Supply

We could really use some decent summer rains. Two years' stock of porcini is just about used up, the last of the edulis went into risotto and only a few barrowsii remain:

Panfishing

We're a week into turkey season in New Mexico, with the Glorious 15th (of April) being the usual start. A and I considered going out last Sunday, having scouted out a few likely locations earlier in the spring. However, the day before the season the wind howled, and roared, and blasted across the plains. In my experience, turkeys don't call in the wind. So, rather than a 3 a.m. wakeup for a long drive and a dark walk all likely to be assayed in futility, we went fishing. In this part of the state, there are some warm water reservoirs and rumor had it that the white bass were starting to run.

The wind did in fact come up with the dawn, making us feel good about our guess that turkey hunting was a poor proposition. Once up at the lake, we found a small arm tucked away from the wind and, after a while, picked up a few fish. While the action wasn't fast (not surprising in cold and very murky water), there was enough going on to keep us interested and the variety was kind of neat. The stringer ended up being a smallmouth bass, a black crappie, a walleye, and some white bass, all caught on jigs or spinnerbaits. Just enough for a mess for two.

That night, fresh fillets dipped in cornmeal and fried crispy, here divided up by species. We'd never had walleye before and the flavor was fine but the fine-grained texture of the meat wasn't my favorite. I'll take white bass or crappie for choice.

 It has been quite a while since I've tried to catch fresh water fish besides trout and it was a lot of fun using an ultralight rod and bouncing a jig off rocks for whatever might come after it. This weekend is dedicated to chores, garden, and work, but if the wind will cooperate we'll try to find a gobbler next weekend.

meme

Behind on blog reading, let alone writing, I recently chanced across Steve Bodio's contribution to a recent meme, that of "5 dream guns".

I suppose I'm just not very dreamy with respect to guns right now. Most of what I list, I own. This comes not from years of searching, trying different arms, or collecting, but in part by chance and in part by selection. Guns that I don't have would mostly be for niches in my battery that are currently full, and might not be improvements. That said, here are five choices for five very broad categories of useful firearm (for I'm interpreting the meme as Steve does, five dream guns that would be the only five you've got)- big game rifle (North American, that is); rimfire rifle; rimfire pistol; shotgun, and centerfire pistol.

As to the first, a rifle for deer, elk, etc., I have previously gone over my current primary hunting rifle and the genesis to its current configuration. I wouldn't categorize it as quite a dream gun, but I would have a hard time configuring something more precisely to my tastes. To my mind, for class, you can't do better than a pre-64 or "Classic" Winchester Model 70 action (although a classic Mauser 98 action is close), and I'd barrel it to 22 inches, put on a fixed 4 power scope, and for elk have it chambered in 35 Whelen, a cartridge of no little romance (or elk dropping ability). A nice piece of walnut would round out the package. That said, the trigger on the Model 70 would probably require some work or a replacement by Canjar or Timney, stainless or some sort of high tech coating would provide some more weather protection, and a laminate or composite stock would help prevent zeros from drifting. Then, too, 35 Whelen wouldn't be anyone's first choice for pronghorn and is even more over-gunned for whitetails than 30'06, which is no less classic than the Whelen cartridge (which derives from it) and loses romance only through ubiquity. Suddenly, I'm carrying something that looks very much like the rifle in the safe right now- an all-weather rifle, not nearly "classic" in detail, that is reliable and comfortable and has a good trigger. Hunh.

As to the next, a rimfire rifle, I've been carrying and shooting a Remington 541-S for over thirty years now. This rifle started off with a 10 power target scope on it and fired thousands of rounds in smallbore rifle silhouette competition and practice.



The competition explains the sticker on the forend- it is from an old match and indicated that the rifle had been inspected and met the requirements for competition. There are more on the other side of the rifle. Now, this is not the perfect rimfire sporter. The plastic faux-burl forend tip is ugly and the magazine and magazine release protruding below the stock isn't ideal. However, it has a very good trigger that breaks at twelve ounces and will hold an inch at 100 meters with Eley Tenex and not much more than that with some other ammunition. Remington cleaned up the aesthetics with their short-lived Model 504 and you can get a prettier rifle that is as accurate from Cooper, or a prettier (and in my experience, frequently troublesome) Kimber, but, practically speaking, you'd be hard pressed to find a better small game rifle than this one, particularly topped as it is now with Leopold's most excellent 2x7 rimfire scope. I suppose a Cooper would be the dream gun, but given the many rounds I've put downrange with this rifle, I'm not sure I'd exchange it for one.

Nearly as handy as a rimfire rifle is a rimfire pistol. I've got a couple (few) but for me the dream pistol is a Hi-Standard "Field King". A relatively rare model, the Field King had adjustable sights and a "medium weight" barrel as opposed to the much more common "Sport King" which was made with a lightweight barrel and fixed sights. My father carried one while hunting or in the truck for years and shot a fair bit of outdoor pistol with it. A few years ago, I came across a Field King with a 6 inch barrel at a gun show. The pistol was in very good condition, except that the Davis rear sight was bent, likely from someone dropping the pistol. The guy selling didn't want very much for the pistol and came down from that based upon the bent sight, which was easily taken care of by an order from Numrich.



It was made between 1950 and 1953. I haven't found a proper 4 1/2 inch barrel for this pistol, the pictured additional barrel comes from an Olympic model (which can be told by the rib on the barrel and a slot for weights on the bottom of the barrel). Nonetheless, both barrels work fine and, while a bit heavy in the holster compared to my S&W 422 or my S&W 317, it is easier to shoot and has a much better trigger than either of them. If I ever get around to shooting .22 pistol competitively again, I'll slip in the 6 inch barrel and be ready to go. Meanwhile, after over 50 years of sitting around (apart from being dropped that once), this pistol is getting carried and used.



For shotguns, if it comes down to one, I wouldn't make much different a choice than the Browning Citori I received as a graduation present from my folks. I fell in love with over/unders after being loaned a Zoli 20 gauge to shoot doves when my single shot Winchester Model 37 broke and, at the time I got it, the Citori was one of very few reasonably priced over/unders available new and the only one you could get with interchangeable choke tubes. With 26" barrels, it weighs a substantial 8 pounds, so it isn't quite a quail wand.



Further, it is made in Japan and, while the wood is nice, the glossy synthetic finish doesn't show it well. On the other hand, the gun shoots well for me and has shot everything from quail to cranes to turkeys. 3" chambers and choke tubes mean I can shoot steel shot at ducks and geese through fairly open chokes or switch out for full tubes and shoot turkeys (after wrapping the gun in camo). With those heavy loads, I appreciate every ounce of the weight. At the same time, the short barrels are quick to swing when it comes to quail or doves. All things considered, I'd rather have double triggers, a round-knob pistol grip and the "Lightning" model forarm, but as with the .22 rifle, I'm not sure I'd switch out at this point.

Now, I admire quite a few classic shotguns and for a while considered getting a side by side. I came across a somewhat beat up L.C. Smith Field Grade a few years ago and have shot it some since. This gun has a replacement butt stock and someone polished the sideplates, removing any traces of case coloring (and doubtless some rust), so it is very strictly a shooter. Apart from that, it has extractors, 30 inch barrels choked light improved and (very) full and weighs just under seven pounds. From the serial number, it was built in 1913.



It also shoots very well for me. All in all, if it were a dream gun, the 3 position safety would be only two position, the butt stock would sport a half pistol grip and match the forend, and it would be perhaps an Ideal grade, as I admire the engraving on those. For that matter, it could be a hinge-pin Fox Sterlingworth or a New Ithaca Double, or one of a whole host of British or European doubles with similar features and I'd be as happy or happier. As it is, though, if down to one gun, some small variant on the Citori up above is more versatile.

