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whotheheckamiThe Saturday after Christmas saw us all heading over to a friend’s farm to help out on a pheasant shoot.
Super Dog
The day was very mild and promised a much better day’s shooting than our outing in November when it was very foggy. We all arrived at the farm in Ketton and I was very pleased to hear that Maggie was welcome to have a try-out on the first drive. To my knowledge, Maggie had never been out on a real shoot and so I was quite concerned as to how she would behave. Ivan was also joining us for the first couple of beats and I was worried about him too. All too soon, we were diving into the back of a landrover and rattling across the fields as we waved goodbye to Mendi who was staying back at the farmhouse to look after our friends’ two young children.
We bumped to a halt at the edge of a large field and beat through the field to the edge of a wood. Maggie thought all this space was wonderful and I had quite few problems keeping her under control. Once we were in the wood it was a different story and she made a name for herself amongst the other beaters as the best dog for getting under the thickest cover and really working it through. I was so proud of her and had to call![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
chaoshedgerow to tell him how ace she was! In all the confusion I had completely forgotten to worry about Ivan – I needn’t have worried, he was fine and was enjoying making as much noise as possible.
What followed was an extremely long and tiring, but ultimately satisfying day’s beating. Ivan re-joined Mendi after the second drive, but Maggie kept going until we completed the last drive in almost total darkness. She was even despatched into the gloom to successfully collect fallen game. However, the highlight of her day was when we were returning to the farm at the end of a drive. We were crossing a hedge when Maggie suddenly darted into the base of the hedge and came out with a fat rabbit! She proceeded to get its head in her mouth and despatched it with a satisfying crunch. We both walked into the farmyard with more than the usual spring in our step.
The shoot wound to an end at 17.00 and Alexi and I rejoined Mendi and Ivan for dinner with our friends. This was a superb end to a wonderful day which was made even better by the £20 each that the boys got for beating (I gave Ivan my money) and the 4 brace of pheasants I got to sling in the back of the car.
A Postscript
We didn’t escape the day unscathed. Maggie, Alexi and I were distinctly the worse for wear on Sunday. We were all exhausted and Maggie did not even have an ounce of bounce left her; she wouldn’t even chase her laser pointer! She’d also managed to pick up an eye infection (probably from all the energetic digging she was insisting on doing between beats!) The pheasants didn’t go to waste either, but more of that later…
Super Dog
The day was very mild and promised a much better day’s shooting than our outing in November when it was very foggy. We all arrived at the farm in Ketton and I was very pleased to hear that Maggie was welcome to have a try-out on the first drive. To my knowledge, Maggie had never been out on a real shoot and so I was quite concerned as to how she would behave. Ivan was also joining us for the first couple of beats and I was worried about him too. All too soon, we were diving into the back of a landrover and rattling across the fields as we waved goodbye to Mendi who was staying back at the farmhouse to look after our friends’ two young children.
We bumped to a halt at the edge of a large field and beat through the field to the edge of a wood. Maggie thought all this space was wonderful and I had quite few problems keeping her under control. Once we were in the wood it was a different story and she made a name for herself amongst the other beaters as the best dog for getting under the thickest cover and really working it through. I was so proud of her and had to call
chaoshedgerow to tell him how ace she was! In all the confusion I had completely forgotten to worry about Ivan – I needn’t have worried, he was fine and was enjoying making as much noise as possible.What followed was an extremely long and tiring, but ultimately satisfying day’s beating. Ivan re-joined Mendi after the second drive, but Maggie kept going until we completed the last drive in almost total darkness. She was even despatched into the gloom to successfully collect fallen game. However, the highlight of her day was when we were returning to the farm at the end of a drive. We were crossing a hedge when Maggie suddenly darted into the base of the hedge and came out with a fat rabbit! She proceeded to get its head in her mouth and despatched it with a satisfying crunch. We both walked into the farmyard with more than the usual spring in our step.
The shoot wound to an end at 17.00 and Alexi and I rejoined Mendi and Ivan for dinner with our friends. This was a superb end to a wonderful day which was made even better by the £20 each that the boys got for beating (I gave Ivan my money) and the 4 brace of pheasants I got to sling in the back of the car.
A Postscript
We didn’t escape the day unscathed. Maggie, Alexi and I were distinctly the worse for wear on Sunday. We were all exhausted and Maggie did not even have an ounce of bounce left her; she wouldn’t even chase her laser pointer! She’d also managed to pick up an eye infection (probably from all the energetic digging she was insisting on doing between beats!) The pheasants didn’t go to waste either, but more of that later…
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Date: 2003-01-10 10:27 am (UTC)Here you go.
Date: 2003-01-10 11:31 am (UTC)Re: Here you go.
Date: 2003-01-10 11:35 am (UTC)