...and thanks to all who are following my blog. I am amazed that so many people are taking the time to read these hunt reports!! Our farmer pack is nothing like an organized, recognized hunt, as you can plainly see, lol, but we always have a blast watching our hounds work. And isn't that what it's all about, anyway?!
Our Christmas Eve morning hunt was not the best day out with hounds, IMO. It started out fine, with hounds on the heels of their first fox at 8:29. But in addition to our regular weekday pack of 12 1/2 cple, there were an additional 7 couple, Freddy's hounds and our jolly friend, Jeff, made the long drive down from New Jersey with his. (he 's found out that he has a torn meniscus in his right knee, which makes that long drive very uncomfortable!)
Not surprisingly, the pack split after about 50 minutes. 4 couple, including Toyota(Jeffs), The Skinny Bitch(Tommy's), Roscoe(Bobby's) and my Marilyn, ( I can't remember who the other 2 cple were, but I know there were some of Freddy's there, too), pushed their fox over a long stretch of fallow cornfields to the Maryland state line about 3/4 mile to the west. Tommy viewed the fox away, but he couldn't get to the pack in time to hold them up. It is still deer season(just muzzleloader) in MD, and that fox took the hounds right into a woods where there were some deer hunters. Oops... Meanwhile, the main pack continued on behind the other fox, apparently giving good chase for the next hour. I wouldn't know, because I spent the entire time guarding a dirt road in Maryland as Bobby, Freddy, and I tried to 1) break the 4 couple and 2) keep their pilot from crossing a dirt road that ran through the middle of the woods. The deer hunters were on the west side of that dirt road. Actually, we WANTED the fox to cross that road- we were there and ready to break them, should he do so. (The covert they were running in on the east side is flooded and full of briars, making it impossible to get in front of them as they run through it.)
Finally, Freddy was able to get the pack stopped when he viewed the fox break out across a power line cutover. We loaded that bunch and returned to the meet. But by then , the other fox had gone to
ground, and that chase was over.
By the time those hounds were called away from hole and heads were counted, it was nearing 10am. I had both my bitches loaded in Bobby's truck.( I left Marney home,since she had run two consecutive days' after being up in kennels for 3 weeks. And Sara is just now coming out of heat. She will be back out on Boxing Day) I needed to be leaving for home by 11am. And although I knew I'd hear alot of ribbing by the others, I had no plans to let their feet touch the ground again! Wise decision, since it wasn't until 10:20 that the next fox was jumped. I was now back in my own hound truck, but the reunited pack was trailing their fox just enough that i wasn't able to get my bitches out of Bobby's . I gave him the evil eye twice when he threatened to turn them back out on me!
I hadn't viewed a fox all morning. I decided to stick around for a few extra minutes when I heard over the radio that this newest pilot was running hard and in a woods not too far from another highway. While all of the other hunters stayed on the east side of the hunted country, I drove to the north side, by the road. A farm lane allowed me to drive away from the highway and get a hundred yards closer to where their fox was running. Another good decision: only seconds later, a big, beautiful light red fox broke covert running parallel to the road, across the emerald green wheat field. He ran to the farm lane,then turned and ran the lane away from me. I watched him disappear back into another woods to the west.
That was a great view, and worth waiting around for. I tally ho'd over the radio, and warned the fellas they should move around to the northwest side of the covert, quickly!
I waited and watched as the pack worked the line until they disappeared from my view, then sat tight for a few more minutes, just in case Charles decided to make another round. He didn't. But I was glad I stayed put because 5 minutes later Patty, Tommy's old bitch, trailed up behind. By the time she got into the middle of the green field, she was upwind and couldn't locate the pack. I ran and got to her, loaded her and took her to Tommy. By now it close to 11:30, and I hated leaving during the best chase of the day, but had no other option. House cleaning, then company, awaited at home.
That last fox went to ground about a half hour later, so I didn't miss all that much!
A cleaned house, company for the traditional Italian feast of the 7 fishes , and candlelight Christmas church service at 11pm with my 84 yo mom rounded out the day. And a great present this morning: sleeping in until 7am!!
No comments:
Post a Comment