August

We had a "big time" in August. Here are a few snapshots.

Finally, Went Hunting

With the heat soaring, and the snakes crawling, I have not wanted to take the dogs hunting. But this morning I awoke after 4 AM and took Joe and Uno out for a few drops. The coons must have moved earlier because we didn't strike nor tree. It was good for the dogs however!

English Days

English Days was a gathering of coon hunters, especially those who hunt English dogs, in Lima, OH. Zeb, Zach, and I decided to go and hunt Joe on Thursday night. Our friends, Josh and Steven Reed went along also. We left after Bible Study on Wednesday night. We met the Reeds in Ashburn and their Dad, Rod, prayed with us. He asked that we would meet people who would encourage us and people we might encourage in the Lord as well. God heard and answered his prayer.

We drove above Atlanta on Wednesday night and stayed in a cheap hotel. Jessica thought it was hilarious when I told her that we took Joe into the room for the night. We wanted him to have an air conditioned place to sleep as well. I think he really enjoyed it because he kept wagging his tail and putting his muzzle into our faces while we tried to sleep.

We arrived around 3 PM on Thursday at the location of the meeting. I had arranged to meet a gentleman who purchased Speck from me. I decided not to breed her to Joe after all and did not need another female of her age. We enjoyed a meal at the English Breeder's Association. That night, Zeb, Zach, and I hunted Joe in a 1 hour hunt (Josh and Steven hunted Annie in the youth hunt). Our cast traveled about 90 miles north toward the Michigan border. I was amazed at the coon hunting---a lot of coons and easy access to the trees. Joe did great. He came in 2nd out of the 20 Grand Nt Champions hunted. We came up 25 points short of winning the Grand Nt contest. We would have won but time expired and seconds afterwards Joe treed. That would have given him 575 points but we settled for 375 points. A man named Chad won with 400 points. However, we were really excited just to be in a great hunt no matter what the final scores were. The cast was enjoyable, the hunt was great, and the location was terrific.

We met a lot of nice people who shared with us knowledge of coon hunting and the English breed. When I saw Rocky II I could not believe the size of this hound. I was able to pray and talk about the Lord on our trip with several folks. Also, Josh and Steven had several people mention what nice young men they were. Too, we run into several people who publicly owned Christ as Lord. In this way Rod's prayer was answered. We do praise the Lord for His work of grace among his people in all places. "Do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31).

Joe and Annie

Joe, Annie and Speck (not in picture) treed in about two to three feet of water last night. We saw the coon looking down at us. Abi, Gracie, Zeb, Zach, and Lydia had a blast walking to and back to the tree through the water. I made sure we were careful on returning home not to make a mess with our wet clothes. No reason to make Mama do anymore work than she has to!

Speck, She Trees With Energy

Always quit when you are ahead. Speck was two for two; two drops, two coons. So we (Hannah, Abi, Gracie, Zeb, Zach, Lydia, Steven, Josh, Sarah, and I) thought we would make one more drop before heading home. That drop was at 10:30 PM, and I left for my house without Speck around 3:00 AM. Thankfully, she had a tracking collar on, and I found her the next morning about a mile from the drop off location.

That same group as mentioned above have had some experiences of late. The time prior to this hunt, on my way to drop off the Reed kids (Steven, Josh, and Sarah), my lights on my truck began to go dim. I met their father, Rod, and he led me back to my house-I stuck my flashlight out the window as my lights were completely out by this time. As we drove into the driveway the truck cut off and I coated to my carport. My alternator quit. Rod, as he was leaving, said, "You are making memories." I responded, "Yes, but it is going to cost me come morning."

Speck & Joe

NtCH Speck (female on the left) and GRNTCH Big Time Joe (male on the right). The low is to reach down to 50 degrees tonight. Guess where we will be after prayer meeting?

Swamp Rooster

Swamp Rooster is the all time reproducing sire in the English line. I have been privileged to own a male from Swamp Rooster, Big Time Joe. This week we added to our kennel a NTCH female also off of Swamp Rooster. She has not disappointed us and we hope to breed them in July. Above are the two of them treeing an ol' ringtail together.

