Fearless

I was camping in New Mexico at the time that I was searching for a greyhound in Arizona.   My male, Valentine (age 11 1/2) had needed to be euthanized due to osteosarcoma.

Val on left

Several agencies in Arizona wouldn't adopt to me because I didn't live in their town, but Greyhounds of the Verde Valley were very willing and accomodating.  I made arrangements to meet the adoption group in Arizona when they would be having their yearly appearance at the county fair.  The fair was at the end of Oct, and the weather was hot as blazes!  I could hardly walk from the shuttle bus to the greyhound booth.  They had set up in a shady area to protect the dogs as much as possible.  When I saw the dogs, they asked me if I wanted to take Power for a walk.  He had a bandage on his operated foot, but was walking on it really well.  I took his leash and tried to entice him to walk, but he was resistant.  I finally got him to walk and he was easy to walk.  (It was too hot to have much energy).

Power

I told the adoption people that I would like to get a dog who was not afraid of thunder. Val had been terrified of thunder and it was a matter of him suffering during a storm.  All the rest didn't really matter, such as color, size, age, gender. 

When looking over the dogs at the greyhound booth, the dogs ran the gamut of color and behavior.  One dog in particular was an outstandingly beautiful brindle color, but he was like a wild mustang, trying to jump over the fence, break down the gate, etc.  Another dog was in a section of fencing by himself, because he had just got through killing a cat!  Then there was Power who was lying on a bed being very well behaved.  I decided to get Power because of his mild behavior.  I didn't think he was beautiful, and I was a little worried because of the injuries he had sustained.  But the main thing I was wanting was the lack of fear of thunder.  I really wanted to have a "fearless" greyhound this time around.

Power has lived up to expectations.  When we experience a thunderstorm, he lifts his head, then puts it back down and goes back to sleep!

Heirloom quilt

This hand made quilt was pieced by my grandmother in the 1920's and was quilted by my mother in the 1940's.

Yellow pieces are new, including center circle

The fabrics are from the family's clothing, sheets, etc.  Much of the fabric has deteriorated to an alarming level, so I decided to take on the repairs necessary.  As you can see I was using white thread at first.

blue piece and black piece are new

I decided that I had to work with a better technique and color of thread.

bluish triangle piece is new

I was having a lot of trouble with the thread tangling, breaking, etc.  I heard from a friend that certain expensive quilting threads were better.  So, I ordered several different colors of quilting threads.  I am now resewing the pieces that looked so terrible!

I'm trying to get the stitches to be invisible, and hope that I will get it figured out soon!

The pieces in the quilt average about 1 in. in size, and my favorite thing about the quilt are the tiny pieces.  The squares in the quilt are each different in design, but are all very beautiful.  If any of you are quilters, and have suggestions, please share them with me. 

Twinkletoes

In my experience with Power, Fleur, Val, Pattie, etc., I have never seen but one "twinkletoes" greyhound!  By that term, I mean that instead of getting down to "business" the greyhound in question gets into a mentality in which he or she goes first one direction in a tight circle, then the other direction, then back in the first direction, and back and forth for a minimum of 4 cycles, while thinking about what direction is the best, and "do i or don't I?".  If the dog is at the end of a leash then the motions he or she goes through are even more pronounced, due to the short length of the leash.

The picture above is of Fleur and her friend.  The "twinkle toes" in this blog is not Fleur, but I could not get a photo of Power in all his twinkle toes glory!
He can try my patience if the sun is too hot, or the temp too cold, or if it's raining,  if my back is hurting, and walking is painful.  HOWEVER he is such an adorable personality that his "twinkle toes" activity is just a happy trait that adds to my life.

Playtime

Last night he could not decide that "business" was a necessity.  I walked him around in the area  near my RV.  He thoroughly enjoyed looking at the stars, checking out the rocks in the desert soil, searching for rabbits to lunge at, and just generally being happy to prolong the walk.  But after peeing a gallon or two he never got his mind on "business".  After a really long time of letting him carry his toy teddy bear around in his mouth, I finally decided that enough was enough, and we went back inside.  Fleur had been standing inside the door being very curious about WHY  Power is still outside.  She actually looked like she was sending him signals to say "what the heck?" Power of course just ignored her.

We all know what happens when our dogs won't get down to "business!  It means that at some ungodly hour, the dogs will need to go outside, and that involves us having to get out of bed and go through the routine with him so he can do his twinkle toes madness and let the stars be his witness that the 3:30 am urgent outside trip was a necissity! 

The birds have it all!

beauty and hunger!

Canyon towhee

White winged dove on nest!

