Scanners! Under-age Hotness.

Yeah, that's somebody's mama at 15. I'm pretty sure the statute of limitations has run out by now; besides, I have it on good authority, this model is old enough now. How could I not fall for that... ever?

I've been burning up the scanner of late, so watch this space for more images from 45 years ago.

Art Is Where You Find It.

A couple of weeks ago, I got an email notification about a new geocache in the area. It was out beyond the interstate in a forgotten "subdivision" called Sunshine Valley Ranchettes.* The name of the cache was "Dry Well Cache", and sure enough.. there was a dry well there. The cache was pretty easy to find, but I was more interested in this cryptic note at the end of the cache description: "Be sure to check out the "Library" 1/3 mile to the East". Trust me.. there is nothing out there but dust and mesquite, so I had no idea what this was referring to. Being only a third mile away, I was about to find out. I assumed it was some joke, and was probably a pile of old "mens' magazines" someone had dumped out there.

I was totally unprepared for what I found:

A library!

These are the kind of things that make you go "WTF?"

Looking about, I found that someone... or probably several "someones" had put a lot of work into the landscaping and design of this... installation. Because that's what this is- an art installation. I found the clue in the bottom drawer of the file cabinet.

(Below the drawer with every issue of Cabinet Magazine.. the top drawer contained the card catalog).

Not only is there the Library, but a horse shoe pit, (with horse shoes), a cemetary, and even a "Biodegradable Toilet"!

But who put it here? And when? Being the desert, things remain pretty much unchanged from season to season. I would have to wait till I got home to get the story.

Which is what I did. Googling "rebargroup.org", I came face to face (after navigating a few pages), with the very installation I had just been exploring! You'll have to admit, that's quite a story!

So, who is REBAR Group?

"REBAR is an interdisciplinary studio operating at the intersection of art, design and activism."

Be sure to check out their website to see some of the many installations they've done all over the country. Very clever. Very entertaining. The story of the building of the Cabinetlandia National Library (with pictures!) can be found here. I wonder how many people, other than me, and a handful of geocachers, have seen this place? Somehow, I think that's not important to the artists.

*This part of New Mexico was peopled by schemers and dreamers who, decades ago, laid out dozens of subdivisions in anticipation of the housing boom that never happened. If you look at a detailed Google map of Luna County, NM, you'll see the roads, hundreds, maybe thousands, of them. In reality, they don't exist, which is why, if you're going to visit us: don't trust your GPS for directions!

Fanny. A Fine Staghound.

Fanny. Past co-winner of the Golden Hare TCC Hunt (now the Holiday Run), and one AK shy of a TCC title. Participant in epic 5 minute jackrabbit race that Dutch Salmon called one of the 5 best courses he's ever seen. Drama queen. Tone deaf "singer". Official "Dashboard Dog" of the Hare-Brained Express. Trophy winner at the Loomis races. We'll miss her.

Hockey! Everything Else is Just..... Sports.

(Leon Halip/Getty Images)

That was the scene in Ann Arbor this afternoon, as a Guinness World Record Breaking crowd watched the University of Michigan hockey team shut out arch rival Michigan State 5-0 in "The Big Chill At The Big House". Michigan has led the nation in attendance at football games for most of the last 4 decades, but football has never hosted a crowd this big: 113,411!

The increase over the previous Guinness record hockey crowd could hardly be classified as incremental. The previous record? 77,803 last Spring, in Germany. For a little icing (no pun intended) on the cake, this was also the largest crowd to ever watch any NCAA sporting event.

Adding to the fun, the ceremonial puck drop before the game was performed by Michigan Alumnus, Lawrence Kasden. But that only seems appropriate, doesn't it?

And, as if that wasn't enough cool hockey for one day? NHL Network is broadcasting Hockey Night In Canada... in 3D... Canadians v. Maple Leafs! Does it get any better than this for a hockey fan?

Fun For a Winter's Day..

