WARNING: This is gonna be a LONG one. Had a great time in the field yesterday with Jack, Zoe, Hannah, Karel, BOGette, Woodg, HG, Raylene, landowner, Avery, and his son, Maddy. I wasnt sure what would happen with the dogs since the last time we were out with them, Jack nailed Hannah (long-haired mini-dachshund) on the head. While that was a very stressful time, Jack didnt hurt her at all--no blood, no wounds, just a firm grab and hold. To her credit, Hannah handled it like a pro...she wimpered and yelped, but didnt run away. In the meantime, Ive done as much work as possible with all three of them, but there wasnt any clear indication whether it would happen again, or not. I decided yesterday was the day to try again. I did two more tests, with another planned for the field. I got Jack out of the giant hood and leashed him to the roof rack of the Jeep, then brought the dogs out on leashes. He had no reaction whatsoever, so we walked all three of them into the field (away from the road) and we let Zoe go first (off the leash). No reaction. Then it was Hannahs turn. Again, no reaction. So it was time to release Jack. Holding my breath against a replay of the head grab, I readied myself and let Jack go. He went right up into a tree and started hunting. YEE HAW!! Seems my thought that he was getting back at Hannah for the time back in Colorado when both Zoe and Hannah rushed his perch area every time I picked him up to weight and feed him. He got Zoe back in Colorado, and since Zoe was the more aggressive of the two coming into his perch area, he really nailed her, talon underneath her eye and up through her chin with blood--but no serious injury--just looked really bad! Now, hed splained to Hannah his displeasure about that behavior and it was time to go hunting again! DELIGHT!!! In these fields, we REALLY need the dogs. The cover is so thick theres NO way we humans can do it (except for Avery and Maddy who can go right through this thick stuff. Reality is I cant.) Both dogs had to play around a little bit before getting down to business. Hannah got serious quicker, while Zoe had to do some running, just for the pure joy of running. I get that. Soon, both of them were working the field. There were bunny tracks in the first area of brush, but to really get in there, I needed the pole perch for Jack. I cant manage that and I didnt bring it (I needed to focus on the issue with the dogs), so we walked onward, Hannah and Maddy running under and through the heavy stuff and Zoe working the edges. As usual, Jack followed beautifully, paying way more attention to the dogs and Maddy--hes no dummy. He knows whos more likely to produce game! Other than a few flights/dives on voles, we didnt see anybody and got to the area of the field most likely to hold rabbits reasonably quickly. There we saw rabbit tracks, rabbit poop and an area likely to hold rabbits. Avery worked one corner, but no bunny, even though he crashed right through the multi-flora rose thicket. We kept forging onward, and while Jack did a couple of beautiful wings-folded dives, he kept coming up empty. The dogs searched the field diligently, but it was Raylene who flushed the vole Jack caught ;-) YAY Raylene! Youve officially joined the pack of hawkin dogs!! YIPPEE! While Jack enjoyed his warm, juicy vole, the dogs kept looking and found another area where there was a vole, but they never found the actual vole. We headed down farther in the field where the brush was really thick. When the dogs find a scent, both of them will yelp (in delight), and when they did that, Jack perched atop the tree above them. While I stayed above, waiting to see whether Id need to go down there or not (remembering that gravity works both downhill AND uphill), even Karel ventured down close to the action. Alas, no joy. Onward we go, flying Jack to BOGettes fist since she was sick the last time we did that and she missed it. Upward through the bog of snow melt (wet) and thats where Hannah ran into some trouble. Shed already collected burdock in her tail, on her ears and on her belly, but the watery stuff really caused problems. Being a long-haired doxie, the feathering includes between the pads on her paws, too. When her paws got wet, they collected big snowballs between her pads. By the time we got to the top of that step on that part of the field, she couldnt walk. Enter Woodg as SuperMan!! While I can pick Hannah and Zoe up, Im unable to do anything about moving them to a cradled position without dropping them...thats very bad. Getting rid of those ice balls was a whole nother matter. Tried to chip them, no. Tried to squeeze them, no--but would have been easier with my pliers! Wait! Ive got hemostats that are kinda close to pliers. That worked marginally well. All the while, Hannahs shivering and Jack is waiting patiently in the tree above...hes good. Hes had a fresh vole! And its obvious that little Zoe is pretty tuckered out, too (along with the rest of us). We continued onward, BOGette did some serious flushing, too! Ive SERIOUSLY corrupted her...LOL! I mean, not only that but BOGette killed a MOUSE for hawk food for pitys sake! Who would EVER have imagined THAT? LOL!! My knees (especially the right one) were screaming, so we flew Jack to Woodgs fist, just for another birthday present. Then Maddy took the glove and Jack flew to his fist, too. Maddys only seven (soon to be eight--the day after Christmas) and the look of delight on his face...well, just WOW! Darkness was closing in, so onward back to the Jeep. Even though Jack had that fresh vole and about a dozen tidbits along the way, he kept following, knowing that there would be a nice meal when we got back to the Jeep. Once Jack and the dogs were settled, BOGette, Karel, Woodg and HG unveiled their gifts--a hat from the pheasant farm for me and Raylene!! YAY!! AND the mouse! LOL! While were having a lot of fun with Jack, its not good that all we see here are voles. Sadly, Jack is now focusing on those because thats all hes seeing. The rabbit tracks/poop were good to see yesterday, however, there cant be more than three or four rabbits in that field...VERY sad. Im used to seeing major rabbit tracks, seriously trampled down the day after a snowfall. Thats not happening here. Were not seeing squirrels, either (which is NOT bad with Jack, but Mariah?). Im pretty heartbroken about the hunting opportunities here. Getting Mariah out isnt much of an option. The number of small rodents shes caught in the last 20 years can be counted on one hand. She just doesnt care about those when there are rabbits, squirrels and other quarry available. I see her getting REAL frustrated REAL quick. And thats bad for me! She will hold ME accountable for that! While Jack catching voles is cute and all, Im really disheartened/depressed about what Im seeing here. SIGH! All that said, Im delighted to be out in the field again. Last year was pretty awful for me! Thankfully, Abby Duvall kept Jack flying, but the rest of us were grounded. ACK! This year is different and thats good! For those of you who made it this far, you deserve a medal! LOL!
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 17:35:28 +0000