Update, Nothing new to report :-/

We are still in the wind down phase from the fly-in. Both of us as well as John are Recovering from a pretty irritating cold. We combated it with the Sauna. It didn't stand a chance against 170 degree heat and all the steam we could generate. Karen resisted the Sauna and managed to keep hers for about 2 weeks, while John and I were in it twice a day, and thus got over ours within 5 days.

John left today for his leisurely trek back East. Leaving us to wander around for a while until we get used to being alone again. He could just move in and we both would be happy to have him.

Karen has been working with Thayen's little Pony, Hawkeye. Karen found that she missed having a horse around. Thayen was kind enough to loan us his pony for a while, so we bought a cart and harness for him. We will send him home with all that stuff later this fall. Hopefully he will be pulling the cart by then.

The rabbit situation here is terrible this year. Hope caught one on her first flight out, and has been suckered every time she has tried since. The fields that were solid producers last year may have one or two Jacks in them, with May being the operative word. I have lost track of the number of empty fields that seem to abound this year.

Hope is just too inexperienced in the ways of Rabbits to be very successful with the chases being so scarce. I went this morning to one of my best local fields and walked for two hours and finally jumped two Jacks. I didn't feed her more than a few tidbits, so we went out again this evening. The wind however was blowing in the teens, which always throws another unneeded factor into the mix. She managed to catch one for two complete flips before being kicked off with nothing but a fur coat to show for the effort. Driving for 30 miles seemed to increase the Rabbit populations, but not by much. The winter last year seriously impacted all the wild critters, from Deer to Rabbits.

She tries hard, but it is all straight line pursuit. She has yet to learn how to get a bit of altitude and pick her shots. About 3/4 of the time the Rabbits turn inside of her and stall her out. Either that or a quick stop in a bush and change of direction when she commits. As much as it pains me to do so, I am going to have to hunt her with Yogi as soon as Tami gets her schedule straightened out. You think a "woman's work is never done". Make her a ranch wife and see how tough the schedule is.

Hope and I fought the wind for at least a mile this evening, and as the day wore on, the slips got to be further and further apart. Karen went with me today to drive the car while I hunted. The dogs got to go as well since she was there. Finally I was wore out, but decided that I would walk a new line into the wind and back the direction that we had to go. I asked Karen to let the dogs out to run, as it was a good bet that they couldn't screw things up any more than what they were. Hope has not shown any of the fear or aggression towards the Dogs that most Harris's do, so I thought that maybe the dogs would be able to rout a few Jacks out that would normally hide. I was pleased to see that Hope showed no surprise or concern about them running around. Josie hunts too far out for my taste, but Brick stays within about 50 feet, coursing back and forth. Actually they are doing just right for every thing but Jacks, but what the hell, we have just as good a chance that the rabbit will run towards us as away. I was hoping that the rabbits would be concentrating on where the dogs were and perhaps Hope could actually get a good shot at one.

Josie put up a Bunny, and Hope did her best but missed. The Bunny streaked across an open flat and up on a little ridge with Josie in hot pursuit. Hope didn't hesitate, but he got into a hole before she could get there. Things worked so well that I am going to give it another try or two. Desperate times make for desperate decisions.

 
Looks like I am going to have to carry more water.

Sept 22nd- Hope

I went out to get Hope this morning and although she seemed to want to come to me, she would not move. That is when I discovered that although I have a heavy braided  leash, a swivel with a single short leather  strap between that swivel and the swivel that connects the Jesses, she was twisted and tangled so badly that she could not move her feet. I went to this arrangement because in the early mornings she jumps, foots and twists and turns so much playing that she was getting tangled up. I thought that I had solved the problem. :-/ It took Karen and I both to get her free of all the twists.

When she flew last, she weighed 920 grams. This morning she was 954. OOPS! Oh well, she needs exercise any way, and truth to be known, so do I. No better way to do that than to do it in the rabbit field.