Among the many and sundry email alerts and newsletters I receive, is the Tech Talk from PC Pitstop. And among the topics in the newsletter I received today, is one titled, "Steve Bass's Top 15 Time Wasters of 2010"... How could I resist?

I haven't checked out all of the time wasters yet, but there were two I really need to share.. Ball Droppings.. has all the elements of a classic time waster, as you work harder and harder to come up with more and more complex sounds and visuals.

The other is just stunning.. as you tour the known Universe in six and a half minutes..

I've reduced the size to fit here, but make sure you go to YouTube and watch the full size version. This reminds me of a film that first blew my mind at the Ontario Science Centre way, way back in 70s...

...but which takes the concept many steps further by not stopping when it returns to Earth.

Lots of other fun time wasters at the link. Have fun!

Lane Changer..

Make gif

Why this? Why now?

This is what's known as a "workaround".. Animated .gifs don't animate if you put them on Facebook by themselves. But.. if you share them as a link.. they do! At least that's my hope.

So, if you're also a "fan" on the Shot On Site Facebook page, you're getting a sneak preview of tomorrow's "Today's Image".

That is all.

As Relevant Today...

Crockpot Bound...

Yes, that's Willow running ahead of Sandia! Momentarily, she will turn that hare, and Sandia will then be in the lead... until he turns the hare yet again, and Willow (oh yes!) will make her first take! Good girl!

This run lasted about 90 seconds, featured lots of turns, and two journeys under the barbed wire. They didn't quit on this jackrabbit, and I'm proud. They will also enjoy it mixed with their kibble tomorrow.

Winner.. And Still Champion!!

This is a re-post from December 2007, because... well because, unofficially, this is the single most visited posting in the entire history of this blog! Why? Beats the hell out of me, (although I have my suspicions), but since it's once again December here it is for all those sickos out there:

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

Georgians. Pick Up Trucks. A Pee Wee Football Team?!?

This will irritate Todd, but I can't help myself. There's just too much raw material. I'm just at a loss for this guy's motive.

All that's missing is "Mama", and "Prison". "D-i-v-o-r-c-e" is probably in his future, if this loser's even married.

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

Oddly, it's also the post with visitors from the largest number of foreign countries.. especially nations of a certain, uh, religious bent. Things that make you go "hmmmm".

If you don't believe me, just check the FEEDJIT Live Feed widget on the sidebar.. look for "...December 2007". This has been going on for 3 years.

Call, Email, or Write Your Congressperson.

(But don't send a cable if you don't want to be immortalized by WikiLeaks)

Click on the post title above, or here, to see why-

"There's no single action Congress could take that would help the economy more than putting money in the hands of people who'll spend it right away."

The Burrito That Botched A Hunt.

The plan was simple. High winds were forecast, with an official advisory-- 35mph or better with gusts up to 55. But they weren't supposed to get up to that level until 11am. So I'd planned to get up early, have a little breakfast, throw the dogs in the car and beat the wind. I should have a couple of hours of running before the wind picked up to dangerous speeds. That was the plan.

It would have worked, too, if I hadn't found the last two eggs in the fridge and decided I wanted to make a breakfast burrito. With Cabot sharp chedder, Biad's Reserve green chile's, diced potatoes and onions, it was delicious. But hardly classified as a "little breakfast".

It added almost an hour to my prep time, but when I got the gang in the car it was still just breezy*. I had a good 45 minutes to drive, though, so anything could happen.

I was feeling pretty good with only about 5 miles to go, when I looked to the west and saw huge clouds of dust. At first, I thought there might be a vehicle out there, because things were still pretty calm where I was. But in the desert, things change in a hurry, and the car was suddenly slammed by heavy gusts, and the cattle ahead in the road were scurrying for heavier cover.

Rather than turn around, I decided to press on and make a loop through the coursing field, just to see if maybe one of the lower areas were out of the wind. How foolish of me. Not only was the wind howling and the dust flying, but I now had 3 pissed off dogs cramped in the back of the little Mitsubishi who realized we weren't stopping, and they weren't getting out.

It's windy again today, so tomorrow will be the next best time to get out and run some more Summer fat off these guys.

Still.. I don't regret the burrito. It was soooo good.

(it was a great day to be a tumbleweed, though.. if you were a tumbleweed that needed to get somewhere)

*In New Mexico, "breezy" is anything around 20mph.

Tumbleweed Road Kill..

Because we had an El Nino winter, and a fairly wet summer, we've got about 40 million acres of tumbleweeds.. or so it seems. Therefore, we don't miss them when they run in front of the car..

Make a gif

I was surprised to learn that this ubiquitous symbol of the Old West, didn't exist in the US before the 1870's, when they hitch-hiked with the flaxseed that were imported to South Dakota by Ukrainian farmers. Like so many invasive species of plant and animal, I guess they liked it here.

Don't Worry 'Bout Me.

Despite the fact I've been left on my own for yet another holiday period, I'll get by. MMmmm-mmm-mmm.

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Shameless Commercial Hucksterism...

The holidays are approaching fast. Let me make a few gift suggestions:

• All kinds of sighthound wearables, drinkables, and display-ables at our Cafe Press shop
• The hot new 2011 Shot On Site Facebook Calendar.. available here! or use the widget to the right, on this page. (It's a bargain!)
• Have Margaret make you a custom item from a photo we've taken of your dog(s) at any event over the last 16 years. Suggestions available here. Or email: shotonsitemargaret@gmail.com.

These goodies have "collector's item" written all over them... don't be the guy watching Antiques Road Show in 30 years who says, "DOH!!"

This Just Seems Wrong...

This image of the rare conformationus curmudgeonus captured live at the ASFA Greyhound Specialty Conformation Match.

Fanny.

We've been pretty lucky with our hounds, with Randir living to be as old as Methuselah before we lost him last year, and Buffy's cruciate, and all of Rally's attempts to drive us into poverty, but they weren't life-threatening.

Above is one of a series of X-Rays done by Dr Jim Koschmann at Crossroads Animal Hospital in El Paso. Yesterday we received the results from the bone biopsy done at the same time, and it is as we expected. Osteosarcoma. Bone cancer.

We have limited options, one of which is amputation, as the cancer hasn't metastasized, and her lungs appear clear. But amputation would include removing part of the pelvis along with the limb, and there isn't a lot of references for it being done. Dr. Koschmann has never done it, and even the revered Jim Radcliffe hasn't done it, and could only find one reference for it.

Fanny's going on 11 years old. She's been one of our most consistent jackrabbit chasers and catchers. She's being kept comfortable and pain free with Prednisone and Tramadol. We'll stay with that routine, until we have to do something else.

A Hot Product: A Shot On Site Calendar!

As you probably know, we have a Facebook page, where we post pictures on a daily basis, and throw in the occasional promotion for items in our CafePress store. A while back, I had the brainstorm that we could create a 2011 calendar featuring the most popular images of the year, based on the number of "Likes" they got from the page's members. Margaret now has the calendar 99% done! Above is the cover.

The calendar will be available through Lulu.com, at our storefront there. The price will be $20 each, (includes postage).

BUT!!!

If you act now... you can receive your 2011 Shot On Site Facebook Calendar for only $15! (Includes postage). To get this $5 savings, you must order, prepaid, directly from Margaret: shotonsitemargaret@gmail.com, before Midnight November 14. That's this coming Sunday, folks! You can pay using your PayPal account, or make alternate arrangements with Margaret. After that, you may order your calendars from Lulu.com at the link above.

It's a heck of a deal. I'd jump right on it!

UPDATE 11-16-10: Pre-Orders are now closed. Standard price orders can be made by clicking the new link at the top of the right sidebar.

George "Sparky" Anderson, 1934-2010

Detroit, never short of colorful characters in the sports world, is mourning the loss of one of the most colorful. Sparky managed the 1984 Tigers to a Major League record 35-5 start and never looked back, winning the World Series against the Padres that Fall. They didn't win another Series during Sparky's tenure, but they were always competitive. He also skippered Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" to a World Series victory in the 70's.

My favorite Sparky moment came in Game 5 of that same 1984 World Series. Goose Gossage is pitching in relief, and the Tigers' Kirk Gibson is at the plate. The San Diego manager goes to the mound.. he wants Gossage to intentionally walk Gibson. Sparky yells to Gibson incredulously,

"[Gossage] doesn't respect you! He thinks you can't hit him! He don't want to to walk you!"

(NOTE: video of this exchange exists; I've seen it a million times, but I'm damned if I can find it anywhere online.. so there's this):

Gibby looked into the upper deck in right field, turned to Anderson, held up all 10 fingers on his hands and said, "Ten bucks, I'm taking him out!"

That's how a great manager challenges a great player..... to be greater.

RIP, Sparky

(Image, Detroit News archives)

Misery Loves Company Dept.

So... you may be asking: What does Dan do to take his mind off the current bleak and devastated political landscape? What is his... diversion?

Glad you asked! Every week, I turn to SB Nation and read Brian Cook's This Week in Schadenfreude.. a collection of hand-wringing, sad, and pathetic posts gleaned from the discussion boards of colleges and universities across the nation following yet another week

end of their schools losing inexplicably to "that terrible team from......." name your poison. It's always good for a laugh at the expense, especially, of Ohio State,

say, or Michigan State, or Notre Dame. Mixed with Brian's witty, and barbed comments, it's normally an entertaining way to forget about the serious side of life, and the dangers of Republicans.

Alas, there's no solace to be had even here, this week, because Brian leads with the sad plight of the Wolverines football team in the throes of three straight losses.

I don't know where to turn...

We Found 'Em..!!

The jackrabbits, that is...

...and it's a secret.

Mencken Knew..

"No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people," - H. L. Mencken

So, let me see if I can sort out the just completed mid-term elections in as few words as possible.

As I understand it, the exit polling determined that the number one, over-riding thing on voters' minds was the economy, and by extension, jobs. OK, fair enough, but here's where it gets tricky.. Progress, admittedly slow progress, is being made, so the obvious answer is to what? Turn out the folks who are trying to accelerate that progress, and put in their place people who want to reverse the process.... return to those bad old days?

Friends, it makes me...

More amazingly prescient 100 year old commentary from H. L. Mencken can be found here.

Now, things could have been worse. Laurence O'Donnell made a good point on MSNBC last night. Considering the economy, the voters' (mis-placed and ill-advised) anger with Washington, the high unemployment rate, this should have been much worse, and the Republicans should be scratching their heads wondering why they didn't do better. Much better. This barely lived up to the level of the '94 mid-term "massacre". Maybe Americans aren't nearly as stupid as I give them credit for. Well, except for Kentuckians. And Oklahomans.

Terrierman, Pat Burns, ties it all up in a neat bow for you.

ASFA National Greyhound Specialty

I've been coaxed out of retirement, if only briefly, and only because the drive is less than a thousand miles. And only because I'll get to see some friends I haven't seen in quite a while.

The ASFA National Greyhound Specialty will be held in Tyler, Texas on November 13, with a greyhound-only LGRA racemeet the following day. Details at the link.

The fact that you can get the finest action images of your dog... ever... should be enough to get you out to this event, but if not, I guess there're trophies and such as well.

"At Least Our Percentage is Good"

The wry comments of one M. H. Dutch Salmon, after Ashley ran down this hapless hare in the tall cover, (with a little help from Sandia, and Dutch's dogs, but it was pretty much all Ashley's hare).

Things have improved only marginally since the previous post bemoaning the lack of jackrabbits in our area.. in about 6 trips, we've run 4, caught 2 for sure, and had one hole up on Ashley and Willow. 75%. Will we still be catching them at that rate when we've run a hundred? I'd really like to find out.

Novel Idea, This "WifeDay"..

My. . . . . Our. . . life is not this messed up .

(A great parody of MGoBlog.Com's weekly game previews)

Where Have All the JRs Gone..

Long time passing;

Where have all the JRs gone,

Long time ago;

Where have all the JRs gone,

Beats the shit outta me, every time...

And I'm getting tired of it.

Back in the Spring, when we ended our hunting for the Summer, we had no idea what the next season would bring. The Winter and Summer had been pretty wet, at least out in the areas where we hunt, if not in our yard, (but that's a whole 'nother story). Late Summer into September gave us greenery in the desert and mountains the likes of which we haven't seen in our short time here, and now that it's finally starting to be cool enough in the mornings, and the dogs are plenty antsy, we finally hit the dirt a couple weeks ago. The green is pretty much gone now, but the cover is unbelievably high. Cows! Do your job!

Option one is always option one- the big ranch between here and the Cruces. We started off in the north end, which has always been good. Not so much this time. We walked around for almost two hours without a sign of life. And when I say "sign", I mean no sign.. not a single pellet was seen in all the time we were out there, and the field looked like it had been submerged for much of the Summer.

We decided to head to the south end, where we finally jumped... and caught, our first hare of the Fall season. We managed to jump one more, but he was able to elude the hounds in the high cover. By then it had warmed up so that it would be a little dangerous to continue hunting, and we repaired back to Deming, and our old standby- the Campos restaurant.

Between then and now, I did some scouting around for some new fields, West-Southwest of Deming, and found a possible goldmine, (pictured above). Hundreds of sections of grazing land, and all public. About 2/3 BLM and 1/3 State, with no hidden private parcels to accidently stumble upon. It's mostly flat, and the walking is easy because there's no "bunch grass". Cover is moderately high. When Dutch Salmon saw it, and we began walking it, he called it just about perfect rabbit hunting land! But there's a problem.

We've been out twice now, in two different areas and have yet to even sniff a jackrabbit!

The irritating part is, we know they're out there. We've seen them from the road when we're driving in. It's a matter of time, and I know we're being impatient, but the dogs want to run one now! I saw one this morning when we went back to Option One. Dutch called to say he was running late, so Sandia and I just wandered around near the truck when I noticed a big one trying to sneak away, which was hard because he had to leap high in the air to see where he was going (the high cover effects everything!). If Sandia was looking north, he'd have seen it. He was looking east. It stopped, with its long ears standing out above the cover, but by the time I got Sandia pointed in the proper direction, it had fled the scene. It was the only jack I'd see the rest of the day.

Achtung!!

Just checking to see if anyone was still hanging around here. I've been time travelling, so I'm sorry to have left you for those 5 minutes.

We may ramp this bad boy back up if there's still interest. Leave a comment! Lots has happened in that 5 minutes! You wouldn't believe!

A (Windy) Day In The Life..

Poppies. Yeah, more poppies, but this time it's different. It's a day in the life of a clump of poppies in our yard. 10 hours reduced to a minute and twenty four seconds.. just for fun.

I'll do more of these; hopefully on a day less windy.

Wildflower Season

Wildflower season in the Desert Southwest is ramping up.  On Easter Sunday, we took a long drive into the hills, first to do some Geocaching Northeast of Deming.  The purpose of this was to work up an appetite for the huge buffet Albert Campos was laying out at his restaurant.  (It did not disappoint.. especially the Chicken Cordon Bleu with the surprise inside: Green Chiles).  The entire hillsides of the Goodsight mountains were yellow.. somewhat from the Mexican Poppies, but mostly the huge carpets of smaller yellow-green flowers which may or may not be mustardseed.

Following our huge dinner and desert, we needed more exercise, and drove the Mitsubishi up the power line "road" to a point about 3/4 mile from the big blankets of poppies.  Far from showing signs of fading away, new bunches of this beautiful flower are showing up every day.  Our yard is overrun!

In addition, we spotted many other flowers which are just beginning to pop up.  Most of them we've been unable to identify.  Some of them we think we've identified.  We're leaving it up to you, our loyal readers to look at the pictures in the slide show (below) and help us identify what we're seeing.  (It may be easier to click through to the album at Picasa Albums, and look at the larger versions).

Bubba's Story

A repost from 2007, (and one of my better efforts).  We had posted this picture of Bubba, and had a poll for people to guess his COO (Country of Origin):



The "Bubba Poll" is now closed. For those waiting breathlessly for the answer... It's Georgia. That's right, Georgia. And not the one over there in the old Soviet Union.. the one in the American South. Bubba is an
Appalachian Corn Hound;or rather he's descended from the Corn Hounds, which were first created in the North Georgia mountains at the turn of the last century by mountain men who needed sturdy guard animals to protect their "corn likker" stills. Borrowing heavily from the French Great Pyrenees, for size, American Pitbulls for tenacity, and an occasional greyhound for speed in pursuing the hated "Revenoors" out of the mountains, these ingenius mountain dwellers produced a hound whose only vice was a taste for fine French wines and cognacs. Alas, this was to lead to the ultimate demise of the breed, even though it guaranteed that they would stay out of the moonshine. Because of their expensive tastes, these poor hill folk were unable to afford to keep this handsome dog. Additionally, the Corn Hound was able to somehow maintain beautiful strong, white teeth throughout their lifespans, which led to poor self-esteem among the very people that created them.

The entire population was, therefore, shipped off to Texas during the Great Depression, where the somewhat-wealthy Sheep Barons were able employ them in their current capacity, as sheep guarding dogs. So that's Bubba's story.. so rare, you won't even find it in Wikipedia!

And not only that, but... what?
What's that?
What's today's date, you say?

Why.. It's April Fool's Day.

And Bubba's an Akbash. From Turkey.
Congratulations to all who got it right. Texas, Todd?? ;)

S'cuse Me While I Obsess..

"Follow the Yellow Brick Road...."  as far as the eye can see.  In this picture are the two things that are floating my boat these days.. (figuratively, of course, I am in a desert)..  These billions and billions of golden beauties, and the "Red Mr. Bitchy".. (yes, it now has a name).  Spotted some more car parts in an arroyo today.  Aboard Red Mr. Bitchy all is still intact.

In a few weeks when, either, the novelty wears off (unlikely), or the poppies vanish for an unknown number of seasons again, I'll get back to normal.  I foresee a slide show in your futures.

De-Natured

Yesterday, we posted a number of images of the spectacular, and interesting flora and fauna of Southwest New Mexico.  These images, taken during the same ramble around the area....  don't quite fall into that category...

"Wanna make out?"

Perhaps you shouldn't be out on the trails in your Crown Vic..

(bonus if this plate was ripped off of your vehicle trying to cross the arroyo)

A Day In Nature Pictures.

Why?  Because, that's just the kind of day it was.  It began right out the gate this morning, (literally), with this young fellow posing for a portrait.

After an uneventful trip to the bank, I decided to find a couple 

Geocaches out in the flats; a drive of about 10 miles.  Not long after turning off the main highway, I interrupted this immature

Harlan's Red Tail Hawk, who was opportunistically gobbling up a road-killed jackrabbit.  Sorry dude.

At the second cache, I felt I was being serenaded, looked up on the wire and saw this non-raptor meat eater.. a Loggerhead Shrike. 

 I enjoyed the song for a while, then headed back north for another hide.  That's when I whizzed past a Coopers Hawk relaxing on a fence post.  I made a quick U-turn, and stuck the camera out of the window and snapped off a shot just as it was tensing to make it's escape from my intrusive scrutiny..

At that point, I gave up on the caching, because I needed to get up close to something very spectacular that was going on on the west foothills of the Florida Mountains.  I had to get here:

Yes, the Mexican Poppies are blooming great guns.  It looks impressive from here.  Up close it looks completely insane!

And if that impresses us as humans, imagine the effect it has on these guys:

Four Wheel Fun.

We've had a few opportunities to try out the Mitsubishi on the hundreds of miles of jeep trails in our little corner of New Mexico. I told Margaret to bring the video camera, but we were stuck with the cell phone. Don't get seasick!

Some road, eh? Well, in the strictest sense of the word. We'll be spending more and more time driving..... slooooow.

Hello There.

(Please cue soundtrack, below)

Hello there..

I'm Indiana Gauss.

I'm a famed dashing and handsome blog-cheologist.  I seem to have stumbled upon this ancient and neglected blog.  It appears to have been vacated by some early race of idealistic, energetic blogger.  I've seen this before.  You would think that these indigenous writers would have vanished mysteriously from the face of the earth, but that's not so.  In true nomadic fashion, they've become part of the diaspora to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other so-called "social networking" sights.  Their laziness had gotten the better of them, and they no longer wanted to make the effort to toil at their thankless blogging tasks.

Fortunately, the final history of bloggers in general, and this blog in particular is far from being written.  Enough empirical evidence exists to predict that this blogging malaise is reversible, and that this blog will become a hive of literary activity very soon, (in blog-cheologic time, that is).

In fact, I can pretty fairly predict that soon you will here be reading about such diverse topics as:

• Geocaching

• The Pack Hunt, and Desert Hare Classic

• Driving miles and miles of desert and mountain jeep trails

• Desert wildflower reports

And probably a whole lot more.  You would be wise to monitor this location closely.  That is my professional opinion.  Now, I must be off to kill some Nazis and eat monkey brains.

My Favorite Sociopath.

Joining his Aunt Camille in a long line of spectacular serial killers.  TSH Watermelonman@shotonsite (Sandia).

A New Plaything Tool.

I had my eye on this little buggy ever since it first showed up on D & D Auto's lot back in October.  If you live here, you need at least one 4 X 4 runabout.  Not for snow or ice, but for the mud that covers the roads out in the valley, and for the rocky roads you have to negotiate up in the hills, especially if you're going to a start point for a hike and climb, or geocaching. (It's parked on a "road" in the above photo).  There's no shortage here of Jeeps, Sidekicks, Trackers, Broncos and Bronco II.  It may not get driven as much as the Escape or even the van, but when it goes out, it will be because it's needed.

Or just for fun.

Facts: 1987 Mitsubishi Montero Sport 4 x 4.  105,000 miles (!)  It will be getting more serious tires early next week.  It's red! :-)

We Win!*

*One Third of Dutch Salmon's Pack Hunt. (Details to follow when we recover from the 12 mile forced march.  Click image to see all the winners.)

Combing The Fields.

We went out with the All Girl Hunt again on Sunday... me with Willow and Ashley, Dutch with Phyllis, Cinnamon, and the eunuch JRT cross, "Jack".  We went to a field that had been fairly barren of late, and we'd left it alone for several weeks.  Additionally, we decided to go north instead of our usual route south.  We hadn't gone north in almost two months, and on this day we were going to go further north than we ever had.  This would prove to be a pretty good idea, as the GPS track above indicates.

I was walking Willow on a slip, because she had shown more than a passing interest in Jack.. as potential prey, not as a hunting buddy.  I thought it would be a good idea for her to get used to him.  We jumped the first jack pretty quickly (start and finish point of the day's walk is the lower left corner).  Willow showed an impressive burst of speed initially, but after a minute was well behind the group, which ended up in the foothill rock and scrub which effectively ended the course.

We walked a good distance further north when all hell broke loose.  A hare popped up, and the dogs gave chase.  I slipped Willow, and she took off in the opposite direction!  I thought, "Oh, she doesn't see it".  Au Contraire... she was off on a different rabbit!  We'd jumped two at once, and Willow had exclusive use of the second one.  While Dutch watched the main group, I followed Willow's progress, as she worked it pretty well, until...

... it went under the fence, which is how Willow learned the "fence lesson".  Go under it like the jack does.. and like the Pronhorn does:  the bottom strand is not barbed.  They usually only make this mistake once, and fortunaely, there were no matching lacerations under the blanket.  Margaret will  have an opportunity to try out the brand new, in-the-box Singer she got at last weekend's auction for $30!

