Mighty Hunter

When we went for walks in Meadville, Pennsylvania, it was all about the pee and poop. Sure, we chased and caught a chipmunk now and then, she killed about thirty moles in two and a half years, and a few birds and baby bunnies bit the dust. But those were incidental to the work of taking care of business. Here at Wyndchase Bellevue, and for some distance around the property, it's all about the hunt. Sometimes I think she's playing a game called "No peeing or pooping until I kill something." Instead of sniffing the ground for good places to make deposits, she's sniffing the bushes for rabbits, poking in the grass for moles, and all the time watching watching watching for rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks. We almost never go out in the local area without giving chase to something, and usually several somethings. She has caught and killed three moles and three rabbits in two months, and come within inches of many more, including many chipmunks.

This week has been chipmunk week. Monday morning at Edwin Warner Park, I swear they were taunting her. They ran across the trail right in front of us, just out of reach. They sat at the edge of the path until we got close, then darted into the cracks and crevices of the stone walls along the edge. They ran in the gully beside the road, Grace hot on their tiny heels. Back home at Wyndchase, the tradition continues. The little bastids are doing the same tricks, with the addition of storm drains and down spouts in which to escape. I have done an emergency repair of a downspout torn from the wall by a frustrated bassador. In addition, there is a ten foot by forty foot pit behind the complex, with retaining.walls of railroad ties, deep enough to dissuade her from jumping in, where chipmunks and squirrels are visible and in tantalizing motion. I keep a tight leash on our girl when she is at the edge gazing down at the action in the pit. And back home, they even come strolling across the porch on the other side of the sliding glass door. Evil little critters, chipmunks .

I don't know if it's a Tennessee thing, a Nashville thing or a Bellevue thing, but around here,  the hedges are mostly short, squat holly bushes. They are, evidently, excellent evergreen bushes. They are, certainly, excellent rabbit habitat. The area around the trunks is wide open, and the canopy  hangs down close to the ground. During most of our walking time she is poking that busy busy nose into the bushes, sniffing and looking for rabbits. As often as not, a bunny comes shooting out the other side, dashing for cover elsewhere. Grace goes running around the end of the hedge, hoping to find it on the other side. No luck? She dashes back around to the original point. No luck? Back around again, back and forth until either she gives up, or her dad drags her away. Then on we go to a different hedge.
This gives her a lot of exercise per mile, and I appreciate that.

And she does grudgingly accomplish the business detailed in the opening paragraph. I appreciate that as well.