Winter thoughts

Winter has arrived with a vengeance this last week. The temperatures plummeted to 10 degrees overnight with the days barely rising over 28 to 30 something. It is strange to be experiencing the bright shocking cold again. It is a time that can't help but remind me of last year... and those final moments and days leading up to my mother's death. It is almost (in january) going to be
the first year since her passing, and still it feels like only a few months or even weeks have spanned the time since that moment and this one. (Even though so much has happened in the meantime) My father and I found ourselves on our first 'Thanksgiving' without her. All those small traditions we cherish and depend on every year, keeping us grounded and secure on the path we think our lives are following... dissipate and vanish like tracks blown away in the wind. That person that we shared a long memory with,
those experiences - experienced together... That person that knew me as no other... is gone.
So we did our best to step out into new ventures since the world keeps turning and the universe keeps expanding and well, it ain't all waitin' on us.
She would have loved it, the Thanksgiving dinner at Julies' place in Madrid, with a nearly forty pound bird! Neighbors from the windy mesa,Scott and Marsha were there along with other townfolk and even a couple from Santa Cruz,CA. Julie and her husband open up their home and
kitchen every year to a few friends and anyone else that wants to join along. We all brought some edible concoctions to contribute and everyone got to enjoy a grand meal together.
Mine- was an eggplant,lentil pate that went over surprisingly well.
My father and I also hit the trail for a guided group hike at the Cerrillos hills. It was a bit more than he had bargained for with it's quick pace but we enjoyed meeting some other folks and
seeing the sights in the park.
Some days, it is just good to stay inside though and convince myself that winter and things as they are- can maybe be alright. At least the cold gives me a reason to crochet obsessively.
--- Keep shining

Bright Autumn with the puppies

These are some pictures of the puppies taken on a fine autumn day in late October. The weather

is clear and pleasantly warm with a cool nip in the air. The sun seems to shine even brighter than it did during the summer months, if that is possible.
First is a photo of their mom - Tadawelt. Then Redbear, who is the redest. He is a very handsome and somewhat serious fellow. Nizhoni - a dark sable; She is the most clever of the bunch and has the intelect and mischeviousness to already outwit me. Moonshadow, the sand color, is a bit more 'rolly-polly'. She and her sister love their endless games with each other.

She is also the largest pup in the litter. And Charlie, a lighter red, loves to explore anything new and the first to figure out how to jump up on the crate and over the "puppy fence" to go exploring in 'the big yard'.

-- Keep shining

Hortaya- Velika

These are some recent pictures of Velika. She is a five year old Hortaya Borzaya. She enjoys alot of personal attention and enjoys her freedom running around the neighborhood on her early morning self guided forays. While she loves her people very much, she does not enjoy having to share them with other dogs. So, I am looking to find a fantastic, fulfilling home for her, that can give her opportunities to run around ALOT - as she has a big,exuberant energy - - and can give her a greater undivided attention. She loves long walks in the country and will stay close by rather than running off and doing her own thing. She has a very sensitive personality so I am also looking for someone familiar with sighthound temperaments.

We came back to snow...

Well, we are recently returned from a fun, fantastic outing out in the Chihuahuan desert, south
of here. Ananas, (one of the African imports,from Mali) and Ultasila ( of Idiiyat es Sahel) joined
me on a running expedition to the southland. We started by waking around 3a.m. to get ourselves - mainly myself together- loading the backpack,food and water, brightly colored blankets and telemetry equipment. Everybody here was very excited and vying for the attention to come along on whatever it was, that was obviously a big deal. But many simply had to be compensated with a cookie and we three took off in the still darkness.
The dawn that morning broke slowly and allowed the oranges and pinks and new powdered blues to linger over the ridges to the east. The shadow and light then emerging on the high peaks to the west. It was a wonderful desert landscape to be driving through and I felt like I was seeing it anew for the first time again.
We had the pleasure of meeting up with the venerable Mr.Dutch Salmon for a mornings worth
of fun under the sun - feeling the steady flow of land pass under our footsteps and watching the hounds thunder off into the distance as they gave chase. We were joined also by his son Buddy.
Dutch's hounds were turbo boosters on overdrive and did not disappoint. Ananas had quite a good time and went out the whole way along with his dogs. She proved herself a true Azawakh
and true 'desert dog' by refusing water after both of her runs. Even though she was panting some, she wouldn't drink any water. I finally put some on her head and belly. But she seemed to think that was unnesasary too.
The field was really something, allowing for tremendous long runs.... and many miles from the nearest 'main road' (which was reasuring for me). We are grateful to have had such 'a good day'
and hope maybe we'll see some of you other folks out there sometime.

This is Tadawelt, one of my dearest and closest companions. She has enough attitude and wit to keep everyone on their toes here. She always seems to have this keen sense of knowing just what mood I'm in and is amazing at 'just being there' whenever I seem to need that the most.
She was given to me at another time of need and even though she proved herself quite troublesome at first... It was that funny trouble of having to work with her that helped me get through the loss of another I was grieving. Now, recently, she has had puppies of her own.
Hopefully, I will be sharing more about her and the pups in further posts.
Till then- keep shining from Mesa Viento

Beginings...

I'll go ahead and start posting, just to see if I can get something on the web.
This is a place I hope to share my interests in the visual arts and crazy passion for the breed of dogs known as the Azawakh, along with all things "desert" oriented and outdoor pursuits.
I'll probably get into alot of my opinions on stucture, preservation and the elusive effort/idea
of 'working' the dogs here in their "African" context. But along the way, I hope to journey into some of the more personal tangents that interest me along the way.