DoubleCK
New member
Well the new knee had it's 2 week birthday Wednesday.
Didn't take any pain pills yesterday, so I saddled up the truck, took the Rubicon in for service and Tyke and Tucker to the groomer. House dogs have to be cleaned, clipped and strafed regularly you know.
When I got home I unloaded the Rubicon and went in the house for a little ice therapy and R&R. After a little recovery time I took the dogs out and jumped (well not really jumped more like crawled) on the Rubicon to go look at the traps. All the cages were empty so I pulled the Rubicon into the shop and Tyke and I worked on reinstalling the gear boxes that I had taken off for the service job. When we finished we stepped outside the shop and we could hear Tucker up the creek going at it.
So we pulled the Rubicon back out and headed up that way to see what she was into. When I got there I could tell she was in an area on the creek where she had started something several times over the last couple of months and had not been able to really get it lined out. I figured it would be the same today. Tucker worked hard for awhile and then lined out up the creek. I could tell she was stopped so I opened a gate and headed across an irrigated meadow to the tree line and creek bank on the far side. Not able to really do my part, but I was able to get off the Rubicon and across the fence toward where Tucker was working. I pulled out the binocs and started glassing the trees. Sure enough I spotted a bobcat in a tree across the creek. I hobbled along trying to get a little closer and a better angle when Tucker lined something out back down the creek. I looked and looked but could not spot the cat again. Tucker treed again so I limped down that way as best I could. I came around a bend in the creek and there half way up a big patch of willows was what looked to me to a bigger cat hanging like a kid on a fireman's pole. I pulled up my rifle but as soon as the cat saw me he baled like paratrooper. All heck broke loose on the creek and Tucker took him round and round and then up the creek again. I waited a bit to see what would develop and scanned the trees with my binocs still looking for the cat I had previously spotted in tree number one.
I could hear Tucker treed up the creek a ways, but knew that it was a trip that I wasn't prepared to take. Something about having them saw out the old knee and drive in and glue the new one takes it out of a guy. Well Tyke and I got back aboard the Rubicon and headed up country where we knew of a couple of gates that would get us into the bull pasture where it sounded like Tucker was treed. After opening the gates I stopped to look and listen. Sure enough I could here and see Tucker at the base of a big tree down on an irrigation ditch along the creek. We pointed the Rubicon down that direction and headed on in. As we drove toward the base of the tree I looked up and right in the middle of tree number three I could make out a cat giving me "the look" like only a wild cat can give. I slid to a stop and pulled the .22 mag out of the rack. I shouldered it......nothing but black. The front scope cover was closed. By the time I got that remedied that cat had decided that I wasn't very neighborly and was headed down out of tree number three. I had told myself that I was going to be doing some shooting this time, no matter what. So as he was headed out I got a hasty shot off. The way he reacted I knew I hit him but I wasn't sure how good. Tucker met him on the ground and they only went about 30 yards when the cat went up tree number four. I could see him pretty good and he clearly wasn't feeling so great. I finished him off and down he came. Then came the chore of hobbling down to the creek and carrying him back up to the Rubicon. Where is that good Chocolate Lab Retriever when you need her.
Tyke, Tucker and I regrouped at the Rubicon and I got to thinking, something just wasn't right, "the cats in tree number one and tree number two weren't the same size. Had to be two different cats." Well I decided I better give tree number three another good look.
Sure enough!!!
I took this one in the chest. Hit hard it ended up dangling from the tree hanging from one front paw way up. Tucker had spotted it and was ready, but even though I knew she had another run left in her, I was pretty much done in. I took the head shot. I could see the head flinch at the shot so I knew it was good. But the cat just hung there spinning one way and then another. I was afraid that it was wedged up there for good. I started brain stoming on how or truthfully who was going to go up and get that cat. About the time I had it all figured out the cat came down. Before I went down after this one I spent some time glassing tree number three for cat number three. Nope not this time, but it could have happened. ( - :
They said this Rehab would be slow and painful and they were right, it is. But who knew it would be this much fun.
Didn't take any pain pills yesterday, so I saddled up the truck, took the Rubicon in for service and Tyke and Tucker to the groomer. House dogs have to be cleaned, clipped and strafed regularly you know.
When I got home I unloaded the Rubicon and went in the house for a little ice therapy and R&R. After a little recovery time I took the dogs out and jumped (well not really jumped more like crawled) on the Rubicon to go look at the traps. All the cages were empty so I pulled the Rubicon into the shop and Tyke and I worked on reinstalling the gear boxes that I had taken off for the service job. When we finished we stepped outside the shop and we could hear Tucker up the creek going at it.
So we pulled the Rubicon back out and headed up that way to see what she was into. When I got there I could tell she was in an area on the creek where she had started something several times over the last couple of months and had not been able to really get it lined out. I figured it would be the same today. Tucker worked hard for awhile and then lined out up the creek. I could tell she was stopped so I opened a gate and headed across an irrigated meadow to the tree line and creek bank on the far side. Not able to really do my part, but I was able to get off the Rubicon and across the fence toward where Tucker was working. I pulled out the binocs and started glassing the trees. Sure enough I spotted a bobcat in a tree across the creek. I hobbled along trying to get a little closer and a better angle when Tucker lined something out back down the creek. I looked and looked but could not spot the cat again. Tucker treed again so I limped down that way as best I could. I came around a bend in the creek and there half way up a big patch of willows was what looked to me to a bigger cat hanging like a kid on a fireman's pole. I pulled up my rifle but as soon as the cat saw me he baled like paratrooper. All heck broke loose on the creek and Tucker took him round and round and then up the creek again. I waited a bit to see what would develop and scanned the trees with my binocs still looking for the cat I had previously spotted in tree number one.
I could hear Tucker treed up the creek a ways, but knew that it was a trip that I wasn't prepared to take. Something about having them saw out the old knee and drive in and glue the new one takes it out of a guy. Well Tyke and I got back aboard the Rubicon and headed up country where we knew of a couple of gates that would get us into the bull pasture where it sounded like Tucker was treed. After opening the gates I stopped to look and listen. Sure enough I could here and see Tucker at the base of a big tree down on an irrigation ditch along the creek. We pointed the Rubicon down that direction and headed on in. As we drove toward the base of the tree I looked up and right in the middle of tree number three I could make out a cat giving me "the look" like only a wild cat can give. I slid to a stop and pulled the .22 mag out of the rack. I shouldered it......nothing but black. The front scope cover was closed. By the time I got that remedied that cat had decided that I wasn't very neighborly and was headed down out of tree number three. I had told myself that I was going to be doing some shooting this time, no matter what. So as he was headed out I got a hasty shot off. The way he reacted I knew I hit him but I wasn't sure how good. Tucker met him on the ground and they only went about 30 yards when the cat went up tree number four. I could see him pretty good and he clearly wasn't feeling so great. I finished him off and down he came. Then came the chore of hobbling down to the creek and carrying him back up to the Rubicon. Where is that good Chocolate Lab Retriever when you need her.
Tyke, Tucker and I regrouped at the Rubicon and I got to thinking, something just wasn't right, "the cats in tree number one and tree number two weren't the same size. Had to be two different cats." Well I decided I better give tree number three another good look.
Sure enough!!!
I took this one in the chest. Hit hard it ended up dangling from the tree hanging from one front paw way up. Tucker had spotted it and was ready, but even though I knew she had another run left in her, I was pretty much done in. I took the head shot. I could see the head flinch at the shot so I knew it was good. But the cat just hung there spinning one way and then another. I was afraid that it was wedged up there for good. I started brain stoming on how or truthfully who was going to go up and get that cat. About the time I had it all figured out the cat came down. Before I went down after this one I spent some time glassing tree number three for cat number three. Nope not this time, but it could have happened. ( - :
They said this Rehab would be slow and painful and they were right, it is. But who knew it would be this much fun.