Shortly after the fun with JR's 9A and 9B, I spotted another, who stayed out of everyone's sight, scooting low to the west.  The dogs didn't see it, thus "JR10nc" as in "no course".

Our day wasn't quite done as we made one more north-south sweep, and just as we were approaching the road that runs through the the middle of the fields, we found one more to chase.  By this time, I felt comfortable enough with Willow's ability to find her way back that I was letting her free course.  She was still showing some interest in Jack, but it was more curiosity now, than something like lunch.  This course was short, as the rabbit made straight for the brush.  After four good chases, one which ended up with the rare instance of the rabbit jumping into a hole, we decided to head back for the vehicles.

I called this post "Combing the Fields" because I thought the track was going to look like the teeth of a comb, (which it does.. a very small comb), and I thought we were going to to go up and down a few more times than we actually did.  Making only 4 sweeps, the track looks like something completely different, doesn't it?  Can you see the rabbit?  And not just any rabbit...  Maybe I should have named the post: "Frank"

Maybe the Best Course I Ever Never Saw!

Dutch couldn't make it out with us yesterday, but that was OK.  Our guys have been running well lately, and with a fair amount of success.  It was time to see if they could duplicate that success without the help from Dutch's dogs.. particularly Angie and Phyllis.  It was time to do a Pack Hunt "pre test" on Sandia and Ashley.

So Mrs. Shotonsite and I rounded up the two, and threw in Willow for the exercise, and headed out to a field we've left alone for several weeks in the hopes it would produce some jackrabbits.

As is our usual habit when not meeting Dutch, we were running quite late; by a few hours.  It was almost Noon.  Fortunately, there was a decent breeze from the North, so it was not as warm- at least initially- as it was forecast to be.  

We headed south, following a draw that's been known to hide rabbits in the past, but not this time.  We had Sandia and Ashley offlead, free coursing.  Sandia is very, very good at finding the hares.  But they were running around like maniacs, which isn't their normal style.  You'd have thought they hadn't been in the field in weeks, when it was only two days.  

Somewhere around 3/4 mile, we began to lose our breeze, and it started to get warm.  I decided if one of them was on a slip, the other would slow down and stay close.  I grabbed Ashley, got her slipped up, and as soon as we started walking again, wouldn't you know it, Sandia jumped a jack!

Away they went,  heading south. The rabbit got on the road with Sandia within inches of it, and Ashley catching up quickly.  Willow was bringing up the rear and getting good exercise!  Soon, Sandia wrenched the rabbit to the left, over a berm, and down from the high ground we were standing on.

In a field known for giving hunters unobstructed views of entire courses, no matter how long they run, we were standing in absolutely the worst place we could be.  Once they dropped out of sight , we didn't see them again.  We walked toward the edge, looking out on the flat, but they weren't there.  We couldn't see them anywhere.

About the time we were approaching the edge, Willow came back.  I don't think she ran very far, and being a black dog with a fairly heavy coat, I didn't mind.  She seemed fine, and we continued to look for the other two dogs.  I was blowing the Fox 40 continuously.  This was very unlike them, especially Sandia, who hustles back very quickly at the end of each course.  We even looked behind us in case they returned via the great circle route.  Not there.

Finally, I spotted two specs approaching from the south.  They had run a very, very great distance.  When they had been out of sight for such a long time, I shut off my stopwatch.  It registered 2:51.  I'm thinking now I may have been premature.  They probably ran close to 3:30, and maybe even more.  When they finally got back to us they were really beat.  Both were in a froth, and more exhausted than I've seen them this season, and they are in very good shape, sometimes running as many as 5 hares in a day.

Then I took a good look at Sandia..

,,,and his beard showed me everything I needed to know.  Blood.  They'd run that sucker down.  Ashley had blood on her, too.  It looks like they tried to carry it back, but it was too far, and they were too bushed.  

We decided they were done for this day, and headed back to the van, our little experiment successfully completed