Why do we do it? Working gundog people must be some of the maddest out there!! Walking about, or standing about, in mud and water all day for the fun of it . . . and yes, it IS fun!! So yes . . . we ARE mad!!

The gun line . . .
(in the rain hence the poor photo!)
(in the rain hence the poor photo!)
Yesterday we were out on a "walk one, stand one" day. I wrote about the rain on another day in my last post . . that was nothing!! The rain and hail yesterday were of truly biblical proportions - in one of the wettest years I can remember, it was definitely one of the wettest days!! Driving to the shoot was an adventure in itself, luckily I was driving a 4x4. The surface water floods and extreme flow of water, vegetation and leaves across the roads made it quite an adventure; the lanes were more like rivers than highways!! The approach to the yard where we parked crossed a bridge over a very swollen river . . . the concrete roadsurface of the bridge was about eight inches under the water which was raging through the barred parapet - excellent fun if you're in the right vehicle with the right tyres!!

Not a "peg dog", but a dog by a peg!! (well, my stick actually)
Nénu waiting patiently behind the guns, in the rain!
Nénu waiting patiently behind the guns, in the rain!
It's getting towards the end of the season now so the birds are becoming wily! In addtion the weather was execrable so they were staying well tucked in, not lifting well at all. Nénu was on her best behaviour; off lead all day and steady as a rock (a very wet one!!)
Waiting behind the guns again . . . there are actually three guns visible although it's pretty difficult to see them due to the torrential rain and the distance!!
All-in-all an enjoyable day despite the weather. As I've mentioned before, it pays to have the right clothing. I was bone dry and warm at the end of the day!!
All-in-all an enjoyable day despite the weather. As I've mentioned before, it pays to have the right clothing. I was bone dry and warm at the end of the day!!