Puppies

These beautiful pups were found near the state park entrance.  A kind soul saw them, and picked them up, brought them to the entrance gate, and Cathy
( one of our volunteers) fell instantly in love.

I happened along and she handed me the box with pups inside and asked me to take them to her RV.

The next day she found homes for them among the staff at the park, but before she sent them to their new homes, she gave them a bath!  What a lady!

Cathy, holding the black puppy!

A 2 Dog Night?

My greyhounds have decided that they are guard dogs!  We get all settled down for the night and then they hear something.  Power makes his "Squeak"
sound instead of a bark.  They stand up and want outside. 

Last night I let them out and they immediately went after a red fox that was inside our fence!  The fox ran under the motorhome and away, and the dogs watched as they celebrated their conquest of the barbaric intruder.  They strutted around in the yard for a while enjoying their "success"!

They decided that coming back inside would be acceptable because they would ask for a treat to get payment for their hard work.

Fleur is a bit of a bossy personality, and she's been trying to teach Power that her way is the only way!  Power is a very different kind of thinker, and he likes to mull things over for a while, and then maybe he'll do as Fleur demands, and maybe he'll just smile sweetly at her and do his own thing!

About an hour after the fox episode, Power again squeaked and wanted outside, but then I heard "MOO" from right outside my window!

This cow was outside my motorhome, doing her night activities ( whatever they are!)

My dogs were very brave, as long as they knew the cow couldn't get to them!

Fishing part 2

Fishing is a big pastime at this park.  This grebe was actively fishing near the shore, and I enjoyed watching him.

Eared Grebe

When I looked at my photos later I realized that he showed black all over.
I decided to try the Picasa program to edit the photo and try to bring out his colors.

Eared grebe with colors enhanced by Picasa

I don't like the slightly blurred outlines of the bird, but at least one can see the colors as the actually exist on the bird!
He was continuously diving to get his supper, and then he would float for a few seconds and repeat the dive!  

Fishing

One popular activity here at Bluewater Lake State Park is fishing.  Many people bring boats, and many fish from shore.

The vultures and the ravens are very happy fishermen as well.  They do a good job of cleaning up the beach.

Turkey Vulture checking the beach for supper.

A fisherman told me that some years ago the goldfish were released in the lake and they have thrived due to no natural predators.

Goldfish 12 inches long

 He said that the Muskies were introduced to help control the goldfish population.

Tiger Muskie

 This sign is to help people know that any Tiger Muskie caught must be as large as the wooden fish in order to keep it.  All smaller fish must be thrown back in the lake.

Enjoying the lake

Great fishing in the deep water near the dam.

Fisherman?

A real fisherman! (Great Blue Heron)

The crew from waste management!(Turkey vultures)

Camping on the beach

Great water for drinking

"We like the grass and the water"

Power's Genealogy, Part 2

After I posted about the genealogy of Power and Polly, I got an email from houndstooth http://talesandtails.com/ saying that her Bunny is also related to Power. I asked for a photo to use so I could expand on the genealogy post.

"I was writing my memoirs, but now I'm going to change my will to include Power!"

 She also said that Patty E's 's http://twogreyhoundtown.blogspot.com/ greyhound Joey is related to Power!

"I'm so famous that I don't need to write memoirs!"

I am fascinated that some of the most interesting blogs are written by the doggy relatives of Power!  At least that's what each of the blogs say. 

 Bunny always starts her post with "Bunny here at the keyboard to let you know that ....". 

 Joey from http://twogreyhoundtown.blogspot.com/

 always signs his post with " Joey, the greyhound who......"

Joey and Bunny  comparing writing styles!

  Power has not tried posting a blog, nor does he seem to have his paws warmed up to fit the keyboard.  I also never see him looking in a Thesaurus or dictionary to plan his wording.  Mostly he plays with his squeaky toys and watches for rabbits to chase.

"I'm just smart...I get mom to be my mouthpiece!"

Power has a noble look, even beautiful, but is he like an old time Hollywood star, who had beauty but questionable brains?

Polly, says she is on her second sucessful career!

Polly as you see is very lovely, and has a resume including writing and racing.

She won many races, and has been improving her writing for a while now in Graceful Greyhounds!

I have a note about one more dog who tells me that she is also related.  I know she is smart, I know she is beautiful, and could easily be a writer, but one thing she doesn't have is the same growth gene!

Katie, the Chihuahua who owns Barbara (Me and my Dog...and my RV)

Cactus flowers

Several years ago I wanted house plants which were not poisonous to my cats, so began to collect cacti.

Below are a sampling of the ones blooming now.

This plant has a more green color, but pale white flowers!

Up close the beauty is more striking!

This group of three yellow blossoms is on one of the cacti living on my motorhome dash.

The first bud opened before the other two, and I thought that it would not last to look beautiful when the other two opened.  I was so glad to be wrong!

Cactus is about 1 1/2 in diameter, blossom is size of pencil eraser!

I've had this plant about 2 years, and it has hardly grown, but is healthy.

Power's genealogy and Polly's pedigree.

I had a great experience this week! 

I learned from Sue (of Graceful Greyhounds, in Norfolk England), the genealogy of Power.  Her greyhound, Polly, is like a double of Power.She and I emailed and she looked on the official greyhound pedigree site for Power's pedigree.  She discovered that Polly's  father Brett Lee( from Australia) is Power's grandfather.  I thought that that was a fascinating occurrence since they are from the other side of the planet!

Stanton Polly

Wild Power House

Pedigree of Wild Power House.

This first chart is from the Racing Greyhound Database.  It shows Wild Power House on the left side( my Power).  His father is Trent Lee( from USA), and his grandfather is Brett Lee ( from Australia).

Stanton Polly is the greyhound of Sue ( from Graceful Greyhounds), and her picture (above) shows her to be a real beauty (black with white chest and feet and tail tip). In her pedigree, shown below, it shows that Brett Lee (Australia) is the father of Stanton Polly.

Stanton Polly's pedigree


Polly  was born 1 Mar 2007 in Ireland or United Kingdom.  Power was born 9 Apr 2011 in USA.

Polly ran 114 races, won 16, was 2nd 25 times.  Power ran one race, got injured in that race and was retired.

I never gave a thought to the pedigree or racing record of my greyhounds in the past.  If Power hadn't been so injured, I would not have cared about his race record.
If I had not started a blog in hopes of connecting with other greyhound people, I would not have known about Polly and her mom, Sue. 

So many ifs in this story, so many possibilities, and such nice outcomes.  Life is wonderful!

Horse Poop vs bull poop

During the last two weeks I was awaiting the arrival of the horses.  I kept finding horse poop, but not horses!

poop from large horse

 Earlier this week, a bull was making himself comfortable exploring the state park, and of course he had to relieve himself!  Barbara, of Me and my Dog... and my RV, wrote about the bull and published pictures of him a few days ago.

poop from bull

But the bull was no competition for the excitement of seeing the horses         ( about 2 dozen) today!  The babies are so cute and they all look so healthy.
( See the post for Fri June 14, Finally the Horses arrive) for the pictures of the horses.

Horses arrived finally!

Today the horses arrived at Bluewater Lake State Park!

The are several young ones, and many adults.

I'd been looking for them for the weeks I'd been here,  and was seeing semi-fresh poop, but not horses!

Mama making shade for baby to nap!

Visitor Center at Bluewater Lake State Park

Visitor Center

The Visitor Center is  a very pleasant older building, which fits into the style of architecture which is common in this area. Inside the door is a room of displays reflecting the wildlife and geology of the area, along with looms representing the Navajo weaving styles.  

Information and self-pay kiosk

In the parking lot is an information kiosk, a self-pay container, and a map of the park.

