Foggy,Foggy Morning

The entire drive to the meet was in fog with less than 1/4 mile visibility

At the meet, 8am, waiting for the fog to lift

video is self explanatory, lol!
 

 Well, I typed a long accounting of the days events, and then hit a mystery key. POOF! it was all gone. I didnt know that could happen with this blogpage.  Damn.

So , short version:
Foggy as hell at 7:30am, so we were forced to wait an hour and a half. Hounds didnt get on the ground until 9:10am. 10cple, still foggy, SEwind,  as we drew the woods.T emp was 38 @ 7:15am, and was still in the low 40s when we began. 

By 11am when we were done,  the temp had risen to  70 degrees.  I had begun the morning wearing 4 layers on top, and by the time we finished, I was down to one.  And I was very glad I had clipped both of my horses the day before. (Full body clip on Mel, just Rap's belly and chest, as he keeps a short coat ).



Part Time opened a couple of times, then shut up.  My Marney opened a couple times, then she shut up.  I  rode forward to find the two of them with 3 of Larry's hounds, feathering but not saying anything. I  followed them for  a couple hundred yards as they left the woods and tried to trail along a cutover corn field., but when they got close to a marshy area and it didnt look promising , I turned them back  to the others still in the woods.   As I rode back towards the covert being drawn, I saw  3 cple  running the edge of the woods down towards a culvert. My Sara  ( the only lemon hound) was in front,but not saying anything.  All of them had sterns going a mile a minute,and moments later Larry's hound running right behind Sara began to tongue. She joined in, followed by the other 4.   I watched as they trailed into the woods by the culvert and  before I could finish  my sentence, "they're about to go runnin' !" over the radio, the rest of the pack was harking.  



 What followed was  a blur.  Three foxes were roused at the same time, with the pack splitting thusly:  2 1/2 on  one, 6 1/2 cple on the second, and one couple on the third. All three foxes ran west, all three crossed over the same paved  road,but at different   places. One fox ran down  the  middle of  the road  for at least a hundred yards before ducking towards some chicken houses.



Two of  the three foxes came back and hounds were gathered at the road.. The last two hounds, which turned out to be my Marilyn and Marney running the third fox,came to my horn running  from behind the chicken houses, across a field and to where I waited on the road.  Hounds were hot, I was hot (I had shed layers along the road,, throwing them to trucks as I went by, lol!).It was enough for everyone.  I had a loonnggg hack back to my trailer, where hounds were sorted.   Rap was wonderful, crossing  a rickety wooden bridge  ( he HATES bridges).  Good boy!

My Sara is the only lemon hound

following the 3 cple right before they hit




Using 30 yo , very heavy clippers,  here is Mel during the Tuesday clipping session only halfway done. Rap is awaiting his turn, on the left.  My arms, hands, &  shoulders ached afterwards, I'm  getting too old for this !