I am on the road with Beau and Ranger visiting with Ranger's breeder in Mississippi.

The first thing we did this weekend is a UKC show. While there Beau showed in the Veteran's class and won in all 6 shows.

Ranger's mother Slinky (J Cross' Slinky) was entered in the Brood Bitch class and represented by Ranger (CH J Cross' Currahee) and his littermate Ammo (J Cross' Ammunition). She won her class and earned many good comments from the judge for the quality of puppies she produces.

Slinky had three qualifying pulls for her UWP title, which earned her a title Sunday afternoon, and three Total Dog awards (one each day).

Ranger not only is Mr. Limpy this morning, but he doesn't seem able to

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the post you are now reading is designed to dull your senses to THE TRUTH. do not live the life of the worker bee, the cog, the well-oiled piston in the MACHINE OF DECEIT!

there is a grand CONSPIRACY afoot. you have been taught to believe that you are UNIQUE, one of a kind. THIS IS NOT TRUE. long ago, a cabal of scientists created technologies to ensure that ANYONE'S MIND AND BODY can be duplicated.

I'm going to be hitting the road for a trip in a few weeks. My destination is about 13 hours each way, and I am driving solo as part of a caravan of vehicles. One of the things I've picked up in recent years to make long drives more enjoyable is listening to podcasts, especially audio fiction. This also got me through physical therapy sessions a few years ago when I broke my leg.

The book currently in my play list is J.C. Hutchins' "7th Son: Descent". This is not only a great story (I love techie, sciencey stuff), but it's a trans-media experience. That is, it's not just the book/podcast. There are little Easter eggs hidden throughout that enrich the story and bring it to life. Throw in action, wonderful characterizations, plot twists, and realistic settings, and you get a story better than what most of Hollywood is turning out right now.

Back in February I gave some tips on how to save energy in the home. Due to the arrangement of how my energy bills are paid, I do not see how my actions are affecting the final bill until some time later. I found out today that the impact my actions made. Overall, the curtains, lowered thermostat, using cold or warm water for laundry and so on reduced my home's energy consumption by 15-20%. The majority of the savings was due to the CFL bulbs replacing incandescent bulbs, and removing some lights completely.

Another change I made, because my beloved 1999 Jeep Cherokee Sport (aka The Catahauler) was nearing the end of its travels with me (207,000 miles, 109,000 of those were with me), was a more fuel-efficient vehicle. As is normal for me, I did buy it used (52,000 miles), but she has a lot of miles left in her. The new vehicle (Catahauler Mark II) is a 2005 Jeep Liberty (KJ) CRD Limited with a 4-cylinder 2.8L turbo diesel engine. I've had it since June and I really enjoy driving it. I'm able to get 25-30 mpg, which is about what I get with the sedan I drive at work, but this allows me to haul a trailer when needed, and I still have 4WD when I venture into the land of ice and snow. Because my personal vehicle gets very little annual mileage compared to my work vehicle, and diesel engines tend to last for many miles, I plan to have the KJ for many years to come. I am still able to load 2-3 dogs in the Jeep, but I also have a rebuilt utility trailer (purchased used through Craigslist) for big or dirty jobs. Currently diesel prices have risen higher than those of gasoline, however I feel this is my current best option, given my needs and price range, to have a greener vehicle--the diesel allows me to run on biofuels when they are available.

I ordered a weight pull harness for Ranger from Brown Dog Designs. He's too young to start heavy weight training, but he's old enough to get used to wearing the harness, getting the feel of weight behind him, learning the word "work" and so on.

 I built him a little sled based on the design here.

 I harnessed him up.

 

 

Lucy, the dog I mentioned in the previous post, is now with a long-term foster who is working with her shyness so she can be adopted out.

On Tuesday night I got an emergency call that there was a Catahoula who needed a home immediately. She is a little blue leopard named Lucy. She is about a year old, HW negative, and UTD on shots. She is scheduled to be spayed in the immediate future. She is about 20" tall and weighs around 45 lbs. She is a very sweet dog who likes to cuddle--she crawled up on my couch to take a nap with me, and will come over to be petted or scratched.

Lucy gets along well with Beau and Ranger and is good with my cat. She does not like to walk on a leash, which is something I'm working on. She is great in a crate. Her biggest problem is that she has had a very hard start in life and needs a lot of TLC to get her past being a shy dog--something I don't have the time to do in my current situation.

I stumbled upon an interesting set of instructions for something that reuses a bucket, a toilet seat, a milk crate, scrap wood, and zip ties and makes a toilet that will recycle yet again.

A composting toilet.

All joking aside, this could come in really handy in a backcountry basecamp situation, or any other situation when you are not able to use all those luxuries, like water or pit toilets. It could certainly be more sanitary during an extended power outage than a non-functioning flush toilet (hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzard, alien invasion). It's also a first step for people who want to lessen their impact on the environment.

I got an email press release today regarding a cool site that goes live tomorrow: SierraClubTrails.org

 

  The site is out of beta and releasing on time (July 9, 2009). It's a wiki with information on trails, so other hikers can log on and keep the info on a hike up-to-date, including trail conditions, reroutes, local events, bugs, mud, ease of getting a camp site, etc. The site is prepped, not only for hiking/paddling info, but birding, photo contests, audio content, an online community, and more.

I've owned Catahoulas since 1996 and have been competing with them in United Kennel Club events since 2001.

 

I became an an NALC-certified breeder in 2009. I do not have puppies at this time, and it will likely be several years before I do.

 

I believe in doing something with my dogs--it might be backpacking, varmint control, weight pull, obedience, or anything else the dog shows an aptitude for. I feel keeping the dogs active mentally and physically helps them live long, healthy, happy lives. 

 

Sisu Catahoulas will soon have its own domain. In the mean time, it will be hosted here at uberpest.com.