Hunting

First day of the year hunting with the Aleu hunters "en battue". After getting the car stuck in deep mud I got a lift with Alain and Guillaume, then spent 6 hours standing on a steep muddy slope deep in the woods in the rain waiting for the dogs to flush out the game. The dogs never arrived. After being able to stalk deer during the summer (even though I didn't shoot anything) I find "en battue" mind numbingly dull.

I did manage to see a beech martin, a red squirrel, a buzzard and a crested tit (above) the first time I've seen one. Eventually when it became clear the dogs weren't coming our way and we retired, the sun came out and the weather was glorious.