Not the sound of a watch, for those of you who are still familiar with the sound of a mechanical watch, but the sound of Rye, Brag and myself as we pulled each tick off of our bodies.

Day didn’t break but instead arrived stealthily with the subtle changing of dark into a gray morning of overcast skies as I pulled into Ryes yard with three beagles, Julie, Dixie and Maizie for company. Brag had to make a detour this morning to pick up Uncle NoPass and his remaining two dogs, Kate and Lacey. Uncle NoPass of the NoPass Chronicles hadn’t hunted since the January of 04 hunts. Old age infirmities had caught up with him. Worse than body slowing down was the lose of hearing. Deprived of hearing the beautiful sounds of dogs in hot pursuit of their prey after a life time of running dogs after various prey, Uncle NoPass couldn’t seem to find the desire to attend the hunts, not even for the socializing. He kept Kate, his last dog acquired as a puppy and Lacey because, well, I suppose old habits die hard.