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B Litter: 1 week old!

February 25, 2011

Charity Upchurch Puppy Update , , , 3 Comments

The litter in the outdoor dog house/whelping box, with the top off

Announcing the Bluestem Kennels YouTube Channel!  You can either follow this link to the channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/bluestemkennels or simply type bluestemkennels (as all one word) into the search field.  I have uploaded a little video that I took of the puppies on Wednesday (while it was still warm out), along with a hunting video of Sue and a “first hunt” video from one of last year’s puppies.

The puppies have grown and changed so much already in a week, it is amazing how fast things happen.  Speaking of quick changes, we’ve been on a weather rollercoaster here, going from the highs of the 50’s and 60’s then to the 20’s today.  That’s February in Nebraska for you!

For any casual readers looking for a puppy, this litter is all spoken for, but please let me know if you are interested in a pup from next year’s litter.

For my reserved buyers, please do not ask to make a pick at this time or start getting attached to any particular puppy based on these photos.  They are for informational purposes only.  The distances and perspectives are not the same on the individual photos, so size will not be distinguishable.  I am weighing and measuring the puppies, but will only release weights, measures and litter rank during the final selection process, which will be at 5-6 weeks of age.

Sue and the litter in our indoor dog studio (aka the laundry room)

The puppies will be coming home to you at 8 weeks of age, which falls on the weekend of April 16-17, so if you are planning on traveling to us to pick up the puppy you now have that information.  If the puppy is being shipped air cargo, it will go out Monday or Tuesday of the following week.

Time for some individual introductions of the puppies:

Male: Bluestem Bart

Bluestem Bart’s face

Female: Bluestem Bess

Bluestem Bess’s face

Male: Bluestem Ben

Bluestem Ben’s face

Male: Bluestem Buster

I didn’t get a face shot of Buster, but in my notes it says that he has an all-brown face with a white spot above his nose.

Female: Bluestem Betty

Bluestem Betty’s face

Female: Bluestem Barb

Bluestem Barb’s face

Like a good mother, Sue gets very upset when one of the puppies is away from the litter to be photographed, so taking the individual pictures is only a once a week event.  I look forward to sharing the amazing changes that will happen to these puppies over the next seven weeks, now in both video and still photos!

Guiding at Pheasant Haven: February 20, 2011

February 22, 2011

Charity Upchurch Guiding Hunts, Hunting Tales , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

A cool, moist day for a hunt.

Everyone wondered if we were in for rain or snow as we set out Sunday afternoon in search of pheasants and chukars.  For the first time, the owner had completely turned over the reins for this hunt and it was just Charles, Sam and I on the property with the hunters.  It was three generations of a family from a rural southeastern Nebraska town by the name of Geneva: a grandfather and great-uncle, the son and the sons-in-law, and most importantly, the grandson.

The flushes all came in singles throughout the property.  We hunted for a couple of hours, took a water break back to the cabin, then set out again for more birds for another hour and a half.  It was getting up towards supper time when we finally parted ways.  The weather cooperated and so did the dog.  The best part of the day was to see the anxiousness and timidness of the young lad melt away, turning into joy and excitement for the sport.  This was confirmed by his dad, as we all left and shook hands, he stated that his son told him, “Dad, this pheasant hunting is fun!”

A chukar partridge flushes between two hunters.

"Nothing like a good clean kill."

Charles and the youngest hunter.

A hunter walks into Sam's point.

Another chukar goes down.

Sam retrieves a chukar.

A rooster pheasant in flight.

A rooster pheasant upon impact.

The youngest hunter requests to carry a pheasant.

A happy young hunter, what it's all about!

Three generations of hunters: grandfather, grandson, son.

The hunters and their quarry along with Charles and Sam.

Pupdate: Day 3

February 22, 2011

Charity Upchurch Puppy Update , , , Leave a comment

The puppies have spent the last few days nursing and establishing their pecking order.  Whereas they were of all uniform size on day 1,  slight size and movement differences were noticeable today.

Growing babies

The pup closest to the front decides to push itself up on its front paws

Sue unwillingly took a day off from exercise the day of the whelping and is excited to be back out in the forest unburdened by a large belly.

