Rain and work have conspired to keep Rebel and I out of the woods for more than a few cursory flights lately. Not today though. With the sun shining brightly, we headed back to the Georgetown hole in hopes of some squirrel action. Of course I was secretly hoping for a duck slip that might turn fruitful, but given Rebel’s reticence to chase ‘em since the fall, I was not holding my breath.
Almost as soon as I released Rebel she was on squirrel number one. She chased it through four different trees before catching it out on a limb and bringing it down in classic fashion, a good grip on the head with no bites. It was a beautiful flight and I wished I had been quick enough to get it on camera, but as usual, I found myself watching and chasing. I never seem to think about the camera until the deal is sealed.
The trade of was smooth and Rebel was once again looking around for action. I was heading across the lake to the larger expanses on the other side, but within three steps of where we got the first squirrel, another one started running! Rebel chased that squirrel through fifteen trees. This guy was smart. He finally got to an old dead snag and hid under a branch. Rebel was understandably a bit tired and she perched up and just watched the squirrel, waiting for her chance. In my mind, I wanted to see how it would play out in the wild without me there to shake vines and beat on trees, so I waited and actually brought out the camera before the kill.
It was an amazingly long wait. I finally decided to help out a bit and beat on the tree some but the only thing that could get this squirrel moving was Rebel. The squirrel had the clear advantage of position. From his spot, he could see the bird easily and every time she moved, he would move to a more protected spot, never running out on a limb or leaving the base of the tree. This went on for literally an hour. No lie. I finally pulled up an ebook on my phone and read a bit. Quite peaceful really.
After much waiting and a few intermittent flights, Rebel finally gave up and we headed out across the lake. We had several more great flights but came up just shy on all of them. On one flight in particular, Rebel showed his frustration. He had a wily grey running through the trees and Addie and I sprinting after them. He knocked the critter from a branch and came swooping down for the kill but the grey was too fast and started scampering through the thick cover. Addie was less than a foot behind him and chased the squirrel right in front of me, just out of reach. The squirrel popped into the base of a hollowed out tree right in front of us to disappear safely. Addie had her nose stuck in the hole and whining as Rebel hopped over. To say that she was a little upset at losing this squirrel would be a huge understatement. She looked at me like it was entirely my fault and then considered Addie like perhaps she would like to take out her frustrations…
Addie wisely backed out of the hole and let Rebel inspect the area. She huffed around a bit and I finally got her up to the fist but she was mantly and footy so I decided it was time to leash up and walk out. She had a kill early in the day but got increasingly frustrated in her misses. She certainly got her exercise today. It only took her a minute to slick down and get calm on the glove. I expect that she knew she was in for a treat as soon as we got home. By the time we got to the truck, she was rousing and standing on one foot, her happily contented self. It is amazing to see how fast these creatures can switch from pure aggression to contentment.
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