Disappointment

Headed up north today to look for some grouse with Emma.It's been a dry fall so far but Emma still found a little mud.

A Monarch resting on its way south.

The autumn olive bushes were loaded with berries.

Come on Dad let's keep lookin'.

A devil's club. You only have to grab onto one of these suckers once to learn never to do it again.

Their berries. Don't know if grouse like them, but do know that bears relish them.

Aspen. Conjecturing up images of grouse and woodcock nearby.

The cover we hunted through.

One wild flush was all we could find today in these beautiful coverts. Hope my luck turns before the season starts.

Getting the blood pumpin'

The leaf littered lane leading in the Doll's Head cover.

A view of the cover. Still thick with summer's vegetation. It will be thinning soon with the shorter days and cooler nights.
Lots of food in the Doll's Head this year.

Hawthornes.

Teaberry.


Crabapples.

I couldn't pass up this shot of a toadstool to add to my toadstool collection.




This volunteer appletree always seems to produce a bounty of fruit every year.

Last April Emma and I ended the spring training season with a woodcock point. Four months later she points the first one she finds and puts a smile on my face.

A little later on she makes me smile again.

Waiting on the tailgate for the brier pulling that follows an early season training session.

Although this cover had plenty of food we couldn't find the grouse that are often found there, but Emma's two woodcock points after 4 months of tweety bird watching definitely got my "blood pumpin'" Come on October.