Foiled by the Irrigation Pumps

Pivot Irrigation.  The pump house for this irrigation is located at the pond behind the cornfield where we have been cubbing. The noise drowns out everything else....There was a second pivot running across the road, which doubled the amount of noise.

....it was 63 degrees with high humidity and no wind when Bobby and I cast the hounds at 6:50am this morning. But we almost didn't bother turning out, and in retrospect, we shouldn't have even bothered. But Curtis had come out to guard the road for us, and I had made the 35 minute drive after arising at 4:30am, so I wasn't about to just turn around and go home.

The irrigation was running in all of the soybean fields that surround the corn, and one of the pumps, located at the pond where our fox likes to linger, was making so much noise that we couldn't hear when Part-time opened on a fox. He was ahead of the others, and they couldn't hear him, either. Bobby did a swing around the corn while I stayed close to where we turned out. I could just barely hear Part-time, but Bobby, closer to the pump amd closer to where the hound was running, could not. Curtis, located farthest from Part-time, could hear him the best, since he was also farthest away from the pump.

By 7:30, we had all of the hounds save Party loaded. Bobby moved back up closer to where we turned out, while I positioned myself closer to the driveway of the house (and farther from the pump). Bobby heard the hound tonguing, and it was moving towards him. When the voice got closer, Bobby cracked his whip with hopes of breaking a hard-headed hound that he couldn't even see. Party kept right on speaking, and kept right on coming towards the path where Bobby stood. The sound of the whip had turned the fox, because Party ran into the lane and then did a quick turn around to head back into the corn.But Bobby was close enough to get to him and get him stopped. There was a quick discussion as to what to do: turn the pack out, or quit. Had there been more help, we would have let the hounds chase. But the chances of them getting away from us (and into the path of morning traffic on the paved road) was too great, given the noise from the pumps.

I won't even count this as a time out for my hounds - just chalk it up as hound exercise. However, the sunrise was worth getting up for: