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Last Chance! (For Now)

Free Music. You're Welcome.

I've enjoyed Paul Winter's music for close to 40 years... ever since seeing him perform a couple times in downtown Hartford, CT.  For almost as long, he and the  Paul Winter Consort have performed every Winter Solstice at the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York. I went to one way back in the early 80's, and with those acoustics... it's magical.  Anyway, for the last couple of years, he's been offering free downloads in advance of the concert in New York, so without further ado...

2018 Shot On Site Photography Calendar, "Around the Four Corners"

Hi there!  Been a while again, hasn't it. I warned you posting here would be spotty for a while but, hey!  Got some great news, here!  Got a new calendar to promote.  This one might just be the best ever, made of pictures from a recent two+ week photography expedition I made with the photo bro, Dale Richey.  We covered northwest New Mexico, southern Colorado, and southern Utah, and the Grand Canyon.  I've got 12 images I think you're going to love, on a quality 11 x 17 wall calendar.  You can scope out the details here

Pre paying is highly encouraged if you want to make sure you get one!

Photography Contest (for local readers only.... sorry)

Our local fair, the  "South West New Mexico State Fair", has an annual photography contest, open to residents of Luna, Grant, Hidalgo, Sierra, and Dona Ana Counties.  I needed a way to display the rules to interested parties locally, when they were in a word doc format and I needed to share them on Facebook.  This seemed like the logical way to do it.  So here they are: (subject to minor changes, which will show up here if enacted)  Note that the biggest change from  past years is the entry fee has been waived!

SWNM STATE FAIR RULES FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC ART EXHIBITS

Eligibility: Residents of Luna, Grant, Hidalgo, Sierra, or Dona Ana Counties.

1. Divisions: Junior, Adult or Advanced (definitions are provided on pg 2)
2. Categories: Each photo may be entered in one-and-only-one of the categories listed below:

Nature Sunrise/Sunset Flowers Animal

Birds, Insects People Still Life Special Effects

Black and White Uncategorized Architecture Landscape

3. Entries: All photographs must be the work of the entrant, taken within the last three years, and must not have been entered in any previous SWNM State Fair.
4. Entry Size:

• Junior – 4” x6” or 5” x 7” images – (Max size including optional matting.)
• Adult or Advanced – 8” x 10” to 16” x 20” images (Max size including optional matting.)

5. Entry Format:

1. No framed entries are permitted
2. All entries must be adhered to a firm backing (such as foam board.) Matting and shrink wrap are optional. Shrink wrap is highly recommended to protect your images.
3. Each image package must contain a wall hanging device on the back and must be securely packaged.
4. The submitter agrees to be responsible for any damages to the work entered.

6. Photo Identification: The back of each entry must contain the following info:

1. “Junior,” “Adult,” or “Advanced” (as applicable);
2. Category (see b above)
3. Photographer’s name
4. Photographer’s phone number
5. No name or identification is permitted on the front of entries

7. Entry Restrictions:

• Junior: Prints may be entered (distributed among categories as the entrant chooses). “Junior’s may enter the Adult or Advanced divisions.
• Adult or Advanced: Prints may be entered (distributed among categories as the entrant chooses). Any “Adult” may enter the advanced division.
• All entries from an individual are to be submitted in a single division following rules for that division.
• No fees will be charged and no prize money will be given.

8. All entries will comply with standards of good taste.
9. Judging: Photos will be judged based only on image content. Photos that do not meet requirements will not be judged. Photos judged to have been entered incorrectly in a category may be moved to a more appropriate category.
10. Prizes: NO cash prizes, only ribbons – 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th/Honorable Mention; Sweepstakes for winning 1^st, 2^nd & 3^rd in ONE category; “Best of Show” for each division; and an overall “Viewer’s Choice”
11. Submitting Entries: Image entries will be accepted on Wednesday from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
12. Photo Pick-up: Exhibits must be removed Sunday from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm; or as indicated by the SWNM Fair Officials. Have your Receipt Stub with you to claim each individual photo.

Definitions:

Divisions:

Junior

18 years old or less

Adult

Any age

Advanced

Any age. This category is for previous winners of a total of 2 or more blue ribbons in prior years in the Adult division in SWNM State Fair competitions. Photo professionals must enter this category. Any adult may choose to enter this category. If you’re a in doubt, please call Janet at 546-4603.

