Sunday, November 11, 2007

The pheasant shoot

Here are some photos David took while joining the pheasant shoot mentioned in a previous post. (David was informed they don't call it a "hunt" in the UK.) David put the best photos on a CD for Charles, and I think he will really like them!

The pheasants were raised on Charles' property specifically for this purpose, and we enjoyed checking out the young ones from time to time. We can always hear them clucking (or whatever you call it) at night. It seems that all the shooters pay for the privilege of joining the hunt, except for Charles since they use his land. And Charles didn't do any shooting, but came along as a "brush-beater" (more on that below).

d-6874
Our landlord, Charles Peers. He wears almost exactly this outfit, except for the vest, when working on the farm every day. It's fantastic.

d-7058
Charles and one of his two sons. We call him "the skinny son" because we can't remember either of their names. He comes to the farm every morning to gather eggs.

d-6919
The crew gathering in Charles' driveway.

d-6925
Both Charles and his daughter-in-law, seen here, served as "brush-beaters," meaning that they make a lot of noise and beat the bushes with sticks to make the pheasants fly up into shooting range.

d-6952
The baby on her back slept most of the time, including during the gunshots!

d-7041
Pheasant in flight.

d-7010
A hunting dog. He helps by retrieving shot pheasants when they fall into the brush or the water.

d-6930
d-6956
d-6980

I believe you can see the whole set of these photos on Flickr by clicking here. Let me know if you can't.

No comments: