Hello Folks! I hope this month finds you and your dogs doing well and in good health. Terry's been extremely busy with work, working the squirrel dogs in the afternoons/evenings and our new hound at night, so I hope you don’t mind too much that I’m trying my hand at the article this month.
There is no doubt summer is upon us, as the temperature just keeps rising. It can be a dangerous situation when it’s 85 degrees with 95% humidity and you’re hunting a dog that just won’t quit. I hope you’re all carrying along plenty of water, but remember that giving an overheated dog too much water can make him ill as well. Speaking of too much water (smile), we’ve been getting our fair share of rain. I can count on one hand the days we haven’t seen rain in the past two months. We got over 12 inches, just in the month of June. I know we’ve needed the rain for a while, so I won’t complain about it too much, but it sure has filled the ditches and the swamps and makes staying dry while going to the tree quite a challenge. And, it’s also giving us an abundance of mosquitoes. Along with mosquitoes, there seems to be quite a tick population this season. Both the mosquito and the tick can pose a severe health risk to our dogs, so let’s keep them protected. We all put a great deal of time, money and effort into our dogs to keep them at their best, so let’s keep them healthy as well! There are lots of good products out today, and you know how the saying goes, "An ounce of prevention…"
Terry and I finally got a chance to meet up with our new friend, Mark Savage. Mark lives just down the road from us and had inquired about a membership last month. We’ve tried several times to get together to get some hunting done, but for one reason or another it hasn’t worked out that way yet. We were thrilled to meet him just the same, as he’s as nice in person as he is on the phone. Mark has some really good-looking Blue dogs and I can’t wait to get the chance to watch ‘em work.
We’ve also recently had the pleasure of meeting up with Jim Rollins. We first met Jim on the PKC Message Board and he’s invited us out several times. He has several nice Walker coon dogs and a couple pups he’s working on and has been quite helpful with our young dog. I don’t feel you’re ever too old to learn something new, and I can honestly say I’ve learned something from Jim every time we’ve been in the woods. Jim’s son, Jimmy, just recently competed in his first hunt. That in itself is quite an accomplishment for a young man only 11 years old, but not only did Jimmy compete with the "big boys", he beat ‘em pretty good!! In addition to being cast winner, he also won the hunt with 300+ points!! Congratulations Jimmy!!
Another fellow we’ve had the pleasure of turning out with this month is Bruce Conkey. I just can’t say enough good things about Bruce. I have never once heard him brag about his dogs or his hunting spot, but both impressed me. His male Walker, Stylish Bossman, just went through a spell of Erhlichia, but is recovering very well. If I’m not mistaken, we made 5 drops that night and Boss showed us 4 coons. I’m sure he would have been 5 for 5, had Bruce not pulled him off the one track due to the closeness of the highway. I got lucky and ended up staying at the truck on the last tree. The dogs really weren’t that deep, but getting in to them (and then back out again) was torture on both Terry and Bruce. On the way in, they had to climb over downed trees that were pushed into piles about shoulder high and covered with many years of vegetation. From my seat on top of the dog box (smile), I could hear them climb, crash, and then climb again. On the way out, they opted for a shorter route with fewer obstacles and ended up in shoulder deep water. I think Bruce claimed each leg of his hip boots were holding close to 50 pounds of water, and it made for a long, slow walk back to the truck. Poor Terry wasn’t even wearing hip boots and must have been quite a sight swimming that ditch with his light belt wrapped around his head. Of course, I was ready to go again, but for some reason the men claimed to have had enough and we called it a night. Even with that, we sure had a very enjoyable trip. Thank you Bruce for a nice dinner and a great night’s hunting!!
We received a nice letter this month from Lowell Johnson. He also sent along some articles for me to post on our website. I haven’t forgotten about them Lowell, I’m working on getting them transferred and should hopefully have them up by the time you read this. You have quite a talent with writing and I really enjoy your stories ~ Keep them coming!!
I’d like to take a second to thank Kurt Stout from Bonifay. Terry and I have talked to Kurt numerous times over the last few months and it seems like every time we talk, he is requesting more of our membership applications. He has done nothing but support this Association from the start and we’re proud to have him as a member. I know he has had some trouble in the past because he gave his opinion in public and stuck to it. Anyone who’s had the chance to read his column knows Kurt doesn’t beat around the bush. He’ll be the first to tell you what he thinks, good or bad. Too many people nowadays will bend or change under pressure to accommodate others. Kurt’s not one of these people. He is a good Christian man who hunts hard, and he is a very strong asset to our club. Kurt, you’re welcome to our supper table anytime.
I’d like to take a second before wrapping this up to turn the spotlight on another club in our area. Last weekend the Sumter County Coonhunters held a variety of events and raffles to benefit Floyd Edwards. Mr. Edward’s was diagnosed with cancer on Easter Sunday and hasn’t been able to work since. The club held a BBQ dinner, Treeing Contest, Drag Race, Raffles and Nite Hunt with all of the proceeds going to the Edward’s family. There were lots of donations for the raffle ~ everything from puppies to collars to gift certificates to dog food and a dog box. A lot more than I can remember now. I didn’t win either of the pups I had my eye on, but came away with some great prizes just the same!! At last count, they raised over $1200. It was nice to see a club come together like that to help out a neighbor. Terry and I really enjoyed getting out and meeting everyone and really had a wonderful time.
I believe that about wraps it up for this month. Hope everyone is having lots of luck in the woods! Remember to take a kid hunting!!
