Sunday, August 26, 2007

Introducing:

TSH WatermelonMan @ Shotonsite. ("Sandia"). Born 5/18/07. This little fellow wasn't originally available, but once he showed signs of getting a wire coat, he was. You don't have to ask us twice! He caught my attention the first time we looked at the pictures. The eyes have it!
Thank You Chris! Watch this space for more pictures... lots more pictures ;-)

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Road Trip...

Dateline: Edgewood, NM
Yup. After weeks of trying to finagle ways to get a puppy from NM to wherever we happened to be at the time, we decided we might as well come out ourselves and actually see the live versions, and make our pick.

Wednesday, we dropped off the Express, and the Escape at Done-Right Auto & RV Repair in Mason, MI, hopped in a shiny white Enterprise Rent-A-Van (bare-bones cargo version... no cruise control!), with all the dogs and the cat and began our 1500 mile trip... which we accomplished in 29 mind numbing, and sleep depriving hours.

Finally confronted with puppies in the flesh, which one would we choose? Would it be "Kiko",
the tan boy we picked from the photos when our original pick was deemed to be "not quite right in the feet",
...or would it be "La Adelita",
that very same black and white girl who now seems to have normal feet?
Or would we like another puppy altogether...?

We're leaving tomorrow morning.. hope we've got it figured out by then! As I've said before... stay tuned.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

What Are the Odds?

Ironic, isn't it? As I sit in Starbucks, waiting for the MWCC trial pictures to upload to our website, I'm browsing Slate.com, and stumble on this.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Happy Birthday! (Belated)

"Randir", born August 19, 1996. Keep chasin' jacks!

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

One More from the Sky

Couldn't resist one more overhead shot from the weekend. This is one of our favorites. Jack Helder's "Rev". If you think you've seen every possible view of your dog, think again!

Anniversary


This week marks the 4 year anniversary of Dan and Margaret's "Full Time RV'er" lifestyle... still relative newbies, we've met folks who have been on the road 20 years and more. How many more years will we do it? It's unclear, as the search for land in New Mexico continues. Stay tuned.
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Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Schedule & Travel Updates.

The MGA trial "up North" was a mixed success. It was on the small side, but was actually bigger than we expected. 7 Ibizans?? Better sales on our end would have certainly been a plus. Most of the dogs here we've shot many times before, but with the overhead perspective from the snow-maker tower, they've never been seen like this before! Talk after the trials was to move the date to October next year, during that northern season known as "Fall Color". It should be gorgeous. And when word gets out how beautiful the location is, there should be more folks showing up.

So.. the travel schedule:

This coming weekend we'll be at the Midwest Coursing Club trials at the Racine, WI kennel club field. We'll apparently be sharing southeast Wisconsin real estate with thousands and thousands of Harley H.O.G. members. Motels are booked 50 miles out, and more, and the rates are doubled! If you don't have a place booked already, forget it.

Next week, the Express, in it's seemingly never-ending need for repair, will have to be left at Done Right Auto & RV Repair to have a cracked exhaust manifold replaced. So, we're letting Enterprise "pick us up", we're packing up the dogs, and we're all going to New Mexico to pick up the Galgo puppy. We think we know which one we're getting, but that could change when we get to see all our choices. So forget everything we've written before. ;) This, of course, means we will not be at the LARC LGRA as previously posted.

Labor Day weekend we will be at the OKIGO ASFA trials and fun runs at Twin Towers Park near Dayton, OH.

September 8-9 is the event we never miss! Wind Chasers Lure Coursing Club ASFA trials at Deep River Park, Hobart, Indiana. Pig Roast on Saturday night! MMMMmmmmm!

Monday through Friday, we may be at the Escapees big Fall "Escapade" in Goshen, IN.

I'm not sure what the rest of the month looks like... we will catch a LARC LGRA and fun trial in Oberlin, OH, and the LCLC trials in Romulus, NY. Other dates to be filled in as we know them. And don't forget the LGRA/NOTRA OB Nationals in Carthage, IN the first weekend of October. (Which means we miss the Loomis (NE) Dog Races.... again!)

Monday, August 13, 2007

Cwazy Wabbit!



This one's getting heavy traffic, but maybe some of you haven't seen it yet. HT to Frank Vignieri in New Mexico.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

A Better Perspective



Here's a more telling angle of the field. The course was only 556 yards, but with elevation change of nearly 70 feet in that distance, it would probably equal a 900 yard soccer field course. Today I shot from the snow-maker tower you see on the right hand side. What a perspective, as the dogs ran directly below! Best crash of the year... coming soon!

Friday, August 10, 2007

Up North

To a native Michigander, that means anywhere above the tri-cities of Saginaw-Bay City-Midland. I've extolled the virtues of Northern Michigan previously on these pages, so you know we're happy to be back here. And this time we're here to work!

A few people from the Michigan Gazehound Association thought it would be fun to host a trial way beyond the ordinary latitudes...in fact we're just 2 or 3 miles south of the 45th Parallel. The location for this weekend's trial is a premier golf and ski resort known as Shanty Creek, and the dogs will run from the very top of the place. This is the view from the top floor of the Summit Resort lodge.
This is also the view of the lure coursing field! Dogs better be in shape! Maybe later this week I'll post a shot or two of the action.







Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Nature Shots of the Weekend

From Scattergun Reserve. Conneautville, PA....
Plant life. Any botanists (amateur or professional) out there know what this is? It was deep in the woods, next to a small pool, and it had no relatives nearby that I could see. A hermit. It sure is red.

Plants and animals... I know this image is kind of cliche'd, but I don't use my macro lens nearly enough. So here it is.

If you like them, I'd look for these and others like them at our Nature and landscape image website .

EDIT: Well, well, well... thanks to reader "Anonymous", we now know that that beautiful red flower above is known as the "Cardinal Flower". You can look, but don't eat it!

Monday, July 30, 2007

It's Good to be Back in Civilization!

Hanging out at Cabela's parking lot in Wheeling, with a good, strong signal for phone and internet. Been out of sight and out of mind in rural Pennsylvania since last Thursday. Shooting dogs at the 2nd "Ridgeback Rodeo". Got some interesting hound action, but the best part about this is that it's held on a private hunting preserve, Scattergun Reserve, and last night I took the opportunity to cruise the fields and woods in one of the off-road golf carts and got some really cool nature stuff, which I'll try to post.

Nothing much else to write; I just wanted to see if I remembered how to do it!

Schedule Note: Lewisville, Indiana this weekend, LGRA race meet. (Rally's oh-so-close to being ready to rock and roll again), and then MGA's first try at a trial in waaaay northern Michigan at a very classy golf and ski resort.. that's the following weekend. And finally we'll be at Racine Kennel Club for the MWCC trials. After that, I may leave Margaret and the Express parked in Franklin, WI, while I drive out to New Mexico to get Kiko. (That's the pup's name if you didn't get around to watching the video.)

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Penn & Teller Give You Some Truth About You-Know-Who

This is more preaching to the choir, I know, but it's too entertaining to pass up. Last month I was killing time, perusing Steve Bodio's Querencia and checking out some of his links to favorite blogs. I found this on the Terrierman's blog... so a big H.T. to Terrierman, Patrick Burns. Warning: Not for impressionable kiddies. Language, you know...

Friday, July 20, 2007

The Boy's Been Named!

It's Open!

Not finished, mind you, but open. This is the very fancy, expensive, new Interstate 280 bridge over the Maumee River in Toledo. The Veteran's Glass City Skyway took 2 or 3 years to get to this point, but the cable-stayed bridges are very cool looking.

Shot this through the windshield the other day... don't mind the occasional bug-spatter.

This, That, and the Other Things

This is known as catching up on the odds and ends.

First, I want to tell you about a fun new group that Sally Papin at Windyglen has started up... (and foolishly made me a moderator of!). It's an old fashioned photography club, and anyone can join, (except for those lonely, or bored, young girls who have recently been sending me emailed invitations to look at their pictures). It's called CanineFoto_Boneanza, and you can just go to the link and join up, or you can email me and I'll send you a personal invitation to avoid the red tape. Any (or no) skill level is welcome, as is any equipment level... there's even a member who claims to have made a pinhole camera out of a pumpkin! Join the fun.. this weekend's project is "feet". Run with it. No pun intended.

********************************************

Restaurants and food- Well, we've stumbled on another jewel and, unfortunately it's one most of you will never get to unless you come to a BGCC trial near Columbia, KY. It's a bit out of the way, north of town on Hwy 55. It's a Mexican place called ...and it was surp.. no, stunningly good. Jalapeno's good. (If we haven't mentioned it before, Jalapeno's is our favorite Mexican restaurant in Lexington, KY.. we just stopped there the other day, in fact). When Steve said it was "better" than the other Mex place in Columbia I didn't expect much. What we got were Shrimp and Chorizo Nachos, and a plate of shrimp enchiladas... and the shrimp in both entrees were anything but.. shrimpy. Huge, perfectly grilled, tasty. And, as if it weren't perfect enough, it's all 15% off, all day on Wednesdays! I wish I could tell you I enjoyed it with a perfect margarita. Sorry folks... we'd have to travel 40 miles to Lebanon, or 75 miles to Bowling Green to partake in that, or any, alcoholic beverage. As one unaware couple at the trial found out when they inquired about finding the wine section at the IGA, "alcohol is for sinners!" (Insert appropriate ominous music here)

Our other find on this recent trip was during the trials at Old Fort Niagara in New York: Probably the best prepackaged marinade we've ever tasted. On Saturday night we parked the RV along with a dozen or so other folks at a house out in the country. Our host prepared about 40 chicken breasts to go with a potluck dinner on the deck. The number one question from most everyone who wasn't from the area: What is that marinade? Well, it's no secret now, it's Chiavettas. And Margaret picked up 4 gallons of the stuff at Sam's Club on the way out of town. We did discover later that if you marinade say, pork chops in it, and then you get invited to dine on something else that night, and you get back to the pork chops about 3 nights later? The flavor may be a bit too intense for your palate. Just a personal anecdote there. ;)

***************************************
Woes- A bit of our Karmic lustre seems to have worn thin lately. Some wear and tear is beginning to show on the Express. We had to have a mobile repair guy come out to Columbia while we were there to help get our rear view monitor to work, and our steps to retract when the ignition is turned on, and to find out why the front air conditioner (in the humid, 90 degree Kentucky Summer) was only putting out a gentle breeze. Then, when we thought we were leaving Kentucky, we suddenly lost almost all our power on the first gentle grade. Flashers on, get to the shoulder, creep up to the crest and over, then everything was fine again... until the next hill. We stopped, called our very good road service provider, found that the only place that could even look at us within 60 miles was 15 miles back down I-75... the way we'd just come. So it was off to Piles Chevrolet, (imagine the joke opportunities lost because it's not a Dodge dealer... think about it) in Williamstown. Two days and 9 bills lighter, with a new fuel pump, we finally left Kentucky. But not before we dunked the Nikon D200 camera and lens into the dog's water bucket; an event too painful to even go into the details here. It is currently undergoing extreme drying in a home made dehumidifier...
CW says to not even try to power it on for at least 10 days. Of course we didn't read the CW until we'd already broken that rule. It may be toast. I may be able to dry out fruit with this thing if it doesn't work out for the camera. :(

Life on the road. Usually it's fun.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

A Big Edit.

Photo courtesy Steve Garth

So it's a different color. And a different sex. It's still a Galgo. Wanna make something of it?

We now return you to our regularly scheduled programming.

Friday, July 13, 2007

That Puppy.

The story is nearly ready.. but it needs pictures, and Blogger is having problems uploading images right now. Hopefully we'll have it here by tonight.

UPDATE 1: It's finally done! Just below there.... see it?

The Story.

To get where we are today, I have to go back almost 10 years, when I found this picture..

Image Copyright Doma Vaquera Kennel

..on the internet. I thought, what a magnificent hound! I immediately forwarded the link to the Deerhound list, jokingly stating that here was the way to bring back the red deerhound! That's how my quest for the Galgo Espanol, or Spanish Greyhound began. I found more websites on the breed, most notably The Little Lobitos site, run by Claudia and Thomas in Germany. That was well before the charming critters you see here (click on the link, click on "Puppies", Click on "A" box) were born. I emailed my compliments on the great photographs on their website, one thing led to another, and we were soon in preliminary email discussions on getting a puppy from Germany when Paula was bred.

