In January, I whiled away the New Year's Day bank holiday meandering through the woods in search of a rabbit. While it is always a joy to be out in the woods, the rabbits well and truly beat me that day, and I returned home without a single bunny in the bag. It was very disheartening and, in truth, it set me back for the rest of the season. I had several frustrating days thereafter.
Such was my frustration with the whole day, I took myself off to a nearby clay ground to practise on rabbits; I think I shot at 50 clays, all of them flinging along the ground and bouncing erratically. By the end of the day, I'd been consistently back in business.
Demons
On the first May bank holiday, when the sun finally seemed to put some warmth into the air, I decided I needed to try to put those rabbit demons to bed for good and planned for another bunny outing on May Day.
I set out to a different part of the estate to last time; open farmland criss-crossed with tracks and hedges, surrounding a 60-acre mature woodland. I knew this would be a likely hunting ground and might yield some results.
Early May has to be one of the most glorious times of the year. When I reached the woods, I was greeted by the sweet scent of blooming flowers and fresh foliage.
The explosion of life that erupts from the leaf-covered floor every spring makes you wonder where that life has been hiding through the long winter months. The trees, previously bare and stark, were adorned with vibrant leaves that rustled softly in the gentle breeze.
この記事は Shooting Times & Country の May 10, 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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この記事は Shooting Times & Country の May 10, 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
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