Which brings us, finally, to a centerfire pistol. I have to say, I have no such dream gun. I'll likely always have such a pistol around. I admire some of the old Smith & Wessons and, a few years ago, passed up buying a Lightweight Colt Commander in 9 mm that would have made a great concealed carry piece, but I can't really categorize any of those weapons as "dream". Centerfire pistols, to me, are protection pieces and an inexpensive yet reliable truck gun, or an accurate and well set up target pistol are each great things, I don't really have one or the other that gets me excited. Guess I'll just have to dream shotguns or rimfires while keeping a good enough pistol or revolver in the nightstand.

Jugging Hare

Still busy working lots and messing about outdoors relatively little. However, a while back we managed a morning duck hunt followed by a walk for quail. While on that quail hunt, a fine black-tailed jackrabbit jumped up beside me and took off to the rear. I had just been talking to someone about the fact that I'd been intending to try eating a jackrabbit for some time using one of the many European hare recipes, so as soon as this guy hit the top of a leap and before he got too far out, I gave him the top barrel, trying for mostly head.

Once back home, we skinned and dressed the fairly large buck jack rabbit. Abandoning a chance at true authenticity, I failed to save the blood for thickening my sauce. Nonetheless, I marinated the legs over night in red wine, onion, and herbs in a combination of the recipes from The River Cottage Cookbook and Fergus Henderson's The Whole Beast. The saddles I boned out, yielding a surprising amount of meat in two fillets.

I browned the legs and then set them in the oven for a long braise with wine, stock and mirepoix. I then deboned the meat and reduced the sauce before returning the meat to it, again following Fearnley-Whittingstall and Henderson for the most part.





The saddle fillets I rubbed with a bit of salt and cracked black pepper, then seared in a hot cast iron skillet and rested in a warm oven, making a quick red wine sauce (not quite bordelaise, lacking demi-glace) in the same skillet. We accompanied all this with braised red cabbage, mashed parsnips, and crispy roasted potato wedges. Hare 2 ways:



So, how was it? Very good- surprisingly sweet and somewhat reminiscent of mourning dove. I was a bit concerned while dressing out the jack- he was a big one and smelled quite strong. None of that could be found in the final result, with the saddles providing the most distinct flavor but still quite mild. Also, there was a surprising amount of meat on him- I'll take the occasional jack in the future as more than an experiment. Definitely worth a try for a winter evening's meal or three.

Happy '12

Hope all you all had a good 2011 and have a better & wetter 2012!

You can

see our house from here:



One of the things you have to love about New Mexico is that most places within the state's borders, you can see a pretty decent mountain. Of course, it might be a hundred miles away, but there is always high country on the horizon. The view above is from a mountain pretty near (that is to say, under a hundred miles) to our new digs. From this peak given a moderately clear day, you can see to where we are down on the plains. Under two hours from dusty heat and agriculture to aspens, fir, and cool breezes.

web miscellany

A few changes to the blog roll. I've removed a couple of blogs that look to be defunct or not quite started, though I try not to be hasty about such things given my own lapses in posting. I have hopes that Hubert Hubert will start after rabbits again and that McIntyre and Chappell will commit pixel to screen rather than mere word to page.

Also, I've added a few blogs with simpatico content- Greg McReynolds of Mouthful of Feathers has a solo project where he writes about shotguns, a subject of infinite fascination to some of us. It is "Shotgun Chronicle". Also, Mark Coleman's "Wingshot", a blog of upland hunting, has been needing to be added for a while now, as has Gary Thompson's "Silk Lines and Paper Hulls" about upland hunting and fly fishing.That lucky dog is off to fish the Green Drake Hatch. Meanwhile, we had our last precipitation in February and it was over 100 for 23 out of 30 days last month down here. I'm not bitter or anything, I just hope we get a little rain so I can assuage my frustration by hunting quail in my shirtsleeves in January. Also, neither last nor least A has a blog up, sort of a different perspective of some of the same things you see here and I've added the New Mexico Wildlife Federation to the list of conservation links.

