Getting Ready for a Hunt

Sunday morning was perfect weather for a late season pheasant hunt.  It had been six weeks since Bailey and I had hit the fields at Hastings Island Hunting Preserve.

Took a friend who had never been on a hunt before.  Jim grabbed this shot before the 7:30 opening of the field we started in.

We had a successful hunt and Bailey was in excellent form and my marksmanship has improved over the year.  We were done by 9:15 with four pheasants in the bag. 

 

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Desert Days with Bailey and Chloe

On top of Mount Q there always is an American Flag flying proudly.

Sunrises in the Arizona sky on our 12-day sabbatical.

Vizslas are great RV partners.

 We "dry camped" (fully self-contained) in late January at the Las Posas Long-Term camping area. This is BLM area just south of Quartzite, Arizona.  $40 for two weeks or $160 for six months.

This is our fourth year coming out here.  It is truly something we enjoy.  Just books, music, hiking and being in the desert with Bailey and Chloe.  Once a day I would tour part of the desert or run into town for supplies on my trusty Honda Trail 90.

The sand and rocks are tough on Vizslas' pads as they run through the riverbeds and sage brush desert. The bushes and plants have plenty of thorns.  This is where quails, rabbits, and ground squirrels love to hide, so thorns in pads are common.  

After every time out, I would apply "Musher's Secret" to their pads to keep them from drying and cracking. I get the 200 gram size.

http://www.huntindawg.com/canine-first-aid-health-and-wellness.html

January is a great time to go to the Arizona desert. The sunrises and sunsets are great.  Maybe the highlight was the thunderstorm that blew in one late afternoon. 40 mph winds, lightning and thunder shaking the RV.  Glad we have a well-built unit.  As I lay in the back area with the BIG windows, the night became a light show, the rain came down in waves, and the wind rocked the Lazy Daze.

The next morning, the ground was only just moist and the sky was on fire.  I love the desert.



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A Dog's Day at the Beach

At Carmel Beach just south of town we enjoyed a sunny and warm winter morning.  Bailey and Chloe enjoyed running along the beach.

  They had a good time playing with a spunky Brittney Spaniel who had every bit as much energy as our two.

 People who walked with their calm dogs smiled at the energy and drive of these dogs.

Really enjoy the below picture of Bailey as he heads into the surf after a bird.

Chloe loves me to throw here bright green ball into the surf and nothing will stop here from bringing it back. She is quite the body surfer.

 

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Carmel-by-the Sea

Under the world-famous Pebble Beach Golf Links is the northern- most part of the Carmel public beach.  This is a leash-optional stretch of beach. Bailey wears his e-collar so he doesn't chase the beach birds.  That is not allowed.  Otherwise, the dogs are in beach heaven.

After a run on the beach, we headed to our favorite spot to stay.  The Carmel River Inn is at the south end of the town.

Dog friendly, so as I write this Chloe and Bailey relax at the foot of our bed.
 The motel is fine, but the cottages at the back of the property are the places to stay.  The below unit is where we stayed the first time we stayed here four years ago.

 

The unit we are staying at this winter is a much bigger one-room cottage.

The cottage is $128 per night now.  $20 extra per dog per night.  The same cottage in June, July and August will be over $450 per night.

The food at the Rio Grill by the inn was wonderful.  You want to get there early or make reservations.  The food and drinks were great.  I had the pork shank plate with chili verde sauce.

Carmel is expensive, but doing it way off season makes it reasonable.

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Starting REDBIRDDOG: the business

"Do what you love and the rest will fall into place".  If this is true, the path ahead looks great.

 

My new "business office" and company vehicle starting this Saturday. 

 

Happy trails and trials.

Rod aka RBD

http://redbirddog.com

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Castle Rock Hike

 On a brisk and calm third day in January, John and Lucy (a three-year old sweet Vizsla) came along on one of our normal 2-hour off- leash hikes.  This one was into the Diablo Foothills.  These are some of my favorite trails that are just south of our city of Walnut Creek.

We reached this overlook from the Lavorna Staging Area of the East Bay Regional Park and hiked about three miles in from there to the above lookout.  Much of the Castle Rock area is still wild and scenic. 

With the millions of people living in the Bay Area, these hidden treasures are there for everyone to enjoy.  Few do.  That's ok with Bailey, Chloe and me.  Happy trails in 2016.

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After a Quiet 2015....

After a very quite 2015 on Redbirdog, 2016 looks like it is off to a great start and the dogs and I will be much more active.

On our first hike of 2016, Bailey, Chloe and I headed into the Walnut Creek Open Space south of the city.  90 minutes into the hike and on our way back to the Jeep, Bailey and Chloe headed up a hill and came across something in the grass.  Bailey at first jumped back.  "Snake?" I wondered.  As I got closer, I thought, "injured bird?" and then "Skunk?"   It wasn't until I got within 10 feet that I saw it was a full grown badger.

For the next five minutes it was a circus for the folks walking along the trail below.  Bailey was going to catch this badger and try to kill it.  Chloe circled the animal opposite Bailey and barked constantly.  I took the leashes that I carry and swung the buckle end at Bailey when he tried to go in on the badger.  A few times the badger would charge me and I'd tell it to "back off!, don't you know I'm trying to save you?"   Bailey did mange to grab the badger a couple times and throw it in the air.  The badger in return was able to bite Bailey under the chin.  I tried and tried to grab Bailey but he is too fast and he was too determined otherwise to listen.  Finally the badger found a pipe to crawl into and the "game" was over.  As you can see from the picture above from yesterday, Bailey was not wearing his e-collar.

 

This morning we headed out again into the hills, this time to the west of town up in the hills of Lafayette.  Bailey wore his e-collar and will for our off-leash adventures. He has gotten a bit too "free" and I need to have a way to control that incredible prey drive he has when it is dangerous for him or the protected animals in the hills where we hike.   

https://youtu.be/Dcc0EGjnDQc

This is a link to a badger and Rhodesian Ridgeback going at it in2009.

 

 

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