Last trip of the Season

[comanche 3,345]

I suppose most serious ferreters have packed up now that the ground is starting to defend itself with tiny but disproportionately acid- tongued nettles and the burrows are running with scuttlers .Another season over.

Our last trip was a bit of the proverbial mixed bag. My mate had a family party to attend but still managed a couple of hours on the Downs with myself and his son . The lad had managed to wriggle out of the commitment and quite reasonably argued that as permission to work this bit of land had initially been given to him he could'nt very well leave me on it alone ....

Well we netted-up -another chalkland fortress of burrows that took all our nets and still laughed in our faces . The dogs sat ,tense ,heads cocked and ears twitching as their human companions squatted silently and the ferrets began their eviction work . It was a slow process but eventually rabbits began to bolt . The dogs took a rabbit each but a couple of others slipped from ungaurded holes ,dodged the long-stop and made away unscathed . The morning dragged -on .Brief bursts of action punctuated long periods of worrying inactivity. At one point a rabbit flew into a net carrying a ferret with it and both ended up trapped in the same meshes . Eventually the ferrets ,having seemingly lost any urgency to hunt through what was by now a virtually barren burrow system were caught and boxed. One however had not been seen for some time . In fact it had'nt surface since initially entering the burrow some hours before . A sweep with the lad's new locator roughly indicated that the little creature was some six feet down at the bottom of the scree slope . This was the boy's favourite ferret and it had already been missing quite a while ,waiting any longer did not seem a further option. While James collected the nets I started to dig . Periodically I tested the area with the locator but it was difficult to get a firm fix until I'd abandoned the Mk3 with it ambiguously flashing lights and brought the trusty old grey -box locator into use . The ferret had backed -up a yard or so and despite the fact that I had already trenched some five feet into the hillside I decided to move the centre of my excavation to one side . Before doing so though I sent my dog into the hole . Frantically she began to scrabble into the side of the trench . Rather than sink a new hole I continued digging where the dog had indicated and when I brought the old Mk 1 into play I was relieved to find that the ferret had come back towards me In fact it was only six inches away ! Gently I broke through and reached for the wayward animal . The poor little thing was quite unsteady on its' feet . Whether this had been caused by poor air quality in the depths of the burrow,exhaustion or perhaps a kick from a particually territorial doe one can only surmise but the decision to dig rather than wait hopefully for the ferret's reappearance had obviously been the right one .

James was relieved to have his favourite jill back and whilst we were examining her my dog clambered into the trench and dug out a very dead rabbit . With the ferret fully recovered we gathered our gear and rabbits and made our way back to the farm-yard and from there to a little country shop cum game dealer where we exchanged most of our haul for a mixture of hard cash , proper sausages and sundry rustic edibles .

It was quite a memorable end to the season but I think that next year I shall pull the age card and make the the boy do all the digging .

Edited April 9, 2009 by comanche

[ferreter.al 22]

niceone mate.looks like you had a good day out,you cant beat a good dig.lol.atb for next season.

[stealthy1 3,964]

A good dig keeps your heart and lungs in good nick.

[The one 8,612]

A nice six foot mark on the locator dont half make your heart miss a beat ,

[COMPO 54]

How many was in the bag at the end of the day

 

and that was a good read.....and well done on getting the ferret out

[comanche 3,345]

How many was in the bag at the end of the day

 

and that was a good read.....and well done on getting the ferret out

We had 23 from the one burrow but as you'll have gathered it was a big rambling one . A real South Downs chalk fortress & being the endof the season things were a bit sticky.Took us most of the day . To be honest I hate digging more than a foot or two but there really was'nt any option but to at least have a go. I've known the lad who owns the ferret since he was born as he is the son of one of my best mates . It's wierd ,I remember scraping round with his dad trying to get a few acres of ferreting permission and being over the moon if we managed to come home with a couple of rabbits apiece-rabbits that we really had to work for at that . To hit double figures was a memorable occurance indeed!. Once the boy was old enough we started bringing him along and now he is repaying us by taking me and his old man out on his own permission .....