ASFA National Greyhound Specialty

I've been coaxed out of retirement, if only briefly, and only because the drive is less than a thousand miles. And only because I'll get to see some friends I haven't seen in quite a while.

The ASFA National Greyhound Specialty will be held in Tyler, Texas on November 13, with a greyhound-only LGRA racemeet the following day. Details at the link.

The fact that you can get the finest action images of your dog... ever... should be enough to get you out to this event, but if not, I guess there're trophies and such as well.

Hey Strangers!

Where the hell you all been?

Oh.. I see by my visit counter you've been here all along, while I've been... what the hell have I been doing?

Well, part of the time since the last post.... what??!? over a month ago? Whatever.. part of that time we were travelling. About that time we were leaving the Scottish Deerhound specialty in Missouri, and were heading to Michigan for the Rhodesian Ridgeback specialty. Then we headed south to Lexington, KY for the Saluki specialty... (and I should note here, that had I been blogging during those events, those of you who thought the blog posts were getting too negative -Joe- would have noticed a definite uptick on attitude. Money changes everything).

We are now back home. And we're going to stay here for a long, long time. There's nothing on the schedule until the AKC National Lure Coursing Championship in December.

We've added a very cool high speed connection from Verizon.. a bitty, credit card sized "personal hot spot" device. We can both be online, without wires, at broadband speeds. Only drawback, is the 5GB limit each month, (or 2.5 for each of us). That precludes downloading long movies and such.. so not a big problem.

With all this new technology, the blog should begin to pick up steam again.. just like the old days. And I'm referring to the old days "BFB" (Before FaceBook). Yes, Facebook is my scapegoat. I knew when I joined up it was a big time sink. I just didn't realize how much of a day could be wasted on it. But, in its defense, it's just so much easier to share thoughts, links, photos, and all the other things that would normally have been posted here. So, I'm not going to leave Facebook.. and if you're interested in what I'm posting there, you should send me a friend request. If I know who you are, I'll let you in.

Meanwhile, I'll be planning on spending more time on the blog. Lots went on here while we were gone, so there will be pictures to post. Summer's started and the snakes and lizards and tarantulas have hit the yard. I would expect to post more photos than writing for the near term.

So there you have it. Tell your friends. Oh! And tell your friends that Margaret and I both have new - local - phone numbers. Now that we're not wandering from sea to shining sea, we thought it would be a good idea to establish a local presence, and ditch the Jackson and Milwaukee area codes and numbers. If you need the new numbers, you can find them at the website.

Look for the first pictures later today or tomorrow.

I Remembered!

Nope.  Haven't forgotten I've got a blog to run.   This road trip has raised such a level of irritation and frustration in me I don't want to spread it around.  The deerhound specialty last week was fun, and was finally an event that rain didn't hamper.  Oh, it rained, and it rained hard, but not during any of the events we were working.

It made me forget the mess that was the II.  At least I think I was at the II.  Activity at the storefront seems to be indicating I may have been elsewhere while it was going on.  It's making the decision to retire look real good lately.  

Anyway, enough about the past.  Got 114 Rhodesian Ridgebacks to shoot this weekend. 'Least that's how many have been pre-entered in the ASFA trial.  So while you ponder in wonder those numbers, here's a little chuckle for the day.  (HT  Shirley, who always finds the funniest stuff... when she isn't finding things that break your heart.)

see more Funny Graphs

Infernal Road Trip

We are into week two of a 7 week road trip I really didn't want to make.  For starters, despite the fact we left Deming, and are now sitting in Bos.. Bogwell, OK we've already logged over 1700 miles. (Look at a map!).  That's because we first had to go all the way to Gray Summit, MO's Purina Farms for an event that featured rain, along with running dogs.  We then backtracked over 500 miles for a big national event here, which featured more rain.  Way more rain.  6 inches or more last Wednesday, followed by 1-2 more inches while I was trying to work (accompanied by wind, of course), then to add insult to injury, another couple of inches before midnight to make the field really fun on Sunday.

I'll have photos soon of the tractors extracting the cars and RV's at the conclusion of the festivities.

Later this week, we'll depart this garden spot and return the 500+ miles to Purina Farms for the Scottish Deerhound national specialty.  The 10 day forecast is for: rain.