ZZZZZZ

New Puppy

Last night I participated in a night hunt in Waycross, GA. I was hoping to win the dog box that was awarded to the high scoring dog. My cast consisted of Big Time Joe and a 90 lb Black and Tan named Mighty Joe. My Joe and I did not do so well: circle points, a coon that looked once at me that nobody else saw, and Joe catching one coon on the ground left us way behind in points. Mighty Joe and the owner, Ray Lily, scored 900 points and was the high scoring dog. He was a really nice dog and Ray was a gentleman and took home the silver dog box. It was, however, a lot of fun even though we lost. Both dogs looked and sounded good. I was glad to have Gracie with me. She did a fantastic job. I should have listened to her when she elbowed me and whispered, "Joe is treed." I didn't listen and it cost us.

Jessica and all the kids went too. Since I got back from Cambodia I have been extremely busy and haven't spent much time with my family. It wasSpring break for the kids so we got a room last night at the Holiday Inn. There was a hunting and fishing expo along with the hunt. We got to watch a hog and dog baying contest and walk around and view exhibits. Ira, my brother, has a business where he sales hunting bags and supplies. He and his wife, Holly, had a booth so we visited with them. Zeb had $9.00 and was able to purchase a knife set with two knives. He is keeping one and giving the other to Zach.

There was a couple there with English pups. They were the grandpups of Swamp Rooster. They were pretty dogs, long ears and big, blocky heads, and the price was reduced to $100. Well, we brought a female home. At first we thought we would give it to a friend, but she is really sweet and already has a big mouth. Too, we like her breeding and might keep her for a while. That is the pup in the picture. I'll keep you informed.

Released Coon

We released a coon for Annie and Uno who trailed the coon down the creek and treed. On this release we left the coon alone and gave him time to travel before releasing the dogs. After Annie and Uno treed, we then let Joe follow the scent and get some practice too.

Joe and Uno

After finding and shooting the coon, Zeb, Zach, Joseph and I watched the best fight I ever saw. The boar coon wasn't exceptionally large but was exceptionally fierce! Joe normally dispatches a coon quickly but not this time. I was proud of Uno, she rushed in to help and they finally put and end to the coon five minutes later.

Pastor Joseph, A Holy Man of God

Pastor Joseph Weyel from TX preached for us at Eureka on Sunday in our morning and afternoon services. His messages were powerful and centered on Christ's glory exhibited through evangelism. He gave several examples of men who gave all of their energy and life to proclaim the gospel. The verses that capsulized the importance of the gospel was Romans 1:16, 17 because the gospel is powerful to change lives and because the gospel reveals Christ's righteousness. The messages was relevant to all of us in light of Pastor Joseph's preparation to move to Cambodia to minister the gospel along with his wife and four children. Later that evening, Pastor Joseph, Zeb, Zach, and I headed to the woods to enjoy a little "hound music." The tree Joe and Uno treed in was in water almost knee high. Joseph had borrowed Hannah's boots without knowing that one boot had a hole in the bottom. But he soon discovered this unknown fact as we walked into the water to get the coon. He at least had a good attitude and was thankful he wasn't wearing his cowboy boots. Holy man, holey boot.

Gggrrrooowww

Do you remember the sound the panther made just before he pounced on Dan and Ann in "Where the Red Fern Grows"? That is the noise I heard last night!

We (Abi, Gracie, Zeb, Zach, Lydia, and I) went to the "swamp" last night on the river where we had the feeder-buckets. Uno however went deep and had an armadillo in a hole. To get to her I shined the truck lights in the wood and left instructions for the kids to blow the horn every five minutes. I hoped that I would be able to see the lights and hear the horn as I returned. I did get to Uno, saw the armadillo, disciplined her and started back. Then and there, I heard the eerie sound of a panther, gggrrrooowww. I've been in the woods a lot in my life, but that was the first panther I've heard. So I hurried along to the truck as you might imagine.

On the way home the kids mentioned an Indian ritual for a boy to reach manhood. The boy has to stay in the woods all night without making a sound, and he has to remain blindfolded. At that point Zach assured us that he was not afraid of a panther and would stay the night at the "swamp." He begged us to turn around. However, we didn't believe that he was expressing his true feelings. I think he knew I would never leave him so he was talking big. We also took a vote, five to zero, that Zach would not really stay the night. I know I wouldn't!

