Too windy for the puppies, but not for the foxes!

Our first fox of the morning

Marilyn, doing her job!

... at 5:15am, as I was having my coffee,a sudden noise and shudder rocked the house that lasted about 5-6 seconds.  It sounded like a train, but  it was a single gust of wind. One huge blow that actually shook the windows!  Since the weather forecast showed  20-30 mph  sustained winds already in some local areas, I determinded right then that Reilly would not be hunting today.  A quick phone conference between Tommy,Bobby and I confirmed that all puppies would remain in kennels . Their next time out will have to wait until Wednesday.

All the way to the meet, the sky was dark and ominous and the wind was gusting-so unusual here before sunrise.

A gloomy, windy morning as I sorted hounds

This is at 6:30 am

And  these two  were taken right before sunrise.Looking west here.

..And looking east , here.  A heavy , low bank of clouds!

  However, once we got into the woods for  the first draw and subsquent chase , the wind wasnt much of  a problem.  The fox was jumped by Reno and Sara  (she is feeling much better this week!) at 8:31, and ran for just over an hour before going to ground .  All 12 couple  were on at the hole located on the edge of the woods on the upwind side. But  it was clear as we loaded the hounds that the wind was, indeed, going to be an issue for the rest of the morning.

Our second draw yielded another handsome red  at  about 10:10. This one preferred to run in the open quite a bit, and I missed getting to see two long runs over open fields because I  had guessed incorrectly as to where this fox would head.  Tommy radioed to me that Sara was running second over the open!!!  She's definitely responding to the Doxy treatment for Lyme's. ( And I've got a big bottle on hand, because the ticks are the worst I've seen in a long time, and no doubt I'll be treating another hound or two before the summer is out.) .  At  about 10:45,  as  I was heading towards cry , I almost ran over a mangy fox as he crossed the road in front of me.  Hounds were coming on this one- a tag-team manuever by the quarry had been executed.

By now,  the wind was getting ridiculous.I have video of the hounds running the fox I viewed  as they crossed the road and ran downwind of us across some open cornfields.  But the wind is so deafening that I didnt bother posting it.  At 11 am, we dsecided we would break the pack at the first opportunity, while all hounds were still together.  At 11:10, Bobby and I managed to get into position ahead of the pack- without viewing the fox-and got them stopped. All were on. Phew, thank goodness for that! Looking for a wayward hound in that roaring wind would not be fun.

Yep, no regrets leaving a horse and puppies at home for this one!

This video has some footage of Bobby and my hounds making the find, and our first fox on the move:

The bottom video is just the fox, for those not interested in watching the hounds