Man-flu ,broken spade and thirty rabbits .

[comanche 3,108]

Poor Martin has been suffering from what his wife refered to as Man-Flu. This meant that for several days he's had to lay semi-comatose before the fire watching the television eating hob-nobs all day . It also means a day out ferreting with his lad and your's truly on what turned out to be a filthy ,cold and drizzly day was just what he needed. The fact that Mrs Martin is away all weekend may've had some bearing on the fellows stoic rise from his death-bed to brave the elements but I tend to think it has more to do with the fact that we called him a fairy .

The weather was truly dismal when we arrived at the farm belonging to a lovely elderly lady who had'nt actually expected us to turn-up at all due to the conditions .

Starting in a blackthorn thicket that gave some protection from the wind we set getting on for 150 nets and slipped in the ferrets (classic phrase that ,"slipped in the ferrets".Sounds better than "Tried to get the ferret down the hole but it's collar got tangled in the net and the little bleeder bit me ". No field sports writer ever uses that phrase .)

Poor Martin was looking a bit pale and cold but I think that the fact that the rabbits were bolting well kept his mind off his swollen throat , dripping nose and swirling head . Anyway ,as his son and I mentioned a couple of times within his earshot ,if he did'nt make it through the day at least we had a spade with us .

I have to confess that I was feeling a bit cold and damp by the time we'd decided to catch the ferrets and pull the nets .At this point we were pretty sure that the ferrets had been through the whole burrow but my bitch started digging madly at one of the holes . I popped my sandy jill in but she reappeared . I decided that the dog was detecting some old scent but she looked at me almost manically imploring me to believe her so the ferret was entered in a nearby hole . ("entered" ,another bit of pro field sports writers terminology . Although I'd like to add that despite rumours I've never entered a ferret in my life .)

This resulted in a lay-up but a good one . I dug down a couple of foot and pulled out a dead rabbit. As I was handing the corpse to the boy my bitch dived headfirst into the hole and reappeared with a very live but very wet bunny to add to the bag . Ever hopefull I probed the hole once more but decided that the fact that it was flooded probably accounted for the ferrets reluctance to explore it too deeply in the first place and made it unlikely to hold any more surprises . My dog did not agree with my diagnosis of the situation and we left her harmlessly scrabbling about while we picked up the nets . I'd be the first to admit that she's not the brightest sparkler in the packet but I really should trust the little dogs judgement more . Sure enough by the time all the nets were in the bag she'd hauled out another rabbit !

We were all cold ,the dogs were soaking and covered in mud and we already had a good haul of rabbits so of course we opted to do a couple more burrows. This time we found ourselves standing outside the wood fully exposed to the wind . We whacked about thirty nets down over a couple of little burrows and loosed the ferrets to wreak their mustalidian havoc in the very bowels of the earth ...(Ok a bit over the top but I did'nt want to use the phrase "slipped -in" again . )

Well we caught ten more rabbits but had to dig for a couple during which my faithfull old Spear and Jackson Number 2(Aye the number two ,the one wi proper nuts on andle stead o rivets !) broke it's handle . The B*stards laughed at me when it happened !. I loved that spade .

Edited December 13, 2009 by comanche

[stealthy1 3,964]

At least you know what to ask for for Christmas

[Brimmer 220]

RIP S&J

 

Good work and bag by the way.

 

Just re-shaft the spade, you only really need to worry when the blade wears out!

[Jamie93 57]

A very enjoyable post i must say. Well done mate and I'm very sorry to hear of your tragic loss of the spade

Happy Hunting Jamie93

[The one 8,529]

Great read mate and how do you break a Spear and Jackson spade thought they where built to last forever

[comanche 3,108]

Great read mate and how do you break a Spear and Jackson spade thought they where built to last forever

It was a very old S&J. Old but faithfull. Like a much loved dog it had been with me for years ,moulding itself to my ways until ,like a vintage set of underwear, it came to be part of me. For it to be peeled from my grasp and shattered by the cruel humour of fate was a blow from which recovery will be slow . After a decent period of mourning,body scarification and the cutting -off of hair I shall follow Brimmer's advice and go in search of a new handle .

Once more the Spear & Jackson No 2 shall rise and take its place in the hunting field . The earth shall tremble as its sharpened blade again cuts deep in search of wayward rabbits."Hang on someone at the door ".

Strange . A couple of chaps -Jehovas Witnessess I guess- just tried to bundle me up in what looked like a big duvet with straps . Told em I was agnostic and they went off muttering something about getting a stun-gun .

Anyway thanks for the sympathy and condolences regarding my recent loss. No flowers please . All the best .

Edited December 14, 2009 by comanche

[ianltz 5]

great read fella

[longdog13 36]

I damn near chocked on my lunch reading that :rofl:

Bloody good job there fella

[fensaluki 35]

Great pics and post mate..top class

ATB

[The one 8,529]

It was a very old S&J. Old but faithfull. Like a much loved dog it had been with me for years ,moulding itself to my ways until ,like a vintage set of underwear, it came to be part of me. For it to be peeled from my grasp and shattered by the cruel humour of fate was a blow from which recovery will be slow . After a decent period of mourning,body scarification and the cutting -off of hair I shall follow Brimmer's advice and go in search of a new handle .

Once more the Spear & Jackson No 2 shall rise and take its place in the hunting field . The earth shall tremble as its sharpened blade again cuts deep in search of wayward rabbits."Hang on someone at the door ".

Strange . A couple of chaps -Jehovas Witnessess I guess- just tried to bundle me up in what looked like a big duvet with straps . Told em I was agnostic and they went off muttering something about getting a stun-gun .

Anyway thanks for the sympathy and condolences regarding my recent loss. No flowers please . All the best .

 

 

:clapper: :clapper:

[ferretville 69]

good read and tidy bag

[theferreter 311]

good read mate and good bag aswell

[Moe 108]

great stuff you want to be carefull what you say entering ferrets and whacking them you will have fluffy bunny police on yer case