Friday, June 27, 2008

Who is That Guy?

This has been driving me crazy.. ever since the first "McCain for President" TV ads started up here... (running incessantly about every 15 minutes). They always end up with this picture of some guy..

...supposedly this is John McCain. Does he look like this guy?

Now that looks like McCain.. (doing his best Pete Coors- well known right wing Nazi- impersonation; love the way the pocket flaps wave in the breeze!). Could it be that the first image has been manipulated to make him appear more... oh, I don't know... younger? Presidential? ...instead of like the old guy in your neighborhood who stands in the yard in his bathrobe, shaking his fist at all the cars, and yelling at them to "slow down!.. whippersnappers!" Hey, it works for all the fashion magazines.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Preparing to Travel.

We've been sitting still- and therefore not burning expensive fuel (at least in the Express... the Escape's another matter altogether)- for over two weeks now. Got another week to sit (although not necessarily to relax), and then it's off to Metamora, MI for 3 days of lure coursing trials.

Then we'll be off on a "leisurely" 2+ week trip to Lompoc, CA, where we'll be shooting a whole lot more lure coursing, plus LGRA racing. Specifically, we'll be there for the Scottish Deerhound Club of America's National Specialty, but there will be other Regional specialties going on, including greyhounds, and a couple of other breeds.

We've been told Lompoc is a "must experience" at least once. Beautiful surroundings. Cool nights, warm days, and near the ocean. As it turns out, the coursing and racing will be taking place in Santa Maria, about 30 miles away, so I'm not sure how much Lompoc we'll get to "experience".

In our "Year of Meeting Bloggers", we'll add Christie Keith of Dogged Blog, Pet Connection, and other blogs, to the list we started back in February with Steve B. As we're both Deerhound owners, I guess this meeting would be inevitable... eventually.

Once the Lompoc event is done, and we haven't yet experienced an earthquake, wildfire, mudslide, traffic jam, inversion layer, or any of the other events that make California.. special, we plan on hanging around to do the lure coursing trials up in Hollister, California. The folks there have tried to get us to come out for a while now, and this is the best opportunity we'll have. Hollister is best known for the 1947 "takeover" by motorcycle gangs that was the inspiration for the movie, The Wild One. Cool- I hope there's a museum!

After that? We're workin' on it, but I'm sure we'll be tired of the People's Republic of California by that time and will be working our way back East.

Stay tuned, and watch the schedule.

Lure Coursing, Racing, and OFC stuff..

It appears some friends of ours have decided to advertise with the big "G"... and as luck would have it, because of the subject of many of of the posts here, their "link" has shown up in the bar above... so if you're looking for really slick coursing or racing "attire"... or slips... you might want to check them out. Hint, hint. I've had this business linked below for a long time, but it works better for me if you "look up" ;-) You'll figure it out.

There.. that should be vague enough to not violate Big G's terms of service.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Visitor.

11:45 PM.

I hear the dog food container hit the ground. We keep it outside, secured, on the picnic table next to the Express. It was on the ground this morning, too. Neighbors tell me about a marauding raccoon seen on the premesis last night.

Rocky:

Belligerent. Wouldn't run away, even with 5 dogs pushing me from behind as I stood in the doorway to capture this, admittedly soft, (understatement), image.

Dammit, they're a pain in the ass, but they sure are cute!




Margaret's Garage Sale

The morning started busy.. even before the signs were placed, and before the Ann Arbor News hit the street. And it got busier from there. Just before 5PM, Margaret reports we're doing good, and should have the Express's new radiator covered!

Today's science report involves that tree in the background, to the left of the EZ-Up. The one with all the clumps of white flowers. It's a Japanese Lilac Tree, and it's attracted a number... a large number... of Carpenter bees. At one point they were too numerous to count- over 30, anyway, plus numerous smaller bees, flies, and butterflies.

And no wonder; it's loaded with pollen. The fragrance is nearly overwhelming, but not cloying. Several shoppers commented on it. One was going to go out and buy one.

Look at the hind leg on this guy. He'll be popular when he returns to the nest.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

I Did It.... Again!

Nature photography is best left, apparently, to professional nature photographers... or Boy Scouts.

