first hunt, second woods

With the rain increasing at times, I abandoned my original plans of driving 30 plus miles to some bigger cover and instead point the truck back towards home. I had been eyeing-up some cover a few miles east of my house, and with a quick check of the plat book I committed to the 40 acres. The east line of the old clearcut is a non-maintained fire trail, a road the DNR uses to access big woods in the event of a fire. This particular road also lies due east a few miles of the site of Paul Wellstones plane crash, a prominent and much-liked political figure in minnesota who died far too early in his career.
I was surprised to see a vehicle parked there, not too many people tolerate rain for the chance at a grouse. And since most folk in these parts prefer to shoot them off of trails, the odds of even finding one in this weather were slim. I assumed it was a young kid, remembering hunting myself in the rain although this person was a far better judge of cover than I was. I think my first woodcock hunt was in mature red pines, with a gun-shy dalmatian for company....
Since I was assuming a trail hunter, I had no problem moving back down the main road and entering the 40 from its center. Before I had even left the right-of-way, a woodcock flittered towards me and immediately landed a mere 20 feet away. Vera had "bumped" it, a non-offensive term we use to describe our beloved dogs screwing up...My brain had many misfires....shoot, no! don't shoot!....woodcock doesn't open for another 6 days, and it was bumped after all....I called Vera and worked her down to the marked bird where it flew off without her ever catching scent...rather than encouraging her to work old scent, we headed into the 40. A few yards later another woodcock, this time bumped by myself. Another brain misfire...
We worked that piece of woods for an hour or so without any more flushes...I swore I could hear grouse flushing occasionally, but wet dogs shake alot and to eager ears it often mimicks a grouse flush. Although the temperature was around the 50's, I worked up a sweat walking through the brush. After stumbling out onto the road by accident, I called it a day. The rain was increasing and the dog had worked well, time to go. Besides, this coming week looks promising from a weather stand-point, and I promise myself to not let work get in the way.....

FLUSHES: WC 2 GROUSE 0
SHOTS: 0