Northwoods Rendezvous (A "Brooding" Indian Summer)

[mobirdhunter]

I appreciate the kind comments from folks -- thanks!

We are closing out our two week hunt, which has offered us some memories of great weather, beautiful country, wonderful dogs and the birds we love so much. We also met some great people here in the Northwoods. This will be a trip to remember.

Our Fall color is pretty much gone now, and we are seeing the muted, rich color of the later season, remarkable in its subtle charm. Leaf drop happened pretty much over night, and with it the temperatures will drop, and, hopefully, the woodcock will be waiting for us in home coverts, which we'll hit next week.

Enjoy your season. Get out every chance you can.

Photos:

1. Sometimes I cannot believe how special it is to live with gun dogs. Having a puppy and a seasoned dog, seeing the future and its potential is a marvelous gift. Chris and Aaron, if you read this, I hope you've had some special moments with your pupils in training. Remember these days. They go by too quickly.

2. We switched out guns for this last week. One of three Parkers I have from this, one of my favorite, engraving periods. This gun, a 1918 CHE 20 that we call Reggie's gun is about as perfect a bird gun as I can imagine. A privilege to hunt with and care for.

3. We were able to catch up with PGCA member Bruce Day and Joe Weidle for dinner one evening. What a pleasure to visit with two gentlemen who love double guns and bird dogs. I got to see and hold a couple of Bruce's bird guns and now have dreams of a 24 inch 20 gauge bird gun. Joe is real dog lover and Elaine and I got to learn more about his dogs and Bruce's -- always a treat.

4&5. A trip with wonderful memories of beautiful country and the drama of nature. The last photo is the Big Fork river that we cross every evening on our way back to the Cabin. The view from the bridge is ever changing and never gets old.

[mobirdhunter]

At the risk of "wearing out my welcome" I'd like to add a postscript to our hunting posts. We are finally home after enjoying a wonderful trip that included so many firsts for us. We have already made plans to return. I hope I'm still here when the next Fall comes around. The older I get, the more I hope.

I feel like we had good grouse numbers, but to check my reality, here are the numbers: our flush rate for the trip was 2.7 flushes/hour, but I teased out the difference for our experienced dog Aspen, and little Rill, for whom this was her first real hunt. With Aspen our flush rate was 4.4 flushes/hour -- as good as I could expect on a year forecast to be moving to the bottom of the cycle (for what that's worth). My shooting was pretty much standard for me: 53% on grouse and 75% on woodcock ( a small sample size).

The weather was the real hero in this trip -- Indian Summer to start, and brooding cold to end...just as October in the Northwoods should be. The leaves were both brilliant, and then, gone (like gypsies as George Bird Evans would have said).

I'll start looking for flight woodcock in home coverts, and hit the quail fields and duck marshes prior to the firearms deer season. What a rich time of year this is. I give thanks for it all.

Thanks again for reading my posts and commenting.

Photos:

1. For Chris P.: Here's Aspen enjoying time on the couch at the Cabin. He will always tell you he doesn't get enough couch time.

2 The leaves turned gypsy and were gone by the end of the 2nd week (thank you, GBE), and the "birches looked dream like on account of the frosting" (yep, James Taylor, thanks to you).

3. This is a frame from a nice video that Elaine caught of a grouse pointed by Aspen that crossed in front of me on the trail. Look closely and you'll see it just over my left shoulder. I felt like I was in a William Harnden Foster drawing when this bird decided to give me a shot...and I made it (not always the case)

4. Rill strikes a point that Elaine was able to capture on camera. She's stylish, but, unfortunately, I could not get a shot at this bird which was flushing too far out. Still, I hope this foreshadows a good future for this little pup.

5. We rode by old landmarks to commemorate our last day, something we've done for 20 years or more. It's nice to have a sense of place.

6. Aldo Leopold wrote so beautifully of grouse hunting, and the "red lantern" blackberries that led him from covert to covert. Like Leopold's guiding lights, the lanterns were dimming with the end of Indian Summer, but hopefully they will burn bright again next year for all of us who love to follow bird dogs in grouse coverts.