Some needed time off

Dani

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Sooooooo my trip to Africa has been cancelled due to Covid. It has been rescheduled to mid 2022. I decided I needed some time away from work so I took last week off. I planned on going to LA to chase woodcock in the last half of the week but when I looked at the weather and saw that it was supposed to rain most of the time I said, "NOPE". I hate hunting in the rain if I can avoid it.

The first half of my time off was spent here in FL both out at my lease and on public land. Belle is beginning to steady up some. Most of the time out at the lease she will let me at least walk up to her when she goes on point. Unless the bird twitches, then all bets are off. Then she gets bird fever and she may or may not be steady on the next point. But she is learning.

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The nice thing about the lease is that I can run Belle with experienced dogs. We ran her with Patch to see if she would naturally back. I would say NOPE she is a point stealer at this point, but at least she didn't haul butt into Patch's point and flush his bird.

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This pointy dog business is very different from retrievers. In a good way but there are days when I feel like I have no clue what I am supposed to be doing with her. John, the gentleman I train with, says that Belle is about where he would expect and that Setters tend to mature slowly as far as having good pointing manners and that she is doing well. He isn't a field trialer but he does train to be steady to wing and shot and that is what I want from Belle. We have a ways to go but he isn't concerned about where she is.

I also took Belle out to the management area where we can find woodducks, woodcock and quail. It was our first trip out and I gotta say that it is looking GREAT! This is the third season since Hurricane Michael went through and the managers have done a lot to get the debris cleaned up. There are still places that have lots of downed trees, but it appears to have been great for the quail. The biologist says that they have the highest quail numbers this year in a loooooooooooooooooong time.

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Last Sunday was a great day. You never know what you will find when you are out there quail hunting. Belle and I accomplished a first for both of us I believe. We were wandering through the woods and she slammed on point! She held that point beautifully. I was able to walk up to her and as I was, the bird flushed and up popped a woodcock! As soon as it flushed Belle was off like a shot but she held that bird beautifully. Then we spent 15 minutes looking for it after I shot it. Belle is definitely not all that interested in dead bird finding. She gets bored with it quickly but we were able to find our trophy!

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Off we continued and I was very pleased with her. She was amped up, not surprisingly but eventually that wore off. At least until we got into this thick little corner of a field. It was back in some thick stuff and Belle had a beautiful point. The bird she was pointing must have moved or something because she busted it before I could get close. She came back and pointed again. I was a lot closer and as I began walking up to Belle, the world exploded in quail! Most of them headed into the even thicker stuff but a few flew by over the field. I took a shot at one and down it went! Belle had to chase it down, which of course she loved. But we managed a quail and a woodcock in one day!!!

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Truly they are trophies at that property.

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I ran into a few deer hunters that were doing a deer drive (I kept trying to stay out of their way but somehow we kept ending up in the same vicinity...I think that was on purpose on their part...they love bird hunters). That is perfectly legal on that WMA, though not with dogs. I inadvertently helped to drive and got to walking up to a thick little cypress pond. As Belle and I were walking looking for woodcock, this big ass deer comes barreling right by me. It was as sudden as almost stepping on a pheasant and about as heart pounding. Since Belle was with me, I could not shoot but I sure could have. Maybe a minute later I heard a shot. I didn't think anything of it until Belle and I were back in the truck and heading out. There were the guys with MY deer. They were so thrilled...so was I. I told them as thanks they could give me a back strap. They just laughed. At the check station he was weighed....165 lbs dressed. That is a MONSTER for FL. The check station guy is pretty sure he was the biggest that had ever been taken off the management area. Very nice 8 pointer (one of the times was broken too).

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It was close to closing time for quail so we headed back home after an extremely good day. I planned on hunting the lease on Monday but upon getting in the truck and seeing that I had a low tire (BRAND SPANKING NEW TIRES) I went and got it filled up and checked to see if I had a nail. Nothing obvious but I had to go back to walmart to have them figure out what the heck was going on. As a result, I spent too much time in the garden section and ended up with seeds and all sorts of stuff....so I went home and spent the rest of the day (cuz walmart took forever...bad valve stem that they tried to charge me for) playing in the dirt, planting trees and seeds and repotting some of my herbs.

Tuesday I had a hunt planned with another lease holder on the management area that Belle and I were out at Sunday. He runs small munsterlanders. Gotta say they are gorgeous dogs and I should have gotten a picture. It was a nice but hot day out there. We did find a covey of quail but that covey plays the game every time a hunt is on. It is a very smart covey. Belle had a very pretty point on a woodcock that I chose not to shoot at. We never would have found it cuz it was back in some of the overgrown pickup sticks that hadn't been cleaned yet from Michael. Heck, I don't know that I would have been able to even get back in there.

