This tan and white Basset Hound is named Maurice:

Learn more about Maurice here: http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=15194074

Image : http://www.flickr.com

We read the newspapers and magazines of interesting articles. There is always a small column of Sudoku. Most people like to play with him, because people like to play with crosswords. It 'difficult for some people to resist playing Sudoku for just one day. It is this mystery, if source that provides free puzzles. Besides this, you will be able to print the Sudoku puzzle on your own.

It is so stupid that you do this puzzle yourself. If youthis method, one begins with the first option. E 'ridiculous method to create puzzles in this way. A better way to get more of these puzzles, search for the generator of Sudoku. Most of these companies are able to generate puzzles randomly and quickly, if you prefer to play the game with paper and pencil. You may print and complete without the purchase of a Sudoku puzzle books in libraries.

How does generating function Sudoku?

Basically, this is a program that uses algorithmsPuzzle generated randomly without repetition. In some sites, you can create puzzles to print free. You can also puzzles on your preferences, such as game levels, the number of puzzles based on a page and the printer configuration. Typically, these puzzles are generated and converted to PDF. In this transformation, you can print and compile a book of sudoku and try as many times as you like.

It is not hard printable sudoku puzzles on the website for it.No need to wait another day for the new puzzle.

Vic celebra el seu mercat medieval a primers de desembre, sovint coincidint amb el pont de la Constitució. I direu… un mercat medieval més. Doncs, us equivocaríeu si penseu que estem davant d’una fira com tantes. El Mercat Medieval de Vic mereix les majúscules dels seu nom perquè és enorme. Penseu que hi ha més de 300 parades repartides per tot el casc antic de Vic. I aquesta és una ciutat gran. Places, carrers, carrerons, parcs i passejos estan plens de tota mena de paradetes de tot tipus de productes. Parades gastronòmiques, a Vic hi ha el millor embotit de Catalunya,de formatges, de menjars cuinats allà mateix. També parades artesanes i d’oficis, moltes, moltíssimes, molt interessants. També mostra d’animals, com ara cavalls, ovelles, vaques, rucs… mostra d’aus de presa, tot l’imaginable. Els nens inenes podran muntar a cavall, assistir a espectacles de carrer, escoltar música o veure exposicions. El casc antic de Vic acompanya un mercat d’aquestes característiques. Ancorada en el temps del barroc, la vila dels sants i dels capellans, dormí fins no fa gaire temps el son feixuc dels pobles oblidats del progrés. Així ha pogut preservar palaus, temples, ambient en general, que res no te a veure amb el segle XXI. Per sort, però, els vells carrers no s’han degradat. La universitat ha ocupat espais i ha revitalitzat el centre. Per això us agradarà resseguir el mercat medieval i anar visitant monuments i obres d’art de primer nivell. Com ara la catedral, neoclàssica, però amb una magnífica torre romànica. A l’interior les pintures maravelloses de Sert. Al costat, el museu episcopal guarda el més granat de l’art romànic i gòtic català. Un museu exemplar. Uns carrers enllà topareu amb un veritable temple romà, com tret directament i sense escales de l’època dels cèsars. Seria impossible ressenyar les esglèsies, convents i monestirs, els palaus, cases fortes i cases burgeses que us sortiran al pas. Nomes fer menció de l’esplèndida plaça del mercadal, la plaça major, la plaça gran, única a tot Catalunya, on s’hi celebren mercats tan nomenats com el del ram, o més senzills, com el de cada dissabte. Pugeu a Vic. Si no arribeu tard troabreu aparcament amb facilitat, i ben senyalitzat, en els parkings habilitats, o pels carrers moderns abans d’arribar al centre històric. Podeu dinar a la fira, en les parades de menjar, nombroses i ben acondicionades. Si us agrada més gaudir de una bon taula ho teniu fàcil. L’ambient estudiantil i glamuròs de Vic fa que hi hagi molta oferta, sobretot al casc antic. Si voleu un que ens han recomanat, aneu al restaurant Basset, al Carrer Sant Sadurní, 4. Tel. 938 890 212. També hem anat a un que es troba en els baixos d’un casalot, a la placeta que es forma el carrer Dues Soles, en ajuntar-se amb el carrer de Cardona. Tot un restaurant amb encant. Però no recordem el nom. Per dormir teniu un hotel NH, que també te un bon menú al migdia. El dia del mercat, però, caldrà reservar qualsevol lloc on aneu.