Categories:

Nature:

Anything that is in place without man’s help, such as scenery or wild animals in the wild.

Flowers:

A photo of a plant that is cultivated or appreciated for its blossoms.

Still Life:

Photos of inanimate objects, where inanimate means not having qualities associated with active, living organisms. E.G.: bowls/baskets of flowers or fruit.

Special Effects:

An effect used to produce images that cannot be achieved by standard photography

Architecture:

Structures photographed strictly for their construction effects.

Uncategorized:

Any photograph not fitting into any other photo category.

Shrink Wrap:

A protective wrapping consisting of a clear plastic film wrapped about the photo and then shrunk by heat to form a sealed, tight-fitting package. Sources: Some forms of window insulation are produced that are made of shrink wrap material, Framing shops, Craft departments in stores, … OR Photography Crystalclear bags.

Heroes Pt 1

Since the campaign of 2016, I've got me a whole bunch of new heroes.  This here, y'all, is one.  I'll be adding to the list over the next couple of days.

House Cleaning

Just updated the cover photo.. about time, don't you think?

Baby Steps

We're coming back to life very incrementally.  For instance, I just changed the Weather Underground weather widget (near the top of the right hand column) to display our actual conditions right here at the Homestead.  Barring the occasional 2 second power outages we suffer at the hands of Columbus Electric Cooperative, the widget will always display real time current conditions. Excited?  You bet you are.

Is This Thing Workin'? Is This Thing On?

Toying with the idea of bringing this blog back from the dead.  I'm going to have to re-learn all of the intricacies of Blogger, so bear with me. Watch this space.

Yes, a Christmas Tradition. Plus One.

I say Robert Earl Keen's Merry Christmas from the Family is the greatest holiday song. Ever. Other people swear by the Pogues' Fairytale of New York.

Who cares? Let's listen to them both! Decide..  or not.

I'll Just Leave This Here for You, and Be On My Way..

Bucket List: Cooke's Peak. Check.

Cooke's Peak

Cooke's Peak is hard to miss.  It peers over the mountains that line Interstate 25, 50 miles away.  When you're driving north on Columbus Highway in Deming it appears much closer than it really is.. as if it's squatting right on the road in front of you.  At 8408 feet, it's the highest point in Luna County.. more than a thousand feet higher than the Florida Mountains.  Part of the attraction is the peak itself, which appears (and mostly is) a solid mass of exposed rock.

I've wanted to stand on Cooke's Peak before we even lived here.  We began hunting in it's massive shadow when we were just February visitors in an RV.  The more I read about the hike up, the more I knew I wasn't going to attempt it alone.  It took years to meet the right "guide".

Enter Dave Shephard.  Originally from somewhere in New England, and a fellow former full time RVer, he now lives in Deming, and is an avid hiker, climber, and explorer.  He's also a fellow member of the Deming Photography Club.  We shared a beer after a reception at the Deming Arts Council where the club had an exhibit in January.  We hatched the plan at Mimbres Brew.   At first we were going in February, then early March.  Finally, Thursday, March 22 was firm.

We met up outside of town, drove to the parking area, and did it.  I should mention that, unlike other recent years, I hadn't done any kind of climbing this Winter.  Most of my exercise involved walking the flats while hunting with the dogs.  Make no mistake, this 9 hour adventure hurt me.  I lagged behind going up and coming down, but by golly, I did it.  the proof's in the slide show..

Bring on the next mountain!

April Fools

Asmall gallery of some of the more unusual vehicles seen at Deming's annual "Smokin' Oldies" car show, because I suddenly ran out of time to write a clever April 1 post....

Easily the most unusual vehicle at the show.. and it wasn't even in the show!
 Honda GoldWing  powered trike.

Gotta love the coolant overflow receptacle!

Waiting for the intrusive wand ultrasound.

"Girl I'm just a Jeepster for your love"

Several visitors were fatally impaled on the fins.

Insert toilet seat joke here.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes..

As promised, (though not as expeditiously as previously implied..) a story about the completely new direction our lives are about to take.

First let's back up to some time last Spring.. or maybe it was Summer.  At Margaret's usual monthly trip to the auction, she met a lady from Madison, WI who happened to live near us.  As they became better aquainted, Sam (Samantha, I presume) told Margaret about a conversation she'd had with the owners of the little, used bookstore in town.  She was interested in buying the store, and wondered if we would be interested in going in on it with her.  We were intrigued, did some digging around and some research and decided that yes, we would be interested.

