Catch and release!

Our storm is still with us and intensifying. So we left earlier than normal to try to catch something before the wind and rain got to us. It was just a bit above freezing when we started and I wanted to hurry and get something going so that I could quit before the winds and rain could start. I was covering a lot of ground and seeing very little. I kept pushing all the way to the top of the terrain that I usually hunt, about a 1/2 mile in total, without seeing very much at all.

Hope was getting desperate, and flew down and grabbed a empty Potato Chip bag, but someone had eaten all of them, so she eventually gave up on it.

I met Karen, following along in the car, telling her that we weren't finding much.  She stated that they were hiding. Duh! Why didn't I think of that? I slowed down to a crawl, and found three in a little over 100 yards. Hope even caught one of them but got scraped off on a Sage.

We snuck even slower, slipping and stopping about every 20 yards. I came up over a lava lump very quietly, and Hope flashed off the T perch down into a shallow crevice, plowing right into the back of a Bobcats head, driving him face first into the ground. I yelled as loud as I could, and she let him go, and went back onto one of the lips of the crevice about 4 feet away. I'm holding my breath, but the cat, (Looked like a yearling of about 20 lbs. They are mostly legs so he was about 2 feet tall.)  just took off like he was embarrassed, and disappeared under the fence. She had landed on one of the Lava formations next to a Bobcat there last year, and got away with that as well. After I got over my immediate adrenaline rush and fear that she was going to disappear over the hill in a Cats mouth, I began to laugh as the events began to replay in my mind. Thinking of the poor Cat seeing me loom up on the skyline, turning to run then getting slammed in the back of the head by 8 needles connected to a two pound bird going full blast. Its no wonder that he slunk off in as dignified a manner as he could muster.   

The wind started up and it began to rain, so I started back to the car. We came around the Lava formation where she had turned "Tunnel Rat" and dug a Jack out of last year. I wondered if she would remember the occasion. She certainly did and checked it out, just in case.

The rain and wind had increased enough that I decided to feed her. There will be better days. Then again she survived getting bashed into a big Sage and then grabbing a Bobcat. On second thought perhaps we had a better day than I thought.

Photos

The weather service is warning of a serious storm coming through the West for the 20th. so we decided to fly Hope on the 19th before the weather got too bad. We will be on the Southern edge, but it pays to err on the side of caution here. Wind is of course the biggest problem. I went out to get Hope and found that she weighed 920. I am pretty sure that is too heavy for her to be agile enough to catch a Jack, but there is little choice other than to hope for the best.

We went to one of the older fields that I have hunted in the past. It has had Cows on it all fall, and therefore off limits, so I have no idea of the rabbit populations.

Unfortunately it appeared that I was right, she does need to be a little lighter. She tried her best, but couldn't haul her bulk around corners fast enough to get her toes into anything of substance. I hunted for two hours and quit when the wind began to increase in strength.

Here is the only tree in the entire area? that has any fall colors. Of course you can't see all that many trees anyhow. 

This is the sunset on the evening of the 19th.

This is what it looks like this morning. 

"Going to hell in a handbasket"

The title is a direct quote of almost every ones father. At least it is of mine. I can recall clearly mine lamenting the firing of the Sputnik into orbit. " Its going to screw up the weather". I'm not sure but maybe it is responsible for "Global warming"?  There is no doubt that during the time that I have occupied my space in this world there have been a lot of changes, both in thought and material things. Being a lot like my father, (shudder) its best if I just stick to the material things.

At the time of my entry in this world, being self sufficient was a worthy goal. I can fix or build almost anything except cars. I can hunt and shoot straight. I can care and cure the meat that I obtain. I can, if necessary live off the land. Most of the more recent arrivals in this world would be hard pressed to do much of anything to care for themselves or function without a cell phone.

The first toy that I ever saw that caused a mouth open awe within my young mind was a moving "car" that consisted of a thread bobbin ( My Mother sewed our clothes) with a match stick for a fulcrum, a rubber band for power, and a little flat piece of thin soap for lubrication. You could wind it up and set it down and it would move perhaps four feet across the floor. The next one was a little tiny "submarine" that you could put baking soda in a little depression in the bottom. Put it in a fish bowl and it would sink to the bottom. The Soda would react to the water and cause the sub to rise until the bubble got so big that it would roll out the side and the sub would sink again. I got it in a cereal box I think. (Not sure how many of Mom's goldfish perished due to soda contamination.)  Now I have a drone ( that technology has already made obsolete, that will rise to a height, that  I can program on my computer, hover, then land by its self. ) that I use to exercise my Falcon.

I am sure that if you have had time to reflect, without interruption from your cell phone, you have already noticed that the world has changed dramatically in the last decade or so. I have always been in awe of the change that our forefathers went through during the 1900's and the introduction of the automobile. This one, while not yet fully blossomed, will make that change insignificant, in comparison.

Now I have always enjoyed change and have never felt threatened by it, but I am getting a little concerned about my car. I pride myself on my ability to drive. I think driving is being threatened. Soon all of us will have ( shudder) self driving electric cars. Who am I going to yell at?

One of the compromises that we had to make when we decided to move to the remotest part of Oregon was that we would always need to have good reliable transportation. Karen is a bit "high maintenance" as far as her medical condition goes, so every time that our old cars value and our balance owed, match up, I trade it in for a new one. Mechanics are few and far between here. (Consider that our mailing address is Jordan Valley, and the town limits are 52 miles away, and that consists of a service station, cafe, and a motel. )

This spring the payoff matched what we owed on our 2015 Subaru, so we traded it for a 2017 model. Now I really didn't pay all that much attention to all the bells and whistles on it, being more concerned on mileage per gallon, comfortable seats, ( its two hours to Wally World )and room for the hawks and Dogs. Yeah it had "eyesight" front and back as well as the sides. Might be handy as we get older and our attention wanders. Other than that I didn't pay too much attention. Of course it has its "devious, rebellious bitch" in the navigation system that just loves to pretend that she doesn't know what I am asking. I gave up talking to the last one, and I don't intend to start with this one, thank you. So anyway the car handles good, gets good mileage, and is comfortable.

The first indication that there might be more to this thing than I realized was that it makes an irritating noise and an indication in the middle of the speed dial if I even get close to the white line or the dividing line. Well, I conceded that might be a good thing, except that Karen when she drives has a tendency to be a little "jerky" with her steering and the noise keeps me awake.

Then there was the "eyesight" feature. I had thought that was a good thing, right up to the time a tumble weed came rolling across the road and the damn car slammed on the brakes. Then I found out that you can't turn around if there is a Sage bush any where within 12 feet of the rear bumper. I have always been careful to not park over any flammable material when I use the car for Hawking trips, now I have to find a place to park where there is no Sage behind me as well, or I can't get out.

Now I do like the newer cruise control. It has a feature that slows down when you come up on a slower vehicle, and then speeds back up when you go around him. Of course you have to turn on your turn signal or the car makes a rude noise when you cross over the dividing line. It also brakes when you are going down a hill, so that you never go faster than what you set into the cruise control. Of course it fights you a bit when you want to pass and forget to take the cruise control off.

While on a trip and bored as usual, I began to wonder what else some of those buttons were for. It was night, and this car has several choices for headlights. One is on all the time, there are two "auto"positions, and the other goes from "driving" lights that are reduced but still on. So I turned it to one of the Auto and was surprised to see a little Green "headlight" illuminated. I asked Karen if she had ever seen it? and of course she hadn't. It was too dark to dig out the "book", which is the size of a novel. ( real men don't read instructions! That's Karen's job.) So I shrugged and continued on. Soon a car approached from the other direction, and the lights dimmed! After a short "what the hell", the car passed and the lights went to bright again. Of course Oregon is one of those states that want to keep you informed and some of the signs are so big and so reflective that the car thinks that it is another car coming and you go down the road sending out Morse code.

Then on one of our road trips to Richards for Rabbits, I was still trying to find the button that will allow me to back up, and I see a little car with a white line on either side, on the steering wheel. I think " Maybe this will shut the damn thing up about lane changes", so I pushed it on. Nothing! A bit further down the road and I begin flirting with the white line. It still makes noise, but wait, I felt something in the steering wheel. I try it again and yep, there is a nudge away from the line. So I take my hands off the wheel and let it go where it wants. It gets close to the white line and it nudges the car back into the lane. It goes to the yellow line and the same thing happens. I look to Karen and ask if she would like to play cards, and remark that I hope that this thing knows where to turn. Then the cheeky bastard flashes a sign on the dash to "KEEP YOUR HANDS ON THE WHEEL". Must be that broad in the navigation system. At least she didn't yell at me.

I'm still thinking that progress is good, and marveling at all the programming some poor bastard had to do to make all that happen. Then a light goes on in the dash telling me that we have a low tire. So I get out and look. I can't see that anyone is lower than the other ( its very sensitive, perhaps even clairvoyant) so I decide to keep an eye on it. Eventually after about an hour of humping up and down hills, its obvious that it is the left rear tire. I drag out a compressor pump and pump it back up. We did that at least three times during the hunt. We got on back home and I decide to wait until Karen goes to get the mail, ( it comes three times a week. I told you we live a bit remotely) The tire was way down again, so I decided to change it for the little toy tire that you get for a spare, and Karen decided to go to Jordan to get it fixed.

While she was gone I fired up the computer, and find I have an email from the Dealer telling me that "Subaru Starlink" tells them that I have a low tire???????? Nosy bitch ratted me out!  Of course the tire is already changed, but Karen tells me that its now complaining that it is low on Washer fluid, so I put a gallon in it. This morning I get this-

 " We have been notified by Starlink that you are low on windshield washer fluid, we can help you with that."

While all of these things are marvelous innovations that can make our lives easier and even safer, I worry about our kids. Every one of them now has a College education and cannot pour piss out of a boot that has the directions on the heel. Every time I get in my truck which is a 97 model, I have to think, Wait, this one requires participation to safely get somewhere. Our lives are changing and as long as the power for the toys flow, we will be just fine. How are they doing in Puerto Rico with no power and no cell phones? Its really too bad that we, the old ones, cannot see what a mess you guy's are making for yourselves, and if you can remember how to get out of it.

Here wash your mind with these:

Some things still know how to work for a living.



 

# 6

One of the side effects of hunting at 12 Mile Ranch is that the road to there is gravel. Apparently on our last trip I managed to find something to cause a slow leak in my right rear tire. The Subaru is a new one with all the bells and whistles. One of which is a sensor in the tires that indicates when the tire is low. The light came on as we were going down there. No biggie, I also carry a 12 volt pump just for that kind of a problem. While I was out walking, Karen would pump the tire up. When I gave up and we traveled home, I just parked it, intending to pump it up when we next needed the car. The next morning when I turned my computer on I had an email from Subaru that "On Star" had notified them that I needed to fix my tire. :-/

Jessie was down to weight this morning so I ran the drone up high enough so that the lure was hanging at 225 feet. Just another 50 feet higher than the last time, but enough to make her work a bit harder. She had to take another turn and a half to make the height, but did so without any problem at all. Once I got her fed it was time to take Hope hunting.

While I would like some new spots to hunt, they are a bit hard to find, and Hope sometimes suffers by having to hunt areas that I am prospecting that don't carry enough Jacks. So today it was time for the old spots that do have Jacks living there. My truck has been in the shop in Jordan, so the plan was to stop on the way into town and give Hope a chance to grab a meal, then go get the truck.

I changed up my pattern at the field, and she had a flight before I had covered 20 feet. She slammed into the tall Sage and I waited for the scream, but instead I see a wild eyed Jack streaking through the Sage. Another 30 yards, and she was off again, slicing into the Sage about 50 yards away. I could hear the Jack grunting as he zigged and zagged off to some safer Sage. Another 75 yards and she was diving into some large Sage. Three tries, no Jacks. We then had a short dry spell. We were skirting  some tall Sage, and a Jack broke cover about 15 feet to our left. Hope was off in a flash and grabbed him in the butt, then scrambled up his body and secured his head.

I'm sorry that there isn't more pictures, but being by myself it just isn't possible or fair to either Hope or the Jack that has both her feet stuck in his various body parts.

I killed him, and gave Hope the cup full of tidbits, while I was trying to pull off a front leg. She straightened up and released her feet. When the cup was empty, I put a front leg in the cup and she stepped off to eat it. I bagged the Rabbit and put him in my bag. I was waiting for her to finish the first leg, having another front leg in my fist. She kept watching me,so I offered her my fist. She came to the fist with her other leg in one foot. Then she bated back towards the ground. I let her go, and picking up my perch I walked on off through the Sage back towards the car. I stopped about 25 yards away and out of sight. Soon she jumped up off the ground and began flying to me with the rabbit leg in her beak. I let her land, and this time she stayed on the fist eating as I walked.

I tried several other spots just with the Dogs, and still am not finding any thing worth trying. Its just going to be hard time this year.

Too good to be true!

On a good note, Jessie is doing quite well. She seems strong and is getting stronger. For the last two days she has been making only one and a half circles to enable her to climb the 150 feet for the lure. They are pretty small circles as well. She is building muscle. She is also quite nice this year as well. Enough so I had Karen check her band number to make sure it was the same bird. She appears plenty strong so I programmed the Drone to take the lure to 200 feet the next time she flies. It should go pretty fast over the next week or so.

We took Hope on the 12th to 12 mile ranch, and she caught the first Jack that jumped, and I posted that flight. We got back home earlier than usual with her early kill, and had time to fly Jessie on the drone. I finished updating the Blog and was looking at the computer. The dogs were outside. Josie suddenly started barking in the front yard. I looked and Josie was barking at a full grown "Dog" Coyote just a few feet outside the yard. He was watching her while I slipped the barrel of the .17 out of a bedroom window.

I still had time to skin him out and get him started drying. I am a bit confused by his actions. All the local Coyotes give this place a wide berth, or die. This guy was at least a couple of years old. His teeth had a bit more than 3/16 inch worn off them. Of course there was a cold front coming in, but still I was surprised that he ignored obvious habitation. Not normal for Coyotes, they are generally much too smart for that. He also had a lot of cockle burrs in his neck fur. We really don't have any close to the house. Perhaps he came from the ranch next door, they haven't bothered the Coyotes for at least two years in the hopes that they would trim down the rabbit population. Well that has happened in spades, not all the credit can go to the Coyotes however.

Friday the 13th:
Today was supposed to be a quiet day. A day of rest.

Well I rested all right, and spent a lot of time in the Hot tub and Sauna. We didn't get a lot of snow, just enough to get the grasses all wet and frozen. The birds got to go in the shop for the night for the first time  since April.

Sat 14th
Hope was ready to hunt, so we again went to 12 mile, and stopped at the last place that she killed a Jack. I started walking in the still wet weeds, and walked, and walked and never jumped a rabbit. I walked the Sage up the canyon for more than a mile without ever seeing a rabbit. I eventually put Hope in the car and turned out the dogs. They went another good chunk of country without them ever starting a rabbit either.

By that time my waterproof shoes were not water proof any more, and my butt was dragging.

We went back to the ranch and met Richard coming back up the road. We talked for a bit and then I decided to try along the ranch road down to the Whitehorse rd. I did jump three Jacks there and on the last one, Hope grabbed it just in front of Karen and the car. The Jack however strained Hope off by squirting through a big dense Sage. Hair was flying all over, but Hope was left on the wrong side of the bush.

I put her in the Hood and we came back home. After a couple of hours rest, a change of boots, and several aspirins, I picked up Hope again and went over to the ranch next door, where we tried it again.   I walked another large tract of Sage in a futile effort to make a catch. The poor thing did her best each flight, but it was just not to be. We weren't getting very many slips and she was getting desperate. She was looking down holes, flying to likely bushes peering into every nook and crevice she could find. I eventually wore out again, and we went home empty handed.

Richard called in the evening and was telling me about a spot further up the canyon.

Sunday 15th
 I decided to try again in the hopes that the snow had every thing holed up and today would be better. Well it wasn't. I put in enough effort to find that while the rabbits might be moving through the area, they were not living there. We ran the dogs for quite a way back down the Canyon to see if they could find any pockets of Jacks. I finally decided to go back to where we killed on the 12th and walk it in a different direction. We did find a few Jacks, but they were all smarter than we were, so I headed back towards the road and walked the ridge back towards the White horse Rd. I even tried the field where she had grabbed the one that got away, hoping that I could find him and hoping that he would be sore enough to be handicapped, but he had found a better hiding place as we did not find him or any other ones either.

I gave up and fed Hope for the first time in two years on a day that she didn't catch any thing. I need a rest day.