 Once again, time has a way of slipping by and I haven’t realized how long it has been since I did an entry. Lots of thoughts running around my brain but I just haven’t had a chance to get them down on paper. With the change to standard time, I find myself in darkness after work way too soon. As I stated before, standard time is not for running dogs if you’re a working person. I wish the powers that be would keep Daylight Savings Time year-round.
When the females were going through their seasons, I spent a good bit of time thinking about pack dynamics, not only in the field but also in the kennel. Back when I was in college, I took a summer class in biology. Dr. Baker, my Biology professor, spent almost the entire semester discussing wolf pack behavior. Dr. Baker was an outdoorsman, had a small gentleman’s farm, and loved to hunt and fish. We got along great! Another advantage of summer classes was their class size. We had maybe 12 students in the class which enabled a lot of one-on-one time. Since that summer, I have thought a great deal about pack dynamics and pack behavior of our domesticated wolves, our beagles. It is amazing to me how fast the hounds will figure out their packmates. They know hound body language as well as voice of the other members of the pack. I have said in the past, the longer the dogs are down, the more they will tell you. Some hounds work better together with certain hounds and some can be down with anything at all and they can take control of that pack. I always find it interesting to see where the young hounds fall in once they get some running time in with the pack. No matter what, I enjoy studying the hounds in the field and how they fall into their place. I couldn’t tell you the last time I had a squabble in the field. Squabbles in the kennel are much more frequent. It is sometimes tough to watch an Alpha hound (I am the real Alpha of the pack) be contested and replaced or that dominant hound in the kennel be challenged by an up and coming young hound. Maybe it’s just my hounds, but I have many more issues with females. Occasionally I will see a tail up & quivering and I just know all hell is about to break out. Posturing, ear set, tail and voice all give away a lot of what is about to happen. I tell people I don’t usually have issues at feeding time but that doesn’t mean I don’t have issues. Sometimes just a sniff the wrong way can set a hound off. I think placement in their sleeping quarters plays a role in the donnybrooks that break out on occasion. Hormones also play a key role and I often go back to the wolf pack behavior that I studied some 30 years ago. Beagles have a fearless streak in them, a stubborn streak, and a competitive spirit that I definitely don’t want to be without but there are times when I would really like to contain some of that high-spiritedness! As I was telling my friend Bob, some hounds are full of jet fuel (Izzy & Tiana) and are always on the brink of combustion. Then there are others that are never in any friction whatsoever. But on occasion I am surprised by the hounds that appear meek, will be the first to be on top of the pile. Sometimes a stern voice will stop and squelch the tension. Sometimes it takes a bit more. Sometimes a hound needs to be put in “solitary confinement” for a bit to cool her engines. I’m not going to say that I have a kennel full of fighters because I don’t, but it is an evolving, constantly changing dynamic that leads to pack harmony.
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Well here it is August, and it's hard to believe how fast time is flying by. I am not a fan of summer and people think I'm nuts when I tell them I would rather have snow than this heat, but it is definitely true. The temperature hasn't been as bad the last couple days but the humidity makes the air thick. It has not been going below 70 at night so there is not much hope for the day ahead. Also the rain, we are topping our rain totals from last year's record breaking precip. Later in the week, the forecast is for nighttime temps in the 50s, which is always a good sign. The females have been coming in heat and just as last year, it is a consecutive process rather than a concurrent process. One is coming out and another is coming in. At present we have 4 in season and the males are letting us know it. Duffy has been doing choir practice all night and Maury heads straight to the female run after eating to see if anything has made itself available. A couple more weeks and we will be done for a couple months (Uggh again!). I'll post a couple pics of hounds that came from our kennel. I love it when folks send us pics of hounds they have gotten from us or of their offspring. The progress reports and photos of them doing what they do, keep us going through the dog days when we can't run like we like. I will have more to write about these hounds in posts to come. Bring on foggy nights and cooler temps!
  According to Merriam-Webster, gusto is defined as: a) enthusiastic and vigorous enjoyment or appreciation b) vitality marked by an abundance of vigor and enthusiasm.
