Saturday, December 31, 2011

New Years Eve Hunt

December 31, 2011
Jersey, GA


Duck Watch

December 29, 2011
Augusta, GA

We went on a 300-mile road trip today, over to Edgefield and Saluda, SC, and on the way back we came through Augusta and stopped for a walk on the riverfront. It was quite nice - beautiful weather, boats swaying on the water, and music flooding out of speakers. Tessa of course had her eyes on the ducks the entire time.

Where The Peaches Winter

December 29, 2011
Aiken County (SC)

Fog!

December 26, 2011
Athens, GA

Foggy morning, always such a treat!



Christmas Eve

December 24, 2011
Athens, GA

Christmas Eve Eve

December 23, 2011
Sandy Creek Park, GA

Early release from work - 11-day Holiday Break starts now!

The Good Girl

December 17, 2011
Savannah, GA


The Coast Guard

December 17, 2011
Savannah, GA

Farewell, And Godspeed!

December 16, 2011
Savannah, GA

Savannah, We've Got Your Back!

December 16, 2011
Old Fort Jackson
Savannah, GA

Evening Run

December 15, 2011
Sandy Creek Park, GA

It's been a long and rainy week, with few walks and no runs, so I left work an hour early so we could get in some much needed park time.

Land Claim

December 11, 2011
Athens, GA

Tessa and I have claimed an abandoned cow pasture on the outskirts of town - 15 plus acres of fenced land for her to run in, and we take advantage of it whenever we can.


Cotton Pickin' Time

December 10, 2011
Jefferson County (GA)

Driver 8

December 10, 2011
Johnson County (GA)

Morning Run

December 4, 2011
Sandy Creek Park, GA

The Light Inside The Tunnel

December 2, 2011
Athens, GA

She Often Dreams Of Trains

November 27, 2011
Athens, GA

I often dream of trains when I'm alone
I ride on them into another zone
I dream of them constantly
Heading for paradise.

[Robyn Hitchcock]


'Tis The Season

November 26, 2011
[at home]

CAES Pasture [2]

November 25, 2011
Athens, GA

CAES Pasture [1]


November 25, 2011
Athens, GA

Hellbound Train She's On Its Track

November 25, 2011
Athens, GA

Thanksgiving

November 24, 2011
Athens, GA

Pre-Game Inspection

November 18, 2011
Sanford Stadium
Athens, GA

Humpin' To Please

November 5, 2011
Jasper County (GA)

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Flight

November 5, 2011
Newton County (GA)

On our way back from the plantation, we made a detour to Newton County where, near Covington, the movie "Flight" with Denzel Washington and Don Cheadle was being filmed. Here is Tessa posing on the set. The crashed plane is in the far right.

Two Quail And A Pheasant, Please!

November 5, 2011
Jersey, GA

Impromptu training day, just a couple of birds and some check cord work. On our way out of the field she spotted a pheasant running into the sorghum and she tracked him for a minute or two, that was very cool to watch as we have not done any tracking work yet.

Park In The Dark

November 1, 2011
Sandy Creek Park, GA


IQ Test

November 1, 2011
[at home]

If I remember correctly, you put a blanket or sheet over the dog and time how long it takes the dog to free himself...herself. The faster the dog is free, the more intelligent/problem solving he/she is.

Tessa just stood there. For a long time.

Happy Halloween!

October 31, 2011
[at home]

Tessa Stops To Smell The Shadows

October 29, 2011
Monticello, GA

Beach Baby

October 23, 2011
Sandy Creek Park, GA

Georgia Snow

October 22, 2011
Morgan County (GA)


Live From The Park

October 19, 2011
Sandy Creek Park, GA

Our first ever mobile upload.

A Bath? Really? Really.

October 15, 2011
[at home]

The One That Got Away

October 15, 2011
Jersey, GA

I planted this bird for Tessa and it turned out he gave her a great workout today. He flew well, he ran well, he hid very well - in the roots underneath a tree surrounded by briars - Tessa right there with him until we forced him out. Repeat. And repeat again. Since we had no gunners, he eventually escaped. Not very rewarding for the dog, although I suspect she enjoys the hunt more than anything.

Unfortunately, she still flags a lot. Click here for a good example of bad flagging (tail wagging while on point).

After about 30 minutes of hard hunting, she settles in, and then we finally got points with no flagging.


Testing...Testing

October 15, 2011
Jersey, GA

Two weeks after the Lake Lanier PetFest Dock Diving event, Tessa was back on the dock during our NAVHDA training day at the plantation. I had not planned on taking her dock diving today but swimming at the lake we ended up on the other side and on the dock, so without any pressure, I just let her do whatever she wished. No go. Actually, she did jump three times, but that was it. This is her favorite dock, and she used to be totally crazy about jumping from it. Today, she watched the other dogs fly by.



6th Place Never Looked This Proud

October 2, 2011
Gainesville, GA

Tessa competed in the dock diving event at PetFest this weekend - she was entered 3 times, and at 2 jumps per wave, she got a total of 6 jumps. At first she jumped 14'9" (click for video), 14' and 14'5" but then we had a Tessa malfunction: She started to run down the dock at her usual full speed, only to stop dead at the edge of the dock where she hesitated, then jumped - 8'. But it would get worse - eventually, she refused to jump at all, despite encouragement from me, the crowd and the announcer. Timing out is not like her at all - and I don't know what happened.

But: the 14'9" jump from Saturday secured her a place in the Junior finals (this was our third competition and each time she made the Junior finals). Some people who saw her jump (or rather, not jump) on Sunday only wondered how we ended up in the finals. Sadly, she didn't come out of her funk for the finals, but at least she jumped, albeit only 9 feet or so. She placed last in the Junior finals - 6th place, and still got this wonderful ribbon and it's orange, which is a color she wears well and proudly. Maybe that was the master plan - to take home some orange?

In retrospect, it's actually cool that even though she had a sub-par weekend, she still managed to make it to the finals. Suspecting burn-out as the cause of her not jumping, we will take a break until the next season starts up, and then skip practice and only jump at events, and see how that goes.

After the event, she was rewarded with a quick visit to the beach and a swim in the lake.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

The Cotton Picker

September 24, 2011
Morgan County, GA


Evening Walk

September 23, 2011
Athens, GA

Captain Tess

September 17, 2011
Jersey, GA

My little water rat ...


This girl leaves a wake!