CATCHING UP

It's been several weeks since I've had time to add to my Blog.

Audra Jaconetti and Kim Nelson visited us for a week spending much of their time hunting with Larry Piatz for Sharptails, successfully at that !

The picture above shows our camp looking back from the breakaway with Mike to the left, me in center and Mark to the right

Ray left Towner on Thursday, September 20 heading to Branched Oak for the Nebraska GSP trial. I decided to stay for one more week and then go to Branched Oak for the Nebraska Vizsla trial. Mark Howard, from Texas, joined Mike and me for that final week and provided spectacular meals each night. Mark has three GSP's, we enjoyed his company and culinary delights.

It took about a full day to break camp but I was able to leave a lot of things behind which will make the trip next year easier. John and Maxine Rognlien had a going away party/dinner for us all just before Ray left. The Rognlien hospitality is exceptional. At the party were the Rognlien clan, Larry and Nydia Piatz, Donny Schmit, Clifford and Mary, Ray, Mike and myself and Kim Nelson, Audra Jaconetti, Lance Fargo and Brian Wayson. Can't wait to post the pictures of Lance in a WW II helmet with WW II weapons and the picture of John and me with a bottle of "John's GOOD TO GO SIPPIN' WHISKEY".

I headed to Branched Oak on Thursday September 27, arriving Friday afternoon. There I met up with Ray and Jack Sharkey who had come in from Virginia for the trial and to travel with me through the VCA National. Grace Anne flew in to Omaha to scout for me and run a couple of amateur dogs.

The Nebraska Vizsla trial was well run, the grounds are beautifully manicured although a little green still. The only negative was extremely high winds all weekend, above 30 mph all day which made scenting tough and kept the cover extremely dry.

I was pretty happy with all the dogs, COLONEL won the Amateur Limited Gun Dog and got good performances out of others however no placements. Ray got 1 and 2 out of Open Limited Gun Dog.

Grace Anne left for Omaha and Jack, Ray and I left for Beatrice, NE where we had arranged for training grounds. I had been toting birds and a recall pen from North Dakota so we were pretty well set up in Beatrice in 500 acres of CRP where we worked on wild pheasant, prairie chickens and the quail I brought with us.

Jack and I are headed for Eastern Iowa Vizsla Club trial by Cedar Rapids, IA this afternoon with a stopover at Cabela's this evening.

Dave