I’m sure everybody says so.

But I’m here to tell you Brag’s and mine did. Heck, might still be running it as far as I know. GreenFields is legendary in my mind. Mainly because I’ve heard Uncle NoPass and Cuz talk about the huge number of rabbits they saw on some hunts there. They said it wouldn’t be unusual to see the dogs in a mad pursuit of a rabbit dive into a thicket and have rabbits shooting out from all sides, like a covey of quail flushing. Cuz said it always sounded like a dove shoot . So you can see why I was looking forward to this hunt with special relish.

Then it rained and rained till that morning. Sheets of water every where. But, still beautiful rabbit habitat. Briars, the color of Japanese maple and honeysuckle vines with small green orosetas for next years growth draped the thick overgrown shrubs next to the greenfields. The plant growth offered protection from aerial assault as well as ground.
We couldn’t jump a rabbit.
Deer yes, rabbits no.
Four rabbits vs. fourteen deer.
I told Brag that I didn’t like the way Lady was running around with her head up on our first drive. The dogs jumped a few minutes later, almost in front of me, but I never saw the rabbit. The race lasted about a hour and a half before fourteen year old Dusty killed the rabbit. It had covered a lot of very, very wet ground that in large patches was covered a inch or so in water. When the young dogs lost the trail, Judy would splash up and straighten the trail out. Judy is something. We once shot 18 rabbits and she was the only dog. Although Lady was Dusty’s dog by way of Uncle NoPass, she was no Judy. If it looks like I’m trying to pass blame on what was to follow, I am.

The second race began when the dogs jumped and took off on a long straight run before hooking straight back at us. We confidently lined a break waiting to see who of us would shoot. Suddenly, the rabbit turned and was again racing straight away. Casting looks at each other , I was pretty sure Brag was having the same thoughts as me. Deer? Then Judy came strolling out of the bushes. Deer for sure. Judy was one of Uncle NoPass’s dogs who truly wouldn’t run nothing but a rabbit and Yes everybody did say so. Tiny said he saw the dogs cross the road but not what they were running. He said Lady was in the lead, running with her head up. Our four wayward girls trailing a few yards behind.

Brag and I didn’t worry to much. Dixie, Julie, Maizey and especially Sugar hadn’t strayed to far from us since we had got them. Buts as the day wore on, Brag and I got increasingly agitated, casting looks at far away hillside and loudly encouraging dogs that weren’t there. I listened to Judy run a nice last race in a small circle around me. I heard the splash as a big buck rabbit hit a small swamp and nosily splashed to the middle before turning hard left followed by a right and into the thicket behind me. Little short legged Judy dove in only a minute behind and followed every turn the rabbit had made. The rabbit raced in a tight circle and I knew he would head back into the water again to try to mix his scent in with the trail he had just laid. I was kneeling looking underneath the thick cover that started 3 feet off the ground when I heard a rustling behind me. The rabbit and I saw each other at the same time and he froze. I one-handed the Fox behind me and shot him just before he bolted into the swampy area. The satisfaction was short-lived and I began to worry about the missing dogs again. Cuz and the rest , pulled out in the very late afternoon. He told his grandson to get in the truck. Dusty replied he still had a dog to get up. I liked that. The boy’s gonna be a good one.

Dark came and we finally gave up. Brag and I left our top shirts and a small bit of food on each shirt.
I was back, alone, before eight this morning, having totally forgot that Dusty was out of school and would be wanting to look for his dog. I checked the shirts and the muddy road for any sign. Nothing! I checked the kennels to see if the bird hunters had put them up. I rode the few and little used back roads stopping to yelp and call the dogs in the teeth of a cold and blustery wind. Thermos empty, I stopped at the store in Pittsview where a lady said she saw a pack of hunting dogs cross US 431 above the passing lanes. The kind or description was unsure. But I rode the back roads on that side, all the way to Seale. Nothing.

I finally gave up and came home to wait for the phone calls, till in the morning

Curiouser and curiouser

The phone calls started about six and have sparked some degree of confusion. A coon hunter near Dudley’s quarters called my Aunt, Uncle NoPass’s wife to report that he had their dog. Well, my aunt and uncle weren’t missing a dog, but Cuz who had neglected to change Ladies collar was. My aunt made arrangements for me to pick up the dog tomorrow morning. I called Brad at work and told him. Then my aunt called me back and said a lady had called and said She had one of their dogs tied up on her porch. So now my aunt and uncle had two found dogs that they didn’t have to begin with. I called Cuz to see if he knew anything about the second dog. No. When I hung up my aunt called me back and told me the lady had just called back to say a man in a small brown pickup had picked it up and said to be on the look out for four more. My aunt called the coon hunter back who told her he had just checked and the dog was in the pen. So now my aunt had one found dog they had’t lost and one dog lost that they didn’t know they had. In the meantime, don’t nobody know nothing, much less me. But one thing I do know. Brag and I don’t know where our dogs are.