Back from Wyoming, exhausted, behind, but happy we went. Lib cooked for a wedding in Jackson , for the daughter of one of many old climbers and Outward Bound guides who she knew in her days there, when as they say “the billionaires hadn’t kicked out the millionaires.” In her day it was more a …
Tag: Friends
Grooms’ Gun: Mostly a Guest Post
Steve Grooms, the man who wrote the book on pheasants, is reluctantly giving up his gun.He writes: “It is an “Ithaca” Model 600 made by SKB and imported by Ithacagun around 1976. I’m the only owner. “12 gauge with 2 3/4″ chambers, 26” barrels bored improved cylinder and modified. The barrels (at least on the …
Whoops– Lost and Found
My old friend Steve Grooms, author of two fine books on pheasants (here and here), as well as ones on wolves and cranes, called today. We probably haven’t talked in over twenty years. After much catching up, he gave me an email for more– but it keeps bouncing! He has a good- gun- and book …
Hans
I just got word that my friend Hans Windgassen, artist and pigeon man, died in Pennsylvania this week. I knew he had been having heart trouble lately but he passed it off to me as not very serious. Born in Germany, he lived and taught in Pennsylvania for many years. Although we could argue about …
Pakistan
Ali Hasnain hunts in a slightly grander and very traditional way– on a friend’s estate, with beaters! (His rookie of the year, Sonya, is listening alertly for them in the pic). This hunt took place in a watery oasis in desert country. We hope to get more reports from him including on falconry if he …
Scotland
Mark McBride may take the largest and most varied bag of any of us as he does pest control and other hunting on neighbors’ Scottish estates. This day saw the initiation of Taik’s niece Nura to ferreting for rabbits. She caught on quickly– no surprise. Nura (the name of the eagle & tazi town in …
Friends in action
New Mexico, Scotland, Pakistan– everywhere friends with dog relatives and near- relatives seem to be having wonderful seasons. Starting close to home, Daniela attended an informal meet where, as she put it: “…every hound in the field that day was descendant from Libby & Steve’s hounds, including these two 5 month puppies, Lily & Lola, …
Visitor
John Davila, one of my oldest and closest friends in New Mexico, is a former rodeo cowboy and a rancher with land- grant roots who lives where he was born, many long dirt- road miles south of the pavement in Catron County. These days he raises half- Japanese grass- fed cattle, another story, and manages …
A Merlin
Up in Colorado Anne Price (of the REF) and her female merlin Larkyn have also been busy. “… a week after almost losing her, my gal did the craziest thing I’ve ever seen her do in 3.25 seasons of flying her: she went and robbed/stole a starling from a wild female prairie falcon! It was …
One Owl
Nate and Nan are in their second season with their tame, fascinating, and often frustrating great horned owl. The bird does take game, and it makes for an expansion of “hawking” hours for two busy people (Nan’s store here) and great pictures, but as Nate said: “.. I had a horned owl kick my ass …