Entrance Gate at Bluewater Lake State Park

The volunteers do a lot of jobs here, and most of the jobs aren't difficult, but no park has enough money to pay personnel to do every job.  Hence, the need for Volunteers.

The last few days I've been learning the job of Gate attendant.  Our job is to answer questions, give directions, collect fees, and help individuals who have a problem.  Surprisingly, many people don't want to understand the simple rules! 

Entrance station

The entrance building is 4 ft wide and 8 ft long, no doors or windows, just a roof and sides.  The building does have an electrical outlet to run the cash register, so I guess it is pretty modern!

We have a statewide fire ban for wood and charcoal fires, and also an outdoor smoking ban.  Wildfires are an ever present danger in New Mexico.

Another large sign states that no fires are allowed, but many, many folks cut park trees and start fires anyway!  There is a yellow plastic strip on each fire ring which states "NO FIRES" .

 People take the tape off the fire ring and then start a fire with the illegal wood and THEN say that they didn't know that they couldn't have a fire!

Many of the public are resistant to the entrance fee of $5.00 per vehicle!
That fee allows boat launch, picnicking, fishing, and cooking over propane until the park closes at 9 p.m. Its a real bargain!

What is it.....?

I have two greyhounds, and I have two dog beds in the motorhome, and two dog beds in the yard.  I think that my dogs (my lovely babies) deserve to be comfortable and be treated really well.  Over the years, I've spent more money on dog beds than I've had to pay for my clothes!  My dogs like to dig at the bed both before, during and after settling down for sleep.  Their dog beds mostly get torn up before two months have gone by.  I have been buying the beds at Walmart, usually at about $39.99 each.  I think they should last at least longer than two months.  In January I was at a city which had a Sam's 
Club, and they had dog beds for $39.99 with the brand SERTA on them.  They claimed to be memory foam.  I bought two of them, and moved the worn ones to the yard.  These two beds have been a cut above the previous dog beds, and have needed resewing only once.  So, my question is .......WHY DO THE DOGS LIE IN THIS MANNER?

The bed is largely uninhabited!

Volunteer position at Bluewater Lake State Park, New Mexico

I arrived at Bluewater Lake State Park a couple of days ago.  The manager had told me to park behind the Visitor Center, so I set up my campsite, and then went to meet a friend.

Some of you have followed the blog Me and My Dog...and my RV.
Barbara had arrived at this park a few days ago.  She always picks a campsite that has a great view and this time was no exception.

Blue Water Lake State Park

The elevation here is 7600 ft, which means it is cooler than City of Rocks.
The habitat here is a mountainous pinyon juniper forest.  The trees are not very tall, but they are tall enough for shade on a hot day, but do not block the view over the area.

The skies are cloudy and we had one heavy rain!  Monsoon season will be arriving in a few weeks!

Female mountain bluebird

Female grackle

Rough Legged Hawk

When driving the entrance road of City of Rocks State Park, I kept getting a glimpse of a hawk, but not a great look.

I spent several hours studying my hawk references, so that if I got a good look, I could figure out what the species is.

Finally, I got my chance! 

Rough Legged Hawk

This hawk had a lizard he was eating for lunch, so he sat on the pole while I got his photo!

Notice the feathers that come way down on the legs of this bird.  That is the basis of the name given him.

Such a regal being.

Visitors from Texas

Last week I enjoyed visitors from Texas.  Becky and Gene had been my neighbors for over 30 years.  They were travelling to Washington State to see their grandson graduate from high school.

One day we went to Gila Cliff Dwellings.  It was a hot day and I felt that I could not hike that trail in the heat. So I waited in the shade at the entrance and watched birds.  I enjoyed the songs they sung and got a few photos.

Nuthatch

The Gila River flows through the canyon where the Gila Cliff Dwellings are, and this moist habitat provides beauty  in plant life and animal life.

Scrub Jay