That process was interrupted when that staghound icon you all know as Buffy the Vampire Slayer became available at the Quad Cities Greyhound Adoption in Illinois. The rest, as they say, is history. Until now.

Last month, at the Saluki specialty in Lexington, KY, many of the folks we hunt with were all abuzz about a new litter of Galgos bred in New Mexico by Chris Mason... that being the reason Chris was not at the specialty.

Fast forward a few weeks, and I received an email from an aquaintance of Chris's in New Mexico, (who also happen to have Galgos). Chris wanted my phone number. I joked that I couldn't imagine what Chris wanted to talk to me about.. could it be she wants to sell me a puppy? I said I was fine waiting for puppies from her Camille, ( one of the finest jackrabbit hunters I've ever seen). I was assured that when she had puppies, one was mine.

Last week, I was sitting in the shade at the BGCC trial while the course was being re-strung (a rare "drag" meet in the East), and my cellphone rang. It was Chris Mason. She said she wanted me to have a puppy, because I "like Galgos". No argument there! The rub is that we're full up in the Express... 4 dogs, a cat, and two humans is about all we can handle. That was going to be my excuse, although the other problem is that we couldn't afford one. We would wait for a Camille puppy.

We chit-chatted, and I innocently asked what she was asking. She said, "I'm asking a thousand dollars a puppy...", and then gave me an offer that was impossible to refuse. Sent me pictures..
(Puppy image by Steve Garth)
..and said "pick one". The brindles and one fawn (not shown) were taken. You could say the puppy came right to us!

She'll hang out in New Mexico until Fall when, if travel plans work out, she will probably make her public "debut" when we're at the ASFA Greyhound thingy in Oklahoma. By then, I hope she'll have a name! Chris has given her a name for now, but she's not stuck with it. I've looked at some Spanish names, and I really like Adelita. We've also just read Larry McMurtry's Buffalo Girls, which is a good name in itself, but one of the main characters is Calamity Jane... another great name. Maybe a new, non-binding, poll will turn up here soon.

That's our story. We're sticking to it.

The Superstitious Would Be in Panic Mode!

Just a little anecdote before I post about the new kid coming...

Today, Friday the 13th, we had lunch at Tray's China Garden restaurant in Columbia, KY. Good place, been there at least 7 years. My fortune cookie was empty! I've never seen that before. And with the tip, our bill came to $13.13!!

Am I worried? Hell no.... bad luck and trouble, I laugh in your fa

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Return of the "Longdogs With Pedigrees"

I wish I had a good excuse for not blogging lately... laziness seems so, oh, I don't know, pedestrian as an excuse. I have so much to catch up on, like the return to Wheeling, and Dr. Radcliffe's office... yes, Rally is progressing nicely, and a second visit to Metropolitan Citi Grill proved the excellence of the first trip was no fluke.. I love Chilean Sea Bass!

Anyway, there were so many other things I wanted to post I can't remember half of them... a Penn & Teller bit from YouTube, and several other things. But this news supercedes it all. Someone's coming to live with us...

Story to follow.....

Thursday, June 21, 2007

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!

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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!
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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?
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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.
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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.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

The Dragon

We came..

We drove..


We bought the T-Shirt.

The Deerhound Specialty being over, we finally had to time to explore America's Number 1 motorcycle and sportscar destination.. The Tail of the Dragon. That's the portion of US129 that runs from Deal's Gap, NC north into Tennessee for 11 miles. In those 11 miles, the road has 318 curves! And all as smooth as a baby's butt, as you can see above. And all up and down, no flat places.

We took a few pictures, which you can see at the the Shot On Site website , but for the best images from the Dragon go to Killboy.com. That's "Killboy" (aka Darryl Cannon) on the right in the image below.. we had a chance to stop and chat on Sunday. Note that he's not the one with the camera. I can only hope that our business is so successful someday that we can hire associates to do the shooting for us. ;)
All kidding aside, Darryl was on his way to shoot at another curve, so we were lucky to find him here. There is always someone from Killboy.com at the Dragon... every day. If you go to his site, you'll probably even see us buzzing by!

This week, there are over 500 Mini Coopers there. Like I said, a serious driving destination. It was by far the most fun I've ever had driving the Escape, and Margaret only told me to slow down once in 22 miles!