adventures with Bob & Belle

Sadly this picture is in many ways the highlight of our adventures on Sunday with Bob, Belle and their Regal Majesties. Not sure if our timing is just wrong, but somehow whenever Bob and I hunt together we see huntable birds, but in all the wrong places. Last winter, we found grouse... but either they were in the road, or they flew across a road, or they waited till we had unloaded our guns as we walked back along the road to our trucks. In any case, the grouse had clearly been reading the hunting regulations as well as we had.

But here's Bob and his beautiful Llewellin Setter, Belle. Belle is 5yrs old and puts up with no guff from either of the boys. She's also a sweetheart who loves to get out and hunt up birds. And from what Bob was saying had had a great day the day before.

And this Sunday was no different in terms of bird-luck. We had gotten there later in the morning to give the bow-hunters, whose opening day it was, time to hunt and leave. And we trawled a couple of likely fields to little avail. At one point both Momo and Belle got into some hot-spots and we got excited, but whatever had been there was no more. On our way to our third field, we passed beautiful cock pheasants in two different places -- one pair and another trio -- entering or leaving the roadside and nowhere near a legitimate parking spot. Oh well. Score one for the ditch-chickens.

We'll try again on Wednesday or Thursday.