When I was a kid, my grandmother loved using this word. Sometimes it was in a positive way, other times not so much. As I've been getting quite a bit of running in lately, the word has come out of my mouth many times. Katie (above) hunts for a rabbit with gusto. She also plays with her kennel mates with gusto occasionally a little too much gusto. Her drive and search is incredible for a young hound, she hunts with such fervor and desire that is rarely seen in such a young hound. Even when she is out with some older hounds, she is all business... and I love it. Taya jumps on her box for some lovin' with gusto. All the hounds like attention, but none with the gusto of Taya. She pushes herself up against me and nuzzles her nose into my chest. Taya also chews her rawhide with gusto. Some of the older hounds lose interest in rawhide as they age but not her. As I watch her gnaw and toss around her "bone" I just have to laugh. She is one unique hound for sure. Maury jumps on my legs with gusto. One of these days he is going to take my knee out but I let it go because he is such a nut for affection. His voice on the line expresses his gusto for running a rabbit. At the end of the day, many times I ask myself what I would do if I didn't have these hounds? 43 years of chasing bunnies around and I still enjoy it more & more.  Katie out in the snow before the big storm hits. Can't wait to get her running soon. She is one energetic pup, I have rarely seen her still. If her puppy voice holds, it's very deep for a female and seems quite loud. She has a sibling in Massachusetts that has started before 6 months. I see a lot of her grandparents in her.
 Izzy & Petra are only separated by a few days with Izzy about 4 days older. They have basically grown up together; they eat together, sleep together and I like running them together. Even though their mothers were sisters, they are two very different hounds. Izzy is powerfully built, Petra is slim. Izzy hunts in a methodical way, Petra is in every thicket & under every bush. Petra is about 2 inches shorter and is the smallest hound in my kennel but has the biggest heart of any. Izzy will stand up to any hound, Petra is not one to be in the corner, and has surprised me with her aggressiveness at times but she is not what I would call an alpha female. I really enjoy hunting them in a brace. They both are very biddable and work well as a team. Petra a bit better of a check hound and Izzy controlling the drives. The day of this picture, I was surprised to check the Garmin and see that Petra was moving almost a full mph faster than Izzy. I'm going to chalk that up to the fact that rabbits were tough to come by due to the approaching storm and the 2 had to work to get up the pair of rabbits that they did roust.
 Katie - - 3 months old Wow! Where has the time gone? Soon leaves will be falling and gun season will be here. This has been the most miserable summer that I can remember. Non stop heat & humidity and endless rain.
I've been neglecting the website a bit as I just have so much going on and they are telling me I need to upgrade to a more "modern" format. Some buttons do not work on the mobile site and it has become more of a hassle to update. I have been keeping the Facebook page updated a bit more regularly. Just like everything else, you have to adjust to change and change with the times so at some point, this site will undergo a face lift. (I try to keep this webpage and the Facebook site similar as I know some folks don't do FB. With the decreased daylight hours, I will try to do some more frequent updates here. I have many things running around my brain. From crap I see & hear, to some hounds I'd like to celebrate & acknowledge. Before I end this short blog post, I would like to post a link: https://www.nationalbeagleclub.org/Standard Now the state of the show beagle today is not good, the conformation of the field beagle is just as dire. This standard was written by very knowledgeable folks and every aspect of conformation relates to field performance. Hard to believe that it has been 4 years since Mike's passing. I think of him daily, usually when I'm in the kennel or out with the hounds. He always had words of wisdom for me and thinking back, some things really ring true. Especially with the hounds but also with the people that interact with us through the kennel. I have pictures of Mike and Willet in the kennel and I often literally talk to the pictures. I believe that Mike has guided me through some of the decisions I have had to make.  August 2010 Last Day of Winter:
First Day of Spring:
The first full day of spring arrived and dumped about 8" of snow. Top pics are Bindi on the last day of winter. We had rabbits running everywhere and a couple paired up for breeding season. Bottom pics are Tiana, 3 1/2 months old, who was relegated to the quad paths.
Very grateful for daylight savings time, standard time is not for running dogs! Been receiving good reports on hounds from our kennel. We always like the updates and love the pictures!
Mersey (on left in both pictures) and Burgess doing their thing in Nova Scotia. Will had waited quite a while for a female pup. Two days before he came to pick Mersey up, a man from New Jersey backed out on his male so Will decided to take a pair. *************************************************************************************************************************************************
Kevin M's fine little female "Patches," sister to my Chandra. Duffy X Lola **************************************************************************************************************************************************
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Mike H's beautiful hound. Mike says he has the best snow nose of any hound he has ever had.
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