Nuthin' Lahk Dirt Track Racin'!

From the NOTRA meet in Mountainair this past weekend.  Dust a-plenty, mixed with dried sheep poop!

Can't Wait For Our First One!

The year was 1980......

UPDATE 3-4-09: Aha!  Cindy knew!  Good job, Cindy!  (of course Cindy has an unfair advantage)

The View.

Not to be confused with a morning TV talk show featuring a clutch of yakking near-celebrity babes, and not-so-babish babes.  Nope, this is the view early evening from the front porch of the Hare-Brained Homestead.  We went up to see if the battery of motion-sensitive searchlights would work.  One did.  More investigation is required.

That's Deming all lit up down there. It's going to take a long time to get bored with this.

Clothing With a Message

I don't usually promote fashions available from CafePress that don't make us a buck or two, but Patrick has designed some pretty cool gear with a message some who read this blog don't want to hear.  Doesn't mean it ain't so.  Check it out- he's selling with 0 markup, and he's letting you copy the art on the blog to make your own... whatever.  I'm going to make a shirt!

There's Political News...

...and then there's POLITICAL NEWS:

The Obama kinder will finally be getting their White House Dog sometime in April.  The news, such as it is, is that this won't be the puppy, promised by the POTUS on election night, but a rescue dog.  And what kind of rescue dog, you might ask, if you didn't already know?  Why, it's going to be a Portuguese Water Dog... just like the two Ted Kennedy owns, and like the ones a lure coursing friend of ours in Texas owns.

It's great that the Obamas are choosing a rescue.  It's unfortunate that they are choosing a breed that has so many health problems.  They've done their homework well on so many other parts of their lives, but not this time.  I guess they didn't get the message from Pat Burns.  

Personally.. I'd suggest a Galgo-  that's just me    ;o)

UPDATE 2/26: Or maybe not.  Time will tell.

Jennifer Says Michigan Will Take Your Money, Bobby.

Our friend, Cindy, who teaches at Louisiana State University- Shreveport, along with her husband, Paul, has mentioned to us often the lack of funding for higher education in the state, and the governor's attempts to further reduce what little funding there is.

Apparently, Cindy, the governor knows best.... Louisiana must have plenty of cash.....(?)

This is really Sarah doing a bit of  Victor-Victoria, isn't it?

Hare-Brained Homestead From Space.

Courtesy Google Maps..  In relation to the town of Deming, and I-10.  (Dark areas are the Florida Mountains, and the North Florida Mountains, with the Florida Gap between).

Rock Hound State Park boundary is to the north of the unnamed road. Rock Hound is the only park in America where rock collecting is encouraged, rather than prohibited.

Landscape vegetation includes two palm trees, lots of cholla and prickly pear cactus, barrel cactus, a fig tree, and other trees, bushes, and shrubs yet to be identified. The pale pink roof to the right of the house is the cabin.  Lot is all the darker area, plus all the way to the right edge of the image frame.

A Change Is Gonna Come...

More than one, actually.

Since we committed to purchase the house in Deming, I've been referring to it here as "Mountain House".  More for lack of a better idea than anything else, it was merely a "working title" based on the fact that it was, well, up in the mountains.  Now that we've had some time to give it some thought, we are ready to unveil our Official Name:

This is the basis for a wood front gate sign, that our friend Tavo, (owner of the other dog in the Desert Hare crash) is going to carve for us.  Until last weekend we were unaware of this additional talent (among many) of Mr. Cruz.  We can't wait to see the finished work!

Another name that's going to have to change, is the name of this blog.  We're no longer going to be on "tour".  As mentioned before, we'll be venturing out occasionally to major events when invited.  This one was easy.  Once our travels taper off at the end of May, this missive will forever be known as:  Hare-Brained At Home.  The content won't change much.  We'll still write about whatever seems interesting at the moment, like the dogs, or good places to eat, or politics.

And if we're not traveling from event to event, whatever will we do for money?  We always knew that we'd have to come up with some kind of employment to keep us entertained (and fed) in the manner to which we were accustomed.  On a suggestion last Summer by our friend Steve Garth, Margaret did some researching and came up with our new, local business...   

Margaret thought the name was too "cutesy".. but I think I've beaten her into submission, and she's put together some cool potential business card designs, and logos.  This is just one example.  

The countdown clock on the sidebar, will let everyone know how close we are to moving in.  This is damned exciting!

Right on the Table?!?

I think I'd want a little more protein after.. uh.. you know.

Recipe for Disaster.

And I thought this only happened in lure coursing.  Not the part about the two jacks, though.

The scene:  Dutch Salmon's Desert Hare Classic, somewhere in the southwest US.  Margaret was slipping Sandia, in pink, between Luna, a lurcher/Tazi cross (and the winner of last year's event), and a saluki in blue.  

On a day that started out looking like hares were going to be at a premium, no one expected two to fire out of the tall grass like so many sporting clays.. one to the south, one to the north.  The "Tally Ho!" was called, and it was time to choose your rabbit!

Initially, Sandia and Luna chose two different hares, which got them going in opposite directions,

...which got them into what could have been a very serious situation.  In fact, it turned out to look much worse than it actually was. (And give me points for being professional, and keeping the shutter button pushed when my dog was in the middle of flying ass over teacup in the middle of the desert!).

They found their feet so quickly, that all three dogs got back on the jack, and a good course ensued.  I know it was good, because Sandia won it!

That got him into the second round, where he ended up finishing the day in 4th place.  I'm not unhappy with that, considering he was running against 18 of the best hounds in the southwest.  I am a bit unhappy that he finished behind his sister, Maya.  Again.  But as a friend reminded me, as a boy dog, he's not going to mature as fast, and if he's real good this year, he'll be awesome next year... and Maya will be in season!   ;o)  So that's our rallying cry:  "Wait till Next Year!"

More details on the Pack Hunt and Desert Hare Classic will be found in a future issue of Performance Sighthound Journal.  (We hope.)

"Cute" Weekly Bird of Prey

Burrowing Owl.  Although they are listed as endangered in many states, we see a couple every time we go out to hunt.  This one let me get pretty close before he bolted.

Yard Life.

We had to drive up to the new house today to make sure the manufacturer tags were still on both sections per federal law. (Who knew?).  As we turned off the pavement, there were a couple of trucks parked on the shoulder looking up at the mountains behind the house.  We stopped and asked what they were looking at.    Ibex was the reply.  They're reguler visitors I guess, so now we have to add a spotting scope to the budget.

As we turned into the driveway, much to our surprise, we jumped the young jackrabbit pictured above.  As it turned out, he was a valuable test subject for the fencing around the yard. I chased him, slowly, with the camera as he pretty much tested the entirety of the perimeter fence, finding no way out, until he worked his way back to the open gate.  If he couldn't find a hole, neither will the dogs!

The vacant  lot next door is home to a covey of Gambel's Quail.  Wildlife is abundant.  Can't wait for our first rattler of the Spring.  Yes I can.

He looks a lot like the Mimbres pottery rabbit, doesn't he?

Happy Birthday Chuck D!

200 years! Seems like only yesterday..

Capitol Dome - Redux

It snowed yesterday.  First time since we arrived this Winter.  Put a dusting on the car and the Express, which was gone two hours later.  The sun came out, and the wind, strong to begin with really picked up.

I looked at the Florida Mountains, still resplendent in their white coat, and channeling Tina Fey said, "I want to go to there".  The clouds were spectacular, the sky was deep blue, and every detail of the mountains, and their most noticeable feature- "Capitol Dome"- stood out in deep relief.  In other words, paradise for a landscape photographer!

So after that buildup, I'm going to show you a Photoshopped "black and white graphic pen" image...

The spectacular color images can be found in the sidebar slide show.  Don't miss the new portrait of our new home!

What Does Big Ben Say?

BONG!  BONG!  BONG!.....

Weren't you just outraged and incensed about that picture of All-American Wonder Boy, Michael Phelps huffing away on a bong?

Yeah, me neither.

I'm with Seth...

What's the big surprise?   Where did Phelps do the bulk of his pre-Olympic training?

Ann Arbor.

What happens in Ann Arbor every April 1st since the 60's?   Andrew?  Anybody?

I rest my case.

Peaks In A Blanket.

Did you get the pun?  Awful isn't it?

By the way... just out of the picture to the left is Mountain House.

An Instant Classic?

Margaret's done it again!

Anyone who's received an email from me will recognize the quotation  from my signature line.  Our friend, MaryAnn in Southern California noticed it and had a great suggestion.  We should put it on a shirt.  And so we have, and they're now available at our CafePress storefront.  And not just shirts but hats and coffee mugs as well.

Gace de la Vigne was a French poet who may also be found under "de la Bigne", and lived either in the 14th or 15th century.  In other words, details about his biography are rather sketchy.  What is known, is that he wrote extensively about dogs, as any Google search will turn up.  He was, in fact, the first person to use the word "terrier".

I first heard of of him on Steve Bodio's Querencia blog way back in 2005, when he wrote the following:

By the way, Gace de la Vigne is also author of someting I want engraved on silver:

"De chiens, d'oyseaux, d'armes, d'amours,

Pour une joye, cent doulours.

("In hounds, hawks, arms, and love, for every joy a hundred sorrows") 

Until that point, I was changing the quote on my email signature on a regular basis.  Once I read this short, simple but powerful statement, I was certain I wouldn't change the quote again.  And I haven't.

Currently, we've "stocked" the store with Scottish Deerhound and Galgo Espanol (which could pass for longdog, staghound, and lurcher in a pinch) products.  We're hustling to get Greyhounds, Salukis, and Afghan hounds up.  Other breeds can be added if there is enough demand.

MaryAnn predicts this item will become a "classic".  We hope she's right.

Pack Practice

A shot from this morning.  Bad weather was forecast for overnight, but when I put Sandia and Fanny in the car and headed north, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. 

This is our "Pack" for next week's Pack Hunt.  Haven't decided yet whether we'll include Buffy just for fun. (Although she's pretty good at finding rabbits, so there's that to consider.)  Fanny, going on 9 years old, can still contribute in a big way.. it just takes her a week to recover.

We got up 4 rabbits in about an hour.  It was a good workout, which ended as the winds picked up, the rain started, and the temperatures dropped.

Other packs beware!

Great New Products!

I almost forgot to post this.

Last year, we had a great promotion that was very popular.  Art gallery style posters featuring your dog.  It was so popular, it got us through the New Mexico break without going broke and having to push the motor home back to the March events.

This year's "special" is a creative twist on our popular "I'd Rather Be Coursing" bumper stickers.  Instead  of a generic sighthound breed, you get your very own dog on the sticker.  And!  They're bigger than our regular stickers.. 4" x 12".

Many of you are already aware of this promo, as we "spammed" about 600 emails to our friends, customers, and others in our email address books.  If not, here's some cool samples, and a copy of the email that was sent.  These aren't available through CafePress.com, (but we've got a terrific new item we're adding there soon.  Stay tuned.), and you'll have to contact Margaret directly.

This special was supposed to end to end today, but since I forgot to promote it on the blog, we're going to extend it to the end of next week, February 14!   Remember that we have to have taken a picture of your dog at a trial or race to take part in this promotion!

Happy New Year to all!

 

First of all, we apologize if you have received duplicates of this message or if you prefer not to receive our occasional communications. To remove your name from our list simply reply and put 'Remove' in the subject line.

 

Dan & I are in Deming, New Mexico until the end of February for a little R&R with our dogs.   In the past several months many of you asked if we could personalize our  I'd Rather Be Coursing bumper sticker with your own dogs. Our answer then was that it is cost prohibitive to do so on a one at a time basis. But we thought it was a great idea...  if we could do a large batch at one time.

 

So the Personalized Bumper Sticker is our Winter Special. We'll take orders through Friday, February 6th. That gives you just over 2 weeks to pick your favorite photo. The attachment shows the choices for background color and text. The personalized stickers are 12" X 4" (larger than our generic stickers!). Here's the scoop on cost and choices:

 

         $19 for the 1st bumper sticker

$3.50 for duplicates

$3.00 for postage

 

We will invoice you through PayPal which can be paid online or by mailing us a check.

 

Info we need from you:

• Photo choice (check the photo # on our website) Please give me the event and date. A stretched or streamlined tuck will work best for the space available.
• Background color choice (yellow, blue, green, red, pink).
• Text choice (I'd Rather be Coursing/Love at First Sighthound/The Happiness of Pursuit).
• Dog's name (if you want it printed on the sticker).
• Rabbit preference (stretched, tucked or moving away).

You can also order our generic stickers for $5 - we have most breeds available.

 

Let us know if you have questions. We look forward to hearing from you.

 

Dan Gauss & Margaret Fairman

Shot On Site Photography

Empty Echoes in the Senate.

Sen. John McCain spent the last couple of days on his Senate soapbox, reminding us exactly what he is:

Loser.

And that's why you're still in the Senate, John.