Enough already

.....I'm sick of it. Sick and tired of this humidity. I can stand the heat, but this morning it was 70F with 88% humidity when we drew the corn. Like a sauna. Not quite as bad as last Saturday, but close. I did a lot of running on foot, in the dark, keeping Charlie in the corn where we wanted him to stay. The mosquitoes are really bad right now, so a long-sleeved top is a necessity. I had grabbed a heavy cotton cable knit sweater to throw on over my shirt - the weather report SAID it was going to be about 65 for a low, but it neglected to mention how much moisture would be in the air. I was so hot, but taking off the sweater was just not an option due to the bugs. The moon was high overhead, no longer full, but illuminating the country as if God was shining down a flashlight. At 5:15 when we unkenneled, we could see every hound. A fox had been close not long before our arrival, and all the hounds were smelling him. I was keeping a close eye on Lark, expecting her to open first, but Part-Time beat her to it. Part-Time jumped the fox at 5:33am, and Lark and the rest of Bobby and my hounds were in full cry in seconds. Freddie and his dad were just pulling up to their point on the irrigation lane that runs right through the middle of the field. He was upwind ( wind out of the S/SE about 10mph) and could not hear our 51/2 cple. Neither could his hounds. But the fox conveniently made a swing in their direction, and by the time Charlie made his way back towards where we turned out, all hounds were on. Being downwind, Bobby and I could hear the pack as the fox led them on a circuitous route through the corn. Freddie could only hear them when the hounds got close to him, but his vantage point was crucial, and he knows to stay put. If the fox gets across that irrigation lane where he is positioned, it's only a couple of hundred yards to Baker Rd. Our fox made many big swings in the corn, and then started acting like he wanted to go somewhere- either into the branch(mucky wet bottom land within a woods) on the north side or towards George's back lane on the south side. At 6:50 he made a couple tight swings on the south side and then Freddie tally-hoed him as he crossed the irrigation lane. We had already agreed that we would pick up the pack at the first opportunity - they had been running for close to to 1 1/2 hrs, and we knew they'd be hot. Bobby and I flew to the back lane and made a left onto the irrigation lane to get to Freddy. Just as we made the turn, Charlie cooperated by popping out onto the lane. He was running right AT us, between Freddie and us. When the fox saw us, he jumped back into the corn, back to the side where he had been circling for so long. How freakjn' lucky was that??! We were right there when the pack poured into the lane, and it didn't take much to convince them to quit. All on!! All so very, very hot!! We made a bee-line for the overgoin' ( see last blog post for definition!), backed the hound truck right up to the waters' edge and dropped the tailgate. I so much wanted to join those hounds as they splashed around in that cool water. But I had a customer to meet @ 7:30 am in the nearby town for a blanket pickup, and mixed company made that NOT an option anyway. Got home, put hounds up, changed into dry clothes and loaded Mel for a hack at Redden. Sun beating down, no breeze at all, and the temp reading 84. Huh. , the high was not to get above 80. We got through it, both of us soaking, sopping sweaty by the end of only an hours' ride. Sick of it. The long-awaited cold front is supposed to arrive within the next few hours, and the low tonight is forecast to be 50. I'll believe it when I stop sweating.