Nice Trip.

For no other reason than I like my free screen capture software...

While Margaret was in Michigan battling snow, cold, sleet, rain, and what-all, this was the trip I made the last week-plus. The dogs and I battled nothing but sun, wind, jackrabbits.... and abject poverty. You can help, and it won't cost you anything. Just click... you know.. up there at the top? Those things I can't mention? Do it. It will make you feel like.... Christmas!

East to West on the top, and West to East on the bottom. If you care.

Portraits: Dogs at Play.

Man, I've missed this place. It might be snowing and blowing elsewhere in New Mexico, but down here in Deming, it's been mostly sunny and in the mid-60s the last couple of days.

That's weather to take the dogs out in, and out we went. On Tuesday, I took Randir and Buffy to the other side of the Floridas. We jumped one jack that Buffy chased for a while, till it went through a fence. Randir didn't see it, so I didn't get the annual picture of the old dog and the rabbit. There'll be more opportunities next month when we return. Today, Sandia and Fanny got to chase 3 hares with Dutch's and Beth Ann's dogs. One was neatly dispatched after a 2 minute course.

So.. without further adieu...

Randir. AKA "freak of nature". To paraphrase David Allan Coe*, if he looks 12 and a third, I'll kiss your ass.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Still the prettiest dog on the planet. Don't you even try to disagree with me.

Buffy's sister, Fanny. Getting in touch with her "inner Lion".

And Sandia. Now over a year and a half, and looking debonair. (And showing off the evidence that he now knows how to go through barbed wire, although the secret is to go under it.)

*Be advised, if you follow this link, it ain't work safe.

Br'er Rabbit. Lepus Californicus.

The Blacktailed Jackrabbit. Nice of him to consider the composition, too, don't you think?

I went out with the 12+ YO Randir, and the nearly 9 YO Buffy today, and got some really nice late afternoon-lit shots of them. When I figure out which ones I like best I'll post them.

The Alternative Anthem.

A couple years back, I wrote about Susan Werner's alternative anthem, "My Strange Nation". Recent events in America have shown that the optimism expressed at the end of the song was not misplaced, and when all is said and done, it really is a love song.

I just put it on my new MP3 player, so I thought I'd share it once more. Enjoy.

Weekend's Not Complete...

...Without a Sandia "Ribbon Shot". Excited, ain't he? ;-)

Moonset.

Brownfield, Texas.

Socorro, New Mexico

Watch for more images from the current trip on the slideshow window to the right!

No Cigar.

As hunts go, this one was about as strange as they come. Yesterday, we had 10 dogs start, and after the first run (TCC runs two complete runs in a hunt, as opposed to a seeded final), the roster was pared by one following a tail injury on one of the dogs, which was operated on in conditions that could only be compared to Civil War field surgery. Let's just say it was uncomfortable to watch. Man, those suckers can bleed.

As reported yesterday, Sandia finished second to his sister, Maya. The Holiday Cup, (which, in fact, is not a cup at all, but a massive wooden chest with a bronze casting of what looks suspiciously like an Italian Greyhound), is awarded to the hound with the highest combined score for the two days. So we returned today minus most of the competitors. In fact, today's hunt consisted of yesterday's 1st place hound, Maya, the 5th placer, Camille, and one of the 2nd place hounds, Sandia. For the mathematically challenged, that's an entry of three. All Galgos.

But somebody had to win the cup, and there was no lack of suspense because there was only 3 points separating the hounds, so off we went to the field.

Very high winds were predicted, along with the possibility of snow or rain, so we were hoping to get this finished quick. The wind was already blowing pretty briskly as we started walking, and questioned our sanity as we had to stop every couple yards to remove "Jumping Cholla" spines from the dogs' pads.

Mercifully, we jumped the jackrabbit after only about a half hour of tramping through the mesquite, yucca, and cholla. Sandia saw it first, off to our right, and I called the "Tally Ho". The course was unexciting, as courses go, and the dogs were soon out of our sight. The judge, standing on the tailgate of her truck, saw a little more than we did, but not enough to satisfy her. She wanted a re-run, but Steve and I had had enough. We said just score it, and agreed to end the hunt on this prelim run.

