before she finally decided that there might be a reason why I had not called her to the fist. She was quite well rested and took another good pitch above us. Karen and I, along with the dogs made our rush and actually managed to scare the ducks away from the ditch. Jessie made her stoop ignoring some of the smaller ducks to bind to a female Mallard about 50 yards on the other side of the creek.

I looked for a shallow place to cross and finally just gave up and waded in, well over the tops of my boots. Jessie and the duck were fighting on the ground and Betsy of course stood guard while I helped Jess. I let her pluck and eat for quite a long time before I picked her up for the trip to the truck. When we got home, I gave her even more since I will not be able to fly her before next Monday.