Br'er Rabbit. Lepus Californicus.

The Blacktailed Jackrabbit. Nice of him to consider the composition, too, don't you think?

I went out with the 12+ YO Randir, and the nearly 9 YO Buffy today, and got some really nice late afternoon-lit shots of them. When I figure out which ones I like best I'll post them.

The Alternative Anthem.

A couple years back, I wrote about Susan Werner's alternative anthem, "My Strange Nation". Recent events in America have shown that the optimism expressed at the end of the song was not misplaced, and when all is said and done, it really is a love song.

I just put it on my new MP3 player, so I thought I'd share it once more. Enjoy.

Weekend's Not Complete...

...Without a Sandia "Ribbon Shot". Excited, ain't he? ;-)

Moonset.

Brownfield, Texas.

Socorro, New Mexico

Watch for more images from the current trip on the slideshow window to the right!

No Cigar.

As hunts go, this one was about as strange as they come. Yesterday, we had 10 dogs start, and after the first run (TCC runs two complete runs in a hunt, as opposed to a seeded final), the roster was pared by one following a tail injury on one of the dogs, which was operated on in conditions that could only be compared to Civil War field surgery. Let's just say it was uncomfortable to watch. Man, those suckers can bleed.

As reported yesterday, Sandia finished second to his sister, Maya. The Holiday Cup, (which, in fact, is not a cup at all, but a massive wooden chest with a bronze casting of what looks suspiciously like an Italian Greyhound), is awarded to the hound with the highest combined score for the two days. So we returned today minus most of the competitors. In fact, today's hunt consisted of yesterday's 1st place hound, Maya, the 5th placer, Camille, and one of the 2nd place hounds, Sandia. For the mathematically challenged, that's an entry of three. All Galgos.

But somebody had to win the cup, and there was no lack of suspense because there was only 3 points separating the hounds, so off we went to the field.

Very high winds were predicted, along with the possibility of snow or rain, so we were hoping to get this finished quick. The wind was already blowing pretty briskly as we started walking, and questioned our sanity as we had to stop every couple yards to remove "Jumping Cholla" spines from the dogs' pads.

Mercifully, we jumped the jackrabbit after only about a half hour of tramping through the mesquite, yucca, and cholla. Sandia saw it first, off to our right, and I called the "Tally Ho". The course was unexciting, as courses go, and the dogs were soon out of our sight. The judge, standing on the tailgate of her truck, saw a little more than we did, but not enough to satisfy her. She wanted a re-run, but Steve and I had had enough. We said just score it, and agreed to end the hunt on this prelim run.

Sandia won the course over Maya by one point, but he went into the day trailing by two. The "cup" went to Maya.... L-R Chris Mason (breeder), Holiday "Cup", Maya, Steve Garth.

Congratulations Maya and Steve! The torch has been passed to the next generation of Galgos!

Sandia's "Maiden"

Briefly- Sandia's first judged hunt would have to be viewed as a success, as he did end up tied for 2nd place (with two greyhounds). And he did finish ahead of his Aunt Camille, who finished 5th.

So? Sounds like there's a "but"...

But... his sister, Maya, won the hunt.

Ah, tomorrow is another (wetter, windier) day!

)(@$&*) Hillbillies!

Of course all the southern Republican Senators voted against helping the middle class autoworkers. They were following orders from their constituents masters in Japan, Germany, and Korea.

And you thought our fathers and grandfathers won that war...