THAT time of year again

In February every year I pack away the paraphenalia that goes with bushbeating - thornproof waterproofs and gloves, flagstick, canine (emergency) medical kit, on-the-beater's-wagon water container & bowl etc and switch off the early morning alarm settings. The months that follow seem to drag at first - no excitement of hunting, flushing, clambering through seemingly impenetrable hedges, staggering over thigh-high brambles, kale and sundry cover crops.... - just the steady, repetitive training (or re-training) to get the dog(s) back to calm, obedient, whistle-sharp focus - or something similar!
As the months slip by and autumn approaches time begins to quicken; with the falling leaves come the game-birds.....  everywhere - including on our drive from the neighbouring shoot! Time to keep a sharp eye on the dogs - can't have them chasing!
It may have been in the diary for months but 'our' first shoot day always comes as a surprise! Not for me, of course, but for the dog!!!!
Bugler should have guessed there was something afoot when breakfasts started to feature in his daily routine. Normally the dogs only get one meal a day - in the evening. Maybe that's why he was excited yesterday morning when I loaded up the car with all the usual beating-day gear and told him to jump in.  
Luckily he didn't know where we were going or he'd have been spinning round & round like and idiot in the back - in a few weeks he'll have sussed out the various routes and then he'll get seriously spinning about a mile away from our destination! Very annoying.....
We soon reached the yard where we - guns, beaters, pickers-up - meet & he sat quietly in the back until, when it was time to get going, I returned to fetch him. He exploded out of the truck with a yelp of excitement, landing on the ground, leaping up and squiggling round before sitting down - all in the same second! Told to 'heel' to the beaters wagon, he could hardly contain himself , squiggling and wagging so much that I think his back end got there at the same time as his nose! And he only got more excited as the day went on.


"Can't hear a thing under here"

The warm wet summer has provided ideal growing conditions for the 'cover' crops. The maize is probably 12 foot high, kale, sorgum, mustard, grasses - all well up to thigh-high. Plenty tall enough to hide all sign of lanky Bugler....... Added to that, the rain of the night before had thoroughly soaked every blade and leaf making the dog instantly soggy and ensuring maximum noise distraction - you can't blame him for not 'listening' to a whistle which is impossible to hear above the noise of rushing sodden undergrowth!!!!  All in all, it's amazing we got to the end of the day in one piece - or one pair..... and He Was Exhausted... tucking single-mindedly into the leftovers of his lunch box.....

He had a sore eye to show for his efforts - face whipped by sodden undergrowth poor lad  - but within a couple of hours of returning home and sleeping quietly in his kennel, he was up and ready to go again - or so he thought.
Luckily we are not out again till the weekend so he'll have proper time to recover his energies.. he's got to remember it's THAT time of year again and he needs to pace himself or he'll never last through till the end of January!