I decided to go back to the Pillars for one more shot, and to explore the rest of the area there for a possible alternate hunting area. We drove in and talked to one of the guy's that owns the area. I wanted to make sure that we could hunt there again as well to see if there was any gun hunters using the area. The guy that I talked to gave us permission, but mentioned that there didn't seem to be many rabbits there, but we were welcome to hunt.
They fenced the land there last year, and the area that I had hunted was outside their fence. The grass there was very high. My intention was to divide the area into several different blocks so that we were not hunting the same spot and rabbits all the time. As we drove into the fenced area, it was obvious that the cows had been in there and there was nothing left but scattered Sage bushes, with a lot of bare empty area. Not what I wanted at all. We went to the far end of the pillars, and that area was filled with large and numerous Grease Wood bushes that presented a prime area to get an eager hunting hawk injured. The Grease Wood is as nasty a bush as you can find, so thick that you couldn't throw a rock through it, or even an arrow. It is full of sharp little twigs that will puncture your skin as quickly as any Cactus, and of course it festers quickly. Not where I wanted to hunt at all.
As we drove out I noticed a spot across from where I had hunted Sunday. I decided to make a short pass through it, then go to Arock if we didn't find anything. The only thing that the area had going for it was the Alfalfa field that bordered it. The dogs were working well, but were finding nothing. As we got down towards the bottom, the Grease Wood got really thick. A covey of Quail got Hope's heart rate racing, but they disappeared so quickly neither Hope or the Dogs could find them. I turned to go back to the car, and soon after Hope blasted off the perch, flared up in the air and crashed down into the grease Wood. A thin squeal announced the misfortune of a Brush Bunny.
I made my way over to where I thought she was. Not an easy task at all. I eventually forced my way through the nastys, but still couldn't find her. I stuck my T perch in one of the bushes so that I could keep my search in the area where she had to be. Every thing was so dark and thick that there was no way that I could see anything. I considered going to get the telemetry, when the Bunny squealed again. I found the bush, but still couldn't see her or the Bunny. Remembering the way that my arm looked the last time I stuck it in one of these bushes, I put my glove on and pried up the bottom of the bush so that I could decided where the Bunny was. I pulled them out, and as you can see the Bunny was covered in grass. The picture was taken after most of it was peeled away.
Brick sat there without making any move towards Hope at all. Hope would occasionally snap her wings at him, but he stood his ground, making no move towards her at all. My admiration for him increases every day.
I gave her the tidbits and a front leg, bagged the bunny and started back to the car. We hadn't gotten too far when Hope came flying towards us. I presented her with the perch to finish her leg. When she finished we continued on to the car. We were expecting Schwan's to deliver ice cream today, so I was quite happy to go on home. When we got to the car without any further opportunities, I fed her the rest of her meal. Yogi is still laid up, so we are now even. You gotta take your victories where you can, no matter how small and insignificant. 😏
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