The Last Week of the Early Season

My luck ran poor on the last week of the early season. The woodcock had mostly disappeared, as they are prone to do, with a few flushing at my feet and the dogs finding none. The scattered grouse that we found were either also flushing for me or were distant sounds as we hunted through the coverts. Even so it was a good season with many good memories of my hunts with Emma and Thicket. Now we get a 2 week rest as the deer season kicks in and then, weather permitting, another 6 weeks to search for the elusive grouse.