Saturday and Sunday

  Saturday:
A hard frost coated the fields in white as 12 1/2 couple got their first pilot up and running at 7:29am. At 7:45, I viewed a huge fox break away  over a wheat field on the north side of the covert. He made a bee-line for an earth  located only a couple of hundred yards away in the middle of the field, and popped right in.  It was a pretty view of a bright orange-red fox over the frosty white field, with the rising sun shining brightly on his coat. Nope, didnt get the camera out in time.  Meanwhile, the hunted fox ran the pack  round  and round  the gravel pit (now over grown with briars and pines)  for 45 minutes before going to ground. As we were walking in to bring hounds out, another fox was viewed running the edge of the woods away from us.  Hounds found this one on their own,  and pushed him down the branch, across the dirt road at the Party Bridge and on into Gegg's branch.  He crossed over the "Delaware field" setting his mask towards the Whitely Woods.  Once there, the hounds split for awhile, running the thickly overgrown briars and cutover pines for over an hour.  Finally, Charles left the Whitely Woods with all hounds on  and made his way back into Gregg's branch.  He went to ground in an earth on the south side of the branch at 11 am.   Since all hounds were on, and  I  wanted to get a horse out during the afternoon ( it was warm, 57 degrees, and a cold rain/snow event was being forecast for Sunday),  I  took my bitches and  went home.

Since the Whitely Woods fox did'nt show himself much, Freddy, Bobby and Jeff decided they would go after a fox that Bobby and I had viewed  crossing the field behind Mr. Fred's house 2 1/2 hours earlier.  Freddy was certain that this one would run in the open, and he was right.  The guys' jumped this fox in the "Back Woods"  about 10 minutes after I left. That fox  ran  the open straight away to Collison's and they had to break the hounds when they were headed for  "forbidden" country.  Their chase  was over before I  even got home. I was glad I left when I did, as it enabled  me  to get a 3 hour ride in on Mel .

Sunday dawned overcast, without a frost.  But the temp was 35 degrees , and  a cold , damp Northeast wind was to blow 10-20mph.  It was a stark contrast to Saturday's weather.

Hounds wasted no time in finding  their first pilot behind George's chicken houses at  7:15am.  Curtis and I were just pulling up to the meet as Freddy's ,Bobby's and Jeff's hounds opened  in the "little branch" behind
George's chicken houses.  Curtis  drove back to where the others had turned out to hark his hounds.  I opted to make haste to George's Lane,and was rewarded with a nice view of  the hunted fox as he ran the edge of the woods  away from the chicken houses.   I harked my bitches from the lane.  They had a long hark across a wheat field,  catching up with the pack as they broke covert and ran the edge down.  (Well done, girls!!!)

Now there were 15 1/2 couple in full cry  pushing their fox across the "overgoin' and on into the "Big Branch", where he went to ground after a 70 minute chase .  Hounds were loaded and quickly taken to the woods behind Ricky's house.  Another fox was roused at about  8:50.  This one ran  around the woods behind Allen's  then  crossed over Baker Rd to enter the Big Branch at George's Pond.    After a quick swing around the pond,this fox either went in or a switch was made.  There was a check lasting for about 2 minutes.  When the fox on the video cuts the wheat field,  that happened only a few minutes after the check:

 We're pretty sure the fox we viewed was not the fox found in Ricky's woods, since this one ran a completely different pattern. Hounds had a lot of trouble footing this one, and were never able to really get up on it hot. ( I think it was a vixen, because the hair on her sides was pulled off-her sides look black in the video, and I dont think she wanted to leave the pond since there is a large den there.)   There is a lot of black swamp mud in the branch behind the pond, and  this fox just kept creeping back and forth through it.   We finally got tired of her game and broke the pack.   When the hounds emerged from the swamp, we could barely distinguish them- they were all covered in thick ,black mud!

Loaded once more, and with Freddy determined to find a fox that would stay up, we now headed to the "Back Woods" hoping to  find the fox within  that had run in the open the previous day. (After I had left for home).   Bobby and I walked our hounds in on the east side while Freddy  and Jeff walked theirs in on the west end. Within a few seconds, a fox was  viewed running the woods' edge . Freddy's hounds began to tongue,and just as we attempted to hark our hounds to his, another fox popped out right behind Bobby and  me.  This one was FLYING , and headed towards the open wheat fields in the direction of Collisons.  No hounds came on him. Our pack was running a fox out the north side of the Back Woods, across  Ellwanger  rd, and on to Greggs Branch (sheesh-I did NOTwant to end up in that covert again!)  But today, the fox stayed within Gregg's woods, never breaking covert  and going to ground at 11:15am.  By the time we got the last hound in the truck, it was after 11:30am..  Bobby and I had  had enough.  Freddy, still not satisfied, went back to the gravel pit where we had jumped our first fox  yesterday.

At 3pm, Bobby called  to tell me that Freddy  and Jeff were still  hunting hounds. They had jumped a f ox that left the country and ran  north clear to the Carter Woods.  LOL! I was SO glad I had  opted out of that last cast, as I was sitting by the fire, sipping a glass of wine!