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No kidding on the rain...I've had enough of this crap.

Yea, we could use a break on the rain. Year started off on the dry side and then we got a lot of rain since April. We haven't seen near as much as you guys down south but it's been enough to keep my loggers from moving onto summer time logging ground, of which we have a lot to cut. Here's hoping it starts to dry out going into late summer and early fall.


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Ericdc wrote:Yea, we could use a break on the rain. Year started off on the dry side and then we got a lot of rain since April. We haven't seen near as much as you guys down south but it's been enough to keep my loggers from moving onto summer time logging ground, of which we have a lot to cut. Here's hoping it starts to dry out going into late summer and early fall.


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Plenty of time for it to get bone dry just like last year and you know how I felt about that last year. Here's to a wet fall and lots of good habitat for when the birds show up...

Marsh Bear wrote:D C we finished what we planned to do - we put in a new blind, finished pumping mud on our reconstructed island plus pumped
some mud in few low places around 2 other blinds - I am so sore I can hardly move.
We still have walk ways to construct at the new blind and repair 2 other walk ways at other blinds, and plant more grass around 2 other blinds - another full day in the marsh - that will happen in August.
How is your new place coming

Rain has slowed the camp work progress, but this weekend looks promising. I think we'll knock out a good bit, maybe all of the work in the next two weekends that's needed for the inspection, then it's on to the cover over the slab.

I want to get in the marsh, but I've got to get our place to a state where we can go and relax, for a change.

Ducaholic wrote:

Ericdc wrote:Yea, we could use a break on the rain. Year started off on the dry side and then we got a lot of rain since April. We haven't seen near as much as you guys down south but it's been enough to keep my loggers from moving onto summer time logging ground, of which we have a lot to cut. Here's hoping it starts to dry out going into late summer and early fall.


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Plenty of time for it to get bone dry just like last year and you know how I felt about that last year. Here's to a wet fall and lots of good habitat for when the birds show up...

Nooooooo....I'm sick and tired of wet...I want to see cracks in the soil that cows are falling into....I want marsh levels down to normal. I want to be able to cut my grass without a four wheel drive......My mower looks like I've been to mud fest.

DComeaux wrote:

Ducaholic wrote:

Ericdc wrote:Yea, we could use a break on the rain. Year started off on the dry side and then we got a lot of rain since April. We haven't seen near as much as you guys down south but it's been enough to keep my loggers from moving onto summer time logging ground, of which we have a lot to cut. Here's hoping it starts to dry out going into late summer and early fall.


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Plenty of time for it to get bone dry just like last year and you know how I felt about that last year. Here's to a wet fall and lots of good habitat for when the birds show up...

Nooooooo....I'm sick and tired of wet...I want to see cracks in the soil that cows are falling into....I want marsh levels down to normal. I want to be able to cut my grass without a four wheel drive......My mower looks like I've been to mud fest.

Agree we need a break from the rain right now but in my neck of the woods we don't want it as dry as it was early last fall leading up to the first split. Without naturally occurring water and because there is not much managed habitat with all of the fields being put in to WRP the area where I hunt didn't hold many birds. It was slim pickings in the first split last year. All I'm looking for is normal precipitation levels.

I'll take the rain. Been doing my little Illini rain-dance for about 3 weeks now. Want me to stop? Send money.

aunt betty wrote:I'll take the rain. Been doing my little Illini rain-dance for about 3 weeks now. Want me to stop? Send money.

Your dance coordinates aren't dialed in correctly, must be a short in the universe...Change the location, and you can take all of this moisture you can stand. When I walk outside I can actually fell the heavy moist air. Stand still and sweat in the shade.

aunt betty wrote:I'll take the rain. Been doing my little Illini rain-dance for about 3 weeks now. Want me to stop? Send money.

I'm going to come break your knees...

DukMan wrote:

aunt betty wrote:I'll take the rain. Been doing my little Illini rain-dance for about 3 weeks now. Want me to stop? Send money.

I'm going to come break your knees...

I'm hobbit-size. Think you can reach that low?
Ma beez needs da moistyer. In a week they'll be robbing each other.

I forgot to mention that as of 6/28/2017 Ellie is microfilariae free. She is back, and seems livelier than she's been in a while. I started working her on blinds in knee high vegetation for 20 minutes or so as often as I can, and I'll get her in the ponds fairly soon. Like me, she needs a little conditioning.



Is it just me, or has the hype we've seen over the duck numbers and nesting a bit subdued this year? I did read that the numbers look really good in a lot of areas, but I had to do some digging. The fanfare is not what it was the last few years...Are Du and others a bit gun shy on this topic?

It's a great thing that Ellie's treatment went so well.

And I'd guess that we hear less about pond and duck counts now because of the change in how the seasons are set. Less immediacy to their relevance probably makes them less news worthy. That, and the bottom line remains not how many there are but how many make it to where one hunts - which, of course, remains to be seen...

They also haven't released the pond counts or breeding bird survey yet either. It always used to come out in early July.


