...55 degrees F at 7:15am as Shirley and I drove to the meet. It was expected to reach almost 70 degrees today. The winds, which began blowing yesterday and did not relent much overnight, were already gusting 25mph, and were to be howling at 30-40mph by mid-morning. Knowing this, I had made the decision last night to leave my hounds in the kennel and just have a fun day riding the others' hounds with company. After losing Lark on the highway on Monday, I just needed to have a worry-free hunt today.
Therefore, , an abbreviated pack of 7 1/2 couple moved off at 8am. It took TWO HOURS (!!!) to find a fox. Glad I wasnt the one making the draws on foot, lol! (Could the full moon last night have played a part? Or are the foxes just smart enough to stay in out of the wind,?!) Maybe a combination of both....
At 10:05, hounds finally pushed a fox out of the woods near the Delaware/Maryland state line. He gave the pack a nice run in a circle around Taggler's gate, crossing over the dirt lane that leads to the gate at least 4 times. He also ran the middle of the paved road twice. When Charles made his run down the blacktop the second time, a quick decision was made to pick up the hounds. It was just after 11am, and the wind was beginning to blow incredibly hard ( you will hear it on the video!). And although the hounds had only been in pursuit of quarry for just over an hour, they had been on the ground for three.
Shirley and I had a great time enjoying the ride for the first two hours, and then enjoying the hunt for the last one. And I was really glad that I left my hounds at home this one time.
Tomorrow will be another "puppy hunt" with the new entry. This time, all four youngsters will be out now that Tommy is back from vacation. Lordy, please let it go as well as it did last time!
While uploading from the camera, I realized I had video of Lark and Tommy's front two hounds running the fox on Monday, taken only 10minutes before she was hit on the road. Those three front hounds were screaming on that fox. But I havent been able to watch it yet.
This is video from today, showing the hunted fox running towards Shirley and me, ( but he didnt get not quite as close as that fox on the video from last week.) Helmet cam and Nikon.
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