..it was cold enough that we delayed the draw until 9:30am. It was 26 degrees and the ground was frozen .
Jeff joined us with his 4 couple, which made a total of 12 couple for the hunt. (My 2 1/2, Bobby's 3 1/2 and Tommy's well-rested and well-fed 4 couple).
Radio opened on the fox at 9:45am. For the next two hours, this red fox gave us a great chase with much of the running in the open. He would bust through the coverts briefly only to emerge to run over the open fields repeatedly. He crossed one wheat field 4 times in almost the exact same place!
This is a healthy, BIG red,and he flew across those fields without ever seeming to tire. He was so fast that I didnt always get there in time to get the camera on him, but I was always able to get the hounds.
Reno's cold nose recovered the line when the fox ran a road about a mile away from that wheat field. None of us were there to see where the fox had gone but Bobby and I arrived as the hounds spilled out onto the pavement. Hounds cast themselves all around the road and the grassy areas bordering it. I was able to video as Reno recovers the line only a couple feet in front of me.It's impressive hound work, but you gotta love watching hounds to appreciate it I guess. I do! ( Reno, by the way, sustained a fractured leg 2 seasons ago. I kept her at my kennel that summer for her rehab , and while in my care she came in heat so we bred her to Twister. When Lark got killed on the road a few months later , Bobby gave Reno to me . In my book, Reno is one tough , good bitch.!)
Finally, a little before noon, our fox got turned in another open field as he was headed on his 5th trip around the countryside. He made a sudden change to his path and headed west towards the Maryland state line. We broke the hounds because we didnt want them getting into that area. But I wish he had'nt been turned-we would have liked to have seen how many more times he planned on making that circuit. Hopefully,we'll find that fox again.
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