In January, Betsy and I discovered a beautiful spot to live and work during the winter months. Southwest Georgia not only has desirable weather but it’s the heart of bobwhite quail plantation country and the lofty pines that dominate.

During a morning training session in February, Bob Senkler’s Northwoods Grits (Northwoods Blue Ox x Northwoods Chablis, 2011) finds a covey of quail in native wiregrass (Aristida stricta).

Betsy and I became even more enamored of bobwhite quail in March. We saw countless wild coveys and dozens of released and Johnny house birds. We never tired of watching them on the ground, listening to them cluck and call, and ultimately to feel the excitement of a covey flush.

Northwoods Vixen (CH Westfall’s Black Ice x Northwoods Prancer, 2011) takes a well-deserved nap after whelping nine puppies by CH Elhew G Force in April.

May begins our summer training programs. Jeff and I work Steve Snyder’s Dusty (Blue Shaquille x Snyder’s Liz, 2012) on pigeons.

Our last puppies for 2013 were whelped on June 22. The CH Houston’s Blackjack x Northwoods Highclass Kate litter included two females and four males.

Scott Berry’s pointer Dagny exhibits excellent staunchness during a training session in June.

Vixen is back at work in July. She shows outstanding posture and intensity pointing bobwhite quail.

In August, a whole new routine begins. I begin training dogs on wild birds both from home and at our North Dakota camp. Dan conditions adult dogs from a four-wheeler.

Frank LaNasa and I have trained off horseback in North Dakota for 12 years now and we both love our time there. Frank’s CH True Confidence is backed by Dan Stadin’s Northwoods Guns N’ Roses (CH Houston’s Blackjack x Northwoods Chardonnay, 2011), on left, and Sam Gary’s Northwoods Anhiwake Grace (Northwoods Blue Ox x Houston’s Belle’s Choice, 2010).

For most of October, I guide for Bill Heig out of Bowen Lodge northwest of Grand Rapids. At the end of month, though, Ray Marshall and I enjoyed three days in the woods, here with Northwoods Carly Simon (Blue Shaquille x Houston’s Belle’s Choice, 2011).

Our November Puppy Quail program is always a great way to wrap up training in Minnesota. The birds are seasoned and the puppies exciting. Dale and Jess Robinson’s Mac (Blue Shaquille x Houston’s Belle’s Choice, 2013) and our Beemer (CH Houston’s Blackjack x Northwoods Chablis, 2013) share point.

The year has come full circle; Betsy and I are back in southwest Georgia for the winter. We brought several client dogs and all our own puppies to train on bobwhite quail. One morning in December, I was invited on a hunt on the private Sunny Hill plantation. It was thrilling to see such good bird work by several of their well-trained pointers.