Sandia won the course over Maya by one point, but he went into the day trailing by two. The "cup" went to Maya.... L-R Chris Mason (breeder), Holiday "Cup", Maya, Steve Garth.

Congratulations Maya and Steve! The torch has been passed to the next generation of Galgos!

Sandia's "Maiden"

Briefly- Sandia's first judged hunt would have to be viewed as a success, as he did end up tied for 2nd place (with two greyhounds). And he did finish ahead of his Aunt Camille, who finished 5th.

So? Sounds like there's a "but"...

But... his sister, Maya, won the hunt.

Ah, tomorrow is another (wetter, windier) day!

)(@$&*) Hillbillies!

Of course all the southern Republican Senators voted against helping the middle class autoworkers. They were following orders from their constituents masters in Japan, Germany, and Korea.

And you thought our fathers and grandfathers won that war...

Another Adolescent Fantasy Gone....

Bettie Page has left us, at age 85.

What? You don't know Bettie Page? Poor kids. Have Netflix send you a copy of The Notorious Bettie Page, the 2005 biopic starring Gretchan Mol.

I may cry.

Nearly SFW:

What a Life.

Last Monday, I dropped Margaret off at yet another airport- Austin, TX in this case. She'll be in Michigan for a couple of weeks, then she and her mother will be flying to Georgia for Christmas with a large chunk of the family.

I returned to our parking place of late, the driveway of our good friend Sherita, in the tiny burg of Santa Anna, Texas. (Dining tip: H&H Diner. Another case of good grub in small towns. In this case, the jalapeno cheeseburger's to die for. They also make their own pies and cookies.) Sherita has wireless internet access in the driveway, so I have no excuse for not blogging for the last couple of weeks other than the usual: lazy.

I left Santa Anna this afternoon, bound for Socorro, NM where, this Saturday, a certain Spanish Greyhound will run in his first official hunt. This trip was up in the air until I actually backed out of the driveway- it seems "Mr. I've-never-seen-anything-I-wouldn't-put-in-my-mouth" last Sunday retrieved, from a nearly impossible location, the big bottle of generic Ibuprofen, chewed off the lid, and scattered the contents around the living room of the Express! This, while I was shooting the AHCA trial, and Margaret was outside manning her laptop for the clients. I didn't think he actually ingested anything because of the amount left on the floor, but it became very apparent on Monday, that he had, indeed, swallowed a couple before deciding they weren't to his taste. Evidence including diarrhea, vomiting, frequent urination.. all the typical signs of Ibuprofen toxicity.

Unfortunately, it was 24 hours after the fact, so any first aid would have been useless, and it was time for a lot of breath holding. The vomiting only lasted for a few hours. The diarrhea is still an on and off thing, but the blood- indicating stomach ulceration- is becoming less, with a regimen of Mylanta, Immodium, and yogurt. I had blood work done by the local country doc, and all the kidney numbers were normal, and the blood was clotting normally. Most importantly, his activity level is back to obnoxiously normal!

So, I hit the road. Rather late, actually, but I made it to Brownfield, TX , just East of the New Mexico border on US380. I'm staying at Coleman Park, a nice city park with 14 free full-hookup RV sites, five of which are now filled. And, as a bonus: free WiFi!

300 miles to go. I'll have high speed wireless again at Casey's in Socorro. I plan to spend a couple of days there after the hunt, and do some wildlife and landscape shooting, and will share that when it happens. And more.

Prostate Health? Drink 17 Beers a Day.

Benjamin Franklin said, "Beer is the proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

Now there's research in many parts of the world that shows that beer can also make us more healthy. From cardiovascular health to prostate health to reducing hot flashes in menopausal women.

Ah beer. I know lots of folks who will welcome.. embrace this news. Of course, the Farkers were all over this one.

Look Before You Litigate!

New Math Geography.

Here's something to ponder.

Nearly every day, the twirling globe widget on the sidebar records a visitor from yet another country. It's now up to 229 countries. So, as I was changing the header, yet again, I wondered aloud to Margaret, "How many countries are there?" She said, "Good question, why don't you Google it". So I did.

195 is the answer. Hmmmm.

