St. John, New Brunswick sits on the Atlantic Ocean at the Bay of Fundy, which upon occasion can be one of the roughest, (if not the roughest) bodies of water on the planet. Because of its specific location, the Bay of Fundy is subject to tidal changes and criss-crossing currents. Within a 360-degree view in St. John you will see the expansive horizon of the Atlantic, quaint villages and city markets, and rough, hilly terrain. There is wilderness within the city, and the inhabitants of New Brunswick are allowed to hunt within these city limits. Diverse and changing the landscape is, and I was soon to find out the same is true of the weather. Within a half-sweep of the second hand on your watch, the sun can disappear, the temperature can drop 15 degrees, and blue skies can turn to driving sleet. As soon as you can pull your hood up over your head, the sun is out again, yet the wind is relentless, and this is the weather we had for most of the trial. Even so, the beaglers take it in stride. I won’t give you a blow-by-blow of whose dog did what in each class, you can read the results, but I can tell you there was good running in all classes despite the nasty weather. You could step out on the deck of the clubhouse at any given moment and hear a pack getting after the hare.

When we rounded the bend to the clubhouse, the Canadian and American flags were already flying side by side to welcome the crowd. Gail McLean who lives in the big house across the road from the clubhouse generously put us up for the weekend (and a few other beaglers, namely Jim Merritt from Nova Scotia and John O’Connor from Maine.) Some beaglers stayed in the bunks upstairs of the clubhouse, some in the judges quarters, and some brought campers. By Friday evening most of the beaglers had arrived, and the Newfies treated us to a good Jiggs dinner consisting of boiled meat, cabbage, potatoes and buttered rolls. Up early the next day, the 13” males were painted and cast. Debbie Matthews, assistant to Dan in getting dogs entered, and generally running about fixing this and that, greatly facilitates the smooth running of the trial. Debbie’s hard work, and that of the ladies in the kitchen is greatly appreciated by all. The 15” male class ran in the afternoon, shortly after the high winds, cooler temps, and driving rain started. By the time the awards for the big male class were given on Saturday night, most of us looked and felt like drowned rats, but the spirits were high just the same, and we warmed up to a supper of roast turkey with all the trimmings. Clair Murphy from Prince Edward Island brought fresh mussels as the appetizer. It doesn’t take a crowd long to go through several bowls of this little delicacy dipped in melted garlic butter!

Rick Dewsbury (L) and Terry McBride (R) enjoy fresh steamed mussels.

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