Behind the line...

Never a bad time/place to grab some z's

Time to work...

Thank you to Avery for the Bird Stewards tent...

91. FC-AFC LANDOVER GOLDENDAZE YUKON, LM, Chuck Schweikert

The flyer was fine...he did a very nice job on the right-hand bird....he had a good line to the middle bird but crossed off of the island early, hunted the levee, came back and got it.

90. FC-AFC SARA’S BLUE STREAK, LM, Bill Goldstein

...had a good flyer, a hunt on the right-hand bird, smaller hunt on the left-hand bird but got it clean...

Weather...

...both wind and sun have all bust disappeared. There is now just the slightest breeze and the sun is struggling to shine through the clouds. It looks like rain to the west, but the radar says otherwise.

89. AFC SKYWATCH COWBOY, LM, Ray or Lou Vreeland

 ...has just completed his run, he had an excellent flyer a big hunt on the right-hand bird and another big hunt on the middle.

88. SON OF A PREACHER MAN, LM, Duncan Christie

No-bird...going back 6

87. AFC PRAIRIE PEAK’S GIRLFRIEND, LF, Esther McCartney

...did a good job on the flier, very clean on the right-hand mark...missed the island and swam to the far end of the pond, hunted deep, but worked his way back and picked it up clean.

85. FC-AFC WING MAGIC'S LOUISIANA ROUX MH, LM, Frank Price

...had a very nice flyer, for the right-hand bird, he came in wide left, turned and swam straight to the bird. A handle on the middle bird.

(#85 was not out of order, original post did not save...wireless connectivity is dicey and scarce....hang in there)

Just completed a gun change...

86. FC-AFC HILLTOP’S HIGH SOCIETY, LF, Sylvia McClure

...Gracie just turned in three very nice birds...good job Gracie.

84. SALTY PAWS SEALED WITH A KISS, LF, Roy Morejon

...did a nice job on the flyer....right hand bird caused a very long hunt short, but did get the bird. The troublesome middle bird appeared easy as the dog picked it up clean.

83. FC-AFC ROCKY CREEK'S FULL TILT BOOGIE, LF, John Caire

...had a nice flyer, but she has fallen victim to our 35 mph winds with a double handle...the wind is blowing from the handlers back, straight down the test.

82. FC-AFC EVA ETHYL PROBY-WEBER, LF, Alanson C. Brown III

...had nice quick flyer, a very nice right-hand bird, took an excellent line to the middle bird, swam to the first island, moved to the second and to the third island picking up the bird in style. Nice job for Lanse Brown

81. AFC WINDY CITY’S SPRINGTIME, LF, Charlie Hines

...had a hunt on the flyer and a handle on both the right and the middle bird.

80. FC-AFC HENNINGER'S SLICK N READY, LM, Mark Medford

...had an excellent flyer, followed by a wide-right line to the right-hand bird but swung in and got it nicely. There was a quick handle on the middle-bird.

Signs, signs, everywhere the signs...

78. AFC PATTONS BLAZEN ABBY MH, LF, Dan Hurst

...has just turned in a performance that gave us three excellent retrieves.

An overhead of the wonderful Magnusson grounds:

Thank you so much for the sharing of your grounds...

Increasing winds...

...are gusting to around 3o mph, even lifting the Retriever News tent off the ground and requiring members of the gallery to assist in its rescue...

77. FC-AFC CANDLEWOODS LIFE IS A HIGHWAY, LM, John Stracka

...had a nice job on the flyer, the right hand bird was very nice and a handle on the middle bird.

Weather...

The sun is out as the hazy and cloudy skies continue to exit the area to the east. It's warming up, but the gusty winds of 20-30mph are keeping it cool/comfortable...at least under our tent. There is talk of possibly more rain later this afternoon, but right now, we are happy to be in the sun.

What we do...

During this triple water test, there is a long time between dogs, we ythought we would let you know what the Retriever News team is doing. There are two Retriever News staff, along with three experienced "volunteers," focused on reporting the National. Each dog is watched carefully by one person, photographed by another, written up and edited by another before pictures and written content are combined and posted to the blog - usually within a couple of minutes of the dog completing his work. Usually the team is positioned near the gallery - we are here from start to finish each day, sometimes over 14 hours a day.

76. RMR'S I HAVE A DREAM, LF, Joel Harris

...has just turned in another excellent performance. The troublesome middle-bird was made to look easy when he went to the first, second and third islands in a row without ever leaving the area. Nice job....a 10 minute test.

