I felt like putting a little more power into the woods tonight. I waited 'til late & took Mabel down to the river. I turned her loose into the north entrance strip about 11:30. Nice & cool but noisy tonight. You'd have to be there to really appreciate the accoustics but something about the river valley can "collect" noise and turn it into a kind of sonic mud. When there is a lot of highway traffic it can get very hard to hear dogs down there. Throw in the train or a few airplanes & you can't hear anything. A dog could be treed 100 yards away & you wouldn't know....
Mabel must have run the corn out to the end and then run the creek back in my direction. She struck a few hundred yards from me & was heading in my direction.
I didn't really want her going this way; it's too easy to end up on the highway. She trailed all around for about 45 minutes but finally I was able to head her off by the melon field next to the gate.
I drove around and turned her loose again in the last strip of corn by THE big tree. She struck hot about halfway to the big curve but got quiet after a few minutes. She was still opening a little but not sure if it was the same track. I halfway expected to smell skunk when I drove up that way, but no she was just trying to work a track. I'm still not sure if it was all one track or not. Anyway, she treed after a while. From where I was standing, it sounded a lot like she was across the river. Sound travels in mysterious ways on the river though. I didn't panic yet, I just drove along the river. I finally found that she was treed on my side of the river, near where the club creek feeds into the river. I parked on the curve and headed to her across what used to be a corn field. It hasn't been plowed or planted for over 10 years now. I think the government has taken it over & it never will be plated again. Anyway, it's getting pretty wild and hard to cross. Finally got to Mabel & she had a nice big coon up her tree.
...........Poor old Mabel..........
On the way back to the truck, she was TIRED! She was holding back and at one point she just stopped walking and lay down. She can hardly walk this morning & it'll be tomorrow night before she's ready to hunt again. She had put on some miles and had treed for quite a while tonight.
..........Mabel hasn't been out for over a month because I've been training Josie. She's out of shape AND she's 9-1/2. This fall I'll have to use my head with Mabel. Probably give her a few nights with just 1 drop until she gets back in shape. Even when she's toned up again I'll probably have to limit her to 2 drops a night from now on. She's just too old to hunt hard. If I take care of her, choose my spots and limit her hunting times, I should be able to enjoy her company in the woods for another year or 2. I really love this dog, so I want to have fun with her for as long as possible. Sure wish she would just start acting like an old dog and take it a little easy. It's not in her though; she only knows how to go full speed when I turn her loose though.
..........Ready or not, Josie will have to step up and be my main dog this fall.
She should be more than ready for the next step in her career.
I've certainly put the time into her, from April 'til now; I've had her in on over 50 coons already. I don't know if I'll ever totally warm up to her style, and no doubt, I'll start another pup one day soon, but for now, I'm committed to Josie, aka Mabel Jr.