Today's missed opportunity: Baby turkeys.

Reconsidered taking the camera when I walked Sandia, and I was still close enough to go back for it, but decided, "nah.. won't see anything today". I had even taken a few steps back toward the Express. Sigh.

Out of the brush and onto the trail they came... singly, and occasionally in pairs. About 5 inches tall. Not sure how old that would make them, but they could fly! Once they realized there was a large human- with a dog- not 15 feet away, they took to the trees. They fly better than adults, who wandered slowly off in the opposite direction. I think we were meant to follow.

What next? Waiting for our first Bobcat!

Oh yeah... I did pick up at least one tick. Penance.

No.18 In A Series.

How not to photograph lure coursing:







Lure coursing photography is a dangerous art, and should be left to experienced professionals only. Do not try this at home!

Thanks, and a big Hat Tip to our friend and unofficial II sub-contractor, Ben Brodeur.

Democrats Have Cooler Funerals.

But Don't Let Him Pee on the Water Cooler!

Tomorrow is the 10th Annual "Take Your Dog to Work Day". I've been taking my dogs to work with me- every day- for the last 14 years! Does your company let you bring your dogs to work regularly? Will they let you bring your dog tomorrow (June 20th)? I'll bet my old employer won't. They've become quite boring over the years since I left.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

I Rest My Case..

I use newspaper, kindling, and one match. Mrs. Bubba uses the Darwin Award shortcut. (Identity obscured to protect the stupid.)















Good Luck Little Guy

I mentioned the other day that I've seen Wood Ducks in the trees over the RVs. These are shots from earlier in the Spring.. end of April, early May. I fact, they're among the first images I captured with the D300.. way before I knew how to manipulate the menu for optimal color! This is the spectacularly colored male, or drake.

I didn't see the pair again until just the other day, while I was punishing myself walking Rally. (She has to make interminable circles on the flexi lead before she will do her thing... there have been times I swear I've fallen asleep waiting for her to pee!). Naturally, I don't have the camera with me when I'm doing this, so it was really frustrating when I glanced up and saw the pair of ducks fly to a nearby tree and disappear. I kept my eye on the spot, thinking they were perching on a limb. I didn't see them fly away, so when Rally finally finished her chore, I tossed her in the door and grabbed the camera, and ran to the base of the tree thinking I would get them taking off- (they're very skittish and shy).
Nothing. I know I would have seen them leave while I was out, and with a little searching, I spotted a trail of down hanging out of a cavity about 50 feet up.

A nest!
This tree's about 200 yards from the nearest water, but that's not all that unusual, nor is the way the young leave the nest when it's time:

"The Wood Duck nests in trees near water, sometimes directly over water, but other times up to 2 km (1.2 mi) away. After hatching, the ducklings jump down from the nest tree and make their way to water. The mother calls them to her, but does not help them in any way. The ducklings may jump from heights of up to 89 m (290 ft) without injury." (emphasis mine- DG)

Which brings us to today's tale. Once again, walking Rally sans camera, I saw a quick-moving bird crossing the campground road, heading in our direction. Baby duckling. Cursing the dog and my luck, my impatience finally won over, and I took her back to the Express and tossed her in to do whatever she was going to do inside, but I was not going to miss this picture!


Aix Sponsa (Wood duck)
I hope the little guy makes it to the water.. this was not the best of all possible weekends to be hatching here.. it's a race weekend in our part of Michigan, and there are more than the usual number of NASCAR Bubba's at the campground- you know, the guys who build giant campfires when the overnight low is only going to be the upper 70's and that number matches the humidity, and they're drinking Miller Lite. Need I say more?

Anyway, he moves pretty quickly for a tiny tot, when you approach him, so I couldn't interfere with "nature" even if I wanted to. Still, the odds are against him, which must be why the hens typically lay 6-15 eggs, and can sometimes lay up to 40 (!). And they do it twice a year. Their numbers are solid, and trail only Mallards in numbers shot each season.

I could be seeing more.

Friday, June 13, 2008

With "Friends" (of the planet) Like This, Who Needs Enemies?

