It is Monday afternoon and the sun is high in the sky and surrounded by wispy clouds. Flight A has moved to water at the far north end on Bob Sparks at the "Fish Pond." This test is a Water Triple with both a Land Blind and a Water Blind with a Diversion Shot.
The handler and the dog come to the line that is 10 yards from the water's edge. The right-hand bird thrown to the right from behind a single willow bush landing in bog grass at 60 yards with the slightest splash. The left-hand second bird comes from thick willows along the edge of the pond splashing in the opposite diagonal corner of the pond at 52 yards. A diversion shot when returning from the left-hand bird. The middle go bird is thrown from the same single willow as the first mark, creating a "Mom & Pop" landing in the corner of a pond over a levee.
The Land Blind is outside past the fall of the right-hand bird placed in bog grass at 92 yards. The Water Blind is an angle entry into the pond over a point to a second point at 91 yards. This test is taking approximately 6-1/2 minutes per dog.
When we arrived at Flight A, the temperature had risen to 66 degrees. The breeze has picked up and was in the 10 to 15 mph range. The test continues to be much the same as yesterday. The marks are pretty straight forward with only a few problems. The water bind has caused more problems today. If a dog does not take the slot between the two points, and gets up on one or other of the points, the handler has one opportunity for an excellent cast. If the dog does not take the cast he will disappear behind the point and the handler is unable to keep him online to the blind. We saw no problems with the land blind.
