Well, after having to spend a week in Augusta University Hospital last week with Martha, I finally got to play with my new English Cocker puppy, Rebel. Before talking about Rebel, let me say that with God’s Grace and Mercy plus the excellent doctors at Augusta University Hospital, Martha is home and doing fine. I guess that she is like a car, and just needs a tune up every now and then. However, we went over thinking that we were only going to pick up our trial meds, and come home. I did not have enough clothes for a week; so my eldest daughter, Holly, took me shopping at Target to buy some underwear and T-shirts. Now, I have never been a shopper, and I have never darkened the doors of a Target store, but I did know which bathroom to choose. I have also never worn a “Captain America” T-Shirt, but a man has to improvise. We got home late Friday after driving the five hour drive up on Monday, and Martha is doing GREAT!

Now, to my new puppy who has brought some much needed joy into my life. He is a gray-coated roan with green eyes, and is a love bunny. The first time Jerry brought him to me, all he wanted to do was lick my face and do his best to chew the lanyard on my glasses. Yesterday, I got a soft rubber ball, and rolled it about ten feet. He ran to get it, and reluctantly gave it back to me about ten times. Then he crawled up in my lap, and went promptly to sleep. He is still a baby. Since this will be our first ever inside male dog, Martha is adamant that she does not want him hiking his leg on her furniture. Jerry has a lot more experience with English Cockers than I do, and I have hired him to house break him for me, which might take a couple of months, but I am getting him an hour or so each day for bonding in the interim period. This little fellow has really captured my heart. I just hope to be as good as he thinks I am since a dog’s love is unconditional.

Now on to Riverview—The pace is really picking up here as our hunting season opens in mid-October. All of the woods are pristine, and show no signs of a hurricane ever visiting us with CAT 3 winds; so we have turned our attention to the Lodge Grounds. The last building that needed re-roofing was the Main Lodge, and it should be finished this week. All of the housekeeping staff are back on duty making the inside of the cottages look spit and shine. While our mornings are now being spent working our hunting dogs in to playing shape, our afternoons are focused on the Lodge grounds. On the Lodge grounds, about 15 men are cutting vines, pruning limbs, slinging the river banks, and generally making it look more like our grounds are supposed to look. However, we are dry here at the moment, and need one good rain before planting our winter grass on all of the Lodge grounds. I want the rain, but would prefer not to have a hurricane bring it to us. I have said this in an earlier blog, but Riverview has never looked more beautiful. We are hoping that y’all will come see it for yourselves if you have not already made a reservation.

Now, just a few final thoughts on this insanity of gun control. First of all, let me say that I do not own an AR-15 or an AK-47. I do own several deer rifles, but I quit hunting deer over 40 years ago. By then, I had killed all of them that I desired to kill, but I still have my rifles, and plan to keep them, Some thoughts on gun control, you may have already seen, but the following ones really strike a chord with me:

1. If gun control laws actually worked, Chicago would be Mayberry.
2. The second amendment makes more women equal than the entire feminist movement.
3. Legal gun owners have 300 million guns and probably a trillion rounds of ammo. Seriously folks, if we were the problem, you would know it.
4. When JFK as killed, no one blamed the rifle.
5. Folks keep talking about another Civil War. One side knows how to shoot and has a trillion bullets while the other side has crying closets, and is confused about which bathroom to use. How do you think that this is going to end ?
6. I think that we have enough gun control laws on the books now. What we need is idiot control.

Now, that I have these thoughts off of my chest, what could be more enjoyable than watching a pair of pointers sweep these majestic piney woods , and freeze on point. Then comes that heart stopping moment as you walk up, and wait for that burst of quail into the air when you try to bring one or two down with your perfectly legal shotgun that you have the Second Amendment right to own and enjoy. Come on down folks. We are ready to show y’all some classic South Georgia quail hunting as we prepare to begin the 2019-2020 hunting season at Riverview. This will be our 62nd year in this business. Even a monkey can get it right with this many years of practice.

May God bless each of you and your families!