WEEKEND

Saturday Cindy and Rinker came over to go hawking with me.We made a big breakfast first. After eating, we loaded Keavy and the dogs. We started at the hedge row by the wetlands.Keavy hadn't hunted since her night out and was ready to go. She got in a tree and I gave everyone a stick. It was Rinkers
first time hunting with a hawk.I jumped a rabbit within a few minutes.Keavy made a dive and hit the rabbit in some thick briers. We ran to her. She was on the ground with fur only. We hunted the the rest of the hedge row with Keavy staying in one spot. She seemed to think she knew something was there but we never got it to move.I called her down with the lure and we headed for the thicket. Keavy followed us through the thicket. We then hunted the field and got nothing to move so I called her down and put her in the truck.Then Janey started barking and I went over to check it out.She was barking at a bush pile. One kick from me and out came the rabbit. Keavy was in the truck. We will get that one another day.We headed behind my dad's.We hadn't hunted long and we got one moving. Keavy made a dive but the rabbit made it to thick green briers.The dogs gave chase.I saw Keavy make a dive into the woods.Rinker was in the right spot and got to see Dakota hit his brakes as Keavy came down for a perfect kill.I let Keavy have some rabbit and headed back to the truck.
We got back to the house and took a picture.I showed them how easy it is to skin and clean a rabbit.With the skin off we could see the damage Keavy did to the rear leg..Rinker offered to help me cut and split some wood. Real good day: rabbit #21 and a nice stack of wood cut and split.
Sunday I was on my own. I went back behind the airstrip hunting. I jumped a rabbit really fast. Keavy missed on the first try. The dogs went after this rabbit hard. In only a few minutes Keavy made her dive and I heard the squeal. I ran over and found Keavy standing in the ditch. She was in the water and I thought she'd missed. Then she started dragging the rabbit up the bank. I was really shocked. That was a steep bank.#22

KEAVY'S NIGHT OUT

Tuesday on my lunch break I went back behind dad's. Keavy was high in a pine tree.
The dogs and I were 25 yards from her when I heard her bells and then the sound of her smacking against a tree.I turned to see Keavy gliding down with a squirrel in her talons. She disappeared behind some holly trees.The dogs and I ran to the spot where I thought she'd landed but couldn't find her. After looking for a few minutes I thought maybe she dropped it and it got away. I started looking for her in the trees and got the lure out. After 20 minutes of calling her and swinging the lure I was getting worried. Then I saw four redtails soaring high above and really got nervous. I called Bill, my sponsor, he said she most likely had feed up on the squirrel and was sitting in a tree full and happy. I called work and told Judy I wouldn't be back on time. I looked for Keavy till dark.I was back at first light on Wednesday and hunted for her for an hour.I went into work for awhile and then headed back to the search. I was walking on the other side of the woods when I thought I heard bells. I stood there hoping I wasn't hearing things. Then I heard them again. I went into the woods a bit and heard nothing. Went back out where I heard them, looked up and there she was. Keavy was all feed up, sitting high in a tree, enjoying life. I took a few minutes and thanked God for answering my prayer. I put a big piece of rabbit meat on my lure that she couldn't resist and down she came.She was 42oz before the hunt, she weighted 56oz when I got her home!

19 &20

Saturday it was raining so I worked on the cook house. I had built shelves last week and needed a silverware drawer.I used an old coke case for the drawer. I got that done, cleaned up some and decided to take the hawk out in the light rain. Tried hunting again at the cemetery down the back lane. We haven't gotten any rabbits from there yet. Keavy got in the big cedar tree, the dogs and I went into the thick brush. Janey got a rabbit moving and Keavy made a dive for it.She got hung up in the cover. The rabbit went into the field and Keavey got back in the tree. It wasn't long when she flew out into the field, hovered and dived. I went to her but she had missed. The field has great cover for the rabbits to hide in. I tried hunting the field but was getting really wet. I called Keavy down and went back home for waterproof pants.I decided to hunt the thicket by the wetlands next. Keavy got high in a corner tree. The dogs and I hunted through it to the end. We hunted the other side back and Janey started trailing one. Janey had worked her way out into the field. I followed along with Dakota - we hunted out a hundred yards and worked our way back. I jumped the rabbit and it headed for the thicket but Keavy nailed it.
Sunday I hunted down to my Dad's in a corner of the woods I hadn't hunted yet.
We jumped a rabbit in just a few minutes but Keavy missed it. The woods is open with lots of green brier patches. Keavy tried six more times before she got him.Keavy got a lot of dives in, good exercise for #20 rabbit.