There are times I'm really glad we don't have satellite, or cable TV access. This is apparently one of those times.

Any of you who may have viewed the Planet Green network in its brief life, let me know if it's really this bad...
"It's impossible to say whether the show's smug superiority is more grating than its anorexic thinness of content, but seeing them in combination may fill you with a kind of retributive rage. I for one want to go out and kill a dolphin."

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The Things You See When You Haven't Got a Camera...

Wouldn't you know it? Took Sandia for a walk on the campground trails yesterday. Had to stick to the open areas on the North end, because we were quickly flushed from the trail that runs through the woods.. (See the previous post on deerflies). I had the boy on the new 110lb Flexi, but didn't bring the camera, mostly out of pure laziness.

Now, I've seen lots and lots of interesting critters and things at the old Holiday RV Campground... Sandhill Cranes, deer, geese, turkeys, turtles, wood ducks (in the trees over the RV!), squirrels, cottontails, fungi, wildflowers, raptors.. the list is endless. Yesterday morning, while I was walking Rally, a coyote- bigger than Rally- stopped at the edge of the cornfield, about 20 yards away, and gave us a good long stare before proceeding on with his daily business.

Nothing previously could have prepared me for yesterday's event, however. We had just seen a pair of spotted fawns rollicking in the tall grass out by the interstate.. no adults in evidence. I was cursing the fact that the camera was in the motor home, and we were approaching a large thicket where a lot of deer often rest during the late afternoon. I was anticipating the explosion of mass deer-flight when, from behind us, I heard, "Excuse me!". Huh? That didn't compute- like when you hear a powerful jet, and look up in the sky and the first thing your eyes fall on is a soaring turkey vulture. I turned and, bearing down on us, was a horse.. a trotter, in fact, complete with sulky and a little black driver in goggles! As he sped by, he said, "How you doin' today?", and I said.. "uh... um... er.. fine?"

I've been on that trail dozens of times. This was definitely a first. There are horses on the nearby property. I just never realized they were racing horses, although there is a harness racing track in Jackson. It is an interesting practice track, though, because it's far from level. He disappeared around the bend, and I immediately got on the phone to Margaret to pass on the story. While talking to her, we passed the last photo opportunity of the walk, when I spied a box turtle laying eggs next to the trail.

SO.. today I took the camera when the boy and I went out for our daily constitutional. No fawns. No horses,sulkies, or diminutive drivers.. of any color. No turtle. No nuthin'! Well, nearly no nuthin'. I did see this perfect, living description of "gossamer wing"..

And Sandia self-posed for me in a nice setting...
What's the Boy Scouts' motto? Oh yeah.. Be Prepared. Well, I once hacked a hole in my knee with a hatchet... during a "hatchet safety" session at a Boy Scout "Camporee". But, that's just me.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Another Milestone.

If you look at the "Where Are You?" box in the sidebar, you'll see the names of countries scrolling up. Since I added this feature in January of this year, this blog has, as of this hour, now been viewed in 100 different countries. Many of the visitors have simply been searching for this, but most are actually here on purpose. Cool!

Not So Cold.

Doesn't seem all that long ago I was bemoaning the lack of warmth in our Michigan climate. We're back, after our 1500 mile jaunt to the II and the Saluki specialty, and things have changed. For one, there's been a whole lot of rain in the area, and it's turning into a steamy jungle. And that brings out...
...these guys. As sure a sign of summer as there could be. Oh, and mosquitos, too. Be careful what you wish for. I see there was snow at the Snoqualmie Pass in Washington yesterday. It looked nice. ;-)

Scary..

Hey.. play me some George Winston......

Doubly Suspended, at the ASFA II

They say the closer you can run to the ground, the faster you will go. This guy must be really flying! Or crashing.

And here's something only a handful of people saw on Saturday. The lightning and thunder were closing in, the judges on Field B decided to get the hell off the top of the hill, and to get the lure operator off the ladder. The whippets that had been at the line, were on their way down the hill to shelter. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye in the direction of the woods...


...and away he (she?) went, across the coursing field, and over a fence and out of sight. Someone shouted the obvious, "loose the Deerhounds!". Only myself, 2 of the field clerks, and the two judges saw it.