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Wednesday Belle was worn out so we chilled on the couch while I contemplated what I was going to do. I was pouting because I really wanted to go to LA but I didn't want to drive 8 hours so that I would just drive around in the rain. After much deliberation and contemplation and pouting and harumphing I decided to just say screw it, I'll go to LA....I gotta get out of FL. But then I remembered that there are grouse in N. GA. Not many and they would be incredibly hard to find but they are huntable. Woodcock had closed already, but they would still be around to give Belle something to point. PLUS it would be a huge change of scenery, no rain was expected and cooler temps than what FL was having. So, with a slight change in wardrobe choices, the truck was loaded up and Belle and I were off for her first trip to the mountains. Steve and I used to try to do at least one day looking for ruffed grouse in the mountains on our trips so I thought this was a great choice.

We headed to Blue Ridge, GA. It was close to several WMAs in the Chattahoochee National Forest and what quick research I did said that grouse can be found in that national forest. I already knew not to expect much. Other than a gorgeous change in scenery, which I got.

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The trail is well guarded.

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I really didn't find much the first day that looked "grousey". I kept comparing everything I was seeing to what I remembered on previous forest grouse hunts and I just couldn't seem to find similar habitat. I wasn't seeing much that they would eat either. But, Belle was having a great time. She had her first mountain experience of jumping off the side of the mtn onto the road from too high up and face planting. After that, she tended to slide down the steeper inclines. The steepness didn't seem to slow her down much though. She handled going up as easily as going down.

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We found an old logging trail to follow up in hopes of finding at higher elevation, brushier and thick environments that might be grousey. Not so much on that logging trail.

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But we did get into some woodcock to chase under the rhododendrons.

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We saw some pretty sights.

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I think these are trilliums beginning to peak up through the leaves?

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After a nice afternoon of taking the gun for a walk in the woods, we stopped at a local brewery. I had to go just cuz of the name. They have some pretty tasty dark beers.

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The next morning dawned clear and COLD and frosty. It was in the 20s. I wasn't sure what the roads would be like, if they would be kind of icy or not so I held off until the temps warmed up a little. It didn't take long for the sun to begin warming things up but while I waited, I did some reading and research. I began looking for research papers that talked about grouse in North Georgia. I found some articles that discussed food preferences in the winter as well as drumming locations and what the environment looks like around those locations. That particular paper was from 1982 and they looked in about a 700 hectare area in the Chattahoochee NF (approx 1700 acres) and they could only find 14 drumming locations that they determined to be used by 9 male grouse. So, it really didn't sound like many grouse in the forest even back then. However, I was armed with more information on food preferences and environment type. I examined the maps and determined I needed to get higher so I checked other areas from where I had been the day before. Off we went.

It was still frosty out but the roads were good.

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We did find some better habitat but no grouse. I was pleased that Belle found a few more woodcock to point.

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I gotta say that my pack sure does make it look like I am riding a horse....NOT that my butt looks big (at least that's what I tell myself)

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We explored some more on the way back, taking the long way back to town and we found some pretty things to stop and admire. We sure don't see water moving around like this in Florida.

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I had to come home yesterday cuz my adventure was coming to an end. Work was calling (uuuuuugh). I wasn't ready to have the trip end. So, Belle and I toodled our way home and stopped to see some sights. We stopped at Amicalola Falls. It was pretty impressive. A 729 ft drop.

From close to the bottom:

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In the center:

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And looking down from the top:

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I bet it is absolutely gorgeous at the top in the fall:

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Belle and I were still dragging our feet to leave so we enjoyed a picnic by the creek that becomes the falls.

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All good things must come to an end they say but it was a nice way to end a much needed break from work and Florida.

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I am sure that I will go back up there, maybe earlier so that we can hunt woodcock as well as grouse. I will need to do a lot more research on where to go and what habitat to look for. Perhaps I can get a hold of a biologist for the area that will be willing to help me out.

We have one more weekend for ducks and woodcock in FL. After that, it is all quail hunting until it is too hot or until turkey season. I hear the ducks are finally moving in down here so I might get out for a hunt or two on them this week.

Dani
 
Great story Dani!

I have classmate from Auburn who is a biologist up in North Georgia, I will see if he has any insight on grouse up there.
 
