So far, 2009 has not been a good year for hunting. It started off well, with hunts on Jan 1 and 3, but that streak didn't last. Those of us who hunted on Jan 3 congratulated ourselves for carping the diem, because it looked like the weather was about to shut us down for a while. Unfortunately, we were right, even more so than we expected. Between rain, frozen ground, ice storm damage, and other inconveniences, this weekend was our first chance in six weeks. So we made the most of it, with only one minor casualty.

As usual, Crossbo made me proud. In spite of not having been ridden or exercised during our 6-week downtime, he was ready to go. We covered a lot of ground at a pretty good pace, and he never showed any sign of wanting to quit. Unfortunately, my iPhone GPS tracker unexpectedly quit after just 45 minutes, so I didn't get a complete chart or distance report.

In spite of such a sudden re-introduction into a long fast run after weeks of being couch potatoes and pasture ornaments, humans and horses all measured up to the rigors of the day. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for equipment, which shouldn't need exercise to stay fit.

We didn't have to wait anywhere near 30 minutes for our first drink, as we jumped our first coop much sooner than that. As I reached down to retreive my flask, I noticed it hanging at an odd angle. At first I thought one of the clips had come loose and tried to reattach it. Then I realized the problem was more severe. One of the leather loops which holds the clips had broken. Surgery will be required.

Fortunately no major loss occurred. I was afraid the dangling flask would put additional stress on the remaining clip, possibly causing it to also fail, which would have been catastrophic. So the flask rode in a coat pocket for the afternoon.