I have no idea if the deer was watching from the edge of the forest, waiting for an opportunity to bolt, or if it was just the beneficiary of extremely lucky timing. Whichever... it showed great form!

Monday, June 09, 2008

Video Evidence.

Why didn't I mind being towed? We had two big climbs in front of us, including Sidling Hill, seen here. We figured we saved $30-$50 in gas! This thing looks much more foreboding when approaching from the East.

Speaking of hills... here's the driveway at Bill's Truck & Auto-


Somehow, we didn't get a shot from the bottom looking up. But you can see me in the only place I could get a cellular signal!

Home Again, Jiggety-Jog...

When we last posted, (not counting the fabulous Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup win), we were leaving Cabela's in Wheeling. We stopped that night at a campground just off I-68 in Maryland. That allowed us to fill in another state on the Express-side map, (conveniently ignoring the fact that we crossed the PA border about a mile and a half... their mailing address is Flintstone, Maryland!).

Prompting our stop was I-68 itself. Mountains. If this trip taught us anything, it's that the Express needs a new radiator. We boiled the coolant once between Wheeling and the campground (which was just past Cumberland). We figured to let it rest overnight for the remaining climbs before the descent into Virginia.
We were only about 125 miles from the site of the ASFA II now, and we got an early start to take advantage of the cool morning. We were halfway up our second climb of the morning, the transmission had dropped to 2nd, and our speed to 30mph when there was a loud "BANG!!", followed by a rhythmic "bang-bang-bang-bang...." etc. Margaret, believing I am all-knowing said "What was that?". Proving I knew a little something, I replied, "Uh, nothing good". We kept climbing, the temp didn't rise, and other than the noise we kept rolling until we could get to an exit.

Being prescient, we had decided to finally renew our RV road service plan about 5 days earlier, (it had expired last November). Fortunately, there was cellular service at this particular remote exit, so I called them up and told them what had transpired: After getting out I went around to the driver's side where the noise was the loudest, got down, and was hit square in the face with pulsing hot air mixed with oil. It was coming from the back cylinder, where the spark plug used to reside. Half of it was hanging uselessly from the wire, while the rest was still in the cylinder head. It just decided to blow up. Inspecting the remaining pieces, it appeared it had worked itself loose over the months since we'd had the plugs replaced last August.
Had we been in a normal part of the country, where roads are flat, we could have driven it, but the road service determined this..

...was the wisest option. We'll try to post some video in the future to show why I couldn't disagree. And they were paying anyway.

But the fun was only beginning! The tow truck company was located up in Pennsylvania, about 45 miles away. The road service folks, in their infinite wisdom, tucked away from the realities of the world somewhere out in Phoenix,
decided "Bill's Auto & Truck" in Hedgesville, West Virginia was the place to go. "They're only 17 miles from where you are now", the road service tech told me. Not even as the crow flies was it that close! 60-some miles later, we were parked on a rural two-lane, at the foot of the steepest driveway I've ever seen. It was 20 degrees if it was 1. I drove the car up to the garage, where a hand-written sign on the window proclaimed, "Closed today for doctor visit. Sorry for the inconvenience".

This was more than a little confusing, as the road service people had talked to "Bill", and so had I. He was expecting us. I wanted to call him and find out WTF? what was going on. But there was no cell service. Big surprise.. look up Hedgesville, WV on a map sometime... the garage is up in the hills, 5 miles west of the town. I returned to the wrecker driver who stated the obvious: he couldn't pull the RV up that driveway.. and he couldn't turn around with the Express attached.

I kept trying my phone, and finally found that if I stood up on a stone block next to the driveway, and held my head perfectly still, facing in a northwesterly direction, I could manage 2 bars! First I called the road service folks and told them, as civilly as I could manage, that this was bullshit. If the truck had towed us up to PA to his garage, we'd be back on the road already. Next I actually got hold of "Bill", who told us about an alternative driveway, (not unlike an alternate universe) right next to the steep one. It's actually a "road" which showed up on my map program. We explored it, and I wasn't crazy about its possibilities either.

