Todd Duncan Tennyson
Well-known member
fire and ice
solar flares and plasma ejections from an M2 Class event
while
the gorge is a wreck and snowed and iced up
back at home i was mixing the 2stroke oil in with the gasoline just outside the garage door
it was before dawn
i heard a flutter that sounded like a pigeon was stuck inside a cardboard box
i heard it again and this time i saw a flash
fire in my garage and here i was mixing gasoline
i was able to cut the power and the fire stopped thank god
artie is a new dog, and was really fired up.
he hasn’t spent much time on a boat and little time around anchor lines and hunting
he does know how to retrieve.
this is the spot that mike helped me get my red dog started a year back
it seemed appropriate to get artie started in the same place
it would be a trial by fire
i idled the boat into position and mike fed out the decoys on clips
i handed him the 40 lb sash weight and he clipped it to the longline and heaved it into the huge muddy river
the clasp on the end of the clip was stuck open and we let the big sash anchor go
we watched our line of 20 decoys float along as though they owned the river.
it was an accident
so we had to improvise
improvisation and communication are mission critical when hunting longlines
or working with a dog
in any relationship
and in life in general
we longlined with only 1 anchor and let the current trail the tail for us
we left a weighted longline clip at the trailing end of each stringer and the current kept things in line with just a single weight at the upstream edge of each
artie was so fired up that he had to go for a swim and check out the decoys
he was so excited that i thought he might just burst into flames at any moment
mike worked with artie to help him understand that the boat is not for pacing back and forth in
and that it was not appropriate to whine in excitement as birds landed in the spread
it took a little practice
but they worked through it
mike was serious about this and artie knew it
once the point was made all was as it should be
but there was work to do
soon we had birds strafing our set up
artie was starting to put the pieces together and soon he was busy
he is a big labrador and is all of 100 lbs
he held still so that i could get a portrait of him
we had bluebills pushing in at the head of the squalls that were rolling over
we watched the mountains in the distance vanish into the grey and black over the swollen churn of the river
we’d knew we’d better be ready for the wind and rain and ice that were headed our way
artie seemed to develop a taste for what was at hand
he swam on a fetch that was out into the middle of the river after a cripple
the cripple bobbed and weaved and dove
artie whined and barked a frustrated blast at it and closed the gap with a last big push and a splash.
he swam back and brought that bird to mike as though he’d been doing it all of his life
this day could have gone totally sideways for the dog, but mike did his best to make it a fun and exciting day for the boy
because if you shut them down on the first trip
or make it too much
then they’ll never ever want to go again
it can be incredibly frustrating working a new dog
it can also be incredibly rewarding
saw a rainbow
2 birds down in the lines and mikes got up and split
then artie got mine and mikes re- emerged after 30 seconds
he fetched them both
tough to learn all new things
i had to learn how to use the new camera lens
young drake goldeneye and mysterious stained chest.
we got some serious squalls … from 0 – 40 mph in 3 minutes and ice pellets
45* angle on the ice pellets
cold enough when the wind kicked up to 40 kts
we saw a mouse swim across the cove to the reeds.
saw another get stuck and scatter under a solitary log and be left with no where to go
it was a reinforcement that nature is a cold and brutal place that will ultimately kill us all
if you can get out with a friend and a good dog and live a little in the mean time
it will have all been the good stuff in between the fire and the ice.
solar flares and plasma ejections from an M2 Class event
while
the gorge is a wreck and snowed and iced up
back at home i was mixing the 2stroke oil in with the gasoline just outside the garage door
it was before dawn
i heard a flutter that sounded like a pigeon was stuck inside a cardboard box
i heard it again and this time i saw a flash
fire in my garage and here i was mixing gasoline
i was able to cut the power and the fire stopped thank god
artie is a new dog, and was really fired up.
he hasn’t spent much time on a boat and little time around anchor lines and hunting
he does know how to retrieve.
this is the spot that mike helped me get my red dog started a year back
it seemed appropriate to get artie started in the same place
it would be a trial by fire
i idled the boat into position and mike fed out the decoys on clips
i handed him the 40 lb sash weight and he clipped it to the longline and heaved it into the huge muddy river
the clasp on the end of the clip was stuck open and we let the big sash anchor go
we watched our line of 20 decoys float along as though they owned the river.
it was an accident
so we had to improvise
improvisation and communication are mission critical when hunting longlines
or working with a dog
in any relationship
and in life in general
we longlined with only 1 anchor and let the current trail the tail for us
we left a weighted longline clip at the trailing end of each stringer and the current kept things in line with just a single weight at the upstream edge of each
artie was so fired up that he had to go for a swim and check out the decoys
he was so excited that i thought he might just burst into flames at any moment
mike worked with artie to help him understand that the boat is not for pacing back and forth in
and that it was not appropriate to whine in excitement as birds landed in the spread
it took a little practice
but they worked through it
mike was serious about this and artie knew it
once the point was made all was as it should be
but there was work to do
soon we had birds strafing our set up
artie was starting to put the pieces together and soon he was busy
he is a big labrador and is all of 100 lbs
he held still so that i could get a portrait of him
we had bluebills pushing in at the head of the squalls that were rolling over
we watched the mountains in the distance vanish into the grey and black over the swollen churn of the river
we’d knew we’d better be ready for the wind and rain and ice that were headed our way
artie seemed to develop a taste for what was at hand
he swam on a fetch that was out into the middle of the river after a cripple
the cripple bobbed and weaved and dove
artie whined and barked a frustrated blast at it and closed the gap with a last big push and a splash.
he swam back and brought that bird to mike as though he’d been doing it all of his life
this day could have gone totally sideways for the dog, but mike did his best to make it a fun and exciting day for the boy
because if you shut them down on the first trip
or make it too much
then they’ll never ever want to go again
it can be incredibly frustrating working a new dog
it can also be incredibly rewarding
saw a rainbow
2 birds down in the lines and mikes got up and split
then artie got mine and mikes re- emerged after 30 seconds
he fetched them both
tough to learn all new things
i had to learn how to use the new camera lens
young drake goldeneye and mysterious stained chest.
we got some serious squalls … from 0 – 40 mph in 3 minutes and ice pellets
45* angle on the ice pellets
cold enough when the wind kicked up to 40 kts
we saw a mouse swim across the cove to the reeds.
saw another get stuck and scatter under a solitary log and be left with no where to go
it was a reinforcement that nature is a cold and brutal place that will ultimately kill us all
if you can get out with a friend and a good dog and live a little in the mean time
it will have all been the good stuff in between the fire and the ice.
