Lordy,lordy it was opening day-Friday 10-28-22

Al Hansen

Al Hansen

Well-known member
Here is Sonora sitting by my side on the opening day of duck season. She really likes to retrieve.

I got to the pond shortly after 10 AM. When I got into an advantageous spot, I stopped and decided to glass the pond. My gosh, there were 11 mallards sitting in the area that is only about 25 yards from where the blind will be. As I got closer they hightailed it out of there. This was Sonora's first duck hunt ever where she would be staying in the blind with me.. I have used her to help me train other dogs but have not given her a shot at being in the blind with me until today. Back on September 18th, I used Sonora and Coal to get a duck that I had shot in a drainage ditch. It had some rugged terrain so I opted not to bring Chip to go get that one.

When I shot my first duck this morning I wanted to see how she would react to the sound. Heck, she never flinched. It was amazing! Anyway, I gave the command, "dead bird" and she immediately dashed out 15' from the blind and picked up one of the teal decoys I was using. then with head held high, brought it to me! Lordy lordy!

I got her all lined up and gave her that signal to fetch and off she went. She followed my line of sight and went straight for the bird. It happened to be a juvenile drake bluewing.

My second bird was a juvenile drake greenwing. She handled that one much better. By the time she got to it the bird was very close to the opposite shoreline. The north wind had picked up considerably.

That sure took a load off of my mind. Just wondering who I was going to be using was starting to bother me. I did have to smile when I watched her bring those birds back to me. She is blessed with a soft mouth!
Al

I found a new partner for me in the duck blind! I could tell she was having fun. I'll look forward to my next hunt this coming week.



Sonora on opening day of the 2022 duck season.JPG

Here are a few shots of Sonora retrieving.
IMG_8058 (1).JPGIMG_8017.JPGIMG_8067.JPGIMG_8039.JPG
 
Al

Congrats to you and Sonora. Sounds like she has got what it takes and will make a great partner. Best of luck on your season.

Eric
 
Good stuff Al! Always fun to see you and your pups desert duck hunting adventures
 
Al,
That's a great start! They sure seem to pick up on a guys routine real quick and aim to please. I'm betting that one "decoy retrieve" will be her only one ever. Maybe you should have told her "live bird" ????? [sly]
 
Last edited:
Thank you, Eric. Sonora does have what it takes and this season will be interesting for both of us. I think I'll be able to hunt this pond for at least another 3 weeks before it totally evaporates. Here is hoping we don't have too many windy days. I wouldn't mind being there in December, either.
Al
 
Hey Carl,
This year we had a monoon season that was like no other one that we have experienced in the 25 years that we have lived here. The monsoon season will typically begin in the beginning of July and run to the end of September. This year it began on June 15th and went to the 10th of October. We'll take it, every drop we can get.
Al
 
Dave, I have only had two retrievers grab a decoy and bring it to me just once. When I think of the hundreds upon hundreds of duck hunts I have had in New Mexico what happened next would most likely be the first duck that they retrieved. From that time on they knew which ones stayed in the water.

Way off the subject but yesterday on 10-30-22. I saw a hummingbird. It happened to be a male broadtail. In the 25 years here the latest I ever saw a hummer was October12th. This is 18 days later. Who would have thunk it?
Al

The adult male in the foreground is a broadtail hummingbird. That is the variety that I had flying above my head maybe only 5 feet up. I was standing on a mountain peak, named South Mount Baldy which is at 10,789'. Some spend the entire summer at those elevations. Quite remarkable.
IMG_8976.JPG
 
Hi Greg,
Here is a picture I took of Doug when he got Coal for me. They are good folks and I did enjoy meeting them.
Al



IMG_4508 (3).jpg
 
Nice way to start the season Al!

I hope it continues in the same manner for the rest of it....
 
It is always good to hear from you, Todd. You were so right about the threat of sunburn. I still remember going to my dermatologist for the first time and listening to what he had to say. He asked about my nationalities and I told him Norwegian, Swedish, Danish and Irish. He then told me that I belonged to the second highest group of folks prone to get skin cancer.

As time went by quicker than you want when you get older, I was in his examination room last year when he said, "I sure don't like the looks of this spot. I'm going to take a sample and send it in." It didn't take that long and before I knew it one of the ladies working in the office called me and said that they found melanoma. I didn't get scared until I sat down and Googled it. I got lucky with that one and yes with my finger I can find that area on my scalp because of the depression left with the amount of tissue removed. He got it all, thank goodness. I was most fortunate.
Al
 
Yep, you have the heritage for melanoma.

My father had it and my mom as well, they've been able to get the melanomas but cancer got dad in 2007 Large Squamous cell of the lung... In a nonsmoker.

I'm Scottish English German Irish and just a skosh Cherokee (Like everybody)

Most folks don't realize it, but the real damaging exposures they got may bhave been back when they were just kids. I got roasted pretty good before I was 14, and once when I was @20. The damage is cumulative with exposures.

These days I looks like a guy in a burka or a beekeeper when I am in the sun. Used up my dumb luck long ago.
 
Thank you so much, Dani. I sure did enjoy it and it was special just because of Sonora being by my side. I still miss my buddy, Chip. You can never replace those special dogs that become so much a part of your life.

Since I know my limitations, I am thrilled to have Sonora.
Al

Right now duck hunting will be put on hold because we have a litter of pups at the house. I had some time and took Belize over to the pond and we walked about for a while. She needed it and we sure had some fun. This was our black sire's first litter and the pups sure do look good to us. Belize had 4 blacks and 3 yellows. Right now since their eyes have been open, they are experiencing a whole new world in the whelping box. A couple of days ago I snapped a shot of one of the black females about ready to lay into another one's tail. When I put the shot on the computer it was easy to see that the teeth are coming. There is nothing like a full set of hypodermic needles all ready to look for a velvety ear or a bushy tail to try them out!



IMG_8132.JPGIMG_8279.JPGIMG_8229.JPGIMG_8234.JPG
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top