05/10/2025
I'm going to be on my own with Bubba the next few weeks as my sidekick has other responsibilities to attend to..but I wanted to share an essay that she wrote. ( I think her parents made her do a little research!) 😊 Midnight Music Kennels gifted Ashlyn a puppy and she is beyond excited that she will have all summer to train her Dixie Bell!
Take a kid hunting, folks!! James Ricks Abby J Ricks
**************Dixie Bell By Ashlyn Bowden, 14
Dixie Bell was more than just a hound. She was a legend within the c**n hunters in our small town. Her sleek back-and-white coat with her keen nose made her the center of every Fall gathering, where the hunters and their dogs would go out into the woods with their lights and hearts pounding with anticipation. C**n hunting is a tradition passed down through generations. Dixie Bell’s name was always spoken with respect. She had the uncanny ability to pick up the faintest scent and follow it through the woods under vines and through brush and across the runs of water that could be a swamp, river, creek, or a pond.
C**n hunting typically takes place at night, that is when the c**ns move the best. If you are c**n hunting during the summer months, you would want to go out around nine o’clock or a little after that way you have a greater possibility of treeing c**ns. If you are hunting in the winter months then you can head out around seven o’clock that way you can have a greater chance of treeing c**ns. Hunters often rely on well trained dogs, known as c**nhounds, to track and tree the c**ns. The dogs are released into an area that c**ns have been seen recently, more than likely it will be near water. C**ns like to make their home in a tree not far from the water. After Dixie Bell got the scent of the c**n, her barking would echo through the woods, that would signal that the chase was on, the excitement would build as her barking intensified, letting us know that she was getting ready to tree the c**n. When her barking changed to being steady we knew she was treed, after that we would walk to where she is and look to see if she had a c**n. Most of the time she did, she rarely treed anything else.
The hunt itself was a test of endurance and skill for both the dog and the handler. Dixie Bell’s determination was unmatched; she would scramble over logs, splash through creeks, and never lose focus, no matter how tricky the c**n’s escape route. Sometimes, the c**n would put up a fight which would end in the dog would be scratched and tired, but always proud. The tradition of c**n hunting is rooted in respect for the animal and the land. As well as in the bonds between the dogs and their handlers. C**n hunting is not about the catch but more about the adventure and the stories that are told later on that you can laugh about.
As dawn crept over the horizon, Dixie Bell would be ready to turn in to go to sleep where the other dogs that don’t hunt are just getting up. Her tail wagging because she had done good in the hunt that night. The children would gather around to hear about the story of how the hunt was. The older hunters would nod in appreciation of her skill. In may ways Dixie Bell had the sprit of c**n hunting-a blend of tradition, teamwork, and the wild joy of the chase. Her legacy lives on in every hound that takes to the woods, their nose to th ground ready for adventure under the southern stars.