Sue is feeling like her old self

Pupdate: Day 1

February 19, 2011

Charity Upchurch Puppy Update , , , 6 Comments

Sue took a food and water break, so I stuck my head in the dog house/whelping box to check the pups out.

The brood

Snuggle bunch

WELCOME NEW PUPPIES!!!

February 18, 2011

Charity Upchurch Puppy Update , , , 1 Comment

Most of them were born before I was up and around, but a few came this morning and the last arrived right after lunch today.  I took these shots in my utility room, where I placed them while I was cleaning out the dog house/whelping box in the kennel.  It’s been quite an adventure!

Sue tends to her brood

Busy Mama

Waiting for Puppies and Pheasant Cordon Bleu

February 14, 2011

Charity Upchurch Kennel Update, Puppy Update , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Happy Valentine’s Day from Bluestem Kennels!!  It is an extra special observance for me as a native of the North-Central Nebraska town of  Valentine, which was recently named a “Best Adventure Town” by National Geographic Adventure magazine!  Check it out: http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/weekend-getaways/nebraska/valentine-travel Over the years, we have had some adventurous upland and waterfowl trips to the Nebraska Sandhills ourselves.

Spring is in the air here in the woodlands of Eastern Nebraska!  Robins galore, squirrels scurrying about and a pleasant morning sunshine for some photography this morning.  We are still anxiously waiting the arrival of the puppies, but I anticipate that by this time next week, I’ll have some puppy photos to share.  Of course, I will post those up as soon as they are born, so it could be any day now!  For now, here’s some shots of Sue and Sam during morning exercise.

Sue on the sniff

Sue doesn't let her big belly stop her from inspecting a deadfall

Sam looking regal in the sunlight

Sam on the sniff

Closeup of Sue's belly

Sam running to check back in

If you have any pheasant breasts hanging around in your freezer, you really should try making this Pheasant Cordon Bleu recipe for your Valentine!  It is an adaptation of a Tyler Florence chicken recipe, but it didn’t take very long and the family was very pleased with the results (as Charles cooked in restaurants in his younger days, I have a tough crowd).

  • 6 pheasant breasts, skinless and boneless
  • Salt, black pepper and either crushed thyme, basil or oregano
  • 6 thin slices deli ham
  • 12 thin slices of good cheese (typically Swiss, I used extra sharp white cheddar
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 cup bread crumbs (I used Italian style bread crumbs)
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lay the pheasant breast between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat mallet, gently pound the chicken to 1/4-inch thickness. Take care not to pound too hard because the meat may tear or create holes. Lay 1 slice of cheese on each breast, followed by 1 slice of ham, and 1 more of cheese; leaving a 1/2-inch margin on all sides to help seal the roll. Tuck in the sides of the breast and roll up tight like a jellyroll. Squeeze the log gently to seal.

Season the flour with salt and pepper; spread out on waxed paper or in a flat dish. Mix the bread crumbs with thyme (or oregano or basil), salt, pepper, and oil. The oil will help the crust brown. Beat together the eggs and water, the mixture should be fluid. Lightly dust the pheasant roll with flour, then dip in the egg mixture. Gently coat in the bread crumbs. Carefully transfer the roulades to a baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until browned and cooked through. Cut into pinwheels before serving.

Pheasant Cordon Bleu

Enjoy!!

Litter 2011 Update

February 8, 2011

Charity Upchurch Puppy Update , , , , 2 Comments

This morning, Sue and I made a trip to Bellevue Animal Hospital for an exam and x-ray.  I originally had scheduled the visit for Monday, February 14th, but she is getting quite large and her milk has come into her teats, so I wanted to be more sure of her due date and not risk having her whelp by surprise.

The x-ray didn’t give us an exact number of puppies, but it did give us an idea.  It looks like she has a minimum of 8 puppies, but it could be as high as 10 or 11.  Counting skulls and spines from the side angle x-ray, the veterinarians and I believe the 10-11 is closer to being correct.  This also corresponds to her tremendous size.

We also determined that my original due date of February 22nd is pretty accurate.  The mineralization of the skeletons is not yet to a point where we were seeing their pelvises and femurs, so that tells us that we have another 10-14 days left of gestation.  This is a great relief to me because the subzero weather does not break until Thursday of this week.