#18 TODAY ON LUNCH BREAK

We were doing some work on Christina's truck today.I told her about Keavy and all the rabbits she's been catching.She told me she has a good place with lots of rabbits. Off we went on a lunch time hunt.Keavy was a little heavy at 44oz. but did a great job.She missed the first one but gave it a good chase. The next one wasn't so lucky.Keavy put the dive on it.We tried for two and Keavy put on a good show chasing another but it made it to cover.Lunch times are not long enough - we had to quit.But bunnies beware - Christina invited us back.

SATURDAY, SUNDAY AND MONDAY

Saturday I needed to cut some firewood so I went looking for a dead oak. I called the dogs,turned Keavy loose and headed for the back woods.Keavy followed along really good. Halfway down the path I found my tree. Keavy went after a squirrel that made it to a hole. I decided to move out to the edge and find a rabbit. Keavy was following well and then quit. I called her but she stayed looking down into a brier patch that I and the dogs had been through. I walked back and could see she had her eye on something.
I stepped in - out the other side went the rabbit.Keavy made a dive and a quick left and I heard the squeal.That evening I went to Taylor's deer hunting and got this nice doe. Sunday I went back behind dad's house. Keavy was behind me, back about 75 yards, when I jumped one. The rabbit ran towards her. She dove down and missed, made a sharp turn and got him. Monday on lunch break we hunted the ditch by the wetlands. I jumped one really quick - Keavy made a dive for it but pulled up and went to a tree. The dogs hunted for it and Keavy flew out into the field, hovering for a while and dove.She missed and went back to a tree.
Within a few minutes she flew across the field and dove, getting the rabbit.

GOOD WEEKEND

Had Rick and his son Ricky for brush beaters on Saturday. Rick has hunted twice (when she missed rabbits) and Ricky hadn't hunted with Keavy yet. We hunted over on Bill's farm where I jumped a rabbit in the first few minutes. Keavy dived for it but the rabbit made it to a big brush pile. We hunted for a couple of hours and didn't jump another rabbit. We did see a couple of bucks - one had a nice rack. We left there and went to the cemetery on my back lane. There Ricky jumped a rabbit but it made it to the cover in the field before Keavy could get to it. I got one out of the brush pile down the back lane and saw it run across the lane. She went for it but it made it to cover. Keavy then flew across to the woods and watched the big brier patch that has had a lot of rabbits in it. Rick gave up and went back to the house. Ricky and I kept hunting, we only went a few yards and I jumped one. Keavy made a dive and short chase and #12 was in the bag.
Sunday I took Keavy to Peters T's house. His land has good cover and he sees rabbits. His neighbors, the Vooris family, were interested to see Keavy hunt. I gave them all sticks and turned Keavy loose. Within a few minutes she was high in a pine tree hanging by her wings with a squirrel in her talons. I could see the squirrel tail moving, looked like she had it by the head. She hung there for several minutes before gliding to the ground. #13 turned out to be our first squirrel. Once I got the squirrel in the bag, Keavy went back to hunting. We went through some good cover and she went after something but we didn't see what it was. I called Keavy back and headed home.
It was only 3 o-clock and I had to try one more spot. I headed to the thicket at the end of my back lane. There are more briers there then I wanted to get into and hadn't hunted yet. It wasn't as bad as I thought and I was able to chase a rabbit out. I didn't see the rabbit but Keavy flew by me and out into the field about a 100 yards and dove in.This made a first for Keavy and me: two critters in the game bag/on same day.

10&11

Saturday Don, his son and grandson came over to see Keavy hunt.
We hunted our way around the field behind the cabin.I jumped one in big brier patch where Keavy had missed one a couple times.I only saw the rabbit for a second and Keavy came flying down the edge - she had #10.Keavy wasn't really into leaving that spot - I called her down to the glove.We tried one more spot and jumped a rabbit out in the field but she didn't see it.She may have been watching something in the woods. The rabbit was only out in the open for a second.I called her back with the lure and we called it a day.Home from the hunt - photo op and rabbit cleaning.
Monday Garry's grandson, Landen, got to see #11 rabbit go down. It was really windy so we went to Taylor's farm. The field around his clover has woods on three sides with good cover.We hadn't hunted long when I jumped a rabbit. Keavy hadn't moved from her first spot. I blew the whistle calling her to follow.It always amazes me how she can see the rabbit so fast.She came flying by Landen and me, went into the woods, made a sharp right turn and I heard the squeal. We put the rabbit in the bag and went back hunting but couldn't find another one.Hunt finished: Landen, Bob, Keavy, Janey & Dakota.