Hunting with Pepper, the last hunt this season...

[Goldeneye]

It has been a memorable year in the Snohomish valley this season for me.  I hunted once a week since December and always seemed to be able to scratch out a limit.  Some days it seemed I needed to be patient and better hit what I shot at.  Well on this last hunt which was last Thursday in the heavy fog we got our birds and ended up with 3 that will be going in for taxidermy.  2 Hollywood's (spoony's) and a dandy drake Gadwall.  I got his hen as well.  She was hit pretty hard, we'll see if the taxi can use her.  I'd like a hen drake mount with them.  Anyway the 2nd pic gives you a better look at the ones going to the taxi.  My Pepper dog went as far as she could on this hunt.  I did the last retrieve because she was done.  She's a small, short legged lab so had to swim for everything including some long retrieves pushing her way through the cattails.  She really came into her own this season.  I'm proud of the little pup.

[hunterednate]

Congrats! Would love to see pics of the finished mounts when you get them back from the taxi.

[BD1]

Awesome

[Blacktail135]

 Good job! Love good retrievers. Cattails are tough!

[follow maggie]

Awesome. Cattails are definitely tough for smaller dogs. I love the heart.

[h20hunter]

Awesome....loving the beard my friend.

[Goldeneye]

  Thanks for the compliment on the beard H20.  I started letting it grow following my retirement a little over a year ago.  Now that hunting season is over, I'm thinking it's time to tame the beast.  It'll be getting cleaned up soon.  I've let it be free long enough.   

  As for Pepper.  Noticed how dark she was in the above picture.  Here's a close up of a lab that's plum wore out.  She's still game, but the body was done.  She has a huge heart though and shown it all season.
   

[Dan-o]

Great to see this. 

You could hide an extra dozen dekes in that beard.

[Goldeneye]

Great to see this. 

You could hide an extra dozen dekes in that beard.

Speaking of the post retirement beard.  I thought you were supposed to have set yourself free by now Dan-o?   Gotta tell you life on the outside isn't bad.  When are you pulling the eject button?

[Dan-o]

Great to see this. 

You could hide an extra dozen dekes in that beard.

Speaking of the post retirement beard.  I thought you were supposed to have set yourself free by now Dan-o?   Gotta tell you life on the outside isn't bad.  When are you pulling the eject button?

Honestly, I'm kind of enjoying it at the moment.   It will be sometime this year.

One bad day could speed it up to "right now".   :-)

Either way, I couldn't grow a beard like that if I didn't shave for a decade.