My 4H group volunteered to help out at a bird dog competition.    Actually, the hunting group paid us for our labor.     Let me tell you…they got their monies worth out of us.

Here’s what we did…

We got up at 4:00 am on a Saturday morning.     We drove an hour to Bernice, Oklahoma.   Our group was in charge of launching the ducks with catapults so the dogs could retrieve them. The dogs had to follow hand and whistle commands to find the birds. The best part of the event was watching the dogs work. Those dogs were so smart, they brought tears to my eyes a couple of times.

The hunt was held on a privately owned ranch.    This is the ugly side of the clubhouse.      I should’ve taken a picture of the deck on the back of the house.    This house sat on the top of a huge hill with an amazing view of Grand Lake.

This picture of Grand Lake didn’t do the scenery justice.

This was NOT my favorite fund raiser that we have done.   I enjoyed spending time with my hubby (we were in the same blind) and watching the dogs work, but sitting out in the middle of a pasture while flinging dead, stinky ducks, without a bathroom in sight just doesn’t count as fun for me.

Here is one of the dogs.

They were so well behaved and obedient.   I wish this guy would train my kids.

Here is my Hubby with his catapult loaded.

This lady came from Texas.   She brought 5 dogs.   I was most impressed with her dogs and the way she treated them.   I talked to her for a moment.   She said she raises, trains, and hunts her dogs for a living.

My husband and I were bored so I started taking pictures of the extremely dead ducks.

There’s Jim in his blind.   I took this picture because I thought I caught him sleeping.    This was about 3 o’clock in the afternoon.    It had been a long day by this time.

My daughter and her catapult.

Her friend Alexis.

And her other friend Hannah.

This was the man that took me a mile up the hill to the bathroom at 11 am.   I hadn’t peed since 4 am.   This man will forever be my hero.

My group was the first to finish.   When we were sitting at the clubhouse under the shade tree, talking about the nastiness of the ducks and the snakes we encountered.  The man running the show said we were the best “bird technicians” they ever had.    I was irritated by this.    He was trying to cover up the awfulness of the job by a fancy name.   I wasn’t buying it.   I just smiled and thanked him.

My daughter plays softball with Hannah and Alexis.   As the girls played softball this evening,  their mothers and I  joked about the major surgeries and root canals we are planning on the day this event is scheduled in October.

I try to find something enjoyable in every situation, but this event….I don’t know….I just don’t feel it.