Ferreting ,fly tippers and Motorhead.

[comanche 2,923]

Age is a cruel master.

Having reached that certain stage where the plug-hole of life has to be unblocked of hair after every bath I've become loath to allow an oppertunity to do something other than work or vegetate at home to pass .

So when I found myself with an early finish on friday I hurled the nets in the van,grabbed a couple of ferrets and the young dog and paid a visit to my nearest bit of permission.

 

I'd worked this bit of land quite hard but there were a couple of nice open medium sized burrows that were untouched . As I walked towards them the dog made a mark at what seemed to be nice simple a six-holer at the side of the track . Closer examination revealed that it actually consisted of about thirty holes-most of which were deep inside a patch of dog rose and bramble . With the odd blackthorn acting as nature's trellis from Hell. Being a firm believer that the best way to encourage a young dog with its marking skills is to act on as many of these early marks as possible I started hacking my way into the thicket with the spade .I felt a bit like a fairy tale Prince out to rescue a sleeping Princess . The wisdom of age tells me that kissing unconcious women is a quick-fire way to a night in the cells and possible chemical castration .Any Dozing Damsel would have been left to rot . It was bunnies I was after .

Typically I was joined by the land owner just as I set the final net.Thankfully I was spared the "Landlord's Curse"-that law that says that when the farmer is watching the rabbits either belt out of un-netted holes or slip the nets . He stayed long enough to see the ferret popped in and four rabbits pop out.

A good start -happy farmer and another confidence building exercise for the pup.

There was still time to tackle the easy burrows nearby.The first of these produced four more rabbits though one threw a net but didn'nt go far . The dog put it to ground in the very set of holes that were next on the agenda.Another good lesson in marking . I finished the afternoon with ten rabbits and was just in the process of picking up the nets when I became aware of a vehicle parked in the lane on the other side of the hedge . a few seconds later a van pulled up and both drivers frantically began hurling tyres into the hedge . It was probably a bit daft of me to leap into the road and start taking photograghs of them but I blame a mature sense of indignation coupled with senile lack of self -preservation. Anyway I survived and the local fly-tipping investigation unit now have some rather good photograghs to work with.

 

Anyone who has not died of boredom can continue reading and skip ahead to Sunday's events .

My ferreting partner and his son are both keen cricketers and are fed up with rabbits from a neighbouring farm playing nocturnal matches on the club ground without paying any subscriptions. They managed to get permission to ferret the hedges of the adjacent farm track where most of the trouble-makers were holed-up.

The burrows were dotted all along the hedges and some -as we found out- ran right under the track and out the other side .

The dogs were marking all over the place .

We decided to set every net we had and starting from one end to work down both sides of the track simultaniously .

Several rabbits scuttled up and down the hedge-bottoms as we set the nets and were back-netted and one simply threw itself out of a burrow into a net even before the ferrets went in .

With over two hundred nets covering an equal yardage of hedgerow it was never going to be a quick job but it worked quite well.With the ferrets in I took up position on the track with my pup , my mate took the outside of one hedge-row and the lad and his dog covered the other flank.

Considering that the hedge was quite thorny very few nets failed to close properly and the odd bunny that did slip away ususlly ended-up back-netted further down the line . Don't get the idea that our little team were some smooth professional killing machine . There were plenty of moments when one or more of us were hooked up in the hedge unable to reach a netted rabbit or loose ferret or both dogs had decided to target the same runner while anothe bunny bolted behind them !.

Bl**dy Hoodies get everywhere!

 

It was actually quite hard going but we managed to work the whole track with daylight to spare and only had a couple of digs . Annoyingly one of which was through the rubble and chalk base of the track which if you were paying attention you will remember was my area of juristriction !.

Luckily the lad's dog has been exposed to radiation so we had a source of light to gut the rabbits by ( note the glowing eyes in the picture below )

Then I rushed home just in time to put the gear away ,feed the animals and get picked up by my tree-surgeon mate for our annual old person's pilgrimage to a suitably unsuitable concert.Did'nt even have time to get changed .