At an extra ounce of weight, she was just that little bit slower that allowed each and every Rabbit that we jumped to get away. Her manners and response has not suffered at all with the extra weight, just her agility. The combination of flabby muscles and the lack of desperation that comes from being sharp set, cost her the satisfaction of killing again. I saw at least two Jacks that jumped close to us that actually outran her. The interesting part to me is that she really wanted desperately to grab one of those varmints, to the point of serious frustration.

https://vimeo.com/235077243  password    owyheeflyer

She went spelunking twice in an attempt to find something to kill. Most Raptors that are "too Fat" only make a show of trying to catch quarry. It appeared to me that her inability to close the deal was really frustrating to her.

She got a lot of exercise, and the next trip will likely turn out a bit different. I am not displeased with today's effort. We will both be stronger then next time.

The ranch that I was hunting on is one of the early ranches established when this area was first settled. Here are some pictures.

The building as you can see was made utilizing the materials at hand. Lava slabs and Willow stems.

Hunting season is here!

Things have been pretty busy, not to mention a bit  hectic occasionally, but it has been fun. However now that it is over, it is time for the best, for me, part of the year. Time to go hawking.

I had been slowly taking some weight off  Hope, to prepare for the new season. It has too hot to get out in the Sage or to take weight off of a hunting bird. Well the season  has changed- seriously. Of course with the cooler temps comes the winds.

I flew Hope on the creance about three times, even though it was obvious that it really wasn't needed. I tried to take her out, here by the house on Saturday. She fell right back in to the routine and rode the perch well. We did, after a lot of walking manage to get one Jack up. She was so excited that she crashed right into John,  bounced off and continued after the Jack. Then Monday I took her over to the ranch and we got three Jacks up, but the wind and her soft muscles were too much for her to make a catch. I am fighting a nasty cold, so I was happy with her effort and was glad to quit.

Today the forecast was for winds in the 20's, so I didn't hold out much hope for her to be successful. The Rabbits around here seemed to have the odds stacked against them last year and the populations suffered severe losses. I was hoping that my regular spot about 20 miles away would still have a decent population that I could exploit.

Hope weighed 920 this morning when I picked her up. A former apprentice, Pat F. was visiting, so she and John H went with me to at least make a try at hunting her.

I drove into the field, parked, got out and made about 15 steps and she flashed off the perch after a Jack. It managed to evade her, so she came back to the perch, and we continued. We hadn't gone very far when she took off after another Jack and this one she caught, much to my surprise.

When I got there, I couldn't see her, but the rabbit was sticking out there trying like crazy to pull the talons out of her butt. I was totally amazed when I saw how she had grabbed it. One leg on one side of a large Sage, the other leg on the other side, and upside down as well. dI had a hell of a time getting her untangled. I eventually tossed a chunk of rabbit in front of her beak, and she let go to get it.

To be quite frank I was pleasantly surprised that she was so determined to catch a Rabbit. It was not a small Jack either. The wind rather than a hindrance was today a big help. The Jack didn't have a chance to turn into the wind, and she was experienced enough to use it to be on him before he knew he was in danger.

2017 fly-in

Planning a get together, that depends on good weather to be a success, just stacks the odds against you. While the winds and temps in the first week of Sept are generally the nicest and most likely to be the best flying time of the year, it is just too much to ask to expect flyable weather for which ever week you choose. The winds and the temps this time was probably the best of all the fly-ins that we have had. There was just one little problem- Fires! There were fires on all sides of us and the air currents conspired to circle around us picking up smoke from western Oregon, Washington and then around to Montana and back through Idaho to us in one continuous circle. Two of the guy's coming from Utah had to drive. One from Calif. decided to not come. Another from around Portland couldn't get out because of TFR's ( Temporary flight restrictions) surrounding her. We actually only had two Experimentals fly in. One of them in smoke so bad that it was basically a instrument flight.

We had seventeen visitors and even though we didn't have many planes we still had a great time. Way too much food, with not enough room to eat it, but we managed and had a great time. Every body kicked in and either helped cook or clean afterward. While exhausting it was still a lot of fun.

The evening campfires were very nice and enjoyable. One of the compensations of the smoke was the sunrises and sunsets.