At this point, the tow driver said he had to go. So there the Express was left, on the side of the road, in the hopes that Mr. Bill would arrive soon.

Margaret drove off towards Hedgesville to do business at the post office, get gas in the car, which was nearly empty, and to try and get a better signal with which to speak to Bill, the mystery mechanic.

About a half hour after the tow truck left, Bill arrived in his vintage Ford Escort.. (popular item.. his neighbor was driving one as well!). Here is where things speed up; finally! Bill decided he could do the work right on the roadside as long as I turned the rig around so his legs wouldn't hang out on the road. He didn't have the right plug, or wire, and couldn't find one locally, but he had acceptable substitutes, which he magically modified. We fired that sucker up, as Charlie Daniels would say, and I swear it sounded better than it did before the explosion. The bill was $40. The tow was covered. We were on the road by 3:30, and got to Morven Park in Leesburg, VA way before dark!

It's now more than ten days later, we're back at the Holiday RV Park in Michigan, with the II and the Saluki National Specialty under our belts, and nowhere to go for over three weeks, and frankly, we can use the rest.

We'll post some pictures from the II and such in subsequent posts.. Meanwhile, I'll be searching the internet for a suitable radiator... it's got to be installed before we make the brutal drive to Lompoc, CA in July!

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Welcome Back, Stanley

AP Photo
Lord Stanley's Cup is back where it belongs... in Detroit... and all is right with the world. Congratulations Detroit Red Wings.

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

My Vote Must Matter.

Okay.. forget what I said the other day. Today is Primary day in South Dakota, and I got no less than three calls from the Obama campaign. And they were all recorded messages.

The first was from Barack Obama his own self.

The second was from Michelle Obama.

And the last was from the hottest member of the US House , our lone Representative, Stephanie Herseth-something..

...(she went and got married! The Horror! The Horror. )

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Hitting the Road.

We're halfway to the ASFA II in Leesburg, VA. We stopped in Wheeling, WV to have Rally checked out by The Greatest Vet in the Universe, who was channeling a rapper, or pro athlete when he said, in the third person, "Dr Radcliffe's not happy" with her progress. X-Rays show that she still has major loss of bone density in the calcaneous, where the achilles tendon is attached, and he's afraid we might lose the repair, so it's back on heavy-duty antibiotics (from a short list of those that the staphlococcus haemolytus is not resistant to), and a splint. This will go on for at least another two weeks.

Business out of the way, we went to dinner last night with the good doctor and his wife. Before that, though, we went to their house so we could see the newly remodeled kitchen. Wow... it's a chef's version of Heaven.. check out the Electrolux professional stove. That's restaurant quality there.

Speaking of restaurants, nobody's going to be surprised when I tell you we went to the Metropolitan Citi Grille. Was it as good as I remember? Of course. Bummer of the night was that Margaret and I were the only Detroit Red Wing fans in the place, and the Wings were losing!




We parked at our favorite location for the night.. Cabela's, so I could get a replacement "sun cutter" hat which I'd lost last August.

Today, we'll head for Virginia where, I hear that besides the rabid foxes, they're also having a bad tick year.. deer ticks no less, so a quick trip back to Radcliffe's office before we leave is in order, to pick up some Preventic collars.

Weather forecast for Leesburg, VA for the weekend calls for 88 degrees and scattered thunderstorms on Saturday, and 86 and sunny on Sunday.

Desperate Times.

The primary season ends next week with our South Dakota primary, and one other- Montana, I think. This means our cellphones are ringing off the hook. I got one call from the South Dakota Obama campaign a couple of weeks ago. It was a live human being. We had a good talk. I told him our absentee ballots had been requested, but I couldn't remember if we registered as Democrats or Independents, (Only Dems can vote in the primary). In the last week, I've gotten at least four calls from the Clinton campaign... all automated. Who's desperate?

Looks like our votes won't end the primaries with a (technically) clear winner, but, hopefully the nonsense will end and the senator from New York does the right thing.. what she should have done the minute she realized she couldn't catch Obama.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Memorial Day

I know Memorial Day is set aside to remember those who've fallen in service to their country. Perhaps my former comrades will permit me this small lapse, for just this year only.