Celebrating Independence Day

Well, one good way might be to barbecue. Outdoors, fire (only in a grill, plenty of other fire in the SW), beer, food- something any of those who fought for the nation's independence and ideals would likely be in favor of.

Perhaps ribs- here are country style ribs and a couple of racks of spareribs, rubbed with Mexican oregano, black pepper, salt, sweet paprika, powdered chipotle, red pepper flakes, allspice, and a pinch each of cinnamon and cumin. After spending most of the day in the rub, they came out of the refrigerator to get up to room temperature and went onto a slow fire with some chunks of oak and pecan on top.

Indirect heat only.



After two hours and change, we started brushing the ribs with barbecue sauce that we stirred up while the ribs were seasoning:






Recipe:



This is a good one if you like a sauce that it more acidic and tart, rather than sweet. The black coffee and the lime juice account for the acidic note. Another hour on the heat with frequent brushings of sauce made for a nice glaze and gave the meat enough time to break down and get tender. Not bad, even if I'm saying so myself.



As for us, in full disclosure those ribs are from last week. We've spent this past weekend alternating between goofing off and working. Up to Santa Fe for a wine festival and dinner with friends at a nice restaurant, then down to Abq. to do some things with a house that is, with any luck at all, nearly completely sold.

From Santa Fe the view of the Jemez Range was spectacular. From the mesas way down toward Cochiti and nearly as far south as Santa Ana, plumes of smoke ranging from small to darned big stretched all the way up to Santa Clara lands. The whole east side of that country is burning, one place or another. Not the fireworks anyone is looking for.

Driving south, though, we passed through some pretty good storms. It looks like the summer thundershowers are coming in, at least up in the mid and northern parts of the state. With any luck they'll knock down those fires pretty soon. Would that they work their way south, too.

Happy 4th!

ducking out

There is a little water down here. The river's blue line across the map is more thin than that drawn by the Rio Grande, but like almost anywhere else people settled in the Southwest, water flows. In addition, there are playa lakes in wet years and some more permanent ponds along the river valley. Consequently, there is some waterfowl hunting. On the last day of this last season, A, Booker and I headed out to some public access ponds to give the birds a try.



Unfortunately, the wind never did pick up, the weather was relatively warm and the birds, predictably, did not fly.





Those of us who hunt ducks learn that mirrored ponds, while photogenic, are of little help in attracting birds. Once it became clear that the wind wasn't going to kick up and the birds would not be trading around, we packed up to head out. Once I emerged from the reeds, a bird did flush from a bit further down the edge and flew, well, mostly flew, for cover. End of the season and all, I swung and fired, only to see him pitch into thick reeds where it took Booker a good fifteen minutes to nose him out.



Books did make the retrieve, though, the only one all season. I did it for the dog and, in the end, they all taste the same in gumbo, right?

"At length my dear Marquis..."

"...I am become a private citizen on the banks of the Potomac, and under the shadow of my own Vine and my own Fig-tree, free from the bustle of a camp and the busy scenes of public life, I am solacing myself with those tranquil enjoyments...."
George Washington, Letter to Marquis de LaFayette, February 1, 1784



Already a private citizen, I'm a long way from retirement so this quote is mostly an excuse to show off our burgeoning figs, for which we have high hopes in this warmer clime. I first read the portion of Washinton's letter where he expressed his desire to return to Mount Vernon years ago and, for some reason, the bit about "my own vine and my own fig tree" has always stuck. No grapes planted, though. Melons, eggplant, green beans, black eye peas, squash, okra, tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, dill, basil, thyme oregano, tarragon, artichokes, currants, serviceberries, cherries, and peaches, yes, but grapes no, at least not yet.

quail around the new digs

So, this move has brought us down into quail territory, lower & hotter than Albuquerque with more grassland and more birds.The little bit of driving around we've done, I've seen a lot of country that looks to me like it ought to be really good for blue quail (provided it ever rains).