One of our guests was a lady from Nakkerud, Norway. She and her family hosted one of our regulars as a foreign exchange student. She was visiting him, and his mother for a bit, while on a trip to the US, and I asked him to bring her along so we could show her the area. We felt pretty sure that there is nothing like SE Oregon in Norway. One of our guests, Ken Korenek, who had a RV-7, took her for a smoke filled ride, simply because that was all the choices we had.

https://vimeo.com/232930841    I don't think that it requires a password, but if it does use--  owyheeflyer

It will give you some idea of what the visibility was during the first part of the fly in. Oh, by the way, Tove narrated the video. We actually made it for her to show to her friends. She shared with me that she was afraid of heights, but had no problem in the plane and had a good time.

Ken Korenek came up a bit early from Texas so that we could work on his video skills. He was a bit hinky of the landing strip, but soon found that it was all in his mind and not as bad as he thought, Other than paint jobs. I think the worst damage to his paint was when he was doing touch and go's on the state strip just a few miles south of the house. it is fine gravel and he said that it sounded like rattling rocks in a tin can. Ken caught a lot of teasing, that he enjoyed, in spite of his protests.

https://vimeo.com/232524986

https://vimeo.com/232263554

https://vimeo.com/233604058

https://vimeo.com/233261790

password for all is   owyheeflyer

You have probably seen almost all of these, since I sent them in an email the day that they were published.

One of the other guy's had a rough landing at Mickey Basin that took out one of his gear legs, and his prop. That would not have been all that big of a deal, but when his nephew came out to help him load up the plane, he was stopped by a woman working for the BLM. When she found out what happened she called NTSB, Sheriff, EMT's, and Blm Fire. Which as you might imagine complicated the hell out of things unnecessarily. We are not sure if Hazmat is going to be involved since perhaps a gallon or two of gas spilled on the ground.

This is a video of the area, and where he landed was at the hill part of the flat that I decided not to land at. I believe that you have had a chance to see it as well.

https://vimeo.com/233384168   password    owyheeflyer

Our niece, from Colorado, who loves to fly was offered a ride by Mike Marker who took her down the Owyhee River. No video of that as yet, but I do have a video that Mike took of the Steen's Mtn.

 https://vimeo.com/233776389  Same password!

Every one has now gone home, and I am quite sure that it will take a couple of days to readjust. It was a lot of fun, and worth it.

History repeats itself, only a little cheaper this time.

In the early 80's my Mother, two sisters and one Brother -in-law came to Oregon to visit. Wanting to show them a good time I inquired of a friend about the possibility of some place to take them on the Rogue River to fish for Salmon. The Rogue is famous, and I was sure that it would please them if nothing else to catch some Trout. To cut to the chase the Salmon were running hot and heavy, and I caught three with an old "Fenwick" fishing Rod. The fish were big enough that I ended up breaking the rod bringing the last one in. Before the summer was over I had bought a Drift boat, motor and all the accoutrement's needed to fish for Salmon. The only problem with all that besides the expense was that no one else knew how to row and survive on the Rogue, so I was always on the oars. I think in the time that I had the boat I only caught one Salmon, since I was always rowing. I figure those Salmon were worth somewhere in the neighborhood of about 1.5 K per fish.

I have fought the urge to buy a Kayak ever since I moved here. Truth is that there are few places where even a kayak is of use here in the Desert.

I don't think that I made very much if any of the fact that the migrant Ducks that come in here bring with them some kind of parasite that burrows under the skin and itches like crazy. The first night after my first fishing trip was pretty interesting, and now even after all that time, my legs are still pretty sensitive, and are perfectly willing to itch like crazy with any errant touch.

I first thought about getting some big girl pantyhose to wear the next time I needed to fish. Of course some of the people that I mentioned this to, were quite happy to make fun of me. However once again I had an "itch" for a Kayak again.

I checked Amazon- 1-2 month delivery time, Cabela's didn't have one in stock. So I checked Craig's list. Nothing but touring Kayaks there, but there was a nice old town Canoe there for $250.00. I called the guy and told him that I would take it and would come into town and pick it up in two days.

On the day that we were going into town the guy called my cell phone and told me that he had sold it to another guy. I hope his mother is proud of how her little boy turned out!

I had to go into Sportsman's Warehouse any way and what do you know, the Kayak that I had been looking for was there. What the hell, I've been a good little boy, I deserve a little spoiling every now and then.

