We are now officially in the Dog Days of Summer here in South Georgia. When I was a kid, I always thought that this meant that the weather was so hot that the dogs stayed under the porch in the shade. As I got older and more educated, I realized that this actually referred to the Dog Star and its position relative to earth in the sky. I do recall my mother telling me that a cut or a sore would not heal during this period, and she was SOO correct.

This is the time of the year that you have to be a native to survive. With the heat and humidity, you have to be a native to survive this “air you can wear” in August! Also, this is the peak season for our gnats who surround us by the trillions. These critters do not bite, but they swarm every orifice that you have. That never bothered me much until I was at our kennels one day. I saw all of the gnats around our dog’s butts and realized that these same gnats would be in my mouth shortly. YUCK!

Things grind to a slower pace at this time of the year. A good many of our folks are called into the shop to go through all of our jeeps and other vehicles. While we continue to work with our dogs, we do it early in the morning and in the shade. We have finished planting all of our food plots, and blessed rain has them all growing and looking good. Our natural cover has also benefitted very much from these showers.

In closing, please allow me to share a few random thoughts from an old man who sometimes struggles to recognize the country I find myself living in. You just can’t justify some of this insanity:

1. If a guy pretends to be a woman, you are required to pretend with him.
2. Somehow it’s un-American for the census to count how many Americans live in America.
3. Russians influencing our elections are bad, but illegals voting in our elections are good.
4. If you cheat to get into college, you go to jail, but if you cheat to into the country, you go to college free.

I could go on and on, but I believe that you get my message. We are all doing fine down here. Cader IV tells me that bookings look good, but we do still have spaces available for reservations. As we approach Labor Day, those spaces will close up.

I hope that y’all are having a gnat-free summer, and we all look forward to seeing you again as we approach our 65th hunting season. May God bless and protect you!