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Do know the drought monitor is usually one to not lie, whereas certain conservation groups have been long (even if wrongly) accused of sunshine pumping on numbers, though those are reported to them by the USFWS, so should the blame go to them instead? Nonetheless, this colorful depiction of the Dakotas isn't good, so really hope it gets turned around soon for future breeding cycles. Reports I saw were that Canada was looking good and helping to make up for dry Dakotas, who knows.

Larry Reynolds says we are due if not overdue for a dry cycle on the prairies.


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Darren wrote:Do know the drought monitor is usually one to not lie, whereas certain conservation groups have been long (even if wrongly) accused of sunshine pumping on numbers, though those are reported to them by the USFWS, so should the blame go to them instead? Nonetheless, this colorful depiction of the Dakotas isn't good, so really hope it gets turned around soon for future breeding cycles. Reports I saw were that Canada was looking good and helping to make up for dry Dakotas, who knows.

I knew the Dakotas were dry from some pilot reports, even during the early part of the nesting phase, but as you've mentioned, they overflew that region and made it into Canada where the conditions were fairly good.

Rick wrote: the bottom line remains not how many there are but how many make it to where one hunts - which, of course, remains to be seen...

.....and that's it in a nutshell.

DComeaux wrote:
.....and that's it in a nutshell.

It really is; all your perspective from your blind. Larry gets reports of "best season ever" and "worst season ever" from various reports in the same season. We had a good season in Delacroix last year, saw lots of birds overall, and have friends in same area who reported the same, though a number of miles from me. Some still reported "worst season ever" down there.....whatever crosses (or doesn't) your pond I guess

Darren wrote:Do know the drought monitor is usually one to not lie...

But even without overflight they can be misleading, as I recently read a report claiming western ND isn't the duck country eastern ND is, and eastern ND has water aplenty and apparently good hatches. Which isn't to say that isn't just the case from that claimant's relatively narrow view, but I choose to believe him and not sweat ND bluewing production.

yea I've read the same, that it mainly hinges upon the eastern ends of the state which seem to be doing OK. There'll be bluewings aplenty over the blocks on Sept 15, load up!

Hoping to see some of you at the duck festival/calling contest next month. Think we're going to make the sportsman's show in the dome saturday PM

Darren wrote:yea I've read the same, that it mainly hinges upon the eastern ends of the state which seem to be doing OK. There'll be bluewings aplenty over the blocks on Sept 15, load up!

Hoping to see some of you at the duck festival/calling contest next month. Think we're going to make the sportsman's show in the dome saturday PM

My wife and I will be there Sunday for the calling.


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Can't claim interest in the contests, but have made it to socialize for at least a little while about as often as not over the past few years, so we'll see...

Yea I should have been more specific, we'll be there during the contests, but for the purpose of meeting folks and yea probably check in on the calling too.


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Rick wrote:Can't claim interest in the contests, but have made it to socialize for at least a little while about as often as not over the past few years, so we'll see...

That, and the jambalaya is pretty darn good.

Rick wrote:

Rick wrote:Can't claim interest in the contests, but have made it to socialize for at least a little while about as often as not over the past few years, so we'll see...

That, and the jambalaya is pretty darn good.

Looking forward to eating a bowl and seeing you


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I'll be leaving for the camp at noon today and hope to get a little work on the camp completed this evening. We'll do this while tending a pot of chicken sauce piquant on an outside burner stove. Of course, we'll have a few refreshments when we're done for the day, which may be sooner than later.

The last day or two has given us a break from the constant down pours we've been having, and it seems we may have slipped into our usual summer pattern. Early morning light shows in the gulf with an occasional pop up shower inland during the day. Those light shows at dawn and dusk, into the evening, light flashes from the diminishing storms along the coast is something I remember watching as a kid, standing barefoot in the yard with a blade of grass in my mouth.
I think I'll start doing this more often, taking the time to slow down and take it all in as I did as a kid.... Life was simple, then.

I could sit and watch storm clouds for a long time. In north Louisiana we get more squall line storms and some evening pop ups, but it does get hotter up here than it does down there on the coast for sure. So that makes me not want to be outside at all until maybe 7 or 8 pm in the evenings. We've been under a heat advisory the last few days.

It's always several degrees warmer up here in the summer and the temp differences in the winter can be 10-20 degrees colder.


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DComeaux wrote:I'll be leaving for the camp at noon today and hope to get a little work on the camp completed this evening. We'll do this while tending a pot of chicken sauce piquant on an outside burner stove. Of course, we'll have a few refreshments when we're done for the day, which may be sooner than later.

The last day or two has given us a break from the constant down pours we've been having, and it seems we may have slipped into our usual summer pattern. Early morning light shows in the gulf with an occasional pop up shower inland during the day. Those light shows at dawn and dusk, into the evening, light flashes from the diminishing storms along the coast is something I remember watching as a kid, standing barefoot in the yard with a blade of grass in my mouth.
I think I'll start doing this more often, taking the time to slow down and take it all in as I did as a kid.... Life was simple, then.

Care to share sauce piquant recipe?


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