One More Time
Took Greta out for the first time this season, just for a short jaunt on our resident grouse in Vermont. Greta is now 13 years old, and hasn't been part of the guiding operation for several years, but I wanted to see her hunt again. While her nose is still very good, her hearing is nearly gone, as are her legs - she has advanced arthritis, so she struggles to get around. She's no longer the graceful hunter that she once was - in fact, she doesn't run at all anymore. It's much more of a "waddle" that she uses, so the cover would have to be correspondingly short and sweet, to accommodate her physical condition.
I am fortunate to live in an area that I know very well, so I can pick and choose where to take Greta, and because we have limited time out there, the choice covert always involves birds that are close at hand, not far from the truck. We were lucky today, as we contacted a group of four grouse literally one hundred feet from the truck.
No, Greta didn't go on point, but her pace quickened, as did the speed of her wiggling tail, indicators that something was in the area. Just after recognizing this, a group of four grouse exploded in to the air, and my 28 gauge managed to bring down the last escaping grouse, on the second shot. We'll have a few more times out there this fall, but it was great to see her work again on a beautiful day like this.
I am fortunate to live in an area that I know very well, so I can pick and choose where to take Greta, and because we have limited time out there, the choice covert always involves birds that are close at hand, not far from the truck. We were lucky today, as we contacted a group of four grouse literally one hundred feet from the truck.
No, Greta didn't go on point, but her pace quickened, as did the speed of her wiggling tail, indicators that something was in the area. Just after recognizing this, a group of four grouse exploded in to the air, and my 28 gauge managed to bring down the last escaping grouse, on the second shot. We'll have a few more times out there this fall, but it was great to see her work again on a beautiful day like this.
