Doggy News

Avalon Solarra SC, JOR, FCH, conformation, LGRA & NOTRA pointed went to live in Missouri with Laurie Florio a couple of weeks ago to be coowned by myself. Laurie has previously shown standard poodles and been a poodle groomer and I think she'll find Borzoi MUCH easier!

Avalon Athena pictured here at 7.5 weeks (DOB 12/27/09) is moving to Missouri the second weekend in May to live with my longtime friend Diana Embry of Willow Wind Borzoi. Athena is a great granddaughter of CH Willowwind's Love at First Site JC, ROM aka "Dottie" cobred by Diana, myself and Dawn Kelly years ago.

Avalon Aphrodite aka "Veenus" is going to live in Kansas with longtime friend Diane Montague who also has Avalon Walkin in Memphis aka "Joy".

Avalon Ryhka Firefox Vikirnoff (asfa ptd) went to live with his cobreeder Mary Lee Jenko on April 23rd . Love at first sight for those two. He was born into her hands as she was actually the one who whelped the litter, and when she lost the boy she had picked from it, seemed like a good thing for us to coown Fox who has never met a stranger. He'll be at the national this year in Novice dog class. I hope he behaves.

While Mary Lee was here she fell in love with Avalon London who she is going to call "Merlin". He is going to be a Pennsylvania boy now too. After her having so much bad luck in the last few months we hope he is going to be of great good cheer to her.

More Catching Up

So in the space of just over a month (from Feb 25 to March 30) I had a lot of stress some good, some bad, some planned things that I unfortunately could not reschedule
Let me recount the ways

*I lost a number of my sheep including my handfed lamb when one of my dogs got out
*I lost a dog to an accident after it escaped (no I am not ready to talk about it so don't bother asking)
*I had an abnormal mammogram requiring a biopsy
*I had a puppy die with its new owner due to unknown reasons (test results inconclusive)
*I had to attend the ASFA board meeting and ACoD in San Jose, not a bad thing but a big stress in the middle of all this.
*My father died while I was at ACoD and due to it being spring break I couldn't get an earlier plane home
*I had a biopsy the day after I returned from ACoD (praise God no sign of cancer)
*a huge family issue erupted over my father's death (I refuse to participage in such things)
*had a vacation planned with my son (who I had not spent a week with since his junior year of high school) that just was not going to be put off (I am pleased to say that it went great and he, his wife and myself had a wonderful time in FL)
So I am still reeling from some of the things that have happened since the end of February quite frankly, and rejoicing over the biopsy results and spending time with my son. It has been a very stressful time in bad and good ways. I want to thank all my friends for their words of encouragement and kindness during this time though. Guys you are great I don't know what I'd do without you all.

San Fransisco, Alcatraz et al.

fog on the day we drove over the Golden Gate bridge though

Archie at the bridge

me at the bridge

we had not ever eaten at a Hard Rock so decided to

tunnel from the military days of the prison

prison viewed from the ferry

San Fran viewed from the Rock

prison recreation yard

old military morgue

The lighthouse you can see the city behind it.

Our ferry captain

The bay bridge as viewed from the ferry we lucked up and had no fog on the day we went to "the rock"

sign on the admin building

ASFA's Convention of Delegates was in San Jose, CA this year. Archie and I went. I'd never been to CA, we both work in a prison ( I'm a teacher he's the accounting manager ) so of course we went to see Alcatraz (also drove through the up and down streets of San Fransisco and across the Golden Gate bridge before we flew back. Alcatraz was originally a military prison , the tunnel photo is from the old part of it. American Indians briefly occupied the island in 1970-1971 after it was closed, and the spray painted signs still attest to that. It is administered to by the National Park Service, you ride a ferry over and get to wear a headset with neat tour information and walk around to your heart's content. The view of the bay and the city is beautiful but I could not help but think what a horrible, cold, detached place to confine people. The day we drove over the Golden Gate bridge was really foggy but got a couple of good photos. Free to drive North over it and $6.00 to return to the city on it. Saw my first redwood trees, wow are they big, and managed to get a photo of a Western gull at Alcatraz. Unfortunately it was a traumatic weekend, I knew I had a biopsy coming up the Tuesday after it ( I had a "hot" mammogram) and on the Sunday of ACoD I got a phone call from my son that my father had died. My last couple of months have been kind of full of traumatic events so I have really kept to myself about most everything. Thanks to all who were kind during this time though, you will never know just how much it meant to me.

Mississippi High Point Woodall Mt 806 feet

Archie and I hit Woodall on the way down to Louisiana where I was judging two days of AKC trials for the Louisiana Kennel Club. LKC always has great trials, wonderful hospitality and atmosphere. I love the folks down there and the Bauhms are the most gracious hosts ever. Archie is from MS (but the coast) so we hit the high point in his home state here. The high point is sort of behind a subdivision up a dirt/gravel road, we are kneeling on the surveyer mark there, no signs or log in sheets.

Feb 18 2010 South Carolina High Point

Sassafras Mountain, 3560 feet

Like to never found it, the sideroad is almost nothing, pretty much a drive up only maybe walked a quarter mile up this snow covered trail to it. This is high point #6 for us done on our way back from the Florida vacation to Daytona. (TN, GA,AL,LA,FL high points before this)

February 17, 2010 Merritt Island NWR

Way cool I caught about a dozen brown pelicans diving at one of the briny creeks at Merritt Island

OK even cooler I caught this osprey on the beach, at least that is what I believe it is, this is as close as I could get before it flew away, a big big bird

We did a 6 mile nature walk through the marsh, lots of birds

black vulture-slightly smaller than his cousin the turkey vulture, not quite as ugly either since his bald head is black

Ah another opportunity to take a lighthouse photo, this is Ponce Inlet Lighthouse in Florida, taken on the day we drove over to the Merritt Island National Wildlife refuge, took photos of several other birds not here but most of those are photos of herons and anhingas and other ducks I've already got photos of. Merritt Island was donated by NASA and you can see it across the inland waterways of the NWR

St. Augustine Feb 16 2010

St. Augustine has a lot of bang for the buck, there's the old fort which is a national park, the old town (photos here of an old drugstore, hospital, cemetery, and the two oldest houses in St. Augustine)

There's also a beautiful bay, marina, lots of sailboats ( you can see the lighthouse in the photo across the bay from the fort above)

The St. Augustine lighthouse is beautifully refurbished, including the keepers cottage that I have a photo of the back of here. If you visit St. Augustine the lighthouse and the old fort are the two must go places.