"An Ounce of Prevention"

Benjamin Franklin said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Today we filled the feeder-bucket with sour corn at the river. This location has a lot of water and makes maneuvering through or around hard to almost impossible if Ol' Joe gets deep into the woods. Too, there is a real possibility of getting lost. We figure getting back to the truck is more concerning than getting to Joe. A little sour corn will give the coons an incentive to be nearby the drop when we arrive. Our take on Mr. Franklin's words is, "A bucket of sour corn is worth more than being lost in the woods all night."

Pups and a Drag

Joe did it right last night (2-6-09). This morning we let the pups follow the coon Joe treed. Annie and Uno found the drag (a dead coon pulled along the ground) together, but Annie remained at the tree barking . Uno went on to look for something alive to chase.

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine" (Prov. 17:22)

(2-5-09) "The Big Time Gang" decided to release Joe and Uno where we thought raccoons were in spite of the fact the creek was up with the recent rain. Joe struck and treed quickly, in ten minutes or less. We took the GPS and headed out to the tree to find Joe had the coon in a den. On our way out the batteries went dead on the GPS so we wondered around until we got our bearings and forged our way to the truck. I remember hearing one of the kids remark while we mingled with briers and vines, "We're going in circles!"

No excitement on the second and final drop except I really got aggravated. I couldn't hear the dogs over the laughter from the truck. When I finally saw the picture I understood what the peanut gallery thought was hilarious.

Prayer, It Works

(Uno @ 3 months)

My son, Zebedee, claims Uno, and his twin brother, Zach, claims Annie. These two English females are approximately 9 months old. Uno is from OH but has adjusted well to the south. Her sire is really producing some nice houndogs. His name is GRNITECH Main Street Jack. Uno's Mama (Dam) is a real coondog too named GRNITECH GRCH Blue Swamp Diamond.

Presently, Uno will chase almost anything that will run: coons, cats, deer, and armadillos. We are just glad she isn't standing around our feet and acting lazy and disinterested. However, we are preparing to concentrate on her training and break her from some of these bad tendencies.

One thing about Uno is when you release her, she's gone. A month ago we lost her while we were hunting. I did not put a tracking collar on her because I didn't realize how far she would venture away from us. We finally had to leave her that night because she did not return and it was very late. All the kids were in the truck with me (seven of us in all) and it was crowded---sardines in a can. There were bodies lying in all directions, twisted and tangled. For the next three days we drove around calling for Uno, blasting away on the horn, stopping and questioning neighbors to find out if they had seen a dog matching her description. To no avail; the search had been futile. We even placed a shirt belonging to Zeb on a bush hoping she might return and remain there until we found her (we heard that this trick will work). The kids, my wife, Jessica, and I drove around that third day until we were dejected and ready to call off the search. Our last attempt was to gather around the truck near where we last saw Uno and pray. And pray we did: "Our Father, we love Uno and we ask You to bring her back to us..." James has taught us that faith without works is dead (James 2:17). So after praying we shouted, "UNO, UNO, UNO." Still, no Uno. We then gathered back in the pickup, nine of us this time because Jessica and the baby were with us, and started home. Just as we reached the end of the field one of the kids screamed, "there's Uno!" It was a joyful reunion. Once again the nine of us, well, make it ten with Uno, bowed our heads and thanked the Lord for returning Uno to us unharmed and healthy. Paul said to take all of our request to the Lord, which we did (Philippians 4:6). However, we should have prayed earlier, about three days earlier in fact.

(Uno @ 8 months)

Good time, Good Fellowship, Good Food

Annie is Zach's 9 month old English female. Last night she treed a coon that we released in a field that is surrounded by woods. We were really excited about the interest she had in treeing. She has been opening up on the trail real well, but treed fairly hard last night. This follows her showing in Pearson, GA Sat. when she reached the finals in her first field trial competition (running and treeing a drag).

