UNNECESSARY ANXIETY

Yesterday, 19 month old K-Lee and I hunted part of a flood control reservoir .   We worked along a stream bed and along hedgerows of poplar and tangled brush.  We pushed through the open field that was at the heart of the area.  We hunted the river's edge, carefully combing every piece of cover that looked like it would hold a bird or two.  Nothing.  K-Lee was running big and fast.  I had to call her back in several times.  She was all "go!"

As we completed our last "sweep", a hen pheasant went up in a wild flush--not far from K-Lee.  (She didn't have time to point.)  I fired and missed, then I noticed that K-Lee was chasing after the flush.  (Mental Note:  More training work for later.)

I let her look for the hen although I was pretty sure that I had missed it.  After a few minutes, I called to her and told her to "Leave it!"   We continued north along the stream bottom when a rooster flushed from the high ground to my right.  K-Lee was in there and I thought that she may have busted up the bird, so I didn't try for it.  Again, I noticed that she didn't stop at the flush. (Another mental note:  She does alright on a planted bird, but the "wild" ones seem to pose a different challenge for her.)

We hunted the far side of the stream to see if we could pick up the birds that flew across, when to my surprise, I looked up and saw a team of sled dogs pulling a cart and driver!

I quickly pulled K-Lee out of the immediate area and they went through.  The driver was friendly enough and thanked me for the courtesy.  I had my hands full, so I just held up my shotgun to him in a sort of "wave".  They gave a new meaning to "multi-use area".

As we traveled home, I felt like we were regressing.  No points, much running and only wild flushes.  I was afraid that K-Lee was losing her desire to point and preferred flushing them.

Can you see the grouse?

Fast forward to today.  I took her to another portion of this federal area for a couple of hours and started poking around.  She became quite energetic.  It was obvious that she was hitting some sort of scent trail.  Nothing came of it, so we moved to a place I call "Frank's Corner".  (My buddy Frank almost always found a grouse at this corner in the trail.)  I sent K-Lee into the toolies and all of a sudden she was on point!   I told her "whoa, whoa" as I moved in for a shot.  As I crossed over a dead-fall, a grouse that K-Lee had pinned, rocketed from the fallen leaves  towards a distant unknown location.  The bird was perhaps two feet above the ground, flying "nap of the earth".  The bird put K-Lee between me and itself.  Clever!......."No bird!"

Later, she came across what appeared to be a scent trail of some sort, so I told her "Track!"  She put her nose to the ground and started following an invisible "line" through the brush.  This went on for several minutes, and I let her work it out.  When things "dried up",  we moved to another section several yards away.  Nothing, but she was still trying to figure out the "scent".  When she appeared ready to give up and move on into more cover, I called her over and sent her into  brush on the sunny edge of the field.   Suddenly, a point!

As I moved in, the bird went up and offered me a nice going away shot.  (Yet another mental note:  K-Lee is going for the fetch without being released--more work ahead.)  I told her "Fetch!" anyway.  After a few moments, she found the bird.  With a slight e-reminder that it belonged with me, she brought the bird to my side and delivered it.  We took a few moments and celebrated together.

My concerns seemed to have been unnecessary.  Two nice points and one retrieved bird in the bag.  Life is good.

BACK HOME AND TAKING A BREAK

Author and K-Lee in October

In a near-convalescent state, I’m back at home after another ruffed grouse hunt near the Canadian border.  I’m stiff, weary, aching and satisfied—for a while.  In several days, we covered about twenty or more miles through blow-downs, marshes, alders, shale, skidder trails and moose wallows.  Our flush rates were about one bird every 30 minutes.  The woods were noisy on the second and third days, and the birds tended to run more and flush farther out....perhaps we should have employed some sort of “stealth mode”.  We took a few grouse just the same, and had a good time.  What more could we ask?

If bird hunting were measured only in flush rates, kills, bag limits, statistics and such, our sport would be severely diminished.   Being much more than the aforementioned activities, “ruffed grouse hunting” has the capacity to inspire, to motivate, and to impress those of us who seek such an elusive quarry. It even causes us to dream and reminisce.   Perhaps that is why some of the greatest sporting stories written have been about ruffed grouse hunting.  Great writers have captured singular and funny events and shared them with us—their stories are perfect for fireside reading!  

Speaking of writers, one of my favorite (modern) authors is G.N. Allen, who keeps a blog called “Ruffed Grouse, Drumming on a blog”.  Mr. Allen is a long-time grouse hunter with a very extensive understanding of the north woods.  Not only does he have a comfortable and easy reading style, his humor reaches out to me.  It’s fun to read his posts as he goes through the memories of his hunts and the anticipation of future ones. He also has written some hilarious articles for the Roughed Grouse Society.  Call it "recommended reading" from yours truly.

Getting back to the north woods,  there’s the fresh "Canadian" air and the smell of spruces as we poke along in the wilderness.  Whatever it is, the lure of it all pulls us along—mile after mile—as we look for ruffed grouse and opportunities to shoot another bird for our dogs.   

You see, while some folks consider the dog as a means to get a bird, I’m one of those who consider the birds as a means to see our dogs do what they love.  My “pup” K-Lee gave us a few nice points, but the grouse had run out from under them.  She’s only a year and a half, and has a lot to learn from what I consider the cagiest bird in the northeast—perhaps in the Americas.

Dropped in for a free lunch

On our last day, we were visited by Canada Jays (Perisoreus Canadensis).  They spotted our lunch and came directly to hand, so we fed them.  Here’s one of my friends sharing his lunch with a Jay.  This is not the sort of thing that anyone can experience in front of a television or computer!   We saw brown northern hares with their feet and undersides beginning to turn white already.  We saw snow squalls raced across the hill tops, while we enjoyed the cover of spruces—as did our quarry.  We felt alive!

Soon there will be plenty of time to rest by the fire, to write and call up a memory over a steaming hot chocolate. 'Today' is the time to be out there.  Wandering from cover to cover, turning a back to the northerly wind, and working in partnership with a canine that was born and bred for the moment.

“Why abuse yourself” you say?  “Why push yourself so much?”  It’s simple.  I am recharged and alive after spending days afield with dog, my friends and ‘chasing’ birds.  I love the companionship and cooperation of a good bird dog, and K-Lee needs more bird exposure. 

The weather looks pretty good for the first half of next week, so perhaps I’ll go north one more time.  Our tomorrows are unknown, and who knows how much longer I have before I can’t navigate the north woods?  I think I’ll place a call to see if there’s still a spare bunk at “grouse camp”.  Yep, that’s what I’m going to do.  Now if I can get my lame legs to move....