It was a beautiful, sunshiny, crisp March morning at Colleran’s. We had a wonderful time cruising down the north side of the creek with the pack, then crossing over the bridge at Chagrin River Road and going back up the south side of the creek, investigating every creekside covert for rabbits, but alas… We came up close to blank. We had some brief music, but out of the corner of my eye, I caught a view of a little chipmunk. It didn’t take the beagles long to figure out that Mr. Chips dives into a hole even more quickly than Miss Bun, so that short moment of music was little more than a silly diversion for all of us. Shortly thereafter, sharp-eyed whipper-in R Mock called out a warning from his forward position: he spied a herd of deer standing in the middle of the creek taking a drink. We had no trouble calling off most of the pack, but one of our younger, less experienced beagles thought it might be a good idea to cross the creek and see where his white-tailed friends had gone. A team effort between whips R. Mock., E. Dickinson, along with field member J. Pierce, rescued the last hound from the far side of the river. Our junior of the day, C. Roslan, did an outstanding job assisting R Mock, as well as holding hounds steady as we waited for that last beagle. Seeing as it was a very dry day… with leaves crunching under our feet, high spring sun, and a stiff wind blowing, scenting was difficult. We decided to end on a high note with all on again, and simply made the rest of the hunt an adventure walk. We happened to be in one of the most beautiful spots in all of Hunting Valley, so no one in the large and jolly field seemed to mind. Back at the barn, a wonderful lunch was served semi alfresco... A team effort between S. Wheeler, W. Downie, E. Anderson, and L. Mock, we took this opportunity to wish well the CVHC‘s manager John Sobecki, who will soon be venturing off into a new chapter. He has done so much for the hounds and the people who love the special outings with them...we will surely miss him! Many thanks to everyone who came out and participated… And, as always, thank you so much to our landowners, the Colleran and Mueller families, who so graciously make these wonderful memories possible. Thank you!
- rcallister