October 1st - Foxchasing in Delaware

Mel, happy to be back as hunt horse #1 again!

Harvest Moon setting , 7:15am @ the meet

The season in Delaware opened on Monday. However, because muzzleloader season starts Oct. 5 and runs unti Oct. 16, we really only have the first few days of the month to run hounds...

11 couple met at Cy Haines' old homestead at 7:30am.  Present were my 2 1/2cple, Bobby's 3 1/2 cple and Larry's 5 cple. Larry's PMD's are much bigger than ours, and I was curious to see how our new entry would interact during  their first encounter with them.

I was out on Mel, and Shirley was along on General.  Hounds were walked down the lane behind the old homestead .  On either side of the lane lies some very sad looking soybeans.  I had ridden here the day before and was pleased to see fox scat in many different areas of the state land, including where we started the draw.  Hounds began to tongue a bit on the lane, and then continued on into the beans.  It sounded as if we might have a quick hit at first, but sadly, it was not to be.  Once in the bean field (it really has mostly weeds), the pack cast themselves throughout the field.    A fox had most definitely been here, but they just couldnt seem to get the line sorted out. Some hounds drifted on to the adjacent covert, and we let them hunt on. A few opened, but nothing came of that, either.  There was a lot of nose-to-the -ground feathering going on, all over the place!  We had some hounds  tonguing in the woods , but the main pack ( 8 1/2cple) ,kept going back to that same spot in the bean field. There was a tall patch of grass right where they kept dwelling, and at first I thought there might be an earth within it. But no, I couldnt see any hole when I rode up to inspect it.  Most likley, a fox might have been napping there during the night.

Anyhoo,  after about an hour of this  we decided to try another draw in an area of woods a bit north of where we had started.  Again, hounds would open, run for maybe a minute, and then check. This hit and miss nonsense continued for another long hour.  Several times it sounded as if they were about to get on top of thier fox, and then -POOF! , the "chase" ( using that word very loosely, lol!)  would just blow up. 

At about 10am, the pack was still at it-and by now they were up behind the C&R Center building. I was with them when they broke covert out of the woods and ran the edge of a milo field-- it was the best they sounded all morning, and i really thought we were about to have a run.   But once again, it petered out when they entered the covert on the other side of the field. Damn,,,,

Even though we didnt get a fox today, it was a worthwhile time out : I was with the pack most of the time and got to scrutinize my puppy, Reilly.  I am SO PROUD of her!!!  She went right with those strange , big hounds. Her nose was to the ground and she was trying just as hard as the others to find.    And when they could smell and acted as if they might actually begin to run, she was right there in the midst of things.  She knows her  job!  She fills a void left by Lark.

When we broke the pack - not easily accomplished, as they were determined to try to find a fox- I was so proud to have REILLY  be the first hound to come to my horn.  Followed by MARNEY -another happy moment, as she doesnt like to pack up with strange hounds and can be the last one to come in when we hunt with other hounds.

So, a crappy day chase-wise, which really has me stumped.  It is very dry  in this country, but there had been some rain the night before, followed by a clearing sky with the full Harvest moon.  It was a cool 50 degrees, with a calm wind to be out of the W/NW.  One would think the conditions would be ideal. Could the foxes have been on the prowl all night, hunting under the full moon, and back in their dens? Dunno- but I know they are there, and we will try again later this week.  This time, it will just be 6 cple -my hounds and Bobby's.  More rain is forecast for Tuesday .  Conditions for our next hunt here will be alot warmer and very humid.  Should be interesting to see what happens!

O- my camera is in Bobby's hound truck, so the pics Shirley took wont be up until after the next  hunt.
And my helmet cam isnt working. ...didnt matter today, however, I would have lliked to have had some video of  what I saw of Reilly.