I was out riding a clients horse in the woods this morning and in the distance I could hear a lone hound singing. His voice came through the woods as if being carried along by a zephyr.
I am ready for the new season to begin!!
It is a lovely sound…I’m jealous…in a nice, smilingly jealous sort of way…of those who are actually ready and able to hunt soon. I’ll get there eventually…
On a somewhat related note, I was the “foster parent” of a hound a few years ago. When she would “sing” at supper time, she struck the exact note needed to vibrate the metal dish in my hands. She was from Tennessee and I have since wondered if she wandered away from a hunt.
Hinderella, I had a Basset that would sing when I played the Peanuts theme on the piano. He and my other Basset would sing when someone left a voicemail, and he would sing on command. He had a beautiful voice. When he died, I had a gravestone made that said, O, that he had one more song to sing.
My beagle has got a mouth on her too, and when she runs a rabbit on this place everyone knows it. What is funny is that my horses will perk up at the sound of her voice and start galloping. They know exactly what is happening.
I am just itching for cubbing to begin. Once I start seeing the corn spiders and crickets, and see the Joe Pye weed blooming… I start making my To Do list.
Hope to see you both this season.
I am lucky enough to hear the whole pack burst into song at least once, every single day. Most mornings, around daybreak, they open up, and often again in the afternoon when it’s nearing dinner time. There’s no sound like it. It usually starts with just one, and within moments the whole pack joins in, then after a minute or so, it suddenly stops dead. I’ve recorded them and have it as my ringtone on my phone. 
Its something I never get sick of hearing.
It is a sound that resonates deep in my soul. It is something that stirs and electrifies my inner being, but yet I feel a sense of a being “at home” type of calm when I hear it.
I love watching a dog work…a great pointer or retriever…but they don’t stir up any electricity like hound music.
This lone hounds voice was so full bodied. His lone voice filled the woods. I imagine he’s a neighbor of my clients coon hound.
I used my phone a couple of times last season to try and record my hunts hounds when they were on a line. Unfortunately, it seemed that almost every time I tried I either fumbled with the phone and messed it up or all you could hear was the crunching of leaves due to the very dry conditions.
I’m going to try again this year and hope to be more successful.