Vic celebra su mercado medieval a primeros de diciembre, a menudo coincidiendo con el puente de la Constitución. Y diréis … un mercado medieval más. Pues os equivocaríais si pensáis que estamos ante una feria como tantas. El Mercado Medieval de Vic merece las mayúsculas de su nombre porque es enorme. Pensad que hay más de 300 paradas repartidas por todo el casco antiguo de Vic. Y esta es una ciudad grande. Plazas, calles, callejones, parques y paseos están llenos de toda clase de tenderetes de todo tipo de productos. Paradas gastronómicas, en Vic está el mejor embutido de Cataluña, y los mejores quesos, y comidas cocinadas allí mismo. También hay paradas artesanas y de oficios, muchas, muchísimas, muy interesantes. También muestras de animales, como caballos, ovejas, vacas, burros … muestras de aves de presa, todo lo imaginable. Los niños podrán montar a caballo, asistir a espectáculos de calle, escuchar música o ver exposiciones. El casco antiguo de Vic acompaña mucho un mercado de estas características. Anclada en el tiempo del barroco, la villa de los santos y de los sacerdotes, dormida hasta no hace mucho tiempo en el sueño pesado de los pueblos olvidados del progreso. Así ha podido preservar palacios, templos, su ambiente en general, que nada tiene que ver con el siglo XXI. Por suerte las viejas calles no se han degradado. La universidad ha ocupado espacios y ha revitalizado el centro. Por eso gusta recorrer el mercado medieval y ir visitando monumentos y obras de arte de primer nivel. Como la catedral, de estilo neoclásico, pero con una magnífica torre románica. En el interior las pinturas maravillosas de Sert. Al lado, el museo episcopal guarda lo más granado del arte románico y gótico catalán. Un museo ejemplar. Unas calles allá toparéis con un verdadero templo romano, como sacado directamente y sin escalas de la época de los césares. Sería imposible reseñar las iglesias, conventos y monasterios, palacios, casas fuertes y casas burguesas que les saldrán al paso. Sólo hacer mención de la espléndida plaza del mercadal, la plaza mayor, la plaza grande, única en toda Cataluña, donde se celebran mercados tan nombrados como el del ram, o más sencillos, como el de cada sábado. Subid hasta Vic. Si no llegáis tarde encontrareis fácil aparcamiento y bien señalizado, en los parkings habilitados, o por las calles del barrio más moderno, antes de llegar al centro histórico. Pueden comer en la própia feria, en las paradas de comida, numerosas y bien acondicionadas. Si os gusta más disfrutar de una buena mesa lo teneis. El ambiente estudiantil y glamuroso de Vic hace que haya mucha oferta, sobre todo en el casco antiguo. Si desean una dirección que nos han recomendado, vayan al restaurante Basset, en la Calle Sant Sadurní, 4. Tel. 938 890 212. También hemos ido a uno que se encuentra en los bajos de un caserón, en la plazoleta que se forma la calle Dos Soles, en juntarse con la calle de Cardona. Un restaurante con encanto. Pero no recordamos el nombre. Para dormir tiene un hotel NH, que también tiene un buen menú al mediodía. El día del mercado, sin embargo, habrá que reservar cualquier lugar donde vaya.

Ce e : un catel

Cand mi l-as dori : pe termen lung, care se traduce in acest caz in urmatorii 5 ani

De ce zic in urmatorii 5 ani : fiindca momentan nu am loc de el si nici nu stiu daca sunt suficient de responsabila la varsta mea tanara sa am grija de un catel. Daaar asta nu ma impiedica visez la un basset pleostit caruia sa ii zic “Basetzica” sau “Soseata” , mi se par ultra-adorabili.

Pozele le-am furat cu nesimtire de pe Facebook din contul unei cunostinte norocoase posesoare de basset.
Pe dumnealui il cheama Tuok Balel si are si profil de Facebook fiindca e un basset web 2.0:)

Sexo: Macho

Edad: 01/01/09

Raza: X de Basset probablemente

Salud:

Asociación a la que pertenece: La Xana (http://www.laxana.org/adopciones/visualiza/529.html)

Alegre y juguetón. Se lleva bien con otros animales. No es muy grande, más bien paticorto.

