Friday, November 12, 2010

One tired puppy


Mike and I joined forces for nearly two weeks in Oregon, then I headed south and spent a final couple of days in the Mojave hunting chukar with my friend Bruce. After a couple weeks of daily work on wild birds my Setter Rosie was handling pretty well; in about 3 hours one morning she gave us nearly a dozen points on a half dozen covies. Exciting stuff. But I could tell it was time to go home from this picture ...
Bruce and I spent that afternoon annoying the ducks in a nearby marsh. The water was generally shallow, the bottom was generally hard, and I the rubber boots I was wearing had been adequate. Then I killed a mallard that fell into a "new" pond. First steps were fine, then I sank to mid-thigh in an invisible soft spot. With Bruce laughing in the background on the shore I lost my balance, fell to my left, and with a gargled "aaaargh" found myself horizontal, right arm clutching my gun above the water. Bruce says that if he had captured the video it would have a million hits on YouTube in the first 24 hours.

5 comments:

Main Line Sportsman said...

Nothing like the "sucking mud"..thats all we get on the Marshes of the Delaware bay where we hunt ducks.
That is a great shot of a pooped pointer.

Andrew Campbell said...

Pete: that is one tired puppy! Love to watch the dogs sack out spontaneously - it means we had a great day afield.

You kept the gun dry. Sounds like your priorities were sound.

Andrew

Gary Thompson said...

Waders and soft mud. Two apposing forces that should have never been united.

Karen Thomason/Gordon Setter Crossing said...

That looks like one tired doggie for sure! Would have enjoyed the video of your calamity for sure! Sorry. he he

Slash said...

"Bruce says that if he had captured the video it would have a million hits on YouTube in the first 24 hours."

What are friends for? ;-)

That’s a great picture of Rosie. My setter likes to lean against my leg towards the end of a long, productive day. That really gives me the feeling of partnership with my dog.