In General....

A very beautiful and cold morning here, the thermometer says 14 degrees. I have been up, let the shibas and Ozwald out, Stoked the house fire, made the coffee and headed out to the garage to stir up the coals out there. Our beagle puppy stayed the night with us, and has his very own little dog house Big E and Tyler made. I needed some beagle loving so we brought him home last night, therefore I grabbed a cup of coffee, and headed to the garage this morning for some more. I think I'm spoiling him just a wee little bit as he just wanted to be held and cuddled this morning and I certainly obliged. What sweetness!! So now both the homefires are burning and things are getting toasty once again.
Yesterday I went out to the shooting shack and spent 4 hours with no success other than to read another 5 chapters in a book that was lent to me, titled "The Purification Ceremony" by Mark Sullivan. Now this is quite a book and sitting in the woods in a shooting shack adds a little something more to it in fact, it would probably give most more than the shivers!! I so enjoy the peacefulness of it all.
Big E is still trapping bunnies for a couple beagle clubs in Southern Maine, however he must get the snowmobile tuned up as I don't know how much longer we will be able to get around on the woods roads that are not plowed. Four wheel drives are great, but even after a while, they are in more danger of getting you stuck out in the cold and a long chilly walk out. Not good!! However I will be honest, Big E, even though I have threatened him many times in the past 30 years, has never made me have to walk out yet!!! I better start knocking on a lot of wood!!!
The bunny trapping is what led to the beagles. Big E has been wanting to get another hunting dog for quite some time and I have been resisting not because I don't enjoy hunting hounds, but because of the 6 dogs we currently have. After all if one thinks about it, where can one go with 6 dogs!!! Therefore over the years, well..we haven't gone anywhere with 6 dogs, and they, true to their breed, have created a solid pack that are not sociable and do not play well with others; dogs that is.The shiba's are my little pack of heathens and although they are extremely loving and playful with people, they are death on another animal. They have caught mice, moles and squirrels and believe me it is not pretty. Last winter, Ozwald, my akita was following a mole, putting a big paw down and it would jump and scurry. I got the bright idea to get my camera and let the shiba's out to play, well.....it lasted less than 30 seconds; I didn't even get the camera turned on before it was over. Thing is, I had got pictures of them hunting the week previously and had no idea how short of an adventure this would be. Anyway....So I had been refusing to give into Big E on the hunting dog idea.
In the past, we used to raise hunting hounds for bear, coon and cats, ( bobcats)and did so for over 16 years. Truly there is nothing like a well trained hunting hound that knows his business. I knew each and everyone of their traits, the way they trailed, the changes in their barks which told me what part of the hunt they were on. I knew strike, trail and tree, and if you have never experienced this, it is impressive. Big E bought me a beautiful Black and Tan coonhound from Tennessee one Christmas and I must say, this was the best present I have ever received. Never mind the diamonds. I named him Rowdey Tennessee Pup, and called him Rowdey for short. True to the breed, he could bawl. Big E preferred the Treeing Walkers. So we always had a bit of a competition going on. His Walker, ironically, Bud Dog, was what I call a yipper until he treed, which he would sit his butt down at the bottom of the tree and fast chop. Rowdey on the other hand would bay on the track about every 10 feet; just put his head in the air and bawl. Once he treed, he would let out the longest ole bay telling me " momma, I got him, I got him, then just bawl steady. I loved it!!! Big E would call him a slow southern ground pounder, as speed was not his talent; it was a cold nose and he could pick up a track a week old I swear and follow it, for miles some times. So I missed the working dogs...What convinced me to give in was some pictures of beagle puppies, and I made the mistake of showing Big E....
So that is how we ended up with beagle puppies!! We have a special pen for them, so that they can play without any danger from the little pack of heathens. It takes a bit more work;let the shibas out, bring them in, and let the beagles out, bring them back in......Oh well keeps us busy and better than having nothing to do. Don't they say that is what keeps us young???