At the end of the month, we'll be in Michigan for the Rhodesian Ridgeback specialty.  We'll also be able to load up more stuff from the storage unit, and have a chance to visit my brother, (my much younger brother) who, I found out, spent much of last week in the hospital replicating an episode of House.  If he gets his wish, he'll have a shiny new pacemaker by then so he can continue to ride and run, which is what he was doing last week when he suddenly found himself face down on the sidewalk.  The implications for me in this medical mystery, is that what he has is possibly genetic.  Oh joy.

By the way, it will probably rain while we're working in Michigan.

Then we will head to the Saluki specialty in Lexington where, experience tells us, it will definitely rain.  Usually with spectacular lightning and high winds.

Meanwhile, back home in Deming...

Now why would any sane person want to give up our lifestyle for that? (Yes, that's being facetious).

On the Road Again.

That's us. And just in time, too. With all the rain of the past couple of days we were turning mildewy. We've been parked too long in high humidity and precipitation, and are longing for the land of single-digit dew points.

So today, we bid farewell to 2008 and hit the road for the first time in '09, and are heading for Texas, and then (oh yeah) New Mexico.

But first! We needed to stop off in Acworth, GA and get the new rear window graphic installed. It was past time to get the old one off..

...The dark parts were turning white, and the whole thing was dried out and brittle. Besides, few people knew what the hell they were looking at. When they finally figured out the jackrabbit, they missed the dog completely, which gave Buffy an inferiority complex.

With Margaret's new design, the ambiguity is right out the window, (no pun intended). It's right in your face..

Almost like a Greyound Bus, huh?

Thanks to a quick install by Les and his employees, we were on the road (again) in no time, beat the Atlanta rush hour, and got 2/3 of the way across Alabama before stopping for the evening.

Fall Color

...and yes, we're still blogging, although it would be hard to prove it based on the past couple of weeks' activity. Gonna try and change that over the next couple of weeks, because the leaves are turning, and it's time to head South for the Winter.

I've updated the schedule, to the left right, and you can see we're heading to Kentucky next. Leaving tomorrow as a matter of fact. Then it's the ASFA Greyhound specialty in Georgia, followed by the LGRA-NOTRA OB National race meets at Windyglen in Oklahoma. We've also added some events with some new clubs, and we'll try and get out to New Mexico before the first of the year so Sandia can get his (sizable) feet wet in the heat of organized competition.

And, of course, Margaret's kids and grand kids are calling, so we'll be in Georgia again for Christmas, and that means the folks at GANG have let us know we should also include Calhoun at the end of the year for 5 straight days of trials.

Among the other things I need to catch up on:

1. A shout-out to the folks who made our California trip enjoyable
2. The toilet story
3. Anything else of note that's happened since I posted last. (This will not include anything about Michigan football, which is mothballed until next season)

Wet.

Notice our schedule to the right, I've called the Raisin River River Raisin Rhodesian Ridgeback Club, (Yeah, I know what they call it, but my way is correct), trial "rained out". Actually, I don't know if the trial itself is rained out. I just know that I'm not going to stand out in a steady rain all day. And I'm not going to chance getting stuck in their very iffy parking area. It began raining here yesterday afternoon. We had a couple hours respite last night, but it began again in earnest around 1AM. It's been raining ever since. It's supposed to rain all day, and all night, too. And this isn't even "Ike", yet, the remnants of which are scheduled to roll in here on Sunday (My Official Geezer Birthday!), dropping up to 4" of rain! At least there's no wind, no lightning. Just rain.

Good day to watch some football, and maybe... finally... finish up the toilet project!

That's More Like It!

For all you suffering in unbearable heat and humidity back east? The "extended forecast" looks just like the current 5-day, and the previous week was identical as well. I suppose if you look back over the last 30 days, and ahead 30 days there will be little change. However, we're not bored yet. I could see how boredom could set in, though...... BAAAhaaahahaahaahah! NOT!

*****

The perfect weather notwithstanding, the Scottish Deerhound portion of the reason we drove the 2500 miles to California was pretty much a disaster. We missed two events due to breakdowns, and the one event we did shoot- the AKC trial- "we" lost the win pictures. Perhaps our luck will change now.

We've got two weeks before the next event, up in Hollister. Our schedule is starting to fall together as to how we will spend that time.

When we leave Santa Maria, we'll head up the coast to Paso Robles, where we will park for a day or three at Margaret's cousins. She thinks she remembers that her cousin's husband is a good cook. There's that "food theme" again!

