Thursday, June 21, 2007

Where I Spent the Week

 


Well.... where else would you park the "Express"?
Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Fun Site.

But any more bits of information like this, and life will lose a little more of its fun.

VideoJug:

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Caption This!

Posted by Picasa
Fun image from the Kentuky Horse Park. Send your captions!
UPDATE: I thought this piece was humorously relevant.

Monday, June 04, 2007

IIt's Over.

And the winner of the 2007, American Sighthound Field Association's International Invitational is......(drum roll... rat a tat tat tat rat a tat tat tat..... etc.)...
Not Sailor. (But he was the Gillette winner!).

The winner, in the eyes of the judges (which is all that really counts),
Was the Whippet, Ember.

Congratulations to all who ran fast and safely, and a "well done" to the Minnesota clubs who put on a stellar event. The gauntlet's down for next year's organizers, whoever they end up being.

See? Margaret was afraid I was going to editorialize a little too much. I think it was just right.

Saturday, June 02, 2007

The First Day Of the II

Rain was in the forecast, but it didn't happen. At least not until the trial was over. Then it rained. With a vengeance. Probably got 2 inches of heavy, heavy rain. So what if it proved the "water resistance" of our brand new EZ Up was a joke. It didn't effect the trial which, despite the wailing of the cassandras who didn't even bother to show up, went off without a hitch. The people who were here were determined to have a good time, and a good time was had by all. In fact, I'm guessing most people are happy that the grumps stayed home (you know who you are.. I don't, but I've been assured you do). The clubs who put this event on have done a great job.. I'd say better than last year's event.

Meanwhile, the sky has cleared, we've relaxed with our single malt to watch the Stanley Cup playoffs, and it looks like tomorrow morning will break as clear and sunny as this morning. And with the truncated entry, it looks like we'll be able to get out of here early and make it to Lexington on Tuesday for the Saluki specialty.

Oh yeah... and I got hit by a whippet today. I'll post the last picture I took before I said "Oh F*ck" when I get it loaded on this computer. My knee hurts.

Update 1. Ah, there it is...


Y'know.. I think right about this point he was saying it, too!

Friday, June 01, 2007

First Day at the II

It's the premier event of the year for ASFA. The "International Invitational". Say it loud, say it proud. And international it is. We're parked on one side of a driveway... that driveway will represent the Detroit River. On the other side of the driveway are no less than 6 vehicles sporting Ontario, Canada license plates. We must be in Michigan! But no! We're in Minnesota! Which also shares a border with Ontario.. it's a really big province!

Anyway, this is not about borders, or Canadians. It's about dogs. And while a whole lot of dog owners have chosen not to come to Minnesota for ASFA's premier event, the ones who are here are determined to have a good time.
We arrived yesterday afternoon. We were really early, and enjoyed a peaceful night's sleep at the Dakota County Fairgrounds. Tonight we're surrounded by the aforementioned Canadians, plus Virginians, Wisconsonians, Michiganders, and the occasional Arkansans and FIBs from Illinois. (Ask your mother). Not to mention dozens and dozens of Minnesotans. We had a good free dinner tonight of fried chicken, and good Minnesota wild rice (I love Minnesota wild rice!), and some really rich brownies.. So far, so good..

Many of the people who chose not to come did so based on the fields... considering them "too small". Based on the reconnoitering I've done so far, the fields look fine. The smallest of the two fields has a course over 1000 yards, and it's not cramped. The large lilac (or whatever plant it is) in the middle of the course is really going to separate the dogs who pay attention from those than don't. It should be quite entertaining. Especially if any of the dogs stop to pick up one of the thousands of chicken bones left over from last weekend's Hmong chicken food fight. Apparently the Hmong don't believe in dumpsters, having a more primitive outlook on eating. Unfortunately, I'm not shooting at this field.

I'll instead, be at the field that most recently hosted the World War III of paintball massacres. There are literally thousands of unexploded paintballs in the field. Walking through the field in a haphazard manner will leave you looking like this hapless soul...
....I can't wait to see how the white dogs look after a run through this minefield.

Anyway, that's it from Farmington, MN... and if it seems as if I'm rambling more than usual, well... 3 margaritas will do it every time.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Oh Nooo!

I had no idea my eschewing beer would lead to this drastic change in the marketplace. I feel so guilty. Well... it's Todd's fault too! =)

This Week's Scary Image.

Is this the scariest bridge in the US? I can't say, not having crossed every bridge in the US... but this one tops my personal list! Just look at this sucker... it's what I'd call an "over/under" design, only instead of the usual 2, or 4 lanes above and below, this is a single lane, as it crosses the Missouri River between Nebraska and Yankton, South Dakota, (hometown, apparently, of Tom Brokaw).

It's not exactly a wide lane, either. Add our high profile vehicle, and a strong, gusty wind coming from the West (our Left), and you've got a recipe for white knuckle driving.

This was the second time we'd ever crossed this bridge, and it wasn't any more fun than the first time.




Images by Margaret, from the co-captain chair.

"Home"

Everywhere we go, someone invariably asks, "So, where do you guys call home?". Well, here it is. Really. This is 411 N. 6th Street, Emery, South Dakota, 57332. Our "home" has been in Emery for nearly 4 years now. We've been here exactly three times, most recently this afternoon. Picked up the mail, and we're on our way to Minnesota for the II. See some of you there!
Posted by Picasa

Monday, May 28, 2007

Soggy II



Here's a fun image, typical of the entire field.. on Saturday.. 16 hours before the 3+ inches that fell on Sunday morning. This was what was left from the Thursday and Friday rain. But doesn't include today's rain. Does "soggy" make sense now?
Posted by Picasa

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Soggy.

 


What a soggy weekend in Oklahoma. Lots of great roostertail images yesterday, but today it started raining about 4am, and was still raining during the JC rollcall, while the organizers scrambled around to shorten the course so that it could be run without bogging down and burning up the motors. Didn't happen. Trial and Tests cancelled.
Posted by Picasa

Presidential Comedy..

Some would say the whole Presidential process is comedy, but far be it from me...

Anyway, saw this this morning on George Stephanopoulos. George thinks it's the best ad of the early campaign. I can't disagree. Fairly compelling case for the candidate as well.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Immediate Schedule...

...plan accordingly. ;)

Memorial Day Wknd: INBC, Shawnee, OK (incl. Friday practices)
June 2-3: ASFA II, Farmington, MN (10 of last 11 II's!)
June 5-8: SCOA Nat Specialty, Lexington, KY
June 10: LARC LGRA, Oberlin, OH (and maybe the 9th, too!)
June 16-17: Open
June 23-24: LCLC, Youngstown, NY
June 30-July 1: MGA, Metamora, MI (no rooftop storage this year!!)
July 4-8: BGCC, ASFA & AKC, Columbia, KY.
July 14-15: Open

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Frankly, I Never Would Have Gone Beyond the Clay Model Phase.

LUNCH So Good It'll Make You Weep...

OK... We gotta stop eating like this.

We're resting up after Silkenfest. Spending a couple of nights at the Pin Oak Creek RV Park in Villa Ridge, MO. Several of the Silken folk had somehow discovered The Hawthorne Inn during their specialty. They didn't say it was good or bad, just that it had a bar, and when the specialty was over, many of them needed a drink.

Well, this place is in Union, about 5 miles from the campground. Margaret needed to go to the post office, so we decided to have lunch there. What can I say? We keep bumbling into just the very best places. (So far, we've been lucky enough not to stumble into a place so bad I need to blog it... but believe me, I'll do it when it happens!).

Just plain outrageous presentation for lunch- (I'll have to start taking the camera to meals.. again, almost too pretty to eat). I had Grouper Diablo... a large grouper filet broiled and topped with a delicious scallion sauce. Margaret had Macadamia Mahi... yeah a Macadamia Nut crusted Mahi Mahi, smothered with a pineapple mango chutney. Both had shells in a creamy sauce on the side, and a really good dinner salad. Atmosphere was quiet, with dark wood, belying the fact that it was in a brand new strip plaza, in a very brand new commercial area of what was obviously not too long ago a quiet country village. Even the college across the road looks brand new. A well stocked bar, which we'll have to try the next trip.. (Margaret always talks me out of booze or wine at lunchtime.)

Tonight we'll be eating at Super Smokers,because the road goes on forever, and the party never ends!

Wake Up America.

I don't live in California, and I don't ever intend to visit there again if this piece of excrement bill passes. Thanks to George Bell for creating this film, and HT to Margory Cohen for alerting us to its existence.

Rally Update.

I mentioned in a previous post I'd update Rally's progress. I can't recall if I posted about her original injury, but for the record, it was late February, and we were out in a small field near Roswell. I just had Rally, and David Hise had a new Saluki x Greyhound he was trying out. Rally was out of position when the hare jumped, but soon caught up with the Saluki. They turned the hare hard left..

...and within another 2-3 strides Rally pulled up. And slowly came back to me on three legs. Within a few minutes, the area below the hock swelled significantly...


We were going to be in Texas within a week, and I planned on getting X-Rays done by a country vet we'd gone to previously, in Santa Anna. So I just iced the area several times a day, and alternated Bigel Oil wraps, with DMSO/Dexamethasone treatment. It took a long time- almost 10 days- for the swelling to abate.

The good news is that the X-Rays showed no fractures. We sent them off to Dr. Radcliffe in West Virginia to be sure we weren't missing anything. Unfortunately, Dr. Jim was unable to see the X-Rays when they arrived. He couldn't see anything when they arrived, and it would be more than a month before he could see anything... but that's another story.

Without a fracture, I decided we could wait on treatment until we could go to WV in person. That would be after the Deerhound Specialty in late April, or two months hence.

So wait we did. Dr. Radcliffe diagnosed a torn.. ("shredded" was his exact word).. plantar ligament. Too short to repair, so it was replaced, with a length of stainless steel wire.


The Doctor said they've got dogs running at Wheeling Downs with this repair, so she should be as good as new in 4-6 weeks. You know, that calcaneous bone is a handy attachment point; I'm thinking of having mudflaps installed when we go back for Rally's follow up! I'm tired of getting dirt-spattered on starts.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

God Takes Out Falwell.

"In the end", said the entity known as The Creator, "he just pissed me off!"

Dinner So Good It'll Make You Cry.

Most, if not nearly all, readers of this blog, are sighthound owners; and as such, will have reason sometime in their lives to have to travel to Wheeling, WV. When that unlucky event happens, do not... I repeat, DO NOT.. leave Wheeling without eating here: The Metropolitan Citi Grill, on the corner of Chaplin and 12th, in the heart of downtown, right across the street from the Federal Courthouse.

While Rally was recovering from her ligament replacement surgery at Town & Country Animal Hospital, we went out to dinner with her well known surgeon and his wife. In the past, we'd always go to the River City Brewery & Pub... a very good place, with very good beer and food. But the Metropolitan Citi Grill had opened since our last overnight visit to Wheeling, and I must say, our brewpub days are probably over.

Simply put, this is the best food I've eaten in years... possibly ever! Seriously. Try Balsamic marinated Filets Mignon over bowtie pasta with some kind of really great sauce. And it didn't just taste good. The presentation almost made it too pretty to eat. And everything Margaret and Jim and Judy had was met with many satisfying noises. Normal conversation was generally replaced for a good half hour with "Mmmmmmm", and "Oooooh". I wish I could remember what they all had, but nobody was complaining. I'm trying to get the good doctor to send me a menu so I can do the place a little more justice.

Till then, this place will remain a big secret.. really. They have no website. There are no posts to ChefMoz or Chowhounds. I couldn't find a single newspaper review, and I even checked the Pittsburgh papers.

Anyway, take it from me. And from Margaret. And from Dr. Jim and Judy. This place is awesome. Especially if someone else buys. Next trip, it's on us... and I hope it's just a social call.

Monday, May 14, 2007

Potpourri

Schedule- coming up:

This weekend, Silkenfest; I hear tell they've got 48 pre-entries for their race meet on Sunday. Memorial Day Weekend will find us in Shawnee, OK for Indian Nations Basenji Club's AKC trials, followed by the ASFA II in Minnesota, and then the Saluki Club of America specialty in Lexington, KY. We've got some heavy travel in our future...

I also need to do a quick writeup on one of the best restaurants we've ever eaten at - in Wheeling, West Virginia!!! - and an update on Rally's foot surgery. The two are sort of related... . That will come after I figure out how to digitize her post-op X-ray. It's quite impressive. Maybe tomorrow.