Great pictures and write up. Sounds like a fine vacation.
As a side note; seems odd to me being in Iowa and another snow fall in the forecast, to see pics of green stuff popping from the ground in late January.
 
Super post, that looks great! Fun seeing the country you are running around in. Love the laurels in the hills!

Glad the new tires didn't have a problem! Phew.
 
Huntindave McCann said:
Great pictures and write up. Sounds like a fine vacation.
As a side note; seems odd to me being in Iowa and another snow fall in the forecast, to see pics of green stuff popping from the ground in late January.


remind me to post some current photos of my 4 tomato plants....
 
Really glad you got out adventuring, and productively at that! The plant in question is not Trillium, but is Downy Rattlesnake Plantain. Some folks call them Plantain Orchids.

Very nice pictures of Amicalola Falls! That's the start of the Appalachain Trail (or, Appalachian Trail Approach Trail). Did you see any hikers beginning their journey? It's very early still, but some hardy souls set out in January each year.
 
Dani, you and your dogs always have great trips and bring it to life for the rest of us. Thanks for sharing it to us and hope you get a chance to get away from work again to explore the great outdoors
 
Awesome adventure you and Belle went on.
It's hard not expect too much from a pointy dog too soon. We've all done it. Along with the thought that every little mistake may have ruined the dog for life.

That wild Bobwhite is a thing of beauty.
 
Good morning, Dani~


Great little excursion you took us on!


Two things: Pretty sure those young leaves are not Trillium. 'm thinking Wintergreen or Partridgeberry. That network of veins look very familiar - but my old brain cannot retrieve the info like it once did...


How do you get so many photos in a single post? always get stopped at 10 images - and so string togrether a numerous of posts on the same topic. Are you in Basic Editor?


Thanks!


SJS





 
Thanks a lot guys! I am glad that y'all enjoyed the walk in the woods with Belle and me....

Dave....this will make you feel better I am sure....my banana tree is beginning to come back to life after our "cold" of winter

Tod....I was very happy it was a valve stem issue and not a need a new tire issue. And I could tell the difference in these new tires vs the old tires in going through the woods. I am very happy I went with the Coopers instead of putting the same thing that was on them back on.

J.....I can't recall for sure if your name is Jake but for some reason that is sticking in my brain? Anyway, THANKS for the plant ID. That is really neat that I stumbled upon a wild orchid. I looked it up and they can be found in FL wild but only in one county have they been verified. I might be able to get some growing in my yard so I'll have to look for a source to get them. The flower is really pretty. I was in the gift shop wandering around and there was one person that was signing up or I guess signing in to walk the Trail. I saw a couple of folk with back packs on their backs heading up the stairs of the falls that looked like they were getting ready to head out. Maybe five people?

Tim....nice to know I'm not the only one who worries they have screwed up their dog with their mistakes.

Steve.....for the pictures I don't attach the photos to be stored on this forum. I upload my photos to my smugmug account and from there I can get the links to embed the pictures into the post using image coding. It is pretty simple to do if you have a photo host, which your website already serves as. It is simplest from a desktop computer but can be done from a tablet. I am not a fan of posting pictures from my phone because it is a pain in the butt to do it (at least the way I tend to post pictures....it has been a long time since I have actually uploaded directly to duckboats as an attachment). Since I embed my photos, there does not seem to be a limit to the number of images I post and I don't think that Eric is paying to store my pictures as attachments associated with duckboats.net. I would be happy to try to walk you through the process if you are interested in learning it. I am not sure that it would be any quicker for you than just uploading the pictures to duckboats, but I would be happy to help you out.
 
Thanks, Dani!


I used top use Photobucket for all of my posting here. In fact, I pay $99/year (just got my bill) simply to maintain my images on all of my earlier posts - esp. those that still get lots of use.


So, maybe I will use Photobucket again.....


All the best,


SJS

 
Dani

What a terrific report and beautiful photography. Thank you.



Dani said:
I don't think that Eric is paying to store my pictures as attachments associated with duckboats.net.

We operate under a flat monthly rate so no additional fees are incurred for storing pictures. My personal preference is pictures be uploaded via the forum. This ensures the pictures will be here as long as the site is. There are many broken picture links to pictures hosted elsewhere that are no longer around or the user deleted the pictures, among other reasons. Also, my employer, as well as others, block image hosting sites so I can't see a lot of pictures posted unless they are on the duckboats server which the network folks don't seem to mind. If we need more than ten images uploaded per post I think I can fix that with minimal effort.

Eric

Edit: I just upped the number of pictures you can attach to a post to 20. I can go higher if needed.
 
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