Then we have some options. We've been invited by a total stranger- but one who is familiar with this blog, and knows someone who knows Dutch Salmon, and therefore we're all friends (I like that logic)- to stop and spend time in Coalinga.

Or.. we may drive from Paso Robles to Alpaugh and spend time with Dr. John Burchard, whom I haven't seen in 8 or 9 years, and his cohorts, George Bell, and Herb Wells, (another photographer whose open field coursing images many of you may be familiar with). There's a better than even chance we could go scare a few jackrabbits.

We may do both! And probably will.

That should get us near to where we have to be in Hollister, which I've been told is only about 25 miles from where we might get a chance to photograph one of these guys:

Stand by for that! For a Hollister weather image, just add 1-2 degrees to the above ;0)

Long range plans- beyond the Hollister trials- call for a return on Interstate 80, through Wyoming, where we may veer north to Medicine Bow and, you guessed it, kick up a few more jacks. White tails, in this case. Then up to I-90 so we can see the sites of our adopted state: Badlands, Rushmore, Crazy Horse. Then we need to get our driver's licenses renewed while we're there.

And finally, back to Michigan. Whew!

I've got to talk about our dinner here in Santa Maria the other night, but I'll save that for another post. I'm still processing that.. literally, as well as figuratively.

Time to feed the crew.

Preparing to Travel.

We've been sitting still- and therefore not burning expensive fuel (at least in the Express... the Escape's another matter altogether)- for over two weeks now. Got another week to sit (although not necessarily to relax), and then it's off to Metamora, MI for 3 days of lure coursing trials.

Then we'll be off on a "leisurely" 2+ week trip to Lompoc, CA, where we'll be shooting a whole lot more lure coursing, plus LGRA racing. Specifically, we'll be there for the Scottish Deerhound Club of America's National Specialty, but there will be other Regional specialties going on, including greyhounds, and a couple of other breeds.

We've been told Lompoc is a "must experience" at least once. Beautiful surroundings. Cool nights, warm days, and near the ocean. As it turns out, the coursing and racing will be taking place in Santa Maria, about 30 miles away, so I'm not sure how much Lompoc we'll get to "experience".

In our "Year of Meeting Bloggers", we'll add Christie Keith of Dogged Blog, Pet Connection, and other blogs, to the list we started back in February with Steve B. As we're both Deerhound owners, I guess this meeting would be inevitable... eventually.

Once the Lompoc event is done, and we haven't yet experienced an earthquake, wildfire, mudslide, traffic jam, inversion layer, or any of the other events that make California.. special, we plan on hanging around to do the lure coursing trials up in Hollister, California. The folks there have tried to get us to come out for a while now, and this is the best opportunity we'll have. Hollister is best known for the 1947 "takeover" by motorcycle gangs that was the inspiration for the movie, The Wild One. Cool- I hope there's a museum!

After that? We're workin' on it, but I'm sure we'll be tired of the People's Republic of California by that time and will be working our way back East.

Stay tuned, and watch the schedule.

Home Again, Jiggety-Jog...

When we last posted, (not counting the fabulous Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup win), we were leaving Cabela's in Wheeling. We stopped that night at a campground just off I-68 in Maryland. That allowed us to fill in another state on the Express-side map, (conveniently ignoring the fact that we crossed the PA border about a mile and a half... their mailing address is Flintstone, Maryland!).

Prompting our stop was I-68 itself. Mountains. If this trip taught us anything, it's that the Express needs a new radiator. We boiled the coolant once between Wheeling and the campground (which was just past Cumberland). We figured to let it rest overnight for the remaining climbs before the descent into Virginia.
We were only about 125 miles from the site of the ASFA II now, and we got an early start to take advantage of the cool morning. We were halfway up our second climb of the morning, the transmission had dropped to 2nd, and our speed to 30mph when there was a loud "BANG!!", followed by a rhythmic "bang-bang-bang-bang...." etc. Margaret, believing I am all-knowing said "What was that?". Proving I knew a little something, I replied, "Uh, nothing good". We kept climbing, the temp didn't rise, and other than the noise we kept rolling until we could get to an exit.