Scott's Oriole

The eyes have it

While searching for a new greyhound in the fall of 2012, Greyhounds of the Verde Valley were very  accomodating.  After several conversations with their adoption lady, she suggested that I might like Power.  I looked at his photo on their website and was not impressed.  I had big doubts.  His eyes just blended into his face, and that bothered me because I was used to having light colored hounds with black eyeliner making their eyes really stand out!

Fleur's beautiful face

Val and his beautiful face

Even from a distance their eyes stand out!

Power's face seems to hide his eyes!

A smile is more important than beautiful eyes!

Who says those eyes aren't outstanding?

Solar Panel tilters

A few weeks ago, I decided to purchase a mechanized solar panel tilter.

two solar panels with the motors in the center

A dealer in Quartzsite is also the inventor of the mechanism.

Installers  working on assembly

These nice fellows did all the work, and installed the tilters.

Lots of work for these nice fellows

Thus, when I want to get more charge into the batteries, I can stand the panels up on top of the motorhome.


These fellows are the guys who had to repair the motors after the wind tore them off.

Spring

In Arizona, the clock is not changed in the spring and fall!  I was reading on some blogs about the daylight saving time changes!  It made me realize that I had forgot all about it since it doesn't apply to me while in Arizona.

Indian Blanket!

The wild flowers are showing their beauty, bringing joy to all who see them!

Dog Park

While camping outside the town of Wickenburg AZ I took my dogs to the town's dog park.  A woman there had her border collie in the park, and that dog, while friendly, kept trying to herd my greyhounds, Fleur and Power.  The first time, Power has a slightly panicked look on his face,

What is that thing?

 as he looked at the border collie which was coming up from the rear. 

 Power and Fleur took off in a greyhound run to show the border collie a few things he didn't already know about greyhounds!

Fleur

Don't worry, Mom, I taught that border collie all about greyhounds!

Highway Woes

I was ready to travel back to Yuma a few days ago, but I made a mistake in regards to motorhome preparation.

I forgot to lower the solar panels to the flat position.  The wind caught them, and tore them loose from their moorings.  The first time I knew something was wrong was when a loud BANG sounded from the roof.  I pulled off the road and got some parachute cord, removed the dog fencing from the motorhome ladder, and climbed up to the roof.  The wind was strong, and the big trucks were swooshing as they went past.  I was worried about loosing my balance, but figured out that I had to get my courage up and the panels tied down.  I had one tied down, and just as I was beginning on the second a highway patrol car stopped.  This incredibly handsome, and kind hearted officer asked me if I needed help.  I of course answered "yes."  He came up on the roof, and used the tie down straps from the dog fence to get the solar panels strapped down.  He made it look SO easy.

Note the strap running right to left to hold the panels down

He helped me down the ladder, and then he picked up the dog fencing, placing it all into the car, and then he drove near me for about 1/4 mile to make sure the panels were staying flat on the roof!

I cannot thank him enough.  I sent a letter to his bosses at the highway patrol to let them know of his help.  I did manage to resist talking about his good looks!  

I believe that I am going to make a note and tape it to my steering wheel, reminding me to lay the solar panels flat!  I don't want to risk another situation like that.  

When I return to Quartzsite, I will get the panes repaired and then I will be comfortable with their condition again!

Tires again! Greyhounds take my mind off of tire woes!

Yesterday I went to the Yuma AZ PEP Boys store to replace the bad tire.  The manager was a nice and knowledgeable man, who showed me that I had cracks on all my tires just outside the wheel rim!  I hadn't even looked there.  He also showed other cracks, and so I decided to replace all 4 tires.  He also told me that the front-end alignment was bad and needed to be adjusted.  So, 4 hours and $850 lighter in the wallet, I was ready to leave.

But------WHOA, I need to tell you one other thing.  I had my greyhounds with me, and we waited in the store's waiting room ( very uncomfortable chairs).  I had to do some squirming from time to time, trying to maintain a level of comfort.  During one of these moments, Power felt a surge of curiosity, and realized my hand was not tight on the leash, so he just "took off".  I got up, and taking Fleur with me, we went to the back of the store where I had last seen the flick of his skinny white-tipped tail!  We walked in several aisles, but no sightings.  But, just as I wondered if I needed to go back to the waiting area, I saw Power, doing an excellent imitation of a spraddled creature.  He had walked onto an area of vinyl floor which was extremely slippery.  All four legs were in the four directions of the compass.  I went to "rescue" him, still holding Fleur's leash, and she also became spraddled.  As I tried to get them up and on to non slippery flooring, my own feet began to slide in opposite directions. 

