Strike

Here is Strike at 4 months. He is just full of himself. I have had him out on excursions with the adult Staghounds on 2 occasions thus far. He has been cautious about these first outings. When Scorch and Mace coursed a hare a week ago, Strike stood by me and watched in apparent amazment. When they returned, he was very excited and jumped all over the girls and ran around in big circles. Can't wait until he is older. He is going through his teething stage and chews up everything he can get his mouth on.

Arapahoe Hunt - Blessing of the Hounds

I was fortunate enough to have been a guest of the Opening Day of the Arapahoe Hunt. I know what you are thinking, "These are not sight hounds" They are Scent Hounds. Foxhounds are very exciting to watch and they hunt coyotes in this part of the country. Each season starts with an old tradition of Blessing the Hounds by a Priest from the local Parish. He prays for the hounds, the riders and the quarry. This day was quite typical for the Rocky Mountain Region as it was quite cool with a constant mist in the air with overcast weather. I was lucky enough to get a ride with a lovely young woman named Dahlia who happened to be a world class "Bloody Mary creator" She and I along with another equally lovely young woman named Libby did the Hilltopping, watching the riders and hounds at full cry galloping across the countryside. Dahlia asked "Another Bloody Mary?" Who am I to refuse such a request... Of course
The hounds and riders covered a good deal of ground that day. One of the riders that had a hand held GPS said it was 18-1/2 miles. I was exhausted just thinking about it. Quite a nice day overall.