first hunt

Grouse season opened on saturday, sept 13th... i was at work until 4:00, when the rain came. And stayed. Through the night and into the next morning, it rained with a steady determination. By 10 a.m. I couldn't take it, and loaded Vera and gun, and headed for the woods.
With the wipers on slow-intermittent, I drove to the "korpi road hotspot". I hit this gem a few times a year, although it's typically not dependable until later in the year, when the grasses have collapsed from frost and the woodcock have filled the alder. It does hold grouse, however, and I was hoping to find one at home. As I hosed down my ruger with WD 40, Vera raced around checking things out. I called her over to me and placed an old collar with an even older bell hanging from it around her neck. It had belonged to Gunther, my first gundog. A big collar to fill, no doubt, but I have hopes for Vera and thought the collar may bring some luck for her.
Sound, like all senses, has the ability to take you back, remind you of things forgotten. Hearing Gunther's bell clang through the alder was like getting smacked in the face with a bat...more memories than could be processed came flooding back all at once....It's been over 5 years since I last heard it's clatter, but my ears welcomed the familiar bell as though it was yesterday.
We made several passes through to no avail. Vera could not be faulted for effort, she snaked through the tightest spots and left no cover unchecked. The rain had increased in intensity and since it is a small cover to begin with, I whistled in Vera and repeated the gun oiling before departing for the next cover.