September 5 Scouting
My sincerest apologies for not having posted sooner, but I do have a plausible reason why. While hiking back to my truck after an episode of fishing a week and a half ago, I took a particularly nasty fall. It was in to a dried stream bed that I never saw coming (I was "wading" through 6' - 10' high vegetation - I know, not too smart) - a total surprise, and after the bruising that my ego took initially, the physical injury that I sustained to my lower leg and knee left me unable to hit the woods for scouting with the dogs until today. It doesn't look like I'll be aging gracefully, as this has been a tough injury to overcome, and hopefully it will not be a problem in October and November ...
The weather has taken a turn towards fall lately in the north country, so running conditions for the dogs, particularly in the morning, have been all that we could ask for. It was really beautiful out there this morning, and with a slight breeze and plenty of moisture in the air, probably the remnants of a couple of rainy days that we've had this week, we had good scenting conditions for the canines. Monty was up first and really looked great, pointing a brood of 3 - 4 good sized grouse (he held staunchly to wing and shot through the flushes of the birds) within a short time of us being out there. He then had sticking points on three separate woodcock that he encountered, once again holding steady to wing and shot. He finally had a slip up about fifteen minutes before we ended, as he bumped a grouse which I observed for a while in a tree above me. It held tightly as we rummaged around below it and we left it alone.
Rosie got the next run in promising cover, and although she worked hard and ran under control, she only managed to move one woodcock, which she held on beautifully for the flush and the shot. Hopefully we can encounter more birds for her the next time out, which should be tomorrow. Both Bode and Rosie will run tomorrow morning, as we ramp up for the season ahead.
How does the season ahead look? While I have heard good reports from other bird hunters working their dogs and even some people driving around on the logging roads in northern New Hampshire, I prefer to come to my own conclusions from my experiences out there. I have not seen too many birds on the roads yet this summer and early fall, but they usually start moving around more as the weather gets colder. Not that I'm pessimistic about this season, but if I keep my expectations low, perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised ...
The weather has taken a turn towards fall lately in the north country, so running conditions for the dogs, particularly in the morning, have been all that we could ask for. It was really beautiful out there this morning, and with a slight breeze and plenty of moisture in the air, probably the remnants of a couple of rainy days that we've had this week, we had good scenting conditions for the canines. Monty was up first and really looked great, pointing a brood of 3 - 4 good sized grouse (he held staunchly to wing and shot through the flushes of the birds) within a short time of us being out there. He then had sticking points on three separate woodcock that he encountered, once again holding steady to wing and shot. He finally had a slip up about fifteen minutes before we ended, as he bumped a grouse which I observed for a while in a tree above me. It held tightly as we rummaged around below it and we left it alone.
Rosie got the next run in promising cover, and although she worked hard and ran under control, she only managed to move one woodcock, which she held on beautifully for the flush and the shot. Hopefully we can encounter more birds for her the next time out, which should be tomorrow. Both Bode and Rosie will run tomorrow morning, as we ramp up for the season ahead.
How does the season ahead look? While I have heard good reports from other bird hunters working their dogs and even some people driving around on the logging roads in northern New Hampshire, I prefer to come to my own conclusions from my experiences out there. I have not seen too many birds on the roads yet this summer and early fall, but they usually start moving around more as the weather gets colder. Not that I'm pessimistic about this season, but if I keep my expectations low, perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised ...