75. FC-AFC NEBO’S GRANDMA RUBY, LF, Al Wilson

...nice flyer...missed the island on the right-hand bird, went a little deep but came right back and got it. Handled on middle bird.

70. CALUMET'S HOT TEXAS SOUP, LM, Mike Boley

...has just turned in the best performance of the morning. On his no-bird re-run, he tackled the middle bird that is causing so much trouble by swimming directly to the islands and staying on them until he found the bird....nice job.

74. GUNSTOCK'S PROTOTYPE, LM, Yvonne or Charles Hays

...nice job on the flyer...hunted on the middle bird, handled on the right-hand bird.

69. FC-AFC KISS OF THE DEVIL, LF, Bob Hanssen

...had a very nice flyer, made quick work of the right-hand bird and had to handle on the middle bird.....about an 11 minute test

73. FC-AFC PREMIER'S RIPTIDE, LM, Bev Busler

...did a good job on the flyer, had a hunt short on the right hand bird, moved out and got it. He had a great line on the middle bird, turned left towards gun station, hunted towards the end of the island, came back on and picked it up....about an 11 minute test.

72. FC-AFC TRUMARC'S L'IL MS POGO, LF, Martha Russell

...she did very nice on the flyer and right-hand bird. Her initial line to the middle bird was excellent....jumped off the island towards the gunners but corrected herself after a very brief hunt...nice job.

65. FC-AFC GREAT BUNNS OF FIRE, LF, Lynne or Mac DuBose

Pick-up...

71. FC-AFC CANDLEWOOD'S RIGHT ON RUBY, LF, Lydia Fekula

...the flyer was fine, the right bird was excellent, she had a great line to the island and the middle bird, she went to the middle and jumped off towards the gunners. She worked her way back and got the bird.

70. CALUMET'S HOT TEXAS SOUP, LM, Mike Boley

No-bird...

62. BIGGUN'S WILD ROSE WARRIOR MH, LF, Alice Woodyard

...had a very nice flyer. Got lost going for the second bird, had a very large hunt covering a lot of ground. And got the middle bird. Handled on the right-hand bird.

Gunner change...

69. FC-AFC KISS OF THE DEVIL, LF, Bob Hanssen

no-bird...going back 6 dogs...

67. AFC TOPBRASS CALEB UD, GM, Connie Cleveland

...the initial line to the middle bird was great. He veered at the last minute and had a large hunt before coming back to the island and retrieving the bird.

The wind is picking up at the moment and gusting from the south...

66. FC-AFC BAYOU-STAR BEYOND INDEPENDENT, LF, Suzan Caire

...did a nice job on the flyer, had to handle on the middle bird, which she ran second...got the right bird clean.

From the Gallery...

The gallery looking comfortable

Umbrella City

The Magnusson residence

The view from the gallery

The view from the Retriever News tent

65. FC-AFC GREAT BUNNS OF FIRE, LF, Lynne or Mac DuBose

No-bird...dog will run after 6 dogs...

64. FC-AFC BADGER STATE RAM KICKER, LM, Judy Powers

...he did good job on the flyer. on the right-hand bird, went to the blind, came back to the island and got the bird. On the middle bird, he swam to the island, back to the shore, to the levee then came back to island and got the bird.

Behind the line...or, near it.

Tera Lanczak under the bird tent.

The workers confer...

Hugh Arthur and Randy Whittaker

The gallery views the 3rd test.

Judges view

63. FC-AFC TEALCREEK PATTON’S SABER, LM, Chris Hatch

...clean on both the flyer and right-hand bird. He went to the levee, got back in the water to the island and picked up the middle bird...nice run.

Latest weather report...

We are located, in or around the white dot in the northern part of the "mainland" of Michigan. As of now, it looks like we may be spared heavy rains and/or lightning and the possibility of a delay. It has cooled off a bit, the rain is light but steady and we are looking forward to having some sun pop through the clouds...

62. BIGGUN'S WILD ROSE WARRIOR MH, LF, Alice Woodyard

...we were told there was a problem with the flyer. They will be given a rerun after 6 dogs.

61. AFC IN THE HUNT FARM'S EXECUTIVE SWEET, LF, Linda Bogusky

...had a very nice job on both the flyer and the right-hand bird, going for the middle bird she went to the levee got back in the water, came in and got the bird...nice job.