Being prescient, we had decided to finally renew our RV road service plan about 5 days earlier, (it had expired last November). Fortunately, there was cellular service at this particular remote exit, so I called them up and told them what had transpired: After getting out I went around to the driver's side where the noise was the loudest, got down, and was hit square in the face with pulsing hot air mixed with oil. It was coming from the back cylinder, where the spark plug used to reside. Half of it was hanging uselessly from the wire, while the rest was still in the cylinder head. It just decided to blow up. Inspecting the remaining pieces, it appeared it had worked itself loose over the months since we'd had the plugs replaced last August.
Had we been in a normal part of the country, where roads are flat, we could have driven it, but the road service determined this..

...was the wisest option. We'll try to post some video in the future to show why I couldn't disagree. And they were paying anyway.

But the fun was only beginning! The tow truck company was located up in Pennsylvania, about 45 miles away. The road service folks, in their infinite wisdom, tucked away from the realities of the world somewhere out in Phoenix,
decided "Bill's Auto & Truck" in Hedgesville, West Virginia was the place to go. "They're only 17 miles from where you are now", the road service tech told me. Not even as the crow flies was it that close! 60-some miles later, we were parked on a rural two-lane, at the foot of the steepest driveway I've ever seen. It was 20 degrees if it was 1. I drove the car up to the garage, where a hand-written sign on the window proclaimed, "Closed today for doctor visit. Sorry for the inconvenience".

This was more than a little confusing, as the road service people had talked to "Bill", and so had I. He was expecting us. I wanted to call him and find out WTF? what was going on. But there was no cell service. Big surprise.. look up Hedgesville, WV on a map sometime... the garage is up in the hills, 5 miles west of the town. I returned to the wrecker driver who stated the obvious: he couldn't pull the RV up that driveway.. and he couldn't turn around with the Express attached.

I kept trying my phone, and finally found that if I stood up on a stone block next to the driveway, and held my head perfectly still, facing in a northwesterly direction, I could manage 2 bars! First I called the road service folks and told them, as civilly as I could manage, that this was bullshit. If the truck had towed us up to PA to his garage, we'd be back on the road already. Next I actually got hold of "Bill", who told us about an alternative driveway, (not unlike an alternate universe) right next to the steep one. It's actually a "road" which showed up on my map program. We explored it, and I wasn't crazy about its possibilities either.

At this point, the tow driver said he had to go. So there the Express was left, on the side of the road, in the hopes that Mr. Bill would arrive soon.

Margaret drove off towards Hedgesville to do business at the post office, get gas in the car, which was nearly empty, and to try and get a better signal with which to speak to Bill, the mystery mechanic.

About a half hour after the tow truck left, Bill arrived in his vintage Ford Escort.. (popular item.. his neighbor was driving one as well!). Here is where things speed up; finally! Bill decided he could do the work right on the roadside as long as I turned the rig around so his legs wouldn't hang out on the road. He didn't have the right plug, or wire, and couldn't find one locally, but he had acceptable substitutes, which he magically modified. We fired that sucker up, as Charlie Daniels would say, and I swear it sounded better than it did before the explosion. The bill was $40. The tow was covered. We were on the road by 3:30, and got to Morven Park in Leesburg, VA way before dark!

It's now more than ten days later, we're back at the Holiday RV Park in Michigan, with the II and the Saluki National Specialty under our belts, and nowhere to go for over three weeks, and frankly, we can use the rest.

We'll post some pictures from the II and such in subsequent posts.. Meanwhile, I'll be searching the internet for a suitable radiator... it's got to be installed before we make the brutal drive to Lompoc, CA in July!

Hitting the Road.

We're halfway to the ASFA II in Leesburg, VA. We stopped in Wheeling, WV to have Rally checked out by The Greatest Vet in the Universe, who was channeling a rapper, or pro athlete when he said, in the third person, "Dr Radcliffe's not happy" with her progress. X-Rays show that she still has major loss of bone density in the calcaneous, where the achilles tendon is attached, and he's afraid we might lose the repair, so it's back on heavy-duty antibiotics (from a short list of those that the staphlococcus haemolytus is not resistant to), and a splint. This will go on for at least another two weeks.

Business out of the way, we went to dinner last night with the good doctor and his wife. Before that, though, we went to their house so we could see the newly remodeled kitchen. Wow... it's a chef's version of Heaven.. check out the Electrolux professional stove. That's restaurant quality there.

