I could've used a Red Tail

Yes, I said it. A big hen red tail would have been nice today. It ended up alright though.

I spent last night oiling up my most expensive piece of clothing - my Filson Chaps. I knew today was going to be a big day. I was going to hit a new spot that should be really good for rabbits.

I used to have a little honey hole where I consistently could catch rabbits. It was a small tract of land, maybe an acre. A few years back half of the land went under the tractor, roads were laid out among the rest.

I haven't been able to find another spot like it. But I got permission to hunt a tract of land close by, next to the courthouse. The area looked great - briers, scrub trees, cover.

I let the hawks out and bam, they took a squirrel. No chase, no excitement. He was just sitting and the hawks nailed him.

Okay - not what I was after today, but I'll take it.

That was the last living thing I saw in this new spot. I was terribly disappointed. I loaded the hawks back into the truck and went to leave.

Instead, I headed for my former honey hole.

I hadn't been here in years, and in that time, no construction had taken place. No houses, no roads. The cleared land had all grown into briers.

He,he,he,he - perfect.

I had my good chaps on. As I pulled the jeep in, I jumped a rabbit.

Since this little plot of land was so small - I decided to only fly Tess. The idea was that she would have more crashing power. I tossed her up to the nearest tree and started wading into the briers. It didn't take long before Tess was moving her head like she saw something down below.

She switched perches, bobbed her head. I waded in closer and she dove.

Wham. Squeeel. Rabbit one in the bag. I have historically been terrible at dispatching rabbits. But this one went off without a hitch. Stowed him, moved on.

Tess flew up to a nearby tree and I waded into the next patch. Tess moved, then moved again to the other side of the lot. Hmmm - that was strange. I started to head over when Tess Dove again.

No squeal this time.

I hurry over and Tess definitely is mantling over something. I rush in thinking squirrel - no. Grackle, taken on the ground. That is odd.

Transfer, move on. I wandered deeper into the brush. There were no trees here, and this is where I needed that Red Tail. That and a big T-perch, and some children to beat the brush.

But it was just me.

I waded, Tess crashed, and crashed, came back up, soaring low over the brush.

Crash.

Squeal.

We ended the day with quite the mixed bag. Good day for rabbits, and I'll give this little honey spot some time to recover.