So If you were at Sunday night's Motorhead concert in Brighton and found yourself standing next to a scruffy old bloke who smelt of rabbit guts and ferrets .

Hard luck !

Edited November 29, 2010 by comanche

[leegreen 2,151]

Good on ya!

 

Is that not what people smell like at Moto Head concerts then?

[Moe 108]

sounds like a good day was had by all,well done.

[comanche 2,923]

Good on ya!

 

Is that not what people smell like at Moto Head concerts then?

I think you are thinking of Cliff Richards shows. Oh no . Cliff's fans all smell of wee and boiled cabbage .

Edited November 30, 2010 by comanche

[auld salmon 28]

nice read hope they get the fly tipper and do them

[bobcullen79 1,495]

Nice read mate. Fair play.

 

 

[ferrettom 0]

good write up mate sounds like a good day. f/t

[johnny boy68 11,726]

Good write up fella

[Guest crobinc840]

You can really tell a good story, you should write the articles on here. Much better than reading a cryptic language that's supposed to be english.

[warrigal 4]

Very enjoyable and well written, pleasure to see the English language used so well. No BS "Chavver speak" and it gud see Youse can spull proper and gramur and them punctuations things innit.

 

If your pics of the fly tippers are half as incrimnating as that of your mate "the Sussex hedgerow flasher" then they are in big trouble.

 

Motorhead!(I am surprised they are still alive!)Actually you could be on a winner with the fragrence, unless Moto fans have changed a lot, a subtle blend of sweat, rabbit gut, ferret pong and dash of ditch mud should be a real "puller" with the um...er...well "ladies" that used to attend their sophisticated musical soirees

 

Eau de Comanche, quite a nice ring to it, a marketing bonanza.

 

Nice looking and useful dog you have there, I note from a previous post he is a collie X lurcher , has quite a cattle dog look to him, interesting how many of these herding dog hybrids get a similar look regardless of what type was used be it Heeler,kelpie collie or whatever common genetic roots I guess.

It sounds as though he is progressing well, good luck for the future.

Edited November 30, 2010 by warrigal

[comanche 2,923]

[quote name='warrigal' timestamp='1291155125' post='18179

 

If your pics of the fly tippers are half as incrimnating as that of your mate "the Sussex hedgerow flasher" then they are in big trouble.

 

Motorhead!(I am surprised they are still alive!)Actually you could be on a winner with the fragrence, unless Moto fans have changed a lot, a subtle blend of sweat, rabbit gut, ferret pong and dash of ditch mud should be a real "puller" with the um...er...well "ladies" that used to attend their sophisticated musical soirees

 

Nice looking and useful dog you have there, I note from a previous post he is a collie X lurcher , has quite a cattle dog look to him, interesting how many of these herding dog hybrids get a similar look regardless of what type was used be it Heeler,kelpie collie or whatever common genetic roots I guess.

 

Thanks .I always worry that I'm going to bore folk with the write ups but I like reading other people's so I go ahead anyway.

 

Yep that picture of my mate looks ripe for some editing(if I knew how ) and sending to his wife . Or the police !.

Motorhead . Christ, Lemmy must be due his bus pass but you would'nt know it.One of our party brought his 13 year old son along . The lad was allowed down the front where things were a bit rough on the understanding that he did'nt tell his mum . What did he do on returning home ? . Only posted on Facebook that he'd got right up to the stage ,been knocked over ,lost his shoe ,had water thrown on him etc . Had a great time but rather dropped himself and his dad in it!

 

Funny you should mention the cattle dog look in my pup . I've thought the same . He also has a few of the behavioural characteristics of a ACd cross I once owned but without the more extreme "funny little ways".

All the best

[warrigal 4]

"Funny little ways" oh yes quite so, they really are... well...different.

Takes possesive to a different level. Not to mention the depressive bouts etc.

I have had some rather "moving" experiences with ACDs out here to say the least.

They are in some ways the best of dogs and the bloody worst.