This past weekend I was in New Brunswick. Steve invited Dad, Cole and I up to his camp in Stanley for some partridge (ruffed grouse) hunting with Steve's recent purchase - a 12 gauge shotgun. We got up at 5:15 a.m., a few hours before sunrise, and set out for the Boyce farmer's market in Fredericton. The food vendors were just getting set up when we arrived. After a few minutes we had our buffalo burgers from Elke's meat stand, and set out on the road to Stanley.
After 40 minutes or so of driving, we parked the car at the start of the dirt-road section that leads to Steve's camp. It was a 20 minute walk along the road to the camp. The sky was beginning to lighten with the sun rising on the horizon. The air was crisp; a brisk pace kept the blood circulating. As we rounded a turn in the road, I spotted a grouse up ahead; it was hopping about on the road, probably trying to warm up in the chilly air. The bird was just out of range - as we tried to sneak closer, the bird disappeared into the edge of the woods. Noticing where it went, we flushed it out - it burst into flight and was completely untraceable, having flown into a thick cluster of evergreens.
We spent the next few hours exploring trails and old roads in the forest, but without any more grouse sightings. It was still a lot of fun to be out in the woods. We finished the morning with some target practice using various bottles and jugs Steve had around the camp. Our morning was capped off with a visit to Neat's Family Restaurant on Graveyard Hill in Stanley for a hearty breakfast of home fries, eggs, bacon, coffee and orange juice before returning to Fredericton.
