Saturday, December 29, 2012

4 hours on 4 foxes - December 28

...12 couple met at 8:30am under clearing skies that had dumped over 2 1/2 inches of rain on Boxing Day.  (I dont think any packs on the east coast got out on 12/26.)  

Copious amounts of standing water lay everywhere and  plans to take a horse had to be scrapped.  It would turn out to be a busy day on foot and in the trucks....


We ran 4 foxes in 4 hours.  I am writing this too long afterwards, and the chases are running into one another in my mind.  I recall a long, long run in the open  - on either the first or second pilot- and I was the only one with the hounds to enjoy it.   It was around 10:45 when the best fox of the morning got on the move, however.  This fellow:

must have been visiting  a lady-friend at the pony shed where he was
roused because he left that area in a hurry,taking the pack on a tour of the countryside as he headed south.  He covered an impressive  amount of country in the 90 minutes hounds pressed him.  Twice he threatened to cross Hickman Rd ( a boundary we cant allow hounds to  cross) , and twice the guys were sucessful in heading him back.  But this fellow was determined to get to the Hickman woods ( 2000 acres) and out-foxed  ( pun intended!)  us on his third attempt.  It was now after 12pm, and we had no clue  as to where this fox was headed next.

(I had really hoped to be home by 1pm to keep a 2pm appintment , but that hope  had evaporated when the guys headed this pilot the second time at Hickman rd.  All hounds were on, the fellas knew they couldn't let hounds run on the other side, and yet rather than break them right there at the road, they turned the fox and then let the hounds keep running . Sheesh....)

It was only a matter of time before that fox was going to get across -once a fox decides it wants to go somewhere, it's pretty hard to change his mind!

Diana was looking out for us .   About 15 minutes after they crossed into the Hickman woods, Freddy viewed the fox cross Burrsville road .  He was less than 1/2 mile from busy Rt. 16.  We don't know where that fox was headed next, but there was no discussion this time about what to do with the pack.  I got to Freddy first, grabbed my pistol and ran into the field where he was trying to hold up the hounds alone. Two shots in the air got them stopped . Jeff and Bobby arrived as we were jogging the pack out to the road.  It was12:30, but I  still couldn't make my 2pm appointment- I had cancelled it as soon as that fox got turned the second time, lol!


My camera's battery died as I was trying to capture the hounds as they ran the lane up behind the fox on the video.  I exhausted the memory card, and normally dump minutes of useless footage as the day progresses, but this day was just too  hectic.  So the video here is just a montage of some of the hounds working - and one very beautiful, very cunning fox.


Just the clip of the fox running towards me


And here is the montage :

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