Oct. 20

Karen and I decided that we needed supplies yesterday so we went to town. We got back about 5:45 PM and grabbed the dogs and Jessie and went for ducks. Since we were limited on time we went over to the ranch next door. There is a small dinky pond there that had three ducks on it when I flew the area last.

It had rained pretty good here and things were slick as could be. We carefully made our way to the pond and when in position, turned Jessie loose. She got her pitch and I rushed the pond when she got into position flushing three Gadwall Ducks. She struck one a terrific blow and did a quick turn around and pounced on him before he could recover his wits.

Today dawned as bright and clear as yesterday was rainy and gloomy.

The Harris Hawks were ready to hunt, although Peg might have been a bit heavy. At this point I really don't know what her weight should be.

We arrived at the field and found that Arock (where we were hunting) had received much more rain that we did, and modified our hunting area choices to keep as dry as possible. We had a few good chases with no success, so we widened our search area. I was on top of a lump when I heard Karen laughing. I could see Peg on the ground, but I couldn't tell what she was doing, upon inquiring I learned that she was trying to take a bath in a mudhole.

To say the least, I was surprised. She had never shown any inclination to bathe or even drink before. Karen managed to get her back on the perch and we carried on. Around the next lump they chased another rabbit, and Peg found enough water to actually get wet.

 Needless to say the hunt was over for Peg, so as soon as she finished her bath, Karen returned back to the truck. I went on about the hunt with Sylvester, but we did not connect either on the 5 Pheasants that we found or the Jacks that we jumped. It was still a very nice morning.