On Saturday, our great friend, Mike Lorenzo lost his battle with brain cancer. I've known Mike and Karen for about a decade. We met through sighthounds, of course, but Mike's interests went way beyond just dogs. We've spent many a late night's cross country travel, in cellphone conversati0n about politics, exotic cars, motorcycles, real estate... and, of course, dogs. We were talking, not necessarily to learn anything from each other, but to keep each other awake, as I would be driving from Wisconsin to Texas to shoot a trial, and he and Karen would be driving from New York to Georgia. It's those talks I may miss the most.

Update: And weather. We talked way more about the weather than is probably healthy. Or wise.

If you knew Mike, and wish to contribute something to his memory, there are a couple of options, but I'm only going to list one: Send a check payable to "Mike Lorenzo Medical Expense Fund", to 49 Sunrise Ridge, Florida, NY 10921. I found the above photo, along with a few more of Mike and Karen, while sorting stuff for our big garage sale this weekend. I'll be including them with our check.

Farewell good friend.. and be strong, Karen.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Shots Up To Date?

Going to the II? (American Sighthound Field Association's "International Invitational").

While some are concerned that the temperatures will be intolerable for hounds and humans alike, Patrick has posted on a potentially more serious problem: Rabies. In the neighborhood.

Forewarned is forearmed.

We'll be there, of course. I've shot every II since 1996 except 1997. You could say I'm a fixture at this point. We'll be joined by my friend, Steve Surfman of Steve Surfman Photography. Steve has helped shoot a few previous II's.

We'll also be joined, briefly, on Saturday by the aforementioned working terrierman himself, Pat Burns.

A good time should be had by all. See you there, and make sure your rabies vaccinations are current!

The Problem With Google Ads.

Google ads... those banners at the top of the page.. show up because they're "relevant" to the content of this blog. That's why you see all the dog and pet items and, when we were in New Mexico, there were lots of ads for Santa Fe real estate... that's how it works.

The downside is that I have no control... zero... zilch... over the ads that show up. So what's up there now? Some total right wing bilge about a certain presidential candidate (a word these dipshits can't even spell) I wrote about the other day. They rotate regularly, so it may not be there every time you look, and eventually it will disappear as I write on other interesting subjects. Anyway, it's pretty despicable crap, so I might as well get some money out of them! Click away... make 'em pay.

Thanks.

Global What?

Climate change.

Only the most rigid, and inflexible are in denial over the concept. I spoke with one at the trial last weekend.. an old friend, and way too set in his ways. When the first drowned polar bear washes up on his Indiana lawn, he may begin to see things differently.

Normal people on all sides of the political spectrum now agree that the climate is changing; the argument is over whether we, as a species, are the cause.

We've already had more tornados this year than we normally have in a full season.. including big ones in the middle of winter. Alaska has had it's first deaths- ever- from yellowjacket wasp stings. I've seen dead armadillos as far north as central Missouri, on I44.

So with all this evidence of so-called "Global Warming"...

...Why the hell does it feel like early April in Michigan... at the end of freakin' May? (Don't answer that, it was a rhetorical question). It was 39 degrees when I got up yesterday, and the wind blew strong out of the northwest. I had to wear my coat all day. This morning was no better.. 41 when I took the dogs out.

The weekend promises to actually be like late Spring, rather than late Winter. We're going to bail on the trial we had scheduled, to move out a bunch of the things we have in storage. Then maybe we'll have a picnic... if picnic weather happens.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

And She Does Even Better With White Men Who Married Their Sisters.

Well.... "Duh".

Exit polls in Kentucky today, and in West Virginia last week show Barack Obama has problems getting support from white, redneck Jethros. This is news?

"Exit polls showed Obama, who would be the first black U.S. president, again had
difficulty with white working-class voters in Kentucky. Clinton won more than 70
percent of white voters, and three-quarters of those who did not finish
college.
About 20 percent said race played a factor in their vote -- similar
to the percentage last week in West Virginia, where Clinton trounced Obama."

Lessee... dirt farmers below the Mason-Dixon line can't bring themselves to vote for a black mixed-race presidential candidate. I am shocked!

I'm glad Senator Clinton is proud to claim the same supporters as Lester Maddox, George Wallace, and David Duke. She's changing her name to Hillary June.

Ah.. the beauty of blogging; you can write whatever you want.... with impunity!

Returning now to normal programming.....

Monday, May 19, 2008

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Meanwhile, Next Door to the MGA Trial..

More fun from last weekend... the car show that was going on at the same time as the lure trial. Lake Erie Metropark. This is only an excuse to try out the new slide show website that everybody else has demo'd. (HT Patrick, Andrew, et al). We'll probably put it on the sidebar after a couple of days.


Yes... that's a freakin' Gremlin! Who knew there were still roadworthy examples out there. Most popular marque: Subaru Impreza WRX. Some nice Saleen Mustangs in attendance, too.

Procrastination.

Slate.com today is featuring several articles on procrastination. I'll add my own thoughts on the subject. Soon.

Ageless.

Our deerhound, Randir, will be 12 in August. That will be an exceptional age for a male Scottish Deerhound.

That pales in comparison to Geenie the Greyhound in Florida. Wow.
HT Mary L Kenworthy.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Spring Has Sprung!

The calendar says it's closer to the beginning of Summer than the beginning of Spring. But in Michigan, I don't consider it to be really Spring until the Trilliums bloom!

Trillium Grandiflorum

A member of the lily family, the Trillium that we know in Michigan, is also plentiful all across the Upper Midwest and Northeast. It's also known as the "White Wake-Robin", and in French, "Trille Blanc".

Following the link under the photos will take you to information about this complex and scientifically important plant. It will also explain the inexplicable: those leaves? They're not leaves. And the stem's not a stem. WTF??

Around here, it's just the final sign that Spring has sprung.

Feelin' Like Hedda Hopper..

Sometimes I get to be like one of those Hollywood gossip columnists.

The ASFA trial this past weekend was a carbon copy of the previous 4 weekends.. one good day, one day of rain. The trend had been rainy Saturday, and pretty nice Sunday. As a change of pace, this past Saturday was gorgeous.. probably the best trial day of the year so far, and Sunday.... let's just say I'd finally had enough of the rain and wind and cold, already. I walked off the field!

While hanging out around the Express watching Margaret work ;-) I spotted this license plate.


I didn't think much of it at first, figuring it was just another vanity plate purchased by a dog fan who had an affinity for the United Kennel Club. Then I started to "put two and two together." Judging at this particular trial were two "high elected officials" of ASFA. Ok... the two highest officials. During lunch I noticed these two officers in earnest, private conversation with a mysterious dark-haired woman I didn't recognize from the trial.


What could it mean?


I keep coming up with "Four".

Monday, May 12, 2008

"Grapes."

If you don't know who this is, I feel sorry for you. Got a rare chance on Saturday night to watch the Red Wings game on Hockey Night in Canada on CBC out of Windsor, Ontario. After the game we got to see this.. Is that a great suit, or what upholstery? And that's not all.

Uh... Thanks!.... Somebody.

I owe somebody a big "Thank You". Wish I knew who. This very outrageously colorful item of headgear arrived with our weekly mail forward.

Let me back up a bit and explain how our mail works.

Full time RVers, like Margaret and I, get to pick where we call "home". Pretty cool, huh? After a lot of research, back in 2003, we chose South Dakota. Thousands of other RVers call South Dakota home, as well, for a lot of reasons, but mostly because there is no state income tax, no vehicle inspections, and vehicle insurance rates that rank among the lowest in the nation.

Where there are incentives like that, there are numerous businesses that sprout up to cater to people like us. One such place, in the tiny town of Emery, SD, is My Home Address, Inc. When you send something to us by USPS, that's where it goes. It gives us a street address in the community that allows us to get driver's licenses, vehicle registration, voter registration and more. For all intents and purposes, were South Dakotans! Unlike many of the people who use this service, we actually stop in from time to time and pick up our mail in person. That lets us go to the bargain hot lunch at the Senior Center, and meet and chat with our "neighbors".

Usually once a week we call Ron at My Home Address and tell him where we'd like that week's mail sent. And that's where we came in...

