Bluestem Kennels

My reservation list of ten for Spring 2020 puppies is currently full.  Feel free to email bluestemkennels@gmail.com if you wish to be on our contact list in the event that a spot opens up on the reservations list or if there are additional puppies when the litter is born.

Where did summer go?  It never seems long enough.  Now it is time for youth football for my youngest son and we just took our oldest to college at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  My middle son is busy getting through high school and learning to drive.  But the dogs always make their presence known and of course we have to keep them exercised for hunting season.  So here are a few shots from our weekly runs.

Zoro in the grass

Zoro on a run

Ruth taking a break

Fire on the move

Fire pointing some old scent (or a really tucked in bird)

Ruth, Fire and Zoro heading back to the truck

Zoro, Fire and Ruth watching me clean the bathroom

Our first Utility Prize I pup

Bluestem Winchester SH, NA I is now UT I and qualified for NAVHDA Invitational!  Chester is owned by Sal Licata out in New York and is out of our “C” Litter of 2012 between Sam and Mae.  We couldn’t be more proud, great work!

Sal and Chester when he earned his AKC SH title

Turtle Soup

Over the summer I found a snapping turtle in a parking lot of one of our local businesses.  I can see why the pioneers like to eat these critters.  They have a lot of meat on them!  Chicken of the swamp.  They taste sort of like alligator, be sure to give it a try if you get a chance.  After I caught it (you need a current fishing license to do this), we let it live in the bottom of a trash can with a pool of water in it under a mulberry tree (he ate bugs and fallen mulberries) for a week to clean himself out.  I dumped out the water and gave him fresh every day.  We then dispatched him using a sharp ax, with one person pulling the tail and shell back while the other used pliers to grab his snout, pull his neck out and chop his head off.  You have to leave them hang in a cool place for about six hours before they stop moving before you can cut them up.  Here is the recipe that we used: https://honest-food.net/turtle-soup-recipe-creole/

Grooming video still in the works

I have the footage for the grooming video but I am going to wait until I have more time this fall/winter to edit it.  I am working with new editing software and I find it extremely frustrating and time consuming.  Please be patient.

Hunting season is here!

Now that we are down to three dogs it is easier for Charles to take over most of the hunting “responsibilities”.  I’m sure that he doesn’t mind.  This weekend is sharptailed grouse and prairie chicken opener in Nebraska.  I might get out for a couple of hours, but I’m going to focus most of my time over the weekend on camping with the boys.  There is still a crazy amount of water out in the Sandhills so it will be interesting to see the places where there are water crossings where there usually aren’t any.

Good luck to everyone heading out into the fields this season!