Tuesday we went to Arock to hunt and for what ever reason we didn't find very many Jacks, but did jump a couple of Bunnies. Bunnies are always tough because they are so fast and elusive, as well as not far from a hole.
Hope is under the rock trying to find the Bunny,
Brick is trying to help. Connie came up about this time, tripped and she and Brick bumped heads. Now she knows why his name is Brick, Its for his head!
We walked quite a while, but could never find many Rabbits or connect with the few that we did find.
Tuesday night Connie and I were in the Hot Tub, when Josie began barking. Unlike Brick, Josie doesn't bark unless there is something there, so I got out, got a light and went to investigate. She was at the Chicken house. I looked in and there was Momma Raccoon and the other kit that I hadn't gotten when they were in the Grapes. I shut and locked the door and went back for a gun. I decided on my 22 pistol with the red dot sight. I however didn't change lights and kept the big and bulky spot light.
I opened the door again and Mom was looking at me from behind one of the feed barrels, so I popped her in the head, Josie rushed Mom and started biting and trying to shake her. The baby made a run for it and having trouble holding the spot light and pistol shot three more times at the baby. By this time I was empty, and went back to the house for another clip. I then went back and made sure that all were dead, perhaps a bit more vigorous than necessary.
Connie sitting in the hot tub is listening to the small war that had broken out and by the time that the last shot was fired, began to believe that there had been a Coyote invasion, and I was being overcome. I blamed it all on the bulky spot light however. Nobody, not even Josie, ever thought that I would need that many shots for just two varmints. I was beginning to wonder myself. I can't say for sure just how many shots that it took me, but there was at least one misfire that took up some valuable time, not to mention the toll that it took on me, running around in just flip flops.
Connie of course shared the story with the guy's and gal's that were working on her other eye. Not sure if I was the hero or not, my guess - Not!
Today, the 25th is the first day that I have had for a while to go hunting. I went over to the Ranch and the back field that is full of Greasewood. Connie was taking a nap, so after I got the mail I went back to the Greasewood field to hunt. Hope was actually down in weight as I hadn't fed her much or often while all the stuff was going on. She was actually down to 988 grams and I had hopes that it wouldn't take too long to catch one.
Well, that didn't happen. She flew her butt off getting up three and four times to try again and again, but there were no mistakes made by the Jacks. It was taking an awfully long time in between Jacks and I was getting further and further away from the car. I think we flew about 6 Jacks before she made a desperate grab on a big old Jack.
She had him by the butt. She was stuck in the Greasewood on the other side,
so I just shot him in the head with the pistol. Josie then went in and finished him off with a bite to the middle of the shoulders. I cleared away a lot of the bush, but it was still too tangled to get her and the Jack out.
Then I began to try to extricate her from the bush, but couldn't. I could not just pull the Rabbit back towards her, her feet and legs where too wrapped and tangled to do so.
I eventually gave her the cup and a front leg from a previous kill, so that she could unwrap herself from the bush.
The Jack was an old one, big and tough. I was surprised that she was able to hold him until I got there. Perhaps she is getting better with that foot.
After cleaning the Jack and getting a hind leg for her to eat, I started back to the car, which by that time was a very small dot. Josie came up lame and I tried one handed to find the burr in her foot. Nothing that I could find. Keep in mind that I am holding an eating hawk on the fist and trying to clear her foot with the other hand. I kept on walking. Josie at times seems to need me to check her feet for her and there is not always something in them. She however kept insisting that there was something wrong, but again one handed I could not find anything. She kept up with me three legged for a while and then just sat down while I kept walking back to the car. It was at least a mile away the last time I saw her.
When I got to the car I loaded up and went back to see if I could find her. I retraced my walk across the field whistling and calling for her, with no success. After retracing a lot more of my steps than I wanted, I went back to the car, and she was there. I gave them water, and of course a bit too much, so she threw up in the car. No biggie! Deserved it I guess. My phone showed that I had walked 3.62 miles.