Speaking of restaurants, nobody's going to be surprised when I tell you we went to the Metropolitan Citi Grille. Was it as good as I remember? Of course. Bummer of the night was that Margaret and I were the only Detroit Red Wing fans in the place, and the Wings were losing!

We parked at our favorite location for the night.. Cabela's, so I could get a replacement "sun cutter" hat which I'd lost last August.

Today, we'll head for Virginia where, I hear that besides the rabid foxes, they're also having a bad tick year.. deer ticks no less, so a quick trip back to Radcliffe's office before we leave is in order, to pick up some Preventic collars.

Weather forecast for Leesburg, VA for the weekend calls for 88 degrees and scattered thunderstorms on Saturday, and 86 and sunny on Sunday.

Shots Up To Date?

Going to the II? (American Sighthound Field Association's "International Invitational").

While some are concerned that the temperatures will be intolerable for hounds and humans alike, Patrick has posted on a potentially more serious problem: Rabies. In the neighborhood.

Forewarned is forearmed.

We'll be there, of course. I've shot every II since 1996 except 1997. You could say I'm a fixture at this point. We'll be joined by my friend, Steve Surfman of Steve Surfman Photography. Steve has helped shoot a few previous II's.

We'll also be joined, briefly, on Saturday by the aforementioned working terrierman himself, Pat Burns.

A good time should be had by all. See you there, and make sure your rabies vaccinations are current!

Global What?

Climate change.

Only the most rigid, and inflexible are in denial over the concept. I spoke with one at the trial last weekend.. an old friend, and way too set in his ways. When the first drowned polar bear washes up on his Indiana lawn, he may begin to see things differently.

Normal people on all sides of the political spectrum now agree that the climate is changing; the argument is over whether we, as a species, are the cause.

We've already had more tornados this year than we normally have in a full season.. including big ones in the middle of winter. Alaska has had it's first deaths- ever- from yellowjacket wasp stings. I've seen dead armadillos as far north as central Missouri, on I44.

So with all this evidence of so-called "Global Warming"...

...Why the hell does it feel like early April in Michigan... at the end of freakin' May? (Don't answer that, it was a rhetorical question). It was 39 degrees when I got up yesterday, and the wind blew strong out of the northwest. I had to wear my coat all day. This morning was no better.. 41 when I took the dogs out.

The weekend promises to actually be like late Spring, rather than late Winter. We're going to bail on the trial we had scheduled, to move out a bunch of the things we have in storage. Then maybe we'll have a picnic... if picnic weather happens.

Hare-Brained Express Tour '08 Hits the Road

After a relaxing week spent parked at friends in the Houston area, the '08 "tour" logged its first 250 miles today. We're now parked in the RV parking section of that special hell known as a dog show. (Yes ma, I'll wear my galoshes!). Lucky for us, we're not here for the show, of course, we're here for the fun stuff! There's also a lure coursing trial as part of this show, so that's where we'll be tomorrow and Sunday. Glen Rose, Texas. One of these years, while we're here, we'll get over to the Dinosaur Valley State Park. It's supposed to be real cool.

Before we get too far from Richmond, I need to mention something I've let slide a bit recently: Food. We ate at two "Tex-Mex" joints and had barbecue from two places. Of the four, the Swinging Door Barbecue was the best. I like a place that keeps your options to a minimum. Pick a meat, pick a side, and order ya up a Shiner Bock. Or two. I ordered the Super Combo, choosing ribs, brisket, and turkey. "Vegetables" were cole slaw, beans, and potato salad. Check the menu... they were all beyond good. I loved the ribs but, considering the fact I'm not big on turkey as a barbecue item, this was the best I've ever had. Pecan wood smoked and oh, so tender. It was all good.

Today, at the suggestion of our hosts, we stopped on the way to Glen Rose, at Dozier's Meat Market and Barbecue in Fulshear. Sent Margaret in to get some goodies for the fridge; she outdid herself, bringing back pepper bacon, brisket, turkey, smoked sausage, and.... venison! We had cold brisket on bread as we drove, so a more detailed evaluation will have to come later, after we've heated some up and enjoyed it proper!

BLOG UPDATES:

Just need to point out a few new, and revised items on the sidebar. We've removed the AAWC March trial from the shooting schedule, because we found an excuse to stay in New Mexico an extra two weeks. Lure coursing and oval racing in Mountainaire! Looking forward to that. Beautiful location. We looked at some property there a couple of years ago. We'll also be checking out a friend's 40 acres near Deming. One of these years we'll go to New Mexico and not come back. That's the plan, anyway.