I took some pictures of Sue over the weekend while she was out:

Sue has been spending most of her time walking, but briefly breaks into runs

The thinning of the fur on her side is caused by hormonal changes

Sue plods along

Closeup of Sue’s belly

I received so many compliments on Sue’s temperament from the vet techs and the veterinarians at the office.  I suppose many pregnant females can be growly and irritable when being handled, but Sue is always a sweetheart.

“I love you, Dad!”

“Whoever said that money can’t buy happiness has never bought a puppy” – Unknown

The Highlights of Pheasant Fest 2011

February 7, 2011

Charity Upchurch Kennel Update, Regional Update and/or Misc., Wirehaired Pointing Griffons , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

January 28-30 was a weekend full of upland excitement at the 2011 Pheasant Fest, the national convention of Pheasants Forever.  Here are some of the highlights from our weekend spent there:

  • As seen in the last post “Bluestem Kennels in the Omaha World-Herald”, Cordelia, Sam and I had a great time at the photo shoot.  Cordelia and Sam were on the front page of the Friday, January 28th paper and also featured in an online video and slideshow.
  • We were the only Wirehaired Pointing Griffon entry in the Friday afternoon Bird Dog Parade.  Visiting with local Nebraska Game and Parks personality, Greg Wagner, was a fun part of the day.  He mentioned the possibility of having us on his KFAB radio show to talk dogs at some point in the future.
  • While Charles was out in the foyer working out some day job office issues over the phone during the Friday evening banquet, I got to pick the brain of Chad Love, a photojournalist for Field and Stream magazine.  He works primarily with upland hunting and bird dog assignments, so it was fun to hear how he went from his political science degree to getting published in outdoor magazines.  It was definitely an inspiration for where I want to take my blogging.  Here’s his most recent post on the Field and Stream website: http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/hunting/2011/02/jealousy-between-dogs-can-be-powerful-training-tool
  • Saturday afternoon turned out to be quite interesting for me, as I ended up helping to lead a seminar that I attended.  The 1 PM “Picking your puppy and the First Six Months” seminar was quite full and by 1:15 PM, there was still no presenter.  A fellow breeder/trainer and I got up in front of the audience and freestyled the seminar, sharing the wealth of what we know on the subject.

Charity Upchurch of Bluestem Kennels, right, discusses selecting and training a puppy

Thank you to Pheasants Forever photographer Jim Cooper for the use of the photo.

  • My children spent Saturday afternoon at Rudy’s Youth Village of Pheasant Fest, where we met some inspirational teenagers, the Illinois Pioneer Chapter #069 “Young Guns”.  They raised $6000 for a virtual shooting gallery had it trailered all the way to Omaha for the young people to enjoy.  My son, Conrad, couldn’t get enough of it!

Conrad practices his shooting skills

  • Charles and I had a great time at the Saturday evening banquet visiting with the members of the Auglaize County, Ohio Pheasants Forever chapter and one of their state wildlife biologists.  It was interesting to learn that the pheasant population in Ohio has been decimated to the point where the state game and fish department has a pheasant stocking program.   I didn’t realize until attending Pheasant Fest that promoting stocking pheasants in Nebraska is seen as nearly rebellious to the habitat cause.  The latest Focus on Pheasant report was sent to me by Nebraska Game and Parks following my post “Focus on Pheasant needs to readjust their sights”.  Once I get a chance to read their report, I’ll be revisiting this topic will a full post in the near future.
  • Sunday we met renowned wildlife artist Carl J. Melichar, who was a Federal Duck Stamp finalist and has taken on bird dogs as the focus of his painting.  He does not yet have a Wirehaired Pointing Griffon in his catalog, so we’ll be getting him some photographs in the near future and possibly commission a Wirehaired Pointing Griffon original painting.  Here are some examples of his work:  http://www.artbarbarians.com/gallery2/main.asp?artist=48
  • We closed out our visit to Pheasant Fest on Sunday by attending Pheasants Forever Field Coordinator Pete Berthelsen’s talk on creating quail habitat on his 160 acres near Elba, Nebraska.  It was amazing to see how quickly habitat adjustments can restore bird populations.  In a matter of a few years, he went from one covey of quail to fifteen coveys!

The weekend was a complete success and really fired us up to increase our involvement in Pheasants Forever, habitat restoration and sharing our love of not only the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon breed, but raising, training and hunting versatile dogs.