#$%*#%

 Yah I know that is a heck of a title, but that is exactly what I am feeling. I have hunted every day since the last post and there is basically nothing of  the Rabbit family to hunt. The only interesting part of the days efforts since my last post is watching the new pup run. I've hit new spots every day since we caught the half grown rabbit and have found nothing to chase. 

I need to find at least four different fields to alternate my hunts so that I don't burn out the ones that actually do have enough Rabbits to hunt. That has not happened yet. We just got back from another fruitless  search, wherein We tried at least four spots in that area and did not turn up a single Rabbit. I have walked 40 miles according to my phone this month and killed one Rabbit. I am trying to find someplace local that I can hunt, but that apparently isn't going to happen. I will drive to Arock tomorrow to see if I can get permission to hunt one of the good areas there. It has been my mainstay in the past, but the old owner died and the ranch has been sold, so no idea if I will be able to hunt there or not.

The pup is a hoot to watch. She runs full out leaping over the Sage that gets in her way. Not what I had in mind when I decided to get another pup. It is possible that she scares every Rabbit within miles with her soaring flight over tall Sage Brush. Its easy to tell if she jumps a Rabbit, its yip yip fading off in the distance when she does find one. I have not yet made up my mind as of yet if she is a plus or a minus. I have my suspicions but hell there doesn't seem to be anything out there to scare. Poor ole Hope has taken to following the pup in the hopes that she will jump something, it appears she has lost faith in me. So far she has not found any rabbits so I have no idea what Hope will be able to make of that. I had thought that she might attack the pup, but so far she doesn't seem bothered by her, even walking past Leah on the ground without even giving her a second look. No idea what Leah will do if and when Hope does get a Rabbit in her feet. That may not happen though. 

October 2024

 I imagine that some of you are a bit surprised to once again finding one of these in your inbox. Its a bit of a surprise to me as well. This last year has had a bit more of a cost than usual. I'm still kicking, but sometimes you have to check, just to make sure.

I managed to get the VA to replace my left knee in June. I picked up a new puppy five days after the operation. The knee was interesting to say the least. I still need several steps with a grimace before I get lined out. Hopefully that will go away with time.

The actual main reason that I have not wanted to do anything with the computer is that I had to buy a new one last year and it appears that every thing that I did using Windows 7 is not anywhere near the same. The things that were so intuitive with 7 is now much more of a problem with W 11. One of the more endearing features of this version is that I have to keep moving the page up so that I can see what I am typing. I am sure that there is some way to center the text, but my current fix is to make the font so small that I have trouble reading it. 

I turned 80 just a few days ago, and with all the forced inactivity it is much harder to fight against the current.

I took Brenda to the coast after the fly in this year. We did most of the Coast, and I got to show her all of the features that I like about the coast. I guess I did pretty well, she remarked to me that she had never known that there were so many Pine trees in Oregon.

After our return, I began to trim Hope down for some hunting. She has as much trouble losing weight as I do apparently. Today was our second attempt at finding some rabbits to chase. I walked 2.75 miles this afternoon only finding 5 Jacks to chase.  I walked most of the distance in what had been one of my best spots, only finding 4 in an area that would normally hold 8 to 10 Jacks. I changed fields and lucky for us, found a half grown Jack that has not learned all the tricks of evasion.

If I had to guess this year is still going to be difficult, requiring a lot of travel just to find something to chase. I'm not sure how long I am going to put up with the scarcity of rabbits, before I pull the plug.