As our interest increased, Sam's seemed to wane.  So much so, that she left town last Summer to return to Madison, but is now residing also in Florida.  That did nothing to dampen our (Margaret's) resolve.  Roping in a family member to be a "silent partner", we set the wheels in motion to become book store owners.

The first thing we needed to do was buy the building from the person who was leasing it to the book store business owners.  We didn't want to be at the mercy of a stranger who didn't even live in New Mexico.  That was accomplished a week ago, Tuesday, when we closed the deal on the building and property.

The business owners' lease expires at the end of May.  At that time, we'll purchase the inventory, and take over the business, while the current owners retire to the house they're building in the wilderness of Datil, NM. (Look it up).

While we won't change the name of the store, we'll be doing business as Dog-Eared Enterprises, LLC.  We'll also be creating some gallery space in the store for my local landscape and nature images, so Shot On Site Photography will also be folded into Dog-Eared Enterprises.

The store features extensive titles on southwest history, New Mexico, the borderlands, plus all the other topics you'd expect to find in a bookseller's.  We expect to have an increased internet presence over what they're currently doing, including a Facebook page, which I expect everybody to "Like".

The dusty backyard visible in the pictures, will have a chain link fence installed to complete the enclosure, and will become 1) a dog yard for the daily "store dogs", and 2) a space to rent out for "events" such as weddings or receptions and such.

So with that, we are truly, once and for all, completely retired from the "traveling to dog events" business.  It was fun, but we're moving on.

Future Headlines

Posts coming up by the end of the weekend...

This happened yesterday.

This happened today.

This will happen tomorrow...

Progress Reports. (2 in 1)

A few weeks ago I wrote about the emergence of the poppies, and also about the beginnings of Sandia's thyroid supplement treatments.  Here, in a single image, is evidence that not only are the poppies on an accelerated growth spurt, but also that the supplements are beginning to have, however slight, a noticeable effect on Sandia's appearance.

Sooner Than Expected..

Spring poppies in the yard

When we moved in in the Winter of 2009, we heard stories about the poppy blooms that would cover the foothills with blankets of gold.  We were told we'd be lucky to see them once or twice in our lifetimes here... they were "7 year blooms".

Well guess what.  We had a spectacular poppy (and other wildflowers) season in 2010.  And it looks like it's going to happen again this Spring after yet another fairly wet Winter.

Our yard is beginning to fill already.. the above image was just at the end of the driveway between the house and the Hare-Brained Express.  I'm also starting to see bands of gold in the small gullies of the Little Florida mountain foothills.  More to come...

Sad Sack..

"Sandia" (TSH WatermelonMan @ Shotonsite)

Having fathered what may turn out to be one of the happiest accidental breedings we never plan on repeating, we decided it was time to have Sandia neutered.  That "happy" event took place a week ago Tuesday.  He's taking it well, all things considered.

In addition to the surgery, we also requested that blood for a full Thyroid panel be drawn and sent to Michigan State. (They're good for something!)

Since last Summer, he's seemed depressed, and had gained more than ten pounds.  From above he looked like a sausage.  All the ripped muscles he had during the coursing season a year ago were gone.  We tried cutting back on his meals, and took him out to the field to run jackrabbits.  That was sad, as he had none of the explosive speed coupled with deep bottom endurance from last year.  It hurt to see him laboring behind all the other dogs when he had always pushed himself to be in front to fight for the hare.

I was pretty sure he was hypothyroid, a fact born out by the lab results from MSU.  We can now begin treatment with a relatively inexpensive supplement.  It's too late for this coursing season, but I'm optimistic we'll have our awesome Galgo back to his old self in time for next year's batch of jackrabbits.

The Winners Winners Winners

L-R Mike McLaughlin, Dutch Salmon, Paul Domski, Tavo Cruz

2010 was the first year in the history of Dutch Salmon's Pack Hunt that 3 packs caught jackrabbits, and ended up tied at the top.  Our pack was included in that triumvirate.  Now, just 2 years later, it's happened again.

This means one of two things: Either the dogs are getting better.. or the hares are getting worse.

Dutch Salmon's "Phoxy", and the hare that got away