This may be a little lengthy. The pictures will be worth it!
Over the course of the last several months our family has had some great loss. My Dad lost his battle with cancer right before thanks giving and 57 days later we lost my Uncle to Covid-19, both before their 65th birthdays, they were best friends for most of those years. After my dads passing I decided that I would move forward with some dreams of mine and get serious about getting my bird dog and doing A LOT more upland hunting. Me and my dad did some hunting together, but he never carried a gun. He loved to take pictures however, and was always there to capture the memories.
Now fast forward to finding my new dog Agnes, from Walnut Hill Kennels, right before Christmas. In a former life I was a Police K-9 and quite honestly did not want to go through the time of training a puppy to a finished bird dog. Rick delivered on his word and we received a fine fished German Shorthair. I came to this forum and shared Agnes and I's first hunt and was welcomed with many great responses. Member dslc6487 though was reminded of a time with his dogs from back when there were more quail in the fields of Georgia then there were on the farms. I can't imagine those days but I thought it would be fun to hear them from someone who obviously shared the same passion that I do about walking behind a good bird dog chasing these little winged rockets through the fields. So I reached out to dslc6487 and invited him to spend some time behind Agnes one day and make some new memories.
After a little bit of surprise he agreed and I learned that dslc6487 also goes by Mr. Frank. This Sunday afternoon we were finally about to make it all come together and get into the field. I'm not sure if it was me, my wife, Mr. Frank, or Agnes that was most excited to go but we arrived at South Fork Hunting Preserve that afternoon and everyone was rearing to go. Mr. Frank had not hunted quail in some 20 years. While it was a little warm we made it to one of my favorite fields and quickly began wearing down some boot leather behind Agnes. It was warm, a little difficult for Agnes, but she didn't let us down. We found our "coveys" and Mr. Frank hadn't forgot a thing in those 20 years absent from the field, several times batting cleanup for myself. We spent the better part of the afternoon sharing stories of family, friends, and old dogs in-between Agnes points. The staff at South Fork took care of the birds while we enjoyed winding down and talking about our favorite parts of the hunt that day. For me, and I hadn't told Mr. Frank yet but it had to be the fact that Agnes returned more birds to him that she did me, totally out of character for her but it was joyfully allowed.
It is great to have a new dog that makes me look good when I can do my part. it is even greater to have made a new friend in the field and memories, captured by my wife's love of photography, that will last a lifetime. Thank you to my wife for that, and thank you Mr. Frank for teaching me a few things and the privilege to hunt with you and now call you my friend.
Here's just a quick few from the day. Will get some more up this week.
Over the course of the last several months our family has had some great loss. My Dad lost his battle with cancer right before thanks giving and 57 days later we lost my Uncle to Covid-19, both before their 65th birthdays, they were best friends for most of those years. After my dads passing I decided that I would move forward with some dreams of mine and get serious about getting my bird dog and doing A LOT more upland hunting. Me and my dad did some hunting together, but he never carried a gun. He loved to take pictures however, and was always there to capture the memories.
Now fast forward to finding my new dog Agnes, from Walnut Hill Kennels, right before Christmas. In a former life I was a Police K-9 and quite honestly did not want to go through the time of training a puppy to a finished bird dog. Rick delivered on his word and we received a fine fished German Shorthair. I came to this forum and shared Agnes and I's first hunt and was welcomed with many great responses. Member dslc6487 though was reminded of a time with his dogs from back when there were more quail in the fields of Georgia then there were on the farms. I can't imagine those days but I thought it would be fun to hear them from someone who obviously shared the same passion that I do about walking behind a good bird dog chasing these little winged rockets through the fields. So I reached out to dslc6487 and invited him to spend some time behind Agnes one day and make some new memories.
After a little bit of surprise he agreed and I learned that dslc6487 also goes by Mr. Frank. This Sunday afternoon we were finally about to make it all come together and get into the field. I'm not sure if it was me, my wife, Mr. Frank, or Agnes that was most excited to go but we arrived at South Fork Hunting Preserve that afternoon and everyone was rearing to go. Mr. Frank had not hunted quail in some 20 years. While it was a little warm we made it to one of my favorite fields and quickly began wearing down some boot leather behind Agnes. It was warm, a little difficult for Agnes, but she didn't let us down. We found our "coveys" and Mr. Frank hadn't forgot a thing in those 20 years absent from the field, several times batting cleanup for myself. We spent the better part of the afternoon sharing stories of family, friends, and old dogs in-between Agnes points. The staff at South Fork took care of the birds while we enjoyed winding down and talking about our favorite parts of the hunt that day. For me, and I hadn't told Mr. Frank yet but it had to be the fact that Agnes returned more birds to him that she did me, totally out of character for her but it was joyfully allowed.
It is great to have a new dog that makes me look good when I can do my part. it is even greater to have made a new friend in the field and memories, captured by my wife's love of photography, that will last a lifetime. Thank you to my wife for that, and thank you Mr. Frank for teaching me a few things and the privilege to hunt with you and now call you my friend.
Here's just a quick few from the day. Will get some more up this week.
Last edited:
