Good Friday Hunt

A waning gibbous and the first rays of the rising sun combined to create   a pretty picture from my farm as i loaded hounds this morning:

... I've missed some  entries to the blog, but I've just not had time to up load pics and video and write a report.   Maybe the next rainy day I will go back....nah!

Today , 14 couple met at the County House woods.  My Marney initially got the first noseful of fox # 1 and although she opened several times, the others didnt hear her (or chose to ignore her, lol) .  About 3 minutes later,  more hounds began to tongue, and the rest joined in.  It was 8:15am.   Calm winds ( as evidenced by the hot air balloon i stopped to photograph on my way to the meet):

and a cloudless sky made for a pretty morning.  This first red was content to stay within the County House woods, and was viewed crossing the dirt road that runs through it several times. (But not by ME, since I had my butt out guarding the highway side).  I did view Charles one time as he ran the edge of the woods next to a wheat field, but i couldnt get the camera on in time.  However, I did get the hounds as they checked in the field and recovered the line back into the woods.  You will see and hear the traffic on  the video, and understand why I feel the need to stay out there.

At 9:11,  Charles popped into an earth behind Douggie Gray's pole building. We heard the pack shut up cold, but couldnt see them. A  few seconds later, we did notice Douggie in his golf cart ,riding away from the pole barn and towards his house, several hundred feet away.  The  the entire pack of hounds was  running along behind him..  Thank goodness Douggie welcomes the hounds ( and my horse) over
his property, lol! :




Douggie, landowner and   pied piper of hounds, on the far left.  My hunting buds  are thanking him for gathering the hounds for us, lol!

 Hounds were loaded and moved upwind where the second fox of the morning was located near Geisels chicken houses.This one ran the woods behind the chicken houses, but  for only a short time. He broke out onto the dirt road , then crossed into Miller's Branch. But  he didnt stay there long, either. Unseen , he exited the woods onto the dirt road again and ran it several hundred feet before turning west.  Since no one viewed  Charles run the road, we didn't know where he went. It tok a coupleminutes, but the hounds figured it out- see the video.   This fox ran through  the Baker Woods before hounds had a loss in the middle of a wheat field about 1/2 hour after the video sequence.