Saturday, February 23, 2008

Whoa!

Blogger's gone crazy! Over the last hour the Feedjit Live Traffic counter, and the SiteMeter have been rolling up numbers like this was the Daily Kos , or FARK, or... or... the Barack Obama for President blog, or something. It's like dozens (or more, it doesn't look like it's let up yet) of people all around the world hit the "Next Blog" radio button that sits onobtrusivly at the very top of the page in the Blogger Nav Bar at the same time, and they all came up, "Hare-Brained Express Tour 2008".

If you're one of those people, leave a comment, and let me know how you really came to be here. And thanks for helping my visitor count!

More Than Bumper Stickers!


Who can keep up with Margaret? Not me! We now have "I'd Rather Be Coursing" apparel at our Cafe Press store . Right now there's just the Galgo EspaƱol. Other breeds to come. Besides, who doesn't like the Galgo?? Not me.

Friday, February 22, 2008

"I Don't Know Art.. But I Know What I Like"

..and this isn't it. And actually, I do know art. Mojo Nixon on Sirius Satellite Radio's Outlaw Country loved the story, though.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Obama-nation

It's much better than it sounds!

From the "Low Concept" Department at Slate.com

It's A Hit!

Early indications are that you like the bumper stickers. In the Netherlands, especially! Love you, Anke! In addition to those, and the US, we've even sold to Australia.
Biggest seller so far is the Galgo Espanol. Did I mention we love you, Anke? :-) Followed by Basenji, and Borzoi. So... where's the Whippet folks? Greyhounds? Longdogs? Salukis?
See them all here. They'll be available on T-Shirts soon, as well, and Margaret will be coming up with new designs, too. Check it often.

Still More Birding Images.

Circus Cyaneus. What a great name for our old friend the Northern Harrier, (formerly Marsh Hawk.) We've gotten lots and lots of images of Harriers in New Mexico because they're probably the most numerous of the birds of prey here. Big birds anyway. They're always around every field we take the dogs to. We kind of caught this one by surprise when we were out east of the Floridas looking at property. I saw her- females are brown, and larger than the mostly blue/grey males- in the distance, moving our way, so I stopped the car and waited. The top image was at the instant she noticed us and veered away.


This image was taken a second later, and really shows the aerodynamics of the body. The Peterson Guide describes Harriers as "slim hawks with slim wings, long tails.... flight low, languid, gliding..." I enjoy watching them, as they're always hunting, watching the ground for voles, which is their main prey. You can always tell the Harrier by the large white rump patch, clearly visible above.

As I mentioned in a previous post, this particular trip to New Mexico has been particularly rich in viewing birds of prey, both large and small. Just from memory:

  • Bald Eagle
  • Golden Eagle
  • Northern Harrier
  • Ferruginous Hawk
  • Red Tailed Hawk
  • Zone Tailed Hawk... (maybe; briefly over the car, and I remember it was dark, with a black and white tail)
  • Cooper's Hawk and Sharpshinned Hawk
  • Peregrine Falcon, and
  • Kestrel.

..and probably more, but it's hard, sometimes, to get a positive ID on a bird sitting on a yucca when you're driving by on the interstate at 75mph ;-)

Someday, I'll write about how I got so into amateur birding.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

No, They Mean the Pecans.

The MLBPA was getting nervous. (That will require a little bit of thought) ;-)