See the kinky new counter? Now we can see at a glance, how many are looking at the blog right now, and what country they're in. It's hosted in France. Click on it and see the other fun things they have. There's also a world map, with dots at the very bottom of the page.

And here's a "bleg".. (a beg on a blog): I've brought back the Google ads. I can't tell you to click on them, because that would violate the Google agreement terms, but there are some things on this blog that would help us out greatly if they got opened. Nobody says you have to look at 'em. And that's all I'm going to say about that. The tip jar is gone.

And I don't think I mentioned it on the last go-round of blog "freshening" but if you look almost to the bottom of the sidebar, you'll see the return of our old friend. We're almost down to a year, say hallelujah! Can I get an "amen"?!?!

Site Changes

Seems like whenever we return to civilization from an extended visit to a land of zero, or limited, internet signal, it's like being resurrected from the dead. I'm sure you're tired of coming aboard and seeing the same (cute) picture for over a week straight. But here we are again, at a decent little campground on the side of US 290 near Hempstead, TX. Not WiFi, but the GPRS/EDGE is about as fast as I can remember.

Anyway.. over the past month we've made some changes to the blog. While the general appearance remains the same, we've been able to add a lot of new elements, because Blogger finally made it easy to do.

Starting from the top, you've probably already noticed the slide show. I picked jackrabbits to start, but will probably change the subject matter from time to time. If you want to see a larger version, just click on an image.

Below the slide show, I just added our shooting schedule for the next 2 and a half months. This is much more convenient than doing it in a post and then watching is scroll down, down, down and out of sight (and mind). It's always going to be right there. That big gap between the AAWC trial at Hutto, and the Pack Hunt/Desert Hare Classic, represents our "vacation" in New Mexico. We'll be running jacks, eating green chilis, and drinking tequila. I also may venture into Mexico for some discount dental work and new glasses. And maybe this will be the year I finally meet Steve Bodio face to face! That may mean more tequila.

The next couple of blocks of items remain pretty much as they always were. I should point out a few new links in the "blogroll". First, they're not all "blogs", but that's just a technicality, right? You can now link to both of our Photoreflect sites: Events, for your dog's pictures in action, and the Nature & Art site. You were probably also wondering what's up with the "Life With the Georgia Reiniches". First one not named Reiniche, (or Jenkins) to guess correctly will win a $5 Shot On Site gift certificate. Hint: check their archives.

I also added Fark.com. Yeah, like he needs our help. If you've just crawled out from under a rock, Fark is the number one visited site (OK, occasionally number two) on the internet. Go there and you'll see why. It's addictive.

Last, at the bottom of the sidebar, is the return of the Backwards Bush countdown calendar. Where we're about to go under 400 days!

Dog posts and more puppy pictures coming soon! Just weighed Sandia. 49.5 pounds! Holy Crap! And one other news flash: We now know why Rally has been so slow of late. She's begun a tear of the achilles tendon on her left leg. So she's back on the disabled list for at least two months, according to Dr. Don Hulse of Texas A&M. Thanks doc. :(

Schedule Update.

Later this morning we'll head to our favorite Georgia state park, which means we won't have a particularly strong signal- if we have one at all- so I wanted to post the changes in our schedule.

Next weekend, Nov 17-18, we will be at the greyhound training track in Jacksonville, FL for two days of all-breed NOTRA (oval racing). I've wanted to get to this track since they started running NOTRA events there last year. It's a real track, with a rail lure and sand surface.

This means we will miss the Michigan - Ohio State football game. Given the events of the past weekend, maybe it's no big deal.

The rest of the 2007 schedule:

Nov 23-25 MAWA (ASFA trials) Calhoun, GA
Dec 1-2 OPEN DATE. Call us!
Dec 8-9 AHCA (AKC trials) Lampasas, TX (New field!)
Dec 15-16 ASA/GBSC (AKC/ASFA) Waller, TX
Dec 22-23 OPEN.. Happy Holidays!!
Dec 29-30 AHCGH (ASFA) Richmond, TX

We'll list a couple more Texas trials at the beginning of the year, and then it's off to New Mexico for a month (at least) to show Sandia his first jackrabbits. We will be so ready for that!

Hijacked!

As it turns out, we will not be going to the Bluegrass Coursing Club's November trials, as noted on our schedule for the past couple months. That leaves an open date between the ASFA Region 7 regional and the MAWA trial in Calhoun, GA. If anyone has suggestions, let us know, (although this makes Margaret very happy as it allows extra time with the grandkids!)

I'm a bit peeved, myself. Many trial organizers, when they think about a photographer at all, (which is seldom), make the convenient choice, rather than consider what the exhibitors would prefer. There's a reason Shot On Site Photography has been selected to shoot 11 of the last 12 ASFA International Invitationals, (and have been selected already for '08), the inaugural ASFA National Greyhound specialty and this year's event as well, 9 of the last 10 Saluki Specialties, and... well I could go on, but I think the point's been made.

We're easy to reach: dan@shotonsite.us , or margaret@shotonsite.us ...and the phone number is on our website. In 2008, we plan on being more proactive in setting up our schedule. If you're an exhibitor, and you want us at your trial, tell your trial chairperson or secretary. We want to make up a schedule that makes sense driving a 7 mpg motor home around the country.

UPDATE:
OK, I don't mind missing the BGCC trial now.. I just checked, and it's the weekend of the UM-OSU football game. And I know from experience, there's no TV reception at the trial site... (or for many miles around there, for that matter.) Thanks providence!

Sabbatical

Things have been quiet around here lately, I know. We're leaving for Texas this morning, and for the last couple of weeks we've been busy preparing for the trip. Too busy to blog, I guess. And we'll be moving quite a bit for the next couple of weeks, so posts will remain spotty. But we will be back! So keep checking, or better yet, subscribe to the feed so you know when things are happening here.

There's much I want to cover, like a whole multi-subject dog post covering things like the puppy's progress, Rally's National Turtle, Randir's "real age", the best shot at the AR movement yet, and more...

So stay tuned.


UPCOMING EVENTS:

Oct 20-21 AAWC Hutto, TX
Oct 27-28 ASFA Greyhound Specialty Boswell, OK
Nov 2-4 Cirneco Specialty Cat Springs, TX

We're Baaack.

Since the middle of last week, we were lost in the "wilderness" of the Finger Lakes Region of New York.. specifically, at the Wine Country Cluster of dog shows and performance events at Sampson State Park on the shores of Seneca Lake. A beautiful venue, but one lacking in the necessary essentials of blogging.... like an internet signal. Cell service was also spotty at best.

We're back in Jackson, MI getting ready to head on down to Indiana for the weekend. So here's a schedule of upcoming events:

October 6-7 LGRA/NOTRA OB National Racemeets Carthage, IN
October 13-14 MGA ASFA trials Gibraltar, MI
October 20-21 AAWC ASFA & AKC trials Hutto, TX
October 26-28 ASFA National Greyhound Specialty B0swell, OK
November 2-4 Cirneco del Etna National Specialty Cat Springs, TX
November 10-11 ASFA Region 7 Invitational Cartersville, GA
November 17-18 BGCC ASFA trial Columbia, KY
November 23-25 MAWA ASFA trials Les's new place, somewhere in Georgia.

I'll get the name of that town in there when I find out what it is.

EDIT: Calhoun, GA... that's where we'll be Nov 23-25!

Also, watch for an upcoming photo contest, and maybe some pictures of boy and girl dogs being bad.

An Economic Decision

This morning we made a tough decision to forego our originally scheduled event- a LGRA meet with an added ASFA Fun Trial- at Oberlin, OH. Instead we'll be very nearby our Jackson, MI campground, for an AKC trial about 30 miles away.

This wasn't an easy decision. We really hate to make a change- especially a last minute change- once we've posted an event on the blog and at the website. However, we learned that the entry at the race meet and trial would be quite small, while the AKC trial had a good number of pre-entries, including many Junior Courser runs each day. Add to that the fact we can leave the motor home parked where it is, and take the car to the trial, thus putting off buying gas for it until next Friday, and also that I have an early morning VA appointment in Ann Arbor on Monday.. it just made economic sense.

We apologize to the LARC folks, for leaving them in the lurch, and we will return to Oberlin next year. Raisin River Rhodesian Ridgeback Club?? We'll see you tomorrow in Manchester, (where I intend to bug somebody about this club name... as far as I know, the body of water is officially known as the River Raisin. Not the other way around.)