Special thanks to the Reed family for catching the raccoon, allowing us to hunt on their property, and for supplying the boiled peanuts! I believe between our two families there were 17 of us last night in the woods. I really enjoyed the discussion with Rod concerning the sovereignty of God in fulfilling His purposes through our choices and activities. The example we discussed related to Paul's experience in Acts 27. The angel expressed to Paul aboard the ship that no person's life would be lost during the storm (v. 22), but God used Paul's warning (vv. 30-32) and the efforts of the men (vv. 43, 44) to bring them to safety. What an encouragement to know God works through our prayers and lives to accomplish His pleasure!

Blaze

Blaze, with a name that brings to your mind "burning brightly or fiercely" we were excited to commence coon hunting. I hunted raccoons from my childhood until shortly before I married and started preaching. My children, however, were old enough to enjoy wildlife and outdoors, so we began hunting together during the weeknights over a year ago (Nov. 2007). We have found this to be an enjoyable alternative to television and we really enjoy the excitement it brings.



Blaze was a young English male. When we bought him he was around 6 months old. We discovered that he could really trail a drag. We would take an old coonhide and simulate a hunt by dragging the skin around the yard or into the woods and place it in a tree. Blaze, each time, would follow the trail and bark up the tree where the hide was placed. No trail was too hard or difficult for Blaze. He was really living up to his name.



After Blaze mastered the drag, we started taking him into the woods at night. Sometimes he would run in front of us and stop and stare back at us. This was expected though, he was still just a pup. On other occasions he would bark excitedly and run around. Once he treed in a large hollow tree. Later we tried hunting Blaze with older dogs to try and educate him. These older dogs are often referred to as "pup trainers." Our pup trainers included Ranger, Jinx, and Gus. As we began to hunt with other dogs we discovered that Blaze liked to face bark. Face barking is when a dog gets in the face of another dog while treeing and barks so as to try and show dominance, start a fight, or to intimidate. Fighting at the tree is an activity we want no part of, from dogs or humans. We did not like where this would lead. We decided, and this was really tough for Zach because he claimed Blaze as his own, to part with Blaze. We would let an experienced coonhunter have Blaze and try and break this bad habit he was developing.



We're not sure whatever happened to Blaze. I lost the hunter's name who took him and have had no success in finding him. Zach is especially curious. I think Zach really misses Blaze because he keeps his picture around on the wall, and under his pillow, and on the mirror. One thing is for sure, we appreciate Blaze for helping us get started and hope he is treeing a lot of coons.

Slick Treein' Idiot---A real coon dog, that is what we were getting. We drove down below the GA border into North FL for a walker (Treeing Walker---type of coon dog) male named Gus. Now Gus had a 1st place win in a UKC hunt and a winning pedigree. And at the time we thought that really meant something. We were both impressed and excited about the looks of Gus and his potential to chase and tree a coon. Oh, can you believe this, the owner also gave us $100 off the original sale price.

We couldn't wait for Gus to tree a raccoon. So we led him below the house to our creek the following night after we brought him home. What a mouth Gus had on him. He opened immediately on what appeared to be a hot track (recent coon track). Oh the excitement, Gus immediately was treeing a coon too! The kids and I hurriedly took off to where he was barking up the tree. I began to be a little concerned however when his barking led us to the top of a hill of planted pines. Most coons stay in the bottom you might know. I was even more concerned when I saw the tree Gus had his front paws on and his head was looking up at; a tree about ten feet high. Obviously there was no raccoon, but we shined our lights up to make sure. We were correct on our initial assessment, no raccoon. Gus probably was a little out of shape and still had to get accustomed to us was our logical conclusion for the mistake Gus made on this night.

A month later and many, many trees without a coon brought us to another conclusion. Gus was not out of shape, neither was it a problem with being accustomed to us, Gus was nothing but a Slick Treein' Idiot. Don't misunderstand, we liked Gus as a dog. Very loyal, very friendly. But loyalty and friendliness was not what we were pursuing. We wanted a coon dog! A Slick Treein' Idiot is what we had. Slick Treeing, you understand, is when a coon dog acts or even believes a coon is up the tree. The dog barks as if this is the case. However, as my boys relate, "the dog is lying." No coon could be found on Gus' trees.

Eventually a man from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina bought Gus. He understood what Gus was, but he really liked his pedigree. We told him, "Gus is a Slick Treein' Idiot." That was the last we saw or heard of Gus. We wish him well.