WHAT'S HAPPENED

Gardens and food plots and lawns, OH MY! The rain in our area has kept everything lush and green all summer

Les and Bette did take their long-awaited trip to Alaska in June. The amount of wilderness is awe-inspiring and beautiful, and the wildlife is amazing. The weatherman was uncooperative, as we knew he could be in southeast Alaska, and we had chilly, rainy weather for most of the time we were aboard the ship. The rest of our travel time was sunny and comfortable, and we enjoyed the Amtrak trip to Seattle and back very much.

The lodge was busy all summer with meetings, retreats, family groups, bachelor parties, plus a great group of ladies on motorcycles who headquartered with us for a weekend. No shooting tournaments, but a number of large groups organized their own competitions at the club. In August the local Pheasants Forever chapter held their Youth Shoot at Viking Valley, where 23 youngsters qualified for a PF Youth Hunt in October.

The league shooting is winding down to its conclusion at the end of August. In addition to our "faithful regulars" whose continued support we greatly appreciate, we saw some "old friends" who shot in past years come back to our league this season. We'll make every effort to maintain the quality and the fun of league shooting at Viking Valley.

We had another traumatic summer with our dog Sheba, as she went through her second major surgery at the U of M Veterinary Center to stop an infection by removing a part of one of her lungs. She's recovering well and we're hopeful that she'll be able to do some hunting this fall, but she'll be on a cycle of antibiotics for the rest of her life as this infection cannot be eliminated from the system. Read the information here regarding the needle grass "awn" which can cause this, and watch your dogs carefully. These grasses have been used extensively in WMA plantings. The U of M is planning a research project to get the message out to the local veterinary clinics about diagnosis and treatment for affected dogs. More information on grass awn related deseases can be found here.

Be sure to click on Matt on the "Staff" page to see the picture of his daughter Ava, age 6, who is the newly crowned Miss Minnesota Princess and will go to the national competition in Anaheim CA in November. Our congratulations to Ava and her family!

WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN

The hunting season officially begins on Labor Day with a group of North Dakota hunters who celebrate that holiday hunting at Viking Valley each year. Judging by the phone calls, everyone is getting excited about their fall activities! The cover is out-standing this year, the birds are looking terrific, and we're hoping for a long, cool fall season! Early in the fall season when it can get very warm, try to plan your hunt for the morning and clay shooting for the afternoon . . . it will be easier on both dogs and hunters! And as always, remember that you need orange above the waist and steel shot for the hunting field.

You'll notice a little facelift on the lodge, and we're busy painting, cleaning, fixing, and mowing to have everything ready for the new season. With all the other activities this summer, we put our plans for the changes in the Pro Shop on hold. We hope to get the changes done during this winter when there's a little less activity through the shop area. Work is underway on our one-hole golf course, and we plan to open it next summer.

Our guides and their dogs are getting anxious to hit the fields. Matt will be hunting with his 7-month-old puppy Abby (aka Labbigail or Labby) this fall. She's the same breeding as our Jessie, so we're very confident that she'll be a great hunter in no time. With the possible exception of Sheba, our "herd" is raring to go and getting very impatient.

Les is still very hard at work with the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council, and will be spending some time at the legislature through the coming season. The Council is reviewing $202 million in projects to select the best ones to fund from their $86 million budget this year. Resistance from the legislature begins to wane as they see the success of the projects funded in the last two years, and the Council continues to look for high quality projects in Minnesota. To look at the list of projects and keep up with the activities of the Council, go here.

Since we're attempting to get this newsletter out by September 1st, the final league shooting results aren't available yet. We will send the results to the team captains as soon as all the teams have finished shooting for August, and will post the finals on the website. Hang in there, guys.

Although Minnesota is beautiful in all the seasons, we choose fall as the very best. For most of our members, that means it doesn't require a long trip to find great hunting and fishing along with picture-postcard scenery. We'll keep the pontoons in the water until the last minute as usual, so you might want to include that in your Viking Valley plans. Since we're already booking for next summer, you may also want to get your reservation in early for fall and winter activities. We look forward to seeing you for another excellent season of Minnesota hunting!