Representing Hazel scratching head while wondering how to get onto solid footing!

 I guess three is a good number, because we three were able to lean on each other a bit and I finally got all three of us onto solid footing. The floor looked normal, but it was NOT normal.  I'm surprised someone hasn't been injured. 

Pluto drawing, showing a relieved dog, who got off the slippery floor!

I wish so much that I had an archive of drawings of greyhounds to illustrate stories which have no photos!

Tires

Tread missing.

I realized today that the time had come that I could not drive any more on this tire.  What had been a mildly worn tread, is now worn all the way through the metal belt!  So tomorrow, I will be getting a new tire!

Pet Safety

I'm in Holtville California for a few days for some doctor's appointments.  Then back to Quartzsite for Tax preparation.  Then hopefully on to New Mexico  for cooler weather and different bird watching!

The daytime temps here are too hot for me.  I have to find a shady spot for my pets and me outside.  There is a slow breeze so if we're sitting in the shade, the breeze and shade keep us cooler.  We have to move as the shade moves, but it's worth it. We have few trees here, so I move us around the motorhome following the shade.

One of my friends, Barbara, is having company from San Diego for a few days. I think that they're bringing their own camping equipment since her RV is very small.  She will have fun activities planned.  She's a good planner.

Yesterday I was outside with my dogs after dark (potty break) when a man in a car stopped me and asked if I'd seen a small black dog running loose.  I immediately thought that he needs a reflective collar on the dog, or even one of those "Pet Locator" systems.  I keep both of these items on Power due to the fact that he got away from me once. Power leaped over me at the door of the motorhome, and took off flying with his leash in mid-air!  He was having great fun.  Power refused to come back to me when called, and so I had to search for him.

"Scary" doesn't begin to describe the situation, since it occurred after dark and Power is black.  We were located about 100 yards from an interstate highway, and I was terrified that Power would run toward the highway.  I did get him back safely( such a relief!), and the next day I got a reflective collar ( to be worn constantly)

Notice how much the reflective collar glows!

and ordered the Pet Locator system from Amazon.com.http://www.amazon.com/Loc8tor-Pet-Ultimate-Wireless-Locator/dp/B003WF0LDG/ref=sr_1_2?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1394208350&sr=1-2&keywords=pet+locator+devices  The electronic pendant hangs from the reflective collar

Purple martingale collar, black and silver reflector collar, pet locator pendant

, and I carry a small device that has the controls on it.  It is about the size of a credit card,

and tells you how far away and the direction the dog is located.  I feel much more secure with these items in place.  I had not had a black greyhound before, though I had owned two teacup poodles which were black.  However they never took a flying leap over me and ran away laughing!  I had not realized how quickly this situation could happen. 

I plan to put a reflective collar on Chica,

and hang a pet locator pendant on it, since she is colored like Power. 

Windstorm, or is it a dirtstorm?

In the desert, the soil is largely sand, and so that means that it's not held together with glue( like clay soils), and thus when we have strong wind, we get sand blowing and sometimes it is so thick that one can't see through it. Today that is the condition we have.  Tomorrow will be the motorhome cleanup, as the dirt gets everywhere! It is supposed to be blowing rain our way.  Rain would be very welcome in moderate amounts!


Actually, we did get some rain, but not enough to write home about!  In the desert, rain does help the plants to bloom,as you see  in this picture.

Ocotillo bloom after rain




By the way, I noticed a new follower and so I want to welcome him and his family:  Peter Bedard ,along with Maura, and their dog Fraser! I want to welcome them and say that I'm glad that he and his family are also travelling via an RV, and enjoying the experiences. Peter has a blog  Bucket List or Bust RV travels.

30,000 pageviews

Thanks to everyone for viewing the blog over this last year.  I never thought I'd see the page view counter show 30,000!  Surprises are fun, aren't they?

For those of you who leave comments, please know that I really enjoy them!

I realize that many of you have hounds, RV's etc, but just because the name of my blog has RVing and big dogs in the title, it's not meant to discourage any other type of person from reading.  I appreciate all types of people and animals.

Greyhound I crocheted last summer!

I showed the progress of the project as I worked on it last summer, and thus made this hound "famous".  This helped make the pageviews numbers larger.  But he's not impressed!

I have my seat belt on.  Let's get going, Mom!


I thought that since I "birthed" him, that the crocheted greyhound would be proud of my 30,000 pageviews, but no, he just wants to go for a car ride!

Spring springing

These lovely blooms are making the desert even more beautiful than usual!