Setters in Blue

Maximus is growing at an alarming rate - can you tell who's who in this picture? He'll soon be taller than me, Mingus, and he's definitely got a very finely honed bird finding instinct. Too bad he's mostly finding crows and magpies, but this morning he did discover a pheasant in the reeds before I caught his scent. Maximus suddenly went all quiet, froze, fixing his attention on the bird, and our human responded mirroring his pose, honoring his moment. There we stood, transfixed by the god of setting hounds, happy, the pheasant all quiet too. Then a movement broke the spell and the bird flew off in a flurry of feathers.
Tomorrow we'll be at Långtora where pheasants are aplenty, and Maximus will be taught how to raise birds on command, crouch until told to fetch the game, and how to make best use of the wind. Ah, the pleasures of puppyhood!