On Monday I left the dogs at the house and went to a patch of woods near the house, where I tracked too small groups of deer. One group had four does, and another had six does with a 4-prong buck in attendance.
Having spent some time tracking deer in these same woods during last year's snow, I was happy (and a bit amazed) to find I could locate deer quickly in the deep ravines where I now know they jungle up during the day. Due to wet ground and slow movement on my part, I was able to get within about 60 feet of the four does. Nice!
On Tuesday, Mountain and I hit the woods. Nothing was found to ground, which was as expected this time of year, as it's still far too warm for fox, and the groundhog are hibernating. In the woods, raccoons will generally den in the tree.
In truth, I was not too disappointed to not be digging, as the ground was still very logy and wet. On the upside, I got a few pictures of Mountain while she pinged on the squirrels in the trees.
.
The arts of tracking game is a lost skill and not likely to be handed down to future generations. My father's Boy Scout handbook had more information on animals and their tracks than mine and my book has more than my son's.
ReplyDeleteIf you were lost in a large forest you could survive with information from my father's book not so with the others.
Wow! Mountain could be posing for anatomy pictures of canine musculature with that body. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThanks JL -- Yes, for a girl, Mountain is pretty well muscled. She cares about little else other than getting game, and even when she is in my arms being scratched behind the ears, she is generally looking over my shoulder to what is moving about in forest, hedge or sky. There is a bit of obsessive compulsive disorder about her, as is so common with working Jack Russells, and so she is pretty much always on the move in my wooded back yard where she can work out her critter obsessions. A true Alpha female in every way.
ReplyDeleteP.
Your Mountain is well-named because she is such a magnificent little beast. She reminds me of my own little Praline, though my town dog has to suffice with the occasional squirrel. It's a joy to see your pictures and videos of your dogs carrying on business as usual. :)
ReplyDelete