So Karen and I drag it home on top of the Subaru, and she suggested that I try it out in the pool. I was lucky and the only witness to my coming humiliation was the dogs, and I have them securely sworn to secrecy. Let me say that getting into a Kayak in deep water can be tricky and damn they are heavy when full of water.

So today dawned full of smoke from the fires in Nevada and Calif. so flying was out of the question, so I guess the only reasonable thing to do was go fishing again.

The Kayak handled quite well, and moved with little effort on my part. A bit too well, so an anchor is next. It was really the wrong time to go fishing, but I did manage to hook three fish, with one of them jumping sky high and throwing the hook.

It was nice to see that there was a nice covey of Chuckars using the pond.

Dave, Reuben and Elsie were moving a bunch of Cows back to the ranch past the pond. I came back in to chat with them for a bit, and decided that two fish was enough for the first time. The cost for the Kayak is going down. These two fish only cost $300. bucks each.

There has been a bit of discussion as to what these fish are. Red Band - Bull Trout. This one had a bit of color under its gills as well as a little blush to it gill cover. I really do not know what it is, but I do know that they taste good and fight like crazy.

Fishing in the Desert

I have a tendency to hole up when it is real hot or real cold. Soon it becomes a habit, and in no time I am sitting on my butt a lot more than I am happy with. Yeah we walk each morning, and I do manage to go flying when the winds and weather is just right, but still, I should be more active.

I decided today that I was going to go fishing for the first time this year. I haven't been down on the river yet, for one reason or another. Mostly the water was too high until just recently. Then I keep forgetting to call the landowner the night before to ask permission. Again just sheer laziness. I did roll the plane out for a flight to check last nights light show. We had thought that there was a small fire on the Desert between us and the Whitehorse, but I could find no sign of one. I was surprised to find at least three of the playa ponds were full of water from the recent storms.

I went into the shop and drug out a float tube that we had bought years ago, and used perhaps twice, filled it with air, went digging through my fishing supplies trying to find something that would work for trout. I am more set up for Bass and Catfish, but I was hoping that either plastic worms or some spinners would pull me through.

The big problem with the pond that we went to is that it is almost covered with weeds, the aquatic kind. I knew that there would be no way to fish from the bank. I still had a pair of swim fins that I had bought more than 20 years ago, and really never used either.

A ten mile drive across the desert brought us to the pond. It had dried up several years ago and really not refilled before the last couple of years. The BLM stocks year around ponds with Lahontan Trout which can live in warmer waters.  Prior to its drying up, it held some really nice trout. I was really sad when it dried up. Now I had heard that the Trout were back and of catchable size.

The outside temps were running near 100, and I found all kinds of excuses to sit in my chair. Finally shame got me moving. Karen and the Dogs however were ready for some diversion.

Upon arrival, the dogs and I went around the pond to check things out. There was a long narrow area that Trout or fish seemed to be rising for something edible. As I figured there was no way to get a fish in past the weed beds even if I could catch one. I went back and got all my stuff, stripped down to my tidy whities and started trying to put my flippers on while sitting in the tube. Not happening, so I got out, put the flippers on and managed to get into the tube without killing myself, or falling into the water.

I first tried the plastic worm, and didn't get any indication that any thing out there was interested. I tied on a really small black Mepps spinner, and started casting to  where I thought there was a clear patch of water. On about the third cast, I got a hit, but missed it. More casts in that area finally yielded a hard hit. After carefully fighting the fish, I managed to pull into the tube with me a truly magnificent Trout about 18 inches long and about 6 inches deep. I managed to land four of the nicest Trout I have seen in a long time. I could have taken one more, but four of these cuties was enough for at least three meals for Karen and I.

I was so confident of my chances for success that I had made no provision for transporting any fish home. Karen had packed some stuff in one of those cloth shopping bags, so we dumped all that out and put the fish in it.

Just the other day Karen had mentioned that she wished she had some Trout to eat. I dug out some Catfish and Bass that I had caught last year and we had them for dinner. They were good, deep fried in sourdough beer batter, but still not Trout.

Well today we made up for it and had two of these babies. I liked the others , but the Trout tasted as only two hours from water to frying pan can get.