(Not a) Good Day for a Swim

I knew I shouldn't....The morning was crummy for flying.  High humidity, high temps, and few ducks.  But it was the last chance I had to get a flight before heading off to visit the families for Thanksgiving.  So I pushed my luck.  The only ducks I found were four Blue-wing Teal a farm pond.  I knew it was a bad idea... Teal are very hard to get off the water and my bird hasn't exactly been flying stellar lately.  But I did it anyway and the flight ended as expected.  Ducks dumped in the pond, falcon got splashed and the flight was over.  

So I called the bird down to the lure, put in his equipment, and went to take his transmitter off when I realized that it wasn't there.  I put the bird away in the truck and pull out my trusty receiver to find the missing tracking device.  

The first signal I get is across the pond and pretty close.  I trek over to the other side of the pond to triangulate, and much to my disappointment the signal was exactly back where I came from.  The transmitter was in the pond........

So off came the boots, socks, and pants, and I waded out into the muck bottom pond in nothing but my boxers.  Around waist deep water I found that the transmitter was somewhere below me using a trick I learned long ago of detaching the antenna from the receiver.  So here I am, water up to my hip, leaning to the right up to my shoulder with my hand fishing around in the muck to feel for the transmitter, left hand in the air trying to keep the receiver dry.  As I'm in this compromised position, a local sheriff comes putting along  and stops on the road several yards away.  Him and I have talked before and he knows what I'm usually doing out there, but looked a little perplexed when he stopped this time.  As I explained what I was doing, I brushed my hand across the antenna.  The officer had a laugh about my situation and went about his day.  

Satisfied that I wouldn't have to buy a new $250 transmitter, I spend the next 30 mins sitting on the dam wall drying off wondering how do I get myself into these situations......