This ‘N That Thursday is for those times when you want to post about unrelated topics or each topic isn’t quite long enough to make up a whole post.  It can be anything you want, so feel free to grab the button and join us!

Today is opening day of firearm deer season which means that grouse is now closed until December 1.  Can’t have brown dawgs running around in the woods while there are deer hunters a foot.

The season reopens for a month on December 1.  In past years the snow has been too deep to hunt grouse in December.  I am not sure the dogs will get out again this season.

Still, we would like to get Freighter on some birds.  His first birthday is next week.  Some people buy presents, others bake a cake, but we booked him a pheasant hunt on private land for his birthday.  Actually it will be a couple of days before his birthday, but I am sure he won’t mind.  😉

I am going to tag along to try to take some pictures.  I really hope the experience goes better for me than the last time I tagged along.  At least I hope the field isn’t full of tall grass.

We are supposed to have some decent weather, but not as nice as it was last weekend.  It was so pleasant that while hubby and Storm were off hunting, I took Freighter for a walk.  Is that news?  Well sort of.  I usually do not walk the dogs by myself.  I have had bad experiences with dogs running up to me and I just do not like to deal with it.  Normally if the dogs are to be walked, hubby does it before I get home from work or if I am around, we sometimes walk them together.

But since I was home with just Freighter and Thunder and Thunder was still on rest, I decided to venture out alone with the puppy.

I thought maybe it was not such a good idea when we rounded the first corner and a neighbor backed his car right into his garage door which was closing at the same time he was backing out of his garage.  It made a gigantic BOOM.  I jumped.  Freighter jumped.  He had never heard that sound before.  I sat him and let him collect himself and we watched the guy try to wedge the door open.  Then continued on our way.

Besides a car running into a garage door, there were a few other things that Freighter could not quite figure out:

• He did not understand that the guy jogging by was not inviting him to run along;
• He did not understand that the guy cleaning out his car was not inviting him to go for a  ride;
• He did not understand that the leaves blowing by were not inviting him to chase them;
• And he did not understand that the Border Collie running back and forth in his yard was not inviting him to play.

We worked on his heeling and before long he was sitting at corners and waiting for my cue before moving.  He was really a good boy.  He pulls a lot less than either Thunder or Storm did at his age.  I do not walk nearly as fast as my tall husband so any time he got ahead of me it was because I walk slower than he is used to walking.  Eventually he slowed his pace and we had a pleasant time.

I suppose we will do it again.  🙂