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....

THE COLORS OF FALL AND THE "WILLFULLY IGNORANT"

This time of year, the lush greens of summer turn to the breathtaking colors of fall.  The woods look as if they’re ablaze. The “flaming” colors of maples, poplars and oaks set against a green, brown and gray background are marvelous to see.  

With the fall, another color of the season appears—blaze orange.  It is a color that is strongly suggested by the State of NH for hunters and people in the woods during hunting season.  In some states, wearing blaze orange apparel is a requirement for those who hunt.  Blaze orange is a color that is not found in nature.  Thus, it is a color that stands out—especially in dim light.  I’ve hunted in the Rocky Mountains--particularly at daybreak and dusk.  At those "low-light" periods--even across distant canyons, the blaze orange apparel lights up as if someone threw a switch.  Simply put, the use of blaze or “safety” orange is to make the wearer visible and to help prevent accidents.  

The author and "gunner" sister

I need to make a point here.  The “shooting” hunter does not need the blaze orange.  Blaze orange is to make someone else visible to the “shooter”--perhaps the shot is not safe because someone is in the vicinity or background of the target. Without blaze orange, a person could be nearly invisible.    Blaze orange has prevented countless accidents.  How many we’ll never know.  Statistics only report injuries and fatalities.  

Today, I "bird hunted" in an area set aside by the State of New Hampshire and the Federal Government as a "multi-use" area.  In other words, although no motorized vehicles are allowed, hunters, fishers, hikers, bicyclists, joggers, mushers and others may use the area.  Here, hunting is not only allowed, but is encouraged!  I for one have no difficulty in sharing the area with other outdoor enthusiasts, however, I have a word to say about those who I will call “the willfully ignorant"..people who fail to acquaint themselves with what is going on in the world around them.

A beaten path

I met a young woman bicycling through the area wearing dull gray athletic clothing.  I met another young woman (They’re all young at my age!) walking along a pathway with dark gray sweatshirt and light gray “slacks”.  I met what appeared to be a family group of adults and children strolling along the corridor wearing dull, nearly bark-colored clothing.  Then I saw two bicyclists in black, gray and silver clothing.   They all blended into the forest  because not one of them wore any blaze orange!  Theirs were the colors of the woods.

I suggested to my sister (who was actually the ‘gunner’ of our little duo) that I should carry a couple of blaze orange baseball caps and give them away, but after the third group of people, I realized that I couldn’t afford to outfit “the willfully ignorant”.  We learned from speaking to them that they had absolutely no idea that hunting season was in progress.  I wondered, "What planet do these people live on?  Are they so buried in their televisions and i-pads  that they are unaware of the world around them?"  (The media does countless “public safety” announcements --for the benefit of hunter and non-hunter alike--about blaze orange and the hunting seasons of the fall.)    It seems that people choose to ignore what is  going on in the world ... ......yep, the willfully ignorant.

Blaze orange even does its job when you're resting

Consider this: If a bird were to rise up, a rabbit to run out of the brush, or a deer to trot out into the open, the focus of a hunter would necessarily be on the prey.  Without proper “fall colors” (blaze orange) non-hunters who wander into the out-of-doors could be nearly invisible in the before-mentioned situations.  In other words,  someone in the background could be easily unseen and anything from hurt feelings to a tragedy could ensue.  Who would really be at fault?  The “shooter”, or the “willfully ignorant” outdoors enthusiast?  Regardless, two families could be "ruined"!

Blaze orange hats and other forms of apparel are available for nominal fees at multitudes of retail stores.  Information is available on the internet and in the press concerning hunting seasons.

 For everyone's sake, let's all be aware of the world around us!  Let's be wise and safe!  …..  and by the way Sis, you really look 'alive' in blaze orange!

DID SOMETHING REALLY STUPID TODAY...

I did something really stupid today.  I was at a site where the state stocks pheasants for its tag-holders.  My partner, George and I were returning with our dogs from a morning romp through the swamp, field and alders when the state stocking truck pulled up.  We unloaded our guns and stood still in the open field watching the whole operation.  Unfortunately, the dogs could see the birds being released too.  Yep, you guessed it.  My young dog was on hyper-drive for the rest of the morning.  In fact, she was so wound up that I called a “time out” with her and went back to the truck.  My partner had already taken a couple of roosters, so rather than chase these newly released birds, I opted to wait for another time.  (Other hunters couldn’t believe that I was walking my dog OFF the field!)   When I got home, we took a couple of pictures and called it a day.  And a pleasant day it was!  We talked with other hunters, met new dogs, and "enjoyed the moment".

George and "Abby"

The aforementioned lack of judgment reminded me of a similar thing that I did when K-Lee and I were getting ready for the Natural Ability (NA) test at our local NAVHDA Chapter.  I let her watch runs that preceded her.  She saw points, shots, falls and retrieves.  Between the gun noises, the flying and falling birds and running dogs, she was so wound up that when I released her for the test, she ran from one edge of the field to the other.  She would turn on my whistle, but she just ran too fast and too far.  She broke point and caught the birds, and then she played “keep-away” and wouldn’t give up the bird!  Worst of all, it was clear that I didn’t have a solid “recall” in-place.  I was embarrassed.  (We all know that the tests help us to determine where the holes are in our training program,  but it stinks when the hole is staring you in the face!)

So like a dummy, I made a similar mistake today, by letting her watch the unloading of crates of pheasants.  There were between four and eight birds in the air for what seemed like twenty minutes or more.  It certainly did increase her “drive” to search out birds.  She just KNEW that they were birds ‘in there’, so perhaps there was some good in it.  ...Just the same, I don't advise it.  

K-Lee with a bird after she calmed down

After K-Lee settled down and rested a little, we went out just before evening to a place I know and K-Lee was back to business and gave me a couple of really nice points.  

Then came  the conflict between gun and camera --which should I do? I decided on the gun.  The pup needed the retrieve more than I needed the photo.

 

 OPENING DAY IS FINALLY OVER !!

Don't get me wrong, I love the opening day of bird season, but it really takes a toll on me.  I look forward to it so much that I barely sleep the night before!  Opening day is a climax of the  pre-season rituals that have been going on in the house for at least forty days and forty nights. 

Ruffed Grouse

The dog has been keying off the change in seasons, I have been keying off the dog--and the calendar.  The "ramping up" is like an emotional crescendo.  I've worked up mental and written lists of gear, supplies, places to go.  My boots have been re-conditioned at least three times and I've replaced laces, re-attached the soles or ordered a new pair. 

The boot dryer has been given a place of prominence in my "seasonal space".  ..It goes on.


Non-productive, "circular thinking" can't compete with the compulsive, --even "driven"-- preparations for bird season, but the night before!!  Oh my!

Preparations come to a head on "opener eve".  You'd think I was preparing for a deployment to some far-off land!  And for what?  To be in the woods with the pup and pursue a small, reclusive bird--to hell and back if we choose.  The trouble is, by mid-afternoon, I'm totally wiped out.  The lack of sleep on "opener eve" and the emotional drop from the anxious high of the 'first' morning leaves me aching all over--or perhaps I wasn't in shape enough?

Can we go again Boss?

Anyhow, I'm glad it's over.  Now we're approaching the rest of the season in a more 'steady' manner.  The dog and I are fully engaged in the rites of fall, and loving every minute.  Opening day?  For me it's the travail and birth of a new season.  I'm just glad it's over!  Now we can get down to it.

If you see us in the woods or on a back road, be sure to stop and talk.  A pleasant, honest chat with like-minded souls enriches the experience .....OK!  Ready to go pup?