Last weeks mail delivery came in two packages.. one Priority Mail envelope, containing all the bills, and checks, and magazines, and other flat stuff. and a small box. The box had the hat, in a plastic bag, and nothing else. No shipping notice, no notes. Just the hat.

The folks at My Home Address had to obliterate the original address and return address before they put their address label on it, so the original return address is mostly unreadable. I can make out the last three letters on the first line: "son", (maybe "sson"), and the last digit of the zip is "5" (maybe "45", maybe not).

So there it is... somebody knows about my checkered military past, and sent an appropriate gift. If someone doesn't fess up here, it will forever remain a mystery. But thanks... whoever you are. I wore it at the MGA trial this past weekend.

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Fun With Photoshop Elements.

...and a distorted window. Just for fun, while we wait for the wildflowers to bloom in Michigan. Expecting Trilliums any time now.

Meanwhile, On the Fringes of a Field Trial...

Unless a field trial (lure coursing, racing) is being held on private property, there's usually more going on. Over the years, we've seen draught horse shows, radio-controlled gliders, and of course, soccer... going on nearby. Because Margaret needs a spacer between courses or races, I'll fire off a random shot of anything that's happening.. most often it's just a shot of the grass, or trees, or clouds in the sky. But often it's birds, or airplanes. Case in point this past weekend:

The military's largest aircraft, the C5, doing touch and go's at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and out on the cross-country course, this young lass....

Field trialing is never boring.

Monday, May 05, 2008

Lights On!

There's a phrase in lure coursing and racing, when a dog whose previous enthusiasm for pursuing artificial lures is, shall we say, lukewarm. We say "the light came on" when that dog suddenly goes from lackadaisical to earnest chasing.

It happened with Fanny, it happened with Rally, and Saturday evening at the end of the practice sessions at the OKIGO trial in Ohio, it seemed to happen with Sandia!

His eyes are locked on the lure, and he ran right past me, (and that's a new thing!). In fact, he didn't even glance my way. He needed a bit of the ol' "gitit,gitit,gitit..." a couple of times, but he ended up doing most of the course.

On Sunday, we tried it again, and he demonstrated that, while the light is indeed on, it's a low watt bulb. He'll need a lot more practices before he's ready for the intense, heated competition of...

...the Singles Stake ;-)

Friday, May 02, 2008

New Gear!

Last Summer, when I wrote about the sad plight of our Nikon D200 digital SLR, I mentioned that I thought my good Karma was starting to turn bad. I may have been a bit premature. Just a month later, Nikon introduced the D3 which, at $5000, I can only dream about, and its little brother, the infinitely more affordable D300. The two cameras are nearly identical.. the major exception being the D3 is Nikon's first "full frame" digital SLR- it has a larger sensor than all the preceding models- and it can shoot at ridiculous resolution at nearly night-time conditions.
Since that fateful immersion in July of last year, we've struggled along without a high res camera. Our old D70 was obsolete even before the D200 was introduced. (It's for sale- make an offer!) Our workhorse D2H's only advantage is a very useful high shutter rate.. (8 frames per second). Unfortunately, in the last two weeks, the D2H started showing signs it was reaching the end of its useful life. Not surprising, in that we fire the shutter off 2-3000 times a weekend. Do that for 4 years and the shutter starts resisting my commands that it do its job. It's begun hanging up on a regular basis. I got through last week's trial, but knew something had to be done. And soon. Even though we couldn't afford it.
Last Monday, we ordered up a D300. It arrived Wednesday. And I love it. It makes obsolete everything we've used before, and most everything else on the market, excepting the D3. The most striking difference? Color. Color like I've never seen. The following images were all basically point-and-shoot snapshots, at my brother's house, and Margaret's parents' house. Also, check out the "white-on-white" dog statue... last year's technology wouldn't be able to capture that tonal gradation without completely blowing out the highlight areas. And it all works without me having to think a whole lot about what I'm doing. And that's the most valuable advantage of all.




UPDATE: Apologies to those who looked and found no pictures. A Blogger problem. I've had to reduce the file sizes significantly, so the resolution isn't quite what you'd see if you looked at the originals, but the colors are still there.