We did get out a bit during the last season, scouting some nearby BLM and Open Gate lands. Our first foray, we found tracks near a windmill and then bumped the covey, which outsmarted & outran us pretty quickly.



Life & work intervened and it wasn't until the very end of the season that we found ourselves out again. We hit the area around that windmill again, working through a fair amount of pretty big mesquite, when Booker the Chessie disappeared and didn't respond to calls. He turned up sixty yards away having cornered a big porcupine in a mesquite bush and unsure what to do with it.



Books managed to get too close, though:



This required getting back to the truck and breaking out a pair of pliers. The quills in his chest were barely into the skin, but a couple of those in his chin were deep enough to hurt quite a bit when I pulled them out. Books didn't offer to bite, he just tried to keep me from getting at the deep ones. After a careful check to make sure we got them all and that none of the quills had broken off, a big drink of water and we were off to see if we couldn't find some other birds.



Some miles of driving and a couple of big loops walking and all we'd found were more tracks, a sunning badger, and a few antelope. We were headed back toward pavement when a covey of fifteen or so birds flushed across the road and hit the ground running. As I pulled up, jumped out, and started jogging up on the birds it occurred to me that I was all alone. Booker and A are both neophytes to the ways of blue quail and didn't fully appreciate the need to get on the birds and get the covey broken up so we could hunt singles before they all ran into the next county. I might have been a bit short in my explanation and A wasn't really aware that it's ok to run with a loaded shotgun, at least when you're trying to get a bunch of scurrying blue quail to flush. We did get them up though, and, between that flush and catching up to a couple of singles, we managed to scratch down a couple of birds and get Booker a couple of retrieves. One of those retrieves involved a leap over a prickly pear followed by a running snatch on a bird that wasn't quite dead yet. Not stylish, but exciting. The rest of the covey just melted away and disappeared, as blues are so very good at.

You can see the reason for the name "scaled quail":



On the rest of the way out we came across another covey, this one classic late season- small and wise to the ways of the world. They flushed a hundred yards from the truck, hit the ground running, split up and then flushed wild again. Good seed stock.

Here's hoping for a little rain so we have some birds for Books to learn on.

pheasant

Over 100 F today with a 30 mph wind- our part of the Southwest is a sunny blast furnace waiting for the next fire to start and looking for a little rain if we're to have any quail or a fawn crop. Work still has the best of me, but we did get out to chase pheasants last December on a bit of a whirlwind trip. Let's think of cooler times- Up to North Texas after work on Friday, back Sunday afternoon. Five hundred miles in the truck and a couple on foot. Fewer birds than last year, but good fun, family, dogs, and we found some.










I had to go to my old faithful Citori, up there on the left, as a bit of a contretemps that ensued when Booker the Chessie lept out of the truck (& over me in the process) and jumped another dog left me with a stiff hand and made the double trigger on the LC Smith hard to manage. The o/u probably shoots better for me, anyway. More impressive was my Dad's work with his old Ithaca 37- thousands of rounds at dove, quail, & etc. have made those two a pretty deadly combination.

Back in NM and a few days later, A and I decided to see if the current trend for buttermilk fried chicken would lend itself to the wilder taste and drier texture of pheasant. Pheasant plains style, as it were:





Ever vigilant quality control:


Since we're now Southern plains, we added black-eyed peas, rice, gravy, and greens to the fried pheasant.



It all worked pretty well. The buttermilk did help keep the meat moist and the tang from it went well with the pheasant. We'll have to do it again, though likely in different weather.

not dead yet

Three months is a longer hiatus than I intended or wanted. Duck season has come & gone, quail is nearly over, and we've only been out a couple of times for short days. More on those soon.

