15 Nov Hunting Season

Hunting Season is now in full swing and at weekends the unmistakable sound of gunshots warn the wildlife that hunters are about.    Whooshing sounds of the chilled November breeze can be clearly heard as it pushes its way through the brances of trees, causing them to creak & moan, just like old bones.  As Winter lays lurking just around the corner,  every where you look is brimming with stunning, energising autumn colours. Wild mushrooms grow abundantly as brightly coloured leaves twist and spiral their way to the ground, when strong gusts of wind harshly blow them across the countryside,  it is like watching hundreds of butterflies quietly fluttering in the air.  The countryside is alive with the sounds of autumn,  hunting dogs barking  excitedly, as, with their noses to the ground they follow the  exciting scents of wild animals;  after a summer of no hunting,  they are so happy to be  free, to roam wildly and run around madly chasing their tails in the wind. There are occasions when some of the hunting dogs do not always do what their owners would like them to do, sometimes, quietly and slyly, there are some dogs that disappear off to have fun and enjoy doing their own thing, which means their owners can spend hours looking for them !!   So far, since the start of this year’s  hunting season the Sanglier  (Wild Boar)  have remained elusive, obviously playing hide’n’seek with the hunters and dogs that hunt them, there has been an occasional sighting, but nothing more. My imagination always creates such wonderful visions for me as I imagine the Sanglier cheekily placing a few prints in the damp soil, pushing through the surrounding bushes leaving their scent and  coarse hair on  wire fences, all tell tale signs to say that they have been there.  Teasing the hunters,  snorting in their own piggy language,  telling them that  they have been passed,  goading them to catch them if they  can !!!!   Then hiding in the dense foliage, watching as the hunters chase a trail that leads them to nothing.  Off course this is not exactly how it is, but for the moment, frustratingly for the hunters, it is a bit like that.  Enjoying a country walk here in the Winter is slightly un-nerving to say the least, as I do seriously  worry about not being seen, accidents do and have happened.  Off course I could dress in orange ! So, for the moment, careful consideration has to be taken as to just when and where I enjoy a walk in the country !!