Karen and I spent the night in Boise Monday, and returned today about 10AM. It was really cold when we left Monday at 7 AM. It was 4 degrees at the top of the hill, so I decided to leave the birds in the shop. Jessie could have handled the cold with no problem, but the Harris's would not have handled it that well. Tami agreed to come over and do the evening chores for us and check on the girls to make sure that they were alright. Sharron came over around 10 AM and picked up the dogs, so that Betsey would not be a dog sickle when we came back.

Karen had to have some out patient surgery, and we felt that it would be better to stay in town to make sure that her recovery had no complications. Every thing was fine, and she is recovering nicely with no problems.

All three of the girls were down to weight when I got back, so Tami came over at 1 PM and we went to Arock to see if we could catch a Rabbit. The girls are really showing improvement, and Puddy did not disappoint, and she soon had a Jack by the tips of her talons in one rear leg. She was up against a big limb, and was just about to lose it. Tami got there before me and used her perch to pin the Jack long enough for Yogi to get around in front and snake her foot through a small hole in the brush, shoving it right in its face. Perhaps I should say grabbing a foot full of face.

 After Yogi stepped in, I stepped back and took a picture. I generally get so busy that I don't get any pictures. I then gave the camera to Tami with instructions to take anything that looked interesting.

 I broke the limb out of Puds face so that she could stand up. It is a real wonder that she was able to hold on. If you look at the picture above, she can't have much to hang on to.

After I got the birds sorted out, I killed the Jack, and we gave Yogi a Bunny leg to chew on, and I tore off a front leg for Puddy. She actually let go and came to the fist quite easily this time. I let her take it to the bushes to eat, while we took Yogi on to try to catch another while she was eating.

Yogi did her best and made some great shots that were so close that it was amazing that she didn't connect. She is improving each and every trip. She is so aware of where the rabbits are hiding, and will not leave the area if the rabbit is hiding somewhere nearby. It is very interesting, yet at the same time it is aggravating. It is a wonderful survival technique that she has developed through her time on her own, but often it is better to just go on and jump another one. However, we most often do not get to do what is better.

We hunted pretty hard for the next two hours of so, but could not get the break that we needed. Puddy just doesn't try as hard with a front leg in her crop, and Yogi still hasn't perfected the twists and turns that she needs to connect. It is coming however.

We got back home and I did the chores, put on my waders, and took Jessie over to Tami's to try for Ducks. She was down about an ounce, and acted quite desperate. We turned her loose and she got up and into what should have been the perfect position. It is hard to run over broken ground and keep track of her, so I require her to keep herself in position when I start running. If she is out of position, then that's too bad. Well she apparently wasn't paying that much attention, and several nice ducks made their escape down the ditch. She came sweeping down and grabbed a Duck heading down the ditch, but apparently couldn't keep them both in the air long enough to reach dry ground, so she lost him in the water.
She was sitting on a fence post at the end of the field. We busted at least three bunches of Duck on the way there, and she just sat.

Apparently the Duck that she had her feet on, was somewhere in front of her, and she wanted it pretty badly. I finally got her back in the air. We crawled through the fence and started down the ditch. Another bunch of Ducks flushed and flew back up the creek. Jessie came down in a sizzling stoop and slammed one of the Ducks. She hit him hard enough that when he hit the water the splash came up over the tops of some pretty tall Cattails. She sat on the fence again, sulking. I kept on down the creek, and finally teased her into flying again.

Once she was in the air, Tami and I started down the ditch. We soon flushed another bunch of Ducks, and Jessie who was off to our left singled a Gadwall out and struck him with a terrific slashing blow that left him on his back with his feet waving in the air. She wasn't about to let this one get away.
 
It was almost dark by the time that she caught him. I gave her a Pigeon to eat while I plucked the duck. When I finished, I picked her up and we walked home. It was a good day, but a long one.