Well I'm back at work for the first day since the 19th Dec and the photo's have started coming my way.

Dig sent me a few that I'll put up later but this one about sums it all up. The Ferndog, (that I thought was indesructable) officially gave up, and didn't get out on Saturday as she couldn't physically move. I didn't have the heart to make her go out in the cold and leave her bed by the radiator. She was a bit put out when I got home but a retrieve of a partridge on the driveway had her tail wagging fairly quickly!!

To give you an idea of the ammount of ground covered in the last fortnight, I got on the scales this mng and have lost half a stone over the Xmas holidays!!



We've accounted for a fair head of game, had some great fun with great friends. Laughed a lot missed a lot and generally had a ball. AR members included Small Bore, Trapper Dave, our own GHubert, while Ian and Artemis were informed of our progress.

I think the final species count was about 13 or 14 and every last bit was donated either to our dinner plates, freezers or some other grateful recipients larder.

I'll put some more pics up as I get them, along with pictures of a couple of nice old Hammerguns we played with as we went.

Rgds,
K

Kiri,
I've sent you a few from the last December shoot to add to your collection including one of Quiddy filling his face with Turkey wing

You can almost tell what the dogs thinking --- "Thank goodness they only hit 50% of what they shot at or I'd really be dragging my xxx".

Springers are my favorite dog to hunt over -- they all have a personality and show it in the joyful way they hunt ... they may not always be the most efficient and they will, on occassion get a little frisky but they are much better companions in the field than 99% of the "mechanical" pointing breeds.

I've never had a pointer or setter give me a dirty look for missing a bird but many a Springer has given me "the look" when one flys away.

Thanks for the great photo. As a die-hard Brittany man, I can appreciate a tired dog on a pile of birds.

And as for "the look" , my dog-of-a-lifetime gave it to me several times on my personal worst day of shooting some years ago. It all started when I pulled against my safety on the first quail.
By the time I got to 0 for 12, I was afraid she wouldn't even ride home with me. I'd never seen a dog roll its eyes like that before. And hope to never again.
I finally hit the thirteenth shot and figured I'd quit while I was on a roll. She couldn't believe we were heading for the truck. Then she capped my day by catching a cripple while she was on her lead.
What a day! Now she's almost 16 and can't hunt any more. Keep racking up those memories, guys.