What can I say about Holly?  She's impressed me with how quickly she progressed on tracking and treeing.  She's been naturally straight and aside from the occasional possum has been all coonhound.  Bawl and chop on track, nice long bawl locate, and steady chop on tree.  I really like the fact that she finishes what she starts.  She has a hot to medium nose, will drift the track, and is a one way tracker.  Holly is a nice tree dog with a loud mouth that will drown out a lot males.  Intelligent, super temperament, excellent conformation, and is all around a gorgeous female.  She is simply a very nice hound. 

Holly has been a great reproducer.  I could not be happier with her.  She has always done her part in the whelping box raising big, fat, healthy puppies that are filled with a desire to please and strong instincts to hunt raccoons.  As Holly nears her seventh birthday, I realize that the window is closing fast and we will likely only breed her one more time.  I am scouring the country looking for that perfect match.  I have a list of possible studs that I'm working through and hope to share our decision with you soon.

Here's a picture that I wanted to share with you from a November turnout.  As you can see, these Carolina raccoons won't make it easy for you.  I believe this pine had more vines and briars around it than should be allowed.  I had to back away from the tree to see the coon.  He was there and that made us both happy. 

Rebel Red Chance                        DOB 8/3/2006
Timber Chopper Moonlight Weed X PR Rebel Red Holly

Chance is into everything.  While out on a recent adventure with Beau and Poppy, he had an unfortunate incident with a barb-wire fence.  Not to worry, a round of antibiotics and he was back in the woods in a flash.  Chance, Beau and Poppy treed hard last week on one of our tricky Carolina raccoons.  He is making a nice young hound and has been known to take the lead a time or two.  He is progressing nicely with his hunting partner, Poppy.  I have always said that intelligence trees a lot of coons and Chance will no doubt prove these words to be true.  Chance is a super smart hound that ends up on many adventures as a result of his intelligence.

Chance is the most tenderhearted of the group.  I often tell people that you could break a 2 by 4 over Beau's head and it wouldn't slow him down but you can cut your eyes or raise your voice and Chance will run and hide in his house.  He is very intelligent and will no doubt tree his share of game in the future.  

Here is a picture of Chance bawling on the tree and Poppy cheering him on with a steady chop. 

Click Here to view the Pedigree for Chance.

Rebel Red Belle                         DOB 8/3/2006
Timber Chopper Moonlight Weed X PR Rebel Red Holly

Belle has quickly become a favorite of mine.  Don't let that pretty face fool you.  She is all hound and will flat out get after the boys during playtime.  I really like how Belle is so curious and will investigate with others or by herself.  She is also the easiest to snuggle up with in a chair.  She likes to run with the boys but she also appreciates the individual attention.  She has a gorgeous face and nice long ears. 

Belle is very intense on the tree.  She has a steady hard chop while treeing and I believe Belle is the best tracker of the group at this stage. 

She is the instigator of the group and loves to place chase.  She will find a toy and take off running to get the boys to follow in hot pursuit.  She is the sweetest hound.  Belle will let you pet her as long as you want and at the very instant you stop loving on her, she's gone in a flash to terrorize her brothers. 

Out of the three young hounds, Belle most resembles Holly.  From jumping up and down like she is on a pogo stick to her knack for creating mischief, Belle is definitely her mother's daughter.

Here is a picture of Belle and Chance treeing hard on a cool December night.  Although both like to be up on the tree, they have very different tree barks.  Belle has a steady chop and Chance a combination bawl and chop while treeing.   

Click Here to view the Pedigree for Belle.

Timber Chopper Pine Meadow Bo x Rebel Red Holly

Flag and sister Penny are two additions to the kennel in 2010 that have a special place in my heart.  They were the result of breeding Holly to Pine Meadow Bo via artificial insemination.  Bo died many years ago and we consider ourselves very lucky to have had an opportunity to access his genes one more time using frozen semen (thanks Wayne).  I consider Bo and Holly to be two super reproducers which make this a dream cross for us.  

Click the link below to see and hear Flag Treeing a Raccoon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NXT3joIbCk

Timber Chopper Pine Meadow Bo x Rebel Red Holly

At this point, we are spending plenty of time taking romps in the woods and letting these two be puppies.  One interesting thing about them, they are both already bigger than any other hound in the kennel.  They are beginning to get gamey which means we will be starting their training soon. 

They did enjoy a white Christmas and had a lot of fun playing in the snow.  I am having a great time working with Flag & Penny and cannot wait to see them reach their potential.

Rebel Red Jackson                      DOB 7/3/2007         

PR Timber Chopper Moonlight Sneak X PR Rebel Red Outlaw Ivey

Jackson is just over four years old and is becoming a nice hound.  He is a gorgeous solid dark red hound that is full of energy and drive.  He has a gentle disposition.  He has begun to split tree and has passed on several opportunities to tree off game.  Holly likes to tree a possum every now and again and Jackson has no interest in them at all.  I look forward to working with him on developing his natural ability and will keep you posted on his training.

Jackson comes from a long line of high performance hounds.  Only two Redbones have ever won the Purina UKC Coonhound of the Year with those being Nighty Nite Moonlight Kate and Hunter's Famous Amos.  Kate is seen up close and Amos appears six times in his six generation pedigree.  This is very strong Timber Chopper breeding.  He is UKC and AKC registered as well as eligible for lifetime participation in the UKC Hunters & Breeders Performance Rewards Program.            

Timber Chopper Sally                      DOB 7/3/2007         

PR Timber Chopper Moonlight Sneak X PR Rebel Red Outlaw Ivey

We are very excited to announce the recent arrival of Timber Chopper Sally. Sally was whelped here and is a littermate sister to Rebel Red Jackson.  She is a very capable coondog and will be paired with Flag and Penny this season as their personal trainer. 

Sally runs a track with a very unique squalling bark.  She has a killer locate that anyone can pick out and then rolls it over into a fast steady chop on the tree.  I was told by a trusted friend that Sally was one of the most impressive tree dogs he had ever seen.  He said that she sounds like a machine gun.  Her barks come out like a rat a tat, tat, tat, tat, tat...  After hunting with her, I agree. 

Sally has great kennel manners.  She is very calm and gets along well with everyone else.  I believe she and Flag (once he proves himself) could make wonderful puppies together.  We'll just have to wait and see what happens.  I am not a "competition" hunter but decided to enter Sally in UKC's new HTX program.  She received three passes under three different inspectors and has officially become our first hound to earn their HTX title.  Good job Sally!          

RRK South Mountain Ranger                     DOB 3/14/2011         

Payseur's Little Crk. Trigger X Payseur's Little Crk. Cookie

No, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you.  Ranger is not a Redbone.  He is a Feist.  My Grand-daddy always had a Feist around.  The last I remember was Peanut who lived in a cardboard box under a corner table in the living room.  My Grand-daddy loved that cantankerous rascal. 

I did a lot of research to find the perfect fit for us.  Ranger is a linebred Beaty Mountain Feist descending from many generations of Terriers bred by Peanut Beaty.  Although Mr. Beaty is no longer with us, several breeders have dedicated themselves to keeping this line of Terriers going.  Ranger has a lot of Beaty's Spike on the top of his pedigree and a lot of Beaty's Bounce on the bottom.  This recipe should yield great results.

Up to this point, we have spent time working on basic obedience.  Next, we will start taking walks in the woods and introduce this holy terrier to the world of the gray squirrel.  Ranger is bred to be a top squirrel dog, I will do my best to give him every opportunity to reach his full potential.  Stay tuned to see Ranger's progress.