In the meantime, the new job is good, but challenging and very time consuming.
It requires many twelve hour and longer days full of last minute developments and has led to the neglect of family, friends, the dog, guns, the blog, reading, finishing up the move and all sorts of other things. As I settle in a bit more, that time pressure will ease, I hope. In the meantime, sporadic blogging should commence.

If you really need the reference, it's here.

There'll Be Some Changes Made

I'm not too big on putting a whole bunch of personal information on the blog. I don't think there's anything wrong with it, but the personal stuff (except as it applies to hunting, fishing, tramping about, cooking, reading, and so forth) isn't really relevant.

In any event, by way of explanation as to why my already sparse blogging is going to get even lighter and the context of SFA is going to change a bit; A and I are moving, transitioning from high desert to the boundary of the Southern Great Plains and the Northern Chihuahuan Desert. The reason for the move is a job, of course. I've been out of work for a stretch and hey, you go where the work is. Although headed for flatlands, we'll still be in NM and have a bit of elevation, along with living within sight of mountains (though, being NM, that can still be a good part of a day's drive away).

So, our duck hunting has been delayed a bit and, once it starts, it'll probably be on smaller waters and perhaps playa lakes. I anticipate good quail hunting.

I've had a good time the last thirty years in Albuquerque. Even though the city has grown so continuously that a lot of the fun stuff is further out or harder to take advantage of, you have to love the open space and the variety of outdoor adventures only a couple hours away.

For those visiting Abq., I'll offer a few suggestions that might not be found in guidebooks.

First, the best breakfast in town is carne adovada and eggs at the K & I Diner on South Broadway. I'm a big fan of carne adovada and try it almost everywhere, at least once. If it isn't best at the K&I, it's darned close. Plus, their coffee is pretty good.

Next, the best live music venue in the area is the Santa Fe Brewing Company. Located on the south end of Santa Fe, it's a forty-five minute drive from Albuquerque and they offer good beer made on location, good food, and host a lot of good shows, particularly during the summer and if you like Americana. If you're spending a couple of days in this area, check out their schedule to see if you can catch a show. While there, buy a growler of their Chicken Killer. Smooth, malty, dark-ish. Good beer and, at 10% alcohol the bartender will warn you to be sure to "drink it all in one place".

NM has a wine industry and many of the wines are pricey if good. One exception is Gruet sparkling wine. The blanc de noirs is a great food or sipping sparkler at any price, let alone the $11-15 you find it for retail. Their winery is located along a freeway frontage road here in town. Not exactly scenic (and the grapes are grown 200 miles south) but worth stopping in for a taste.

If it's cold, or if you have a cold, or just feel like warming right up, stop by a Bob's Burgers and get a large chile cheese fries (green). Bob's has the hottest green chile of any of the burger joints and the combination of yellow cheese, salty fries, and hot chile will soothe your throat, clear your sinuses, and bring a sweat to your brow to break that fever (if sick, otherwise, it just tastes real good).

Best gun store in town for used, antique, or really interesting is Ron Peterson's.

Northern New Mexican food in a dark bar- you can always get fideos, quelites or carnitas at Charlie's Back Door. The food isn't always great, but it's usually good and the menu is unique in this city.

Best baguette in town, and probably the state, is at Le Paris up on Eubank.

All this is purely one guy's opinion, of course, and a semi-native at that. Thinking about this stuff, I'm struck by what's no longer around town: best fish taco place-gone, best bar for live music-gone, best Vietnamese food by a mile-gone, best fly shop-changed much for the worse, best grower's market- isn't a really good one anymore; best video store-gone, the big used bookstore-gone, the bookstore that held lots of author readings-gone. Guess it is time to check out a new scene.

P.s. Title reference here.

a link

Just a quick, holiday-appropriate link.

