The beaglers had a wonderful morning at Colleran’s today. There was great company, breathtaking scenery, a bit of sunshine, and even some fine wines at the lunch. We are so grateful to our kind landowners and family for allowing us to enjoy the great outdoors on their spectacular acreage and warm our bones in the renovated historic Halfred Farms barn. I took our landowner’s suggestion of climbing the ridge to the west up to the bridle trail to begin the first draw. Friends who have participated in the mounted hunt’s Blessing Day drag know this trail well. The landscape rises up from Shaker Boulevard into a majestic woodland that serpentines high above a tributary to the Chagrin River, complete with waterfalls and stands of majestic pines. Those who have ridden this trail may also remember that there are many temptations that tantalize hounds of all sizes in these magical woods... and indeed, the first beagle voices we heard singing in the woods warranted a careful scan of the periphery. A flash of three white tails in the distance, heading towards Shaker Boulevard, alerted me that the beagles were contemplating a riot. The recent training the beagles have enjoyed with our dedicated whippers-in, including professional canine trainer S. Totten, promptly got their minds off of mischief and we were able to pack them up nicely again and carry on. Pike, Jenkins, Sizzle, and Iroquois all earned A’s for effort today. Gimlet seemed to follow her father George’s habit of raking about when scent was not strong, so those beagles only earned a C. Perhaps even a C is a generous grade as whipper-in R. Mock had to “save” Gimlet when she did a little impromptu cliff-diving and silly George found something very inelegant in which to cover himself during a roll. Back to the weekday training, you two! I am so grateful to all the whips, who had a challenging time having to traverse back-and-forth and constantly readjust their positioning with a rapidly changing landscape. Excellent job, everyone! This was a nice day where everyone in the field could sort of “choose their own line”. Some headed back to the barn the way we came, others got a head start towards scenic River Rd., And others still helped provide the staff with some terrific back up support. A socially-distanced lunch in the well-ventilated barn was such a treat, and the hospitality of our host was absolutely above and beyond. Thank you! It was such an enjoyable day to be out with hounds, in spite of those rascally rabbits hiding themselves a little too well.
- rcallister