A Pretty Cool Dog.

HT Linda Stillwell in Oklahoma.

Not to bum everybody out, but it's been reported that Skidboot passed on earlier this year.

A Problem.

The return flight's not until the following Friday!

Shades of "Donald & Lydia". So much for doing our part for world peace.

I've Got Some Bad News.. and Some Good News.

There. It's not just the South. Received word last week from Margory that the spectre of AB1634 is about to raise it's ugly head again. Just when we were ready to venture into the Sunshine Golden State next Summer for the Scottish Deerhound Club of America National Specialty at Lompoc. Not if this piece of garbage passes, we won't. Not one tire tread will cross that border, and if the Club is smart, they'll pull their event out of the state. Anyway, keep abreast of the news on this issue by regularly checking (and supporting) the link above.

On a related subject, Steve Bodio informs us of a new advocacy group directed specifically at sporting dogs. Check out the website, and see if it deserves your support. I like the looks of it.

The Bachelor

That's me. Took Margaret to Houston Intercontinental Airport.. (yeah, yeah, I know.. think Washington National.. or Idlewild).. to fly to spend Christmas with "the Georgia Reiniches". (Congratulations reader Cynthia!). Ordinarily, we'd both go, but with no events to attend in Georgia it made no sense to make the 900 mile trip there when we were going to be back here in Texas for year end.

So here I sit, at the Escapees Rainbow's End RV park in Livingston, TX. Just me, 5 dogs, and a cat. There's a big ham dinner on Christmas at the Activity Center, and maybe one of the single RV geezer ladies will hit on me. You never know.

Anyway, there's plenty to do around here. The Big Thicket National Preserve is not far, and Lake Livingston offers much to explore as well. I'll survive.

Oh! One more thing: We never got around to getting a Christmas card done this year. So don't be running breathlessly to your mailboxes every day. I should come up with something before the holiday.

If not, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everybody!

Wow! It's Like Christmas in.. in.. December!

Yes, that's brand spankin' new University of Michigan football coach, Rich Rodriguez... Godfather of the spread offense. And believe you me, boys and girls there's going to be some changes made... not just at Michigan, but the whole Big Ten; if they want to keep up, that is. This will represent a sea change, a paradigm shift, a... a... oh, I don't know- pick a superlative- in the conference. This might just be the guy to drag the Big Ten, kicking and screaming, into the 21st Century. And I couldn't be more excited. We will soon be playing a very un-Big Ten brand of football!

When the rumors first surfaced last Friday, I thought it would be a great hire, but didn't think it would have a prayer. We talked about it at the lure trial this weekend, but no one thought, given the ridiculous way the coaching search had progressed over the last month, that Michigan would accomplish anything more than getting Rodriguez a healthy raise from West Virginia U. When I was told yesterday that Michigan actually pulled it off, I was ecstatic.

The same can't be said for the poor residents and students in West Virginia. For the second time in less than a year, Michigan has grabbed a high profile coach from West Virginia University. Last spring it was John Belein, the basketball coach. They're feeling abused down there, but it's been going on for over a hundred years. As it happens, Michigan's first great football coach, the legendary Fielding H. "Hurry Up" Yost, known best for his "point a minute" teams at the turn of the last century was born in Fairview, West Virginia in 1871, only a handful of miles away from Rodriguez' home town. Wow.

I even got an email from a well known veterinary orthopedic surgeon who operates out of Wheeling, WV and is a WVU grad, voicing his disappointment in Coach Rod, and wondering how he could leave the team in the lurch and not even coach the Fiesta Bowl game. But this is just how the game is played in the big time, like it or not.

And speaking of playing the game... if West Virginia had done it's part, and not gotten upset by the lowly Pittsburgh Panthers in the last game of the year, then "Coach Rod" doesn't have his secret meeting with the Michigan search team in Toledo, Ohio, and Les Miles is assembling his new coaching staff in Ann Arbor, and not preparing to put a whoopin' on Ohio State in the BCS National Championship game. Funny how things work out.

For now, we'll just have to remember, if we have to take a dog to WV for treatment, we'd better remove our "M" sticker from the rear window, and the "Big House Football" frame from around the license plate.

Just like I can't wait to get to New Mexico to run the dogs on jackrabbits, I can't wait for next Fall!

Yeah. They're That Good!

Patriots Proud Of Defeating Whoever That Last Team Was

FOXBOROUGH, MA—Patriots quarterback Tom Brady diplomatically emphasized that defeating whoever it was they had just played gave him and his...

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. :(