I think the discrepancy can be explained in the last paragraph:

"However...
Recognize that there are dozens of territories and colonies that are sometimes erroneously called "countries" but don't count at all - they're governed by other countries. Places commonly confused as being countries include Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Greenland, Palestine, Western Sahara, and even the components of the United Kingdom (such as Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England - they're not fully independent countries, states, or nation-states)."

So, I'll be changing the header to better reflect the reality.
Unfortunately, I don't know all the countries and territories that are
represented there, as it only lists the 30 most popular. The rest are all
bundled under "Other countries". Whoever they are, 229 is still a lot!

Convenience... At a Price, Of Course.

As we left the lure coursing trial in Hutto, TX last Sunday, I decided I wanted to avoid the usual glut of traffic we would encounter on US79 and I35. Bad nearly all the time, it's worse on Sunday afternoons and Fridays. I hopped on the toll road (130). This was only the second time we've traveled this highway, because the first time we were put off by paying $4.50 for a roughly 6 mile trip. This time, however, we weren't pulling the car, and we would be going about 20 miles or so. The nice thing about the toll roads is that Texans rarely use them, so traffic is very light.

As we approached the toll plaza, I noticed that in addition to the "TXTag" lane, (a prepaid option, similar to that used on toll roads all over the country), there was also a sign for "Pay by Mail". That's different, I thought. I wondered how that worked. Could it be as simple as it sounds? Camera takes a picture of your plate and mails you a bill? So, when we paid the lady in the toll booth I asked. And that's exactly how it works.

What a great idea, even though there's a dollar charge added to the bill. I use almost that much in gas to slow and stop, then idle while we exchange cash (an item we're occasionally low on) for a receipt, then have to accelerate back to freeway speeds. What convenience to just.. keep.. going. I like it. Wish they did that in Chicago, and Oklahoma, among other places.

Outtakes.

By now you've all seen the viral video of Governor Palin pardoning a turkey while other turkeys are being whacked in the background. But have you seen the outtakes? SlateV has them here.

We Hit the Big Time

When you blog, at least on the level that we here at the old Hare-Brained Express Tour blog, you expect to be read by your friends, acquaintances, customers, family, (I'm not sure even my family reads this... maybe Margaret's does), and that's about it. We get visited to the tune of around 30 visitors a day.

Then you write something like my satellite radio rant the other day, and suddenly you get linked by Rolling Stone online. Yeah... that Rolling Stone. How cool is that?

I bet that's never happened to Patrick... or Steve... or.. or.. Todd. :-)

"Clown Face"

Another image from our "Summer Vacation". We've already posted a picture of the largest bird we saw at Pinnacles National Monument. Here are some smaller, but no less unique birds.

These are Acorn Woodpeckers. Quite tame, so they posed patiently for the cameras. Note the "clown face".

Team Beige at the Shore.

Specifically, Cayucos, CA on Estero Bay... a short drive from Paso Robles. This is the beginnig of where we start catching up on image postings. There's a new slide show of great "beach sport" on the sidebar. Don't miss the UFO!

And while I'm mentioning new stuff on the blog, here's a few more things of note:

• "Reactions" ... these are the boxes at the bottom of each post. If you're too shy to comment, or too lazy, just tick an appropriate box. Lets us know we're on the right track, blogwise.
• "Comments"... are now embedded in the post. No need to open a new window.
• "Follow"... this is for bloggers. Allows you to follow your favorite blog. Located on the sidebar, you can see we now have 5 "followers". Find the edit tools on your Blogger dashboard.
• "Subscribe"... other ways to keep track of this blog.. by email or, more commonly, in a "reader". Click through for information.
• Worldwide... we've now been visited from 224 countries!
• "Library Thing"... it's been there a while, but I don't think we've mentioned it. Just a fun widget that helps you keep track of the books on your shelf. Click on it and see what I've (Dan only) been reading. See if you can detect any patterns :)
  

Lure Coursing?

Well.... yeah. From the ASFA Region 3 Invitational in New Mexico a couple of weeks ago. Didn't I tell you the field was way cool? Looks very much like another activity I enjoy in New Mexico.

But, of course, it couldn't be, could it?

I've got a shit-ton of images to post going back to this Summer. This is just the start. It is, after all, primarily a photography blog...