60. FC-AFC WIDGEON'S CARBON CHIP, LM, Tom Hartl & Jean Grammer

...did a good job on the flyer, had a small hunt on the right-hand bird but got it quickly, and handled on the middle bird.

59. AFC ROCKYTOP'S GIVE UP THE FUNK, LM, David Didier

...had a nice flyer, picked up the middle bird second by swimming right of the island to the end, then came back to it and got it. On the third, right-hand bird, he swam right of the island, hunted the land, worked his way back out to the island to get the bird.

Weather...

...the rain is very light at the moment, the temperature has dropped a bit and is cool with a breeze. Traffic has decided to take precautions and move the parked cars back up towards the main Magnusson property so as to not damage their lovely grounds with our tire tracks. The latest look at the radar shows a weakening of the storm in the northern part of Michigan, but we still anticipate heavier rains and possible lightning and wind.

We will keep you up-to-date should there be a postponement or a tent that flies away.

58. LAKE COUNTRYS MAC TIGER, LM, Alvin Hatcher

...his flyer was nice, he picked up the middle bird second and had only a brief hunt...there was a handle on the right-hand bird.

50. BOB AND ED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE, LM, Ed Krueger

...he did a real nice job on the flyer, the middle bird, got in short but recovered nicely and got the bird...for the left-hand bird, he got into the holding blind, had a hunt in the area but got out in the island and got his bird.

57. AFC GOOD IDEA’S DREAM ON, LF, Ken Neil

...did a very nice job on the flyer and on the right-hand bird, handled on the middle bird.

56. AFC STELLAR'S FULL THROTTLE, LF, Bernie Carey

...did a very nice job on the flyer and the right-hand bird, had a handle on the middle bird.

55. JAZZTIME NORTHERN EXPOSURE, LM, Paul Hanson & James Hurst

...did a nice job on the flyer and the right-hand bird. After a large hunt on land, went to the island and got the middle bird.

54. AFC SMACKWATER'S STAR CATCHER MH, LM, Valarie Marks

...did a great job on the flyer and the right-hand mark, had to handle on the middle bird.

53. FC-AFC LIL CHIN MUSIC, LF, Charlene Koeth

... did an excellent job on both the flyer and the right-hand bird...on the tough middle bird she had a very large hunt missing the island but came back and got it.

Test 3 - Water Triple with Two Retired

The location is at a very technical pond at the Roger and Pat Magnusson property.

Set-up Sketches...thank you, Pat Martin!

The first bird shot has two gunners on a peninsula, throwing right onto a small island at 164 yards and retiring back into a small grove of evergreens. The island is the last of three small islands in a row. At times the bird has been landing just on shore or just off shore. The line to this bird runs over two mounds, a piece of water, an outcropping then the islands.



The second bird has two gunners to the right of the line. These gunners throw left onto a small island and also retire into a well-brushed blind at 108 yards. The line to the blind runs through a small pond and over a gravel road. Many dogs are punching right, past the island and up a hill.



The third bird is a hen duck, flyer. These gunners are in front of the line shooting to the left, into the water at 118 yards. Depending on the strength of the wind, the area of the fall varies. But, the hen is sluiced and has been, most often, the first bird picked up.



Test dog #1, MS Micro Doodle Dandy, LF, Tom Bogusky, got the flyer nicely, went for the right-hand bird next and had to be handled to the island. He has also had to handle on the third mark.



Test dog #2, FC Ranger’s Black Bart, LM, Marsha McGee, picked up the flyer clean but had to handle both of the other birds.

...here comes the rain.

52. NAFC-FC CODY CUT A LEAN GRADE, LM, Chad Baker

...did a great job on the flyer and the right-hand mark. On the middle mark he hunted by the gunners that got back into the water out by the island and got the bird.

Test 3 Sketch...

...provided by the judges to show an aerial drawing. More to come shortly...

...the test is currently running at about 13-15 minutes...

50. BOB AND ED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE, LM, Ed Krueger

First dog...no-bird...he will go back 6 dogs.

Test dog at the line at 7:04 a.m.

...weather this morning is warm with a slight breeze. Everything will be picking up soon as the radar shows a rainbow of colors coming our way. The sun was peeking through the early morning clouds, but now is hazed over as the front moves into the area. Temps will get into the mid-to-high 80s and the winds will pick up before and sustain after the front moves through the area.

Test description and review of test dogs to come...