Jambalaya and the Crawfish Pie and the Filé Gumbo...

...And lure coursing at DebMar Farms near Bush, Lousiana. Nice field, huh? When we were here pre-Katrina, you couldn't see across this field. 14 double-trailer logging trucks, and innumerable bonfires later.. you have a pretty good lure coursing field.

We arrived on Thursday, and Friday morning drove to New Orleans for brunch at the Court of the Two Sisters. We stuffed ourselves at the buffet and the egg station (tip: creole seafood omelet.. excellent) to the extent that we didn't get back to the car in time and collected a pretty, orange parking ticket. $20. Expensive parking. Cheaper than a seat belt violation in New Mexico, however.

Saturday broke warm, windy, and humid. A tad uncomfortable, but a far cry from the snows of a week before in Edgewood.

We were visited by Matt Mullenix and family. Matt is a contributor at the Querencia blog, is an avid falconer, and owns a whippet, Rina, from our hosts this weekend, the Bahms. You can see Matt's take on the blogger "meet-up" here. And here they are:

Unfortunately, Matt and family had plans for the evening, so missed the crawfish boil, and the live band- which had its act cut short by a visit from the local authorities who said they could hear them "five miles away". All in all, a fun evening. A fun weekend. And here's a wildlife pic from the weekend:

Not the rare, Ivory Billed Woodpecker, but its relative, the Pileated Woodpecker. Caught it flying overhead on Saturday morning; undoubtedly looking for all those pines that used to be here.

Today, we went to Louisiana Veterinary Referral Clinic to have Rally checked out. She didn't check out well. The fixator was loose, and she had a lot of swelling around the tibia. She's sporting a new $500 look. Pics as soon as I take 'em.

Forward.. Into the Past.

Let me digress briefly. Yes... of course the WalMart gas station with the refueling alien was Roswell. We spent that night in Tatum, NM. The town has free full hookups behind the community center. A nice touch. Last time we stayed there.. a couple years ago.. it was Thanksgiving week. We got invited into the center for the town's annual potluck Thanksgiving dinner! We have a soft spot for Tatum.

The next night, we stayed here:

Where is it? Nearest major city will do. (Todd can't play).

Quickie.

Let's just say I was wrong about Louisiana... about having a good signal and getting caught up, I mean. So much to cover.... after so much gumbo, jambalaya, red beans & rice, bananas Foster, etc, etc All will now have to wait until we're back in Texas. I know Matt Mullenix is sitting on pins and needles waiting to see his "family portrait". ;-)

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

We hit the road yesterday morning, and drove the Express out of New Mexico for the first time in 2 months. Signal's been spotty, so not much new added here. When we get to Louisiana, I'll have time to catch up. Meanwhile, here's an easy little geo-quiz to keep you occupied. Where is this? Post your answers to "comments".

UPDATE: Had a correct answer already... took about 2 minutes, but I did say it was easy. I'll hold publishing comments for a few days, so others can post their- correct- responses.

Leave it to the Finns & Russians...

...to do Southern Rock right! Todd, this is for you ;-P



HT Steve Bodio, and/or whoever sent it to him, with info on the band at the link.

OK. Not Funny Any More.

This started about 7 last night. Just light flurries now, but the winter storm warning continues until 6PM tonight, with another 1-4 expected. And I have to drive in to the airport to get Margaret at 4. In one of those meteorological mysteries, there's virtually no snow in Albuquerque, just 30 miles away. The problem will be getting there.

All In the Family

It was damn cold when I got up this morning, but by the time we got up to Moriarty and got the dogs out of the vehicles, it was damn perfect weather. This would be the only chance we'd have for a -truncated- family shot. Maya (that loooong dog from a previous post) on the left, Zuni in the middle, and well, what readers of this blog don't recognize Sandia? The people? It matters? Okay, Steve Garth, and Chris Mason (without whom, neither Steve or I would have these fabulous Spanish Greyhounds).

I would be an irresponsible owner if I didn't post at least one picture of the group chasing a jack, with Sandia prominently in the lead...

... and a solo shot of Sandia's backside, showing some pretty decent muscling..

..and after Sandia had run two, I leashed him up so Maya and Zuni could get some decent photo time ;-) Sandia's run way more than his littermates at this point which, depending on my or Chris's point of view is either a good thing or a bad. Time will tell. Today was his last rabbit until next Fall at the earliest.. so I guess I could have let him chase a third one. It was a great day out with good people and promising dogs.

We headed back to Edgewood for breakfast at the East Mountain Grill... something I was looking forward to all week. The best huevos rancheros I've ever tasted.. with green chiles, of course, and good black beans. We had to wait for Steve a bit, because he was hung up in the parking lot on the phone with Jermaine Dupri. Oh, these movers and shakers I hang out with.