The end is in sight

Second to last day of the shooting season. Not many in the bag as the remaining pheasants have become very gun wise!
Beautiful day ending with a beautiful sunset

Snow dusting.

Whilst the rest of the UK has been having a fairly decent amount of snow (decent by our standards. My Americans, don't laugh!), here in the West Midlands we have had hardly anything!! I'm really not happy. All we've had are the abnormally freezing cold temperatures and a cold house. Yay.

This morning we did wake up to a light dusting of snow (still not too happy with that). I took the pup for a walk at the canal. It was really beautiful, with the water frozen over, and the canal boats seemingly trapped in the ice.

Here are some pics.

Ducks on the frozen water

Skye

Locks

Frozen water

Maybe...

...I should become a snowboard instructor. Just a thought.

First pheasant day, as told by Skye

Today was the first pheasant day.

I was very excited because mom took with me with her again! It was fun to spend the day with her. She was very proud of me because I wasn't that scared of the other dogs, and I didn't run away from them.

It was very exciting going new places, and sniffing all the new smells. I didn't really like being on the lead, and loved it when she let me off so I could run.

On one of the drives we went through game cover, which was really just a tangle of beans (which mom got in her wellies! I thought it was funny), and it was really hard to get through. So because mom was already walking through it in front of me, I just decided to follow in her footsteps and follow the path she was making.

She told me that she didn't think that's what a gun dog was meant to do, but that she thought I was very smart anyway. I think she was secretly impressed with my cleverness (and to be honest, I think she thought it was cute!)

I'm starting to get the hang of this now, the whole thing about flushing the birds out. It's all so very exciting! And I love watching the birds flying!

On one of the drives, a lot of birds got up right in front of me, but mom wouldn't let me chase them :-( I was a good girl though and listened to the whistle and didn't go running after them. Tony (who has the pointers) told me that if it hadn't been for me, a lot of those birds wouldn't have got up and flown! Everyone kept telling me what a good girl I was and how well behaved I was (even the keeper said I was very good!) I think mom was very proud!

One of the drives went through the woods. I wasn't too keen on the briars in the beginning, but I was a brave girl and tackled the briars just like a good little Spaniel should. I did try and follow mom on this one as well, it made it easier! It was fun though going through the woods with mom.

It was a very exciting day, yet also tiring, and I curled up on the backseat of the car and went to sleep on the way home. I heard mom say something about the final number being 148 birds, which apparently is good. One of the last things I remember is Tony telling me that by the end of the season I was going to be a good little beating dog :-)

Proud mama am I!!!

I am so proud of my little dog today!! Took her along to beating with me, and I couldn't have asked for a better dog. She was absolutely brilliant. She behaved so well, kept close to me, and responded to everything I said. Above all, she enjoyed herself, and kept me company. Everyone commented on how well she had done (which made me so proud). At one point she couldn't see where I was, and was frantically looking for me, and then when she found me, she came racing over :-)
Another thing that I was pleased with, was how she dealt with the other dogs. She was attacked when she was a pup, and is now very wary of other dogs. I was a bit worried about how today would go, but it actually went better than I could have imagined. The other dogs were very quiet with her, and pretty much ignored her, so in the end she relaxed. By the end of the day she was happy to run around the field with the other dogs (having realised that they weren't there to hunt her down!!), and sit right next to them. Such progress was made today, so I'm really happy with that.

On the way home she curled up on the backseat of the car and went to sleep. When we got home and she had had a bath, we both crashed on the bed (it's absolutely exhausting beating whilst working the dog!!)

All in all a really good day.

Last day of the season....

"Shooting is not just about the bag at the end of the day, but also the enduring memories created by the best shot you have ever taken, the jovial chat amongst friends, the fine countryside and the conviction that a good day in the field is second to nothing else".

The end of the season is upon us. Shooting is coming to an end for another year. Today (the last day) was beaters' day. This is where the beaters have a chance to shoot, and the guns do the beating! All but four of the beaters shot, and the rest of us, well, beat! I chose not to shoot as I have not shot for over a year and had wanted to get in some practise on the clays, but as this did not happen, I opted not to shoot today. And whilst I did regret this choice later on, it was still good fun beating with the guns, whom we don't usually mix with a lot. They are really nice bunch of guys (and ladies), and it's great that most of them turn up for beaters' day to give something back to the beaters. After all, if it wasn't for us, they wouldn't have any birds to shoot!!

We had perfect weather today. Blue skies, no wind, and a stronger-than-usual winter sun. It was the perfect day to finish the season with. Although the birds did let us down- I think we ended with 46 birds, a very small bag. None of them wanted to show their faces! They're the lucky ones - they will live to see another year.

After we had finished the morning's shooting, we all (beaters and guns alike) headed over to the shooting lodge where we ended the last day with a buffet lunch.

It was a really good last day, and although I don't want the season to end now, walking through the woods today I noticed bluebell shoots starting to poke their way through the fallen leaves. Spring will soon be upon us, and with that, the season must come to an end.

And it gets colder....

The snow has stuck around for the past few days, and it remains cold and iced over. A lot of the roads aren't getting gritted, so they are just turning into ice rinks that a death trap.

Beating today was miserably cold! I have never felt such pain in my feet and hands from the cold before. Whilst it was incredibly beautiful with all the snow covered fields and blue sky and sun, it was so, so cold! It was one of those days where, while I was in the middle of it, was absolutely miserable, but at the end of the day when I had begun to thaw out and warm up, it was a good day. Which, despite the cold, really was.

Tired though because we had to walk so much. The only time we actually went in the game cart was to get to the location where we were shooting for the day, and then after that it was just walking everywhere. We even had to walk back to the keeper's cottage because the game cart and truck got stuck in the snow!

Got back to the cottage and had cups of tea. Amazing how a cup of tea can warm you right up!

Still haven't thawed out though, even after a hot bath. My hands and feet still feel sore from the cold.

More snow pics. Nice heavy snowfall

Dylan & me

Skye & Dylan. She was trying to eat the snowball from his hands

Dylan & Dad, snowball fight

Skye trying to catch snowballs

Dad & Mom having a snowball fight

The playground

Mom & me

Skye in the snow

The field

The church

Our street

Harvest moon - colder days and shorter hours

This was the moon a couple of nights ago. The full moon, or the harvest moon.

With it came signs that winter was definitely on its way. Colder days with less hours in them.

As I dragged my brother outside in the dark and the cold to take pictures, I became very aware of this. The cold went straight through clothes and bit at my skin. It was oh so cold!

It is incredible to see the harvest moon, as it seems bigger and brighter, and 'warmer' than at any other time of the year.

It glows so brightly, and can always be spotted through trees and clouds (kinda makes me think of werewolves lol).

The rest of the pics are just a few pics I took around home. The lighting was cool - it was starting to get dark and it was that dusky look - and it was just one of those things where I wanted to take pictures.

Even if it meant braving the cold! haha.

I really love those winter days. The cold ones with blue skies, and when it gets dark and you draw the curtains, and turn on the lights, every looks cosy!