Item:

1 While he doesn’t LIKE them, Gus does not actually eat cats.* Unlike Stephen Harper.

2 Gus is lazy enough to avoid antagonizing foreign leaders, but tough enough to growl at them if they approach his food.

3 He will encourage agriculture, especially animal husbandry.

4 He is a symbol the country could unite around – who doesn’t love cute puppy dogs?

5 He will lead energy conservation efforts by encouraging/insisting that people stay home and do as little as possible.

6 Gus will never, ever involve Canada in a pointless dick-measuring excuse for a war**, unless someone tries to steal his food. Then it’s nuke time.

7 He will decrease healthcare costs by introducing the revolutionary new Hound Therapy. When you feel sick, sad, or just worn out, you go to Gus’ office and spend half an hour just hanging out on the couch with him. Safe, cheap and effective.***

8 Gus won’t promote anti-gay, racial, or religious bigotry, since he loves everyone without qualification.

9 Because this country needs change, and a mildly brain-damaged basset hound/beagle couldn’t POSSIBLY do any worse than we’ve had already.

* Mostly because he can’t catch them.

** He’s been neutered.

*** Obviously this won’t cure your cancer or genital warts, but it does make you feel better in the case of a mild cold or just a bad day, and is certainly more plausible as a therapy than, say, Reiki.

My husband and I adopted Ozzy and Penny five years ago.  We had been living together in our newly built home for about a year and had decided to extend our family, by adopting two dogs from the SPCA.  It was nearing Christmas by this time and the selection of dogs at our regional SPCA’s was extremely limited.  We had been to see four or five different pounds, and were not able to find any dogs that would fit our family.  We both work and have a medium size garden, so we were looking for two dogs that could entertain one another when we were at work, and that would be happy with the amount of space we had available.

My husband had always wanted Bassets, but I was adamant that we had to adopt two homeless dogs.  My husband scoured the internet for days, and finally found an establishment that took dogs from pounds, when they were going to be euthanised – www.petlink-up.com – They would take them in, neuter them and supply them with basic obedience training.  My husband – Wynand contacted the establishment and enquired about what type of dogs they had available.  Astonishingly they had three Bassets available, they were all around 18 months old.  We decided to take the three hour drive, to have a look at the Bassets.  When we arrived we were immediately drawn to a loud and excited bark, and came across the enclosure housing the three Bassets.  It was love at first sight, and we would’ve adopted all three of them, had we had more space.  Needless to say ‘looking’ turned into ‘adopting’ very quickly!

Ozzy is a Tri-Colour male Basset and Penny is a Strawberry female Basset, both of them were 18 months at the time.  They weighed a hefty 20kg’s at the time (little did we know, they were going to get MUCH bigger!)  Ironically both Ozzy and Penny had been rescued from the Germiston SPCA, which is the pound closest to our home.  No one had wanted to adopt them, so Susan and Julie from Pet Link Up had rescued them.

That was five years ago!  Ozzy and Penny have both become important members of our family, we have learnt so much from them, we often wonder how life would’ve been had we not adopted them.  Ozzy seems like an old Soul, he  has very wise, soulful eyes and is also a big baby.  He loves cuddles and attention and hates running around and exerting himself!  Penny is the ‘puppy’ of the two, even though she is nearly seven years old, she is still rambunctious and playful.  She is a very jealous character and cannot understand why she needs to share attention and sleeping space with Ozzy.  Sometimes we think she might just be two Smarties short of a box – but that’s why we love her!  She hates cuddles, but tolerates them – because otherwise Ozzy gets more ‘love’ than she does.

They both LOVE dinner time, and getting them to stay on their beds, whilst we are preparing their dinner has somehow turned into one big game!!  This was how we discovered that Ozzy was not well, one day he refused to eat his dinner.  He has always been a very picky eater, but no amount of rice or gravy added to his food helped this time!!  I rushed Ozzy off to a vet in the morning, I had decided to try a new vet, as Ozzy’s usual vet is stuck in the Stone Age, he never performs any tests and does not even own a computer.  I had a bad feeling about Ozzy and decided we needed a Vet with more experience and better facilities.  Whilst driving – all sorts of things were running through my mind, Ozzy had once eaten one of my husbands hanky, this had blocked his intestines and he had been extremely ill!!  I was convinced that he had eaten something he shouldn’t have eaten, I only wish it had been that simple!  We arrived at the Vet, who did a thorough examination of Ozzy, he showed me lumps in Ozzy’s neck and asked how long they had been there, I was shocked, we had not been aware of any lumps anywhere!  The Vet admitted Ozzy for more tests and told me to come back that evening, quietly mentioning that he suspected Ozzy had Lymphoma.  I climbed back into my car and burst into tears, called my husband (who could barely understand me through my hysterical babble) and told him of the Vets suspicions.  He was just as shocked, we both felt completely helpless.  The rest of the day was absolute torture, we were finally allowed to collect Ozzy from the Vet at 6pm that evening, the Vet confirmed his suspicions, it was Canine Lymphoma!  He listed the various options; Chemotherapy, Radiation or Euthanasia, also noting that Chemo was very expensive and that we would have to travel 60km one way to the nearest Veterinary Oncologist for treatment.  He gave us a prescription for Prednisolone (a steroid that would decrease the swelling in Ozzys Lymph nodes) and told us that we needed to make a decision quickly!  After recovering from the initial shock, I did what I do best – sat down and researched Lymphoma treatments in South Africa.

Joel Joan encarnarà el General Moragues en la versió catalana de la pel·lícula Braveheart

La població de Sort (Pallars Jussà) serà l’escenari d’una part de la pel·lícula El General de Ferro, que gira al voltant de la figura de Josep Moragues. Nascut l’any 1669, va lluitar durant la Guerra de Successió contra les tropes castellanes de Felip V i també contra els francesos. L’encarregat de representar aquest històric personatge serà l’actor Joel Joan, que serà una mena de Mel Gibson a la catalana. Segons el director de la pel·lícula, Ignasi P. Ferré, ha assegurat que “es podria dir que és com un Braveheart, perquè comparteixen el mateix nivell d’heroïcitat, encara que la seva causa va ser la independència de Catalunya”. Ferré, a més, ha afegit que el film és important “per a la moral del país, perquè es vegi que també tenim herois”.

La capital del Pallars Jussà només serà una de les localitzacions de la pel·lícula, ja que també es rodaran escenes a Barcelona i Sant Hilari Sacalm, el poble natal del General Moragues. Els productors, però, estan estudiant com aconseguir finançament internacional, per poder així rodar escenes a Holanda, Itàlia o el Regne Unit.

L’heroi català més desconegut

Josep Moragues va ser conegut amb el sobrenom de Diable de les Guilleries. Durant la Guerra de Successió es va alinear amb els partidaris de l’arxiduc Carles d’Àustria per tal de lluitar contra les tropes felipistes. Quan Barcelona va caure el 1714, Moragues va ser capturat i, després de ser jutjat de mala manera, se’l va executar en públic. El seu cap va restar penjat en una gàbia al Portal de Mar de Barcelona durant dotze anys.

EXTRET DE: http://www.sms25.cat/noticia/1575/Joel_Joan_encarnara_el_General_Moragues_en_la_versio_catalana_de_la_pel.licula_Braveheart

Iiiih! Vou contar uma coisa feia pra vocês…eu fui adotado por uma família beeeem bacana. Acontece que eu me apaixonei tanto pelo dono da casa que não queria que ninguém chegasse perto dele, e de tanto ciúme acabei dando um mordida no filho e na esposa dele. Foi muito feio isto que eu fiz… Daí eu voltei pra cá. Aqui eu me comporto muito bem, mas é porque todo mundo aqui entende de cachorrinhos e eu me disciplino direitinho sem problemas. Então é melhor eu ter um dono que entenda de cachorros também, porque eu sou muito amoroso com quem eu gosto mas preciso morar numa casa grande onde eu não precise sair na rua nunca porque quando eu saio eu fico implicando com todos os cachorros no caminho e quero correr atrás das motos e dos carros. Eu sou muito marrento, sabem? Agora, numa coisa eu sou um craque : sei defender o seu terreno como ninguém! E eu já sou vacinado e castrado, tá bem? Agora por favor me tirem esta dúvida em relação ao meu tamanho, eu sou grande? Ou eu sou pequeno??? Ninguém sabe me dizer…!

Contato para adoção: luizapin arroba gmail ponto com

Eu fui jogada do carro em movimento em frente à Rodoviária e eu fiquei por ali no meio da rua cheirando todos os carros que passavam para ver se um deles era o do meu dono que tinha se “distraído” e me deixado ali. Tiveram que parar o trânsito para me convencer a sair do meio da rua e não me machucar. Agora já estou conformada e sei que este amor todo que eu tinha pelo meu dono eu vou poder dedicar a outras pessoas também que vão me amar tanto quanto eu sou capaz de amar vocês todos! Eu estou alegre e saltitante, vacinada e castrada e gosto de todo mundo e de todos os bichinhos! Você quer gostar de mim?

Contato para adoção: luizapin arroba gmail ponto com

Pepper, Dr. Z, Koston and others rip up the Supreme NY miniramp

Source: 48 Blocks

Ein Familienmitglied hat sich für ein neues Extremhobby entschieden und durchläuft derzeit die Ausbildung zum Hubschrauber-Jagdhund. Wie? Jagen vom Hubschrauber aus? Nein, natürlich nicht – Jagen von Hubschraubern (wenn auch kleineren Expemplaren)

Aber immer gut aufpassen – die Beute wehrt sich manchmal…

I just got pictures from this event!  I forgot to take my camera, so I hijacked Gay’s and ran around all day taking pictures with her camera!  OMG, I took 70 pictures!!!!

Ed and I had a Basset, Scarlett Begonia, named after a Greatful Dead song, of course!  She ruled the household her entire life.  So, we love going to this event! 

This is a fundraiser for Basset Rescue of Oregon.

Gay made several purses especially for this event, and they were a hit!!

I bought all sorts of Basset items, too.

The whole day is filled with contests, like …

The Limbo! 
One happy Basset made it all the way through, then started wagging his tail when Dad told him how great he was!
His tail tipped the limbo rod off the stand … ; 0 (

Best Costume!
If you have ever seen Bassets at the dog shows, you already know how much they (ahem, their parents) like to dress up!!  These folks go all out, and if they have 1 Basset, they probably have at least 2!  Most of these contestants were a group effort!

The Sea Dragon

The Mermaid

The Octopus

A gaggle of prisoners ....

What did I tell you?  If a family has one Basset, there’s bound to be more!

and The Most Wanted Criminal!

Definitely a family affair!

Loudest Bark (or Bay, in this case!)

How can you tell who is the loudest if everyone bays at once????

I don’t know how the judges determined the winner of this contest – even if you are standing in front of one contestant, all you can hear is everyone else!!!  I think this contest was the most popular with the Bassets – they were having a blast!

The Wet Tee Shirt Contest

The goal here is for the parent to get a wet tee on the Basset, then get the Basset to run across the field still wearing the wet tee! 

Step 1: Get the wet tee on the Basset

Can you see the Basset in the background saying “Man, I’m glad my Mom didn’t make me do this contest!”

Step2: Get the Basset across the field with the tee still on his/her body! Oops - the dog might make it, but the tee is long gone!

My Personal Favorite:

Synchronized Swimming!

The goal here is to get the Basset to the pool, in the water, and run to the finish line first!

Theeeeyarrrrr off!!

The entire family participates in this contest!

Ha! Noooo way!

Yay! I got Mom into the pool! I win!

Okay, she's thinking about it ... but her friend thinks it's a bad idea ....

Oh, okay, only if we can go home now ... I need a couch break ....

Are you happy now???

I better be getting some mighty fine dinner for doing this!

Mom, you can hang out in that pool all you want, I ain't gonna get in!

 These puppies lost interest in the contests pretty quickly.  They found each other, and played and played for almost an hour! Played in sloooow motion ….

Time to go home ….

Why is it I have to do all the work, and they get to ride in the wagon???

Another tired puppy – too tired to walk …

I stopped by the county records office today and filed an assumed name registration – this means that Stephanie Faith Photography is officially open for business! Any takers?

Also, Medina was posing for me this morning so I snapped off some quick shots of her. Check out the website for the whole series.

The nose knows ... but we don't, entirely.

“Oh, that weary scent!” exclaimed Mr. Jorrocks, “that weary, incomprehensible, incontrollable phenomenon! ‘Constant only in its inconstancy!’ as the hable hauthor of the noble science well said.”

Indeed. Everyone knows what scent is, by definition: it’s an odor, or “an odor left in passing, by means of which an animal or person may be traced,” according to www.dictionary.com. But it’s almost impossible to get a precise understanding of how scent behaves, though many have tried. How, exactly, does something generate a smell, what carries the scent, and how does a hound’s nose capture the odor? The jury is out on that, apparently. There are two basic theories of how smells work that are competing for subscribers. One says that molecules’ shapes and how those shapes fit with sensors are what give something a distinctive scent; the other says that the particular vibrations of molecules are what does it. We do know that hounds, like dogs generally, have large olfactory lobes in their brains, meaning that scent and the ability to detect it is important to them and they are highly attuned to it. No one understands that better than the people who handle working hound packs, whether beagle, basset, or foxhound, as well as the people who work with bloodhounds.

And yet we still know so little about the thing that is at the very center of our sport: scent and the ability to track it. There have been many attempts to understand and measure scent, to unravel the effects of temperature, geography, moisture, and wind on its behavior, and these efforts have driven scientists, huntsmen, and curious amateurs to some peculiar (and highly entertaining) experiments. One book by Milo Pearsall and Hugo Verbruggen noted that “experiments have shown that a person traveling above the ground when suspended from a cable trolley could not be tracked by dogs.” (More importantly, what did the neighbors think?)

If that were not alarming enough, consider the next phase, in which Pearsall and Verbruggen tested the importance of human skin flakes to a hound’s ability to track a person: “A person dressed in full surgical gear, wearing total body isolation garments, laid track for a dog who had successfully tracked that person several times. The result: the dog showed no interest at the starting flag, nor anywhere else even when led on lead. When the person removed hood and mask, the dogs easily could follow a fresh track … When the person’s boots were cut off but while he wore the hood and mask, the dog easily followed both a fresh and aged track.”

On the other hand, responding to that experiment’s conclusion, one Lieutenant Weldon Wood wrote an essay for the National Police Bloodhound Association Book and asked, “If this is true, then how is it explained that a dog has followed the trail of a person on a bicycle or in an open car?”

Good question, Lt. Wood, and we still have no idea, despite decades upon decades of study.

Happily for trackers of hare, cottontail, fox, coyote, and the like, game doesn’t wear “total body isolation garments,” although there are times when scenting conditions are so poor it seems as if the quarry is. Scent and its operation on the canine nose are mysteries, but the more pressing mystery, from a huntsman’s point of view, is why scent is so changeable and how conditions of land and weather can change its behavior. Here again, ceaseless study has not led us very far. It is generally understood that hot weather and sunlight are bad for scenting, but there are myriad theories as to why this might be true.

The English Master of Fox Hounds H. M. Budgett wrote a classic text, Hunting by Scent, in 1933 that amply illustrates the lengths hunters were driven to in their fervor to get a grip on scent. Budgett employed a pair of magnificent bloodhounds, Ledburn Baal and Hopeful of Hambrook, to help him test his theory that what hounds actually track are particles and oils left behind by the quarry (human or animal) touching the ground ahead of the hound and laying a scent trail directly on the grass or soil, not by the mere whiff of air over the body as it moved past. He was ferociously thorough. He used runners on glass-capped stilts, runners in tall wooden sandals, runners clad in riding boots and rain gear secured with rubber bands to prevent any particle from flying loose to make even the fragment of a trail, convinced that if the man did not contact the ground, the hound would not track him (more or less what Pearsall and Verbruggen had found). But it didn’t always work out that way.

“Even when these precautions were taken the bloodhound picked out the trail with perfect ease, and appeared to have learnt by experience how to follow the scent left by the stilts and foot-boards,” Budgett reported in some frustration. “I must confess that at this point my faith was badly shaken. I had hitherto felt convinced that  the ‘body scent’ theory would prove to be fallacious, and that scent tracks would be found solely to consist of particles of matter left by the contact of the quarry. It now appeared, however, that I had been mistaken, as it seemed impossible for any odorous particles to be deposited on the ground from the carefully washed glass bottles on which the stilts were mounted. My family marvelled at the obