They Must Have Been Chows...

Apparently, size does matter.

Over There.

Put on your wooden shoes, pop your favorite tobacco in your clay pipe, put down the Zondervan bible, (you know how it ends), and click here , and here to see lure coursing like they do it in Holland. No windmills were damaged in the making of this video. If you read Dutch, (the language, not the author of Gazehounds & Coursing who I've written about often), the source website is: http://www.coursing.nl:80/alg_info.htm

HT to Richard Hawkins.

Hunting With Dutch: The Album.

Just click on the image.

From Hunting with ...

All images Copyright Shot On Site Photography, 2007.

The Picture You Get...

...is not always the picture you thought you were taking! Here's an excellent case in point. When we were out with Fanny and Rally earlier last week, I spotted a hawk coasting just above the ground at a little bit of distance; the typical behavior of the Harrier. So I snapped a series of images to see if that's what it was.

It was. But what I couldn't see through the viewfinder were the smaller birds... fleeing for their lives! When I got home and cropped in to the subject I realized this hawk was hunting.

You can't always plan the great shot. Luck has a lot to do with it.

Hunting With Dutch, Take II

It's a big desert out there.
Dutch and his pack can get far away in a hurry when you stop to pee.

Rally (Blue blanket) in the early lead, followed by Phyllis and Mona. Check out the clods of mud flying! All life forms present had a hard time moving with the mud on feet and boots.

Mona, "running cunning". Dutch says she does this a lot... sometimes it works in her favor, sometimes not. This chase went all the way into the brush at the base of the mountains at the 3 minute mark, so we don't know if it worked this time or not.

It was a beautiful day.. the best we've had since we got into New Mexico (the mud notwithstanding!)

More coursing images in album form will follow soon.

PETA Piper Picked A Peck Of Dead Kittens

If you're regular readers here, this is just more "preaching to the choir", but occasionally strangers drop in, so this is for them.

There is no doubt that the nazis at PETA are just bad, bad people. And this news item from the United States Sportsmen's Alliance does nothing to dispell that notion.

Two PETA employees went on trial last week for taking dogs and cats from shelters, promising that they would have no problems finding great homes for them. That home would seem to be in heaven.

"The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) has issued reports from the trial this week. The reports detail how Ms. Tonya Northcott, an employee at the Ahoskie Animal Hospital, on June 15 sent a mother cat and her two kittens with the defendants who claimed that they would have no problem finding homes for the cats. Northcott explained that the cats had been socialized, played with, and had their shots.

Those cats ended up in a trash dumpster less than an hour later."

Nice folks.

Steve Bodio has had a number of recent posts about this and other AR nonsense. Very good reading... will raise your blood pressure.

A note about the US Sportsmen Association. If you do serious work with your dog, it would be in your best interest to support their efforts by joining. These are the folks who played a major role in the defeat of AB2110 in California. Check them out.

Illustration courtesy: http://www.xoverboard.com/deadkittensurvey/

Mountain Album

From Mountains of ...

Here's a few more shots from my adventure the other day, including a slightly different view of the hawk in front of the mountain.. Full Disclosure Notice: I actually took the mountain hawk picture out the passenger window, one-handed, while driving 45 miles per hour. Light traffic on the highway, fortunately.

I may add more as I take more.

Remember that all these images are protected by copyright, so try and leave them on the website. We are working on a new website for nature and landscape and other art images. They will be available for sale, mounted, framed, matted, etc. and in a variety of sizes. Watch this space for updates

Geezer Dog? Not So Fast My Friend!

Yes. That's Randir. As in ten-and-a-half-year-old Scottish Deerhound, Randir. And yes, that's a blacktailed jackrabbit, who is in no peril whatsoever. But who cares?

I was hoping for a shot like this. Now I'll have to do what I stupidly shot off my mouth to too many people and promised... the unthinkable: I will take him into a show ring in April at the Deerhound National Specialty. I'd say his chances are good in the Veteran classes.

Aesthetics?

A concept utterly foreign to Buffy.

John Crean, 1925 - 2007

Surprisingly, I actually knew who John Crean was before I saw the news on the Fleetwood website this morning. He was probably the most important, influential person in the history of the recreational vehicle industry. Because we love our Bounder home, I thought I'd post the link to the eulogy by Eldon Smith, the current President and CEO of Fleetwood Industries.

Here's an excerpt:

As an inventor and innovator John was unparalleled: a Venetian blind mechanism in the 1940s, an innovative manufactured home in the 1970s and the Bounder motor home in the 1980s.
The Bounder motor home revolutionized the design of motor homes throughout the industry. Put very simply, what John did was raise the floor of the motor home. This provided bus-like storage below the floor, and allowed for more functional floor plans and operational features. John developed this motor home with the help of a drafter, and one of our prototype assemblers, in his workshop at home. Within a few years the Bounder motor home was the best selling motor home in the country . . . 90% of the motor homes sold in the country today contain most of the unique features John put in that first Bounder unit.

I feel like I should put a black stripe around the Express. RTWT

And That's Why They Call Them Long Billed Curlews.

Today's image is a roundabout way of saying the hunt pictures were pretty unremarkable. Fanny and Rally did, however, get a decent workout on the single jack we flushed. They were out of position from the get-go, and it was a tail chase all the way. Got a good 60 second run in, though.

When we pulled up to the field I saw this flock of Long Billed Curlews. Biggest flock I've ever seen- probably 25-30 or more. Suckers can get at the good stuff down deep. Strange place for so-called "shorebirds", but it's not the first time I've seen them on this ranch.

Pretty much all the snow is off the mountains, so it was a good thing I made the effort to get out there yesterday. Tomorrow they'll look like they did all last year when we were here.

Told You...

...to be ready for more mountain images. When the sun came out yesterday afternoon, I threw the camera in the car and took a short drive to be closer to the Floridas. Got a bonus with this beautiful Harlan's Red Tailed Hawk. (A melanistic hawk that doesn't have a red tail... go figure.) The large rock in the background is called "Capital Dome".

Going hunting today, and maybe tomorrow, so get ready for some different subject matter!

Cold, Blustery Morning.

Here we go again. Woke up to blowing snow, as our record-breaking Winter continues. The dogs loved it.

This will put more snow on the mountains, so watch for more dramatic images.

Took Randir and Buffy out to the field yesterday... took the camera too, but I forgot to take a card for it. Sometimes it's hard to believe I'm a professional. Missed out on a good shot of a small herd of pronghorn. We'll be here for a month, so there will be more opportunities. We did jump a couple of jacks very quickly. Randir's good for about a hundred yards, and Buffy, her best years apparently behind her, was good for about a hundred more. In a couple of days, when the weather clears, we'll get the good dogs out. More then.

A New Album

Dreamcatcher

Some images from our first 24 hours at Escapee's Dreamcatcher RV Park in Deming. From the rain when we arrived last night, accompanied by a huge flock of Yellow Headed Blackbirds, to the brooding presence of the cloud shrouded Florida Mountains. And the old car next door.

The previously broken image links have been repaired. Check it out.

Image Of The Day.

Proof that we made it to Deming, NM without any further delays. The Florida Mountains (Flor-EE-dah). Looking like we never saw them last Winter- snow covered. Florida Peak dominates, at nearly 7500 feet. The Floridas are typical of the desert mountains of the Southwest.. rising out of the desert, unattached to any major mountain ranges, and made more dramatic by their isolation.

I'm not sure what's going on with the previous images. They were there when the page was published, then mysteriously disappeared. If they're not back tomorrow, I'll take the posts down and re-edit. You all have to see the RV picture!

Absolutely Last Ice Image. We Promise.

Lest you all think I exaggerate how thickly Mother Nature laid it on. This from the picnic table outside the Express when we were in Bourne.

Pictures From the Righthand Seat.

Margaret caught this latest feature in recreational vehicles: The Slide-In. I don't see it as a big selling point.

We did mention that the roads in Texas were hazardous, didn't we? Yeah, we did.

Today's Image.

Who says they all have to be my photos? Bet you can guess which end of the black line we're on.

Interesting tidbit: I-10 is 880 miles across Texas. (It's like crossing Nebraska twice; only more interesting.) That's a pretty big chunk that's closed.

Icy Photo Album.

Ice In Texas

For those who want to see more of the icy landscape, I've uploaded a web album. Click on the image.

The Worst.

We think it's official. In nearly 4 years on the road, this is the absolutely worst weather we have endured. Since Interstate 10 is still closed, we had to pony up for another night at the Alamo Fiesta RV Resort. (That's I-10 above; if you look in the upper right-hand corner, you will see the arrow directing all traffic to the exit ramp, where last night and tonight you will find the world's larges truck stop. Every available spot at Wal Mart, Home Depot, the Park and Ride lot, and even a church with the bad luck to be too close to the exit, occupied by a big rig.) Surreal.

It rained all last night, leaving every exposed surface, (even vertical ones!) with a 1/2 inch layer of ice. Further on on our route, up in the hill country, the problem was snow. Lots of snow, which is why over 200 miles of the Interstate are closed. They're now saying tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. That's putting the Pack Hunt out of reach, unless it gets moved to Sunday. Good thing we'll be there for a month- so it's not like the "pack" is going to miss out on hunting... just the opportunity to try and win us some cold, hard cash doing it.

There is an upside. Ice storms sure are pretty.