Keavy went through some thick briers and still had a good hold on the bunny.I think Uncle Buddy's squawking back at Keavy.
I checked my watch and headed for the cemetery. Keavy got high in the first cedar tree. First I got the dogs to hunt the field around the cemetery.Then we moved in and I could tell Janey smelled one.I hit the cover, out came the rabbit.Keavy went for it but no squeal. I went over and found Keavy with a lot of fur but no rabbit.
/
We didn't find a rabbit until we got back close to the house.
Dakota got one moving. Keavy made a dive for it.We heard her hit the ground hard but no squeal.It was a long ways out and behind some tall sumac and she missed. She took flight right away and circled the field and made another dive.I didn't here a squeal and when I got out to her she had that the disappointed look on her face.
We had hunted for over two hours and then it was pizza time.
All the grandchildren came for Mass and the Christmas Eve party. They all have their own look.
We tried a real short hunt after pizza behind dads.But no rabbits found. The dogs did tree a big cat and Keavy flew over and checked it out.I called her down to the glove and called it a day.
Monday we had off and Keavy got #8 rabbit with the help of Janey.The dogs found the rabbit under a stump - I flushed it out. Keavy made her dive and I heard the squeal and went running to it only to meet the rabbit running with Janey in pursuit. I could see the rabbit was hurt badly. Keavy came flying back in just as Janey grabbed the rabbit - they both had hold of it till Janey gave it up.
I put #7 in my bag and we went back to hunting. I was hoping for two but we ran out of lunch hour. 
This lunch time rabbit is going to be dinner rabbit. 
Saturday Rick and I went and Keavy made two good tries. The first was a good chase scene and the second she got some fur but no rabbit.Sunday was just me and the dogs. Keavy was on top of her game. She wanted a rabbit bad and followed along from the tree tops without a call from me. We hunted the field edge behind the cabin. We didn't jump a rabbit till we were half way around the field edge. As fast as I could yell rabbit I heard Keavy hit the ground hard. But no squeal from the bunny.I found Keavy on the ground with that disappointed look on her face. She got on my glove and I walked her out to the edge.I gave her a pitch and back up in a tree she went.
The dogs where off on the rabbits trail. It had only been a few minutes and Keavy made a dive through the woods dodging trees and branches.Then came a squeal and I went running.I went in a little way and stopped to listen for her bells.I still can't believe how she could see that rabbit so far in that thick woods. When I got there she looked at me like she was saying come on help me hold this thing before it gets away . 
Tired ground crew. 
I think in this picture Keavy is going over tomorrows hunting strategy and being ignored.
She settled in and watched the dogs and everyone like she'd done it before. We didn't jump any rabbits in the field so the next step was to see if she'd follow me. I had to get the lure out and give it a swing but she moved along with us just getting higher in the trees each move. Then she made a dive back toward the field. I headed for where I thought she should be but didn't see her or hear bells.I looked across the field hoping not to see her heading south. Then my sponsor, Bill, found her back up in a tree. I got the lure back out to try to get her to follow but she was happy where she was and not interested in the lure (she may have caught & ate a mouse). Keavy finally came down to the lure. It was getting close to turkey time so I put her back in the mew. Bill thought she did well and to take here hunting again.After dinner and a couple of glasses of wine, I ready to try again.
We had only hunted for a few minutes when out came the rabbit. I heard a crash and a squeal and found Keavy holding our first rabbit.
She got to eat all she wanted and left some for me and the dogs.
She's a lean mean hunting machine with a full crop now.
I cooked my share last night.May have been the best Rabbit ever. 
She was the biggest and came into the trap hard and fast.
She spent most of the next day with me on the glove getting to know the dogs and her new home. She has been a great first hawk. She ate from my glove Saturday and flew to me the on the zip line. She got a jetty ride too! 
We at Bobworld decided to name her after Keavy. We all agree Keavy wouldn't have minded and probably would have gotten a hoot out of it.
The cook house is clean, supper cooked.He's supplying deer meat too. Sorry Connie, you can't have him back.I took Xander and Nate duck hunting.
We shot them up close coming into the wetlands. I was able to knock a couple down and the dogs picked them up.
Sunday Bill and I worked the dogs on quail and had a good hunt. The dogs found a covey and we each killed a couple.
The jersey guys were down for early muzzle loader season. I wasn't home Saturday when they left but heard they got one.I haven't heard what yet.I went after my hawk Saturday to Western MD. I want to catch a female red tail. The females are bigger then the males and that gives them an advantage for rabbit hunting.We were using bow nets. 
We caught this pretty male.
We had a female make a couple of stoops [that's a dive] but we didn't get her in the trap. 
Wood duck season opened in Delaware and we've been hunting at the Taylor Farm.(Billy is out of town)
The dogs have been doing a really good job retrieving.
I have my brother-in-law,Garry,from North Carolina coming to stay for awhile. I'm making him chief cook and bottle washer.The jersey guy's have been down for bow hunting but no deer down. I've been too busy to get out and kill one. I'm down to the end of the deer burger now.So deer hunting is going to be a necessity.I plowed up the clover in the field behind the cabin and replanted it. 
I put in a couple of small food plots. Wood ducks have started coming in to the wetlands pretty good. There seems to be 3 coveys of quail. The sunflowers are where the dogs find them the most.Blake and his friend Will and I went looking for the quail. 
We finally found a big covey, but they went in to the soy beans and the dogs couldn't find them. The scenting conditions weren't good for the dogs.
Mike,Becky and their friends came to bobworld for the weekend.We all ran in the 5k Dogfish dash Sunday.
I wanted to cut them down myself but was afraid of them falling the wrong way and hitting the garage.
It was nice of her to have the trees go around the chimney instead of through it.
Somehow Irene got the trees on the roof with little damage. The ridge cap is bent, that's about it.From what I've seen so far, the Quail I released two weeks ago made it through the storm o.k. The dogs find a covey or two on every walk. 
The blurs in this picture are Quail heading for stubby cover. 
We had over 10" of rain in the last week, making my clover look good.
All my food plots are looking good - this is how my sunflowers looked .
The corn is the best I've had in my flood pond. 
This hunting season is going to be a little different. I'm trapping one of these guys.
I passed my falconry test and built a mew [home for the hawk]. May be used to hold out of control grandchildren.
That's going to be my fall job - catching a red tail and training it to catch rabbits and squirrels for me. I'll also be training my dogs to hunt with the hawk. Yeah, that's going to be interesting.
