Saturated
Every quail season is unique unto itself. The cover in our courses, the weather leading up to the season and the weather we are served when the season starts are all embedded in our memory banks as a reference to prior years, and years to come. This season is starting out as being uniquely unique.
We have never had running water in our creek beds at the start of quail hunting season, until now. The grass in our courses is hip high in many places and at its shortest, knee high. Shredding lanes has been a struggle for the past three weeks for one simple reason, burying the tractor up to its axles. With all that being said, the flora in our courses exhibits most every shade of green known to man, and it is beautiful.
We have had over 36” of rain since Labor Day. Getting a 2”-4” rain is now as common as the long dry spells we are more accustomed to enduring. Given the choice, we will take the rain and all it brings with it; beats the hell out of choking on dust. The temperatures have also fallen off this past week and have been much appreciated by the dogs and humans alike. Looking at the long-range forecast, the temperatures are holding onto the pattern of lower than average, which is great news.
In between rains we have had the opportunity to work the young dogs on birds and run the older dogs, so there have been few days that have been complete rain outs.
The pictures will tell a better story than I can as it pertains to the amount of standing and running water in our courses. I would recommend bringing 2 pairs of boots/shoes if you are staying overnight. Jill is running to San Antonio to get 6 boot dryers to put in the bedrooms for everyone to utilize if needed. I think everyone will appreciate this small creature comfort. Regardless of where you are hunting, the ground is like a sponge. Wherever you step, water will ooze out of the ground under your feet. We have reached a point of total saturation.
This is the most exciting time of the year for us at the 4R Ranch. The anticipation of injecting new dogs in our respective strings is at a fever pitch. The new dogs, along with the core dogs promise to make this year a memorable one; on many levels. We look forward to seeing all of you and sharing conversations, shots made and missed, sunrises and sunsets and all the other ingredients that make quail hunting behind dogs so very special. We hope that each of you share in our nervous anticipation for the upcoming season.
Adios for now;
Deryl
Posted in: News