Click here to get some nifty free content from Tor.com- the best zombie story I've read in a long time, called "Preparations" and written by Mark Mills.

no water

A few days ago, Chad Love of the Mallard of Discontent posted about the lack of water in his early season ducking haunts over in Oklahoma. Full of hubris or too cocksure, I commented that "at least our river is still flowing". I should have checked first.



That's Booker and I standing right in the middle of the main, and only, channel!
This'll be my eleventh or twelfth season hunting the Rio Grande and this is the lowest I've ever seen it at this time of year. The water will come up once irrigation season ends in November, but it's going to have to come way, way up for there to be enough water to float (or attract) many birds.



Nonetheless, we saw a few ducks on our scout and made some preparations for the season.








Duck season starts this upcoming week. It's usually slow at first, with the lack of water I'm guessing it'll be really slow, but we lucked into sandhill crane permits for later in the year and are looking forward to a chance at the "ribeye of the sky" as well as more ducks once they re-water the river and some (hoped for) bad weather up north pushes them down.

late

On one of our grouse hunts, A came across our first lobster mushroom:



As with some other first mushrooms, this guy was pretty unmistakable when seen in the flesh.



Unfortunately, it was late in the season and that guy had been up for a while; the bugs had found him first and, rather than the crisp white flesh described in the books and on the 'net, he was a soft, bug riddled mass. Still, is was great to see and positively identify a new (and prized edible) species. Further, we've duly noted the location and will give it all due attention next year.

into fall

Today is the last day of dusky grouse season in New Mexico. A couple more days spent out in the woods didn't result in any more birds for us, even way up in one spot that I've pretty much always found birds. This is the first year I've been blanked.

Some other predator got to this one first:



Steep meadows:



Grass as high as a Chessie's eye:



Our weather has turned fall-like, cool in the evenings and at night. Summer's gone and the garden is putting on a last burst. Time to really savor those last tomatoes.

Duck season starts (in the zone we hunt) in just a couple of weeks. We'll go to making game then.

scarce on the ground

We've been out half a dozen times this grouse season, with one flush (three birds) to show for it. We've found dust baths, feathers, droppings, and miles and miles of country, but can't seem to come into contact with the birds. One of the things I love about hunting blue grouse is that you do get to work for them. Down in NM, they seem to frequent high mountain meadows and parks (think 9,000 feet or so), usually in areas where there are spruce and aspen both. For me, at least, a good grouse spot is one in which I find birds one out of three times I hunt it. Some places that look like good habitat never produce birds. Other places will only provide birds occasionally. So far, we've hit most of my "good" places and many of the "worth trying" spots.

Of course, even if a spot if full of grouse, you won't necessarily find them. The birds will lay low if they can and let you walk by without a flush. Also, the country is big- no way to completely work an area that might hold birds (at least, not with a flushing dog)- so you might pass them by. As it is, this year I'm not certain if it is a good year for the birds or if populations or low. I'm guessing low, but I'm not certain.

As the season is nearing an end, we're going to make a trip up north and take a long hike up a mountain that has usually had birds on it. I don't think I've gone through a grouse season skunked and would prefer to keep that the case.

In the meantime, scenery and other photos.

First, because while it may be the law in Colorado, it's just a strong suggestion in New Mexico (sort of like traffic signals), some fall color, which isn't in full swing yet:



A late-blooming wood rose:



Merriam's turkeys. If we were turkey hunting, we'd have been in good shape this year.



Big ol' vulture sitting up on a ridge. I don't know if he had a full belly, or if the lack of wind made it too much work to fly, or if something he'd eaten was disagreeing with him, but he allowed us to get pretty close and, fortunately, I found him before the dog did. The Chessie though he needed retrieving, and that wouldn't have been a pretty scene:



The fall has been fine. Warm, our last trip was the first one cool and damp enough for the dog to have a good day working, and lovely. We've seen elk, deer, and the aforementioned turkeys and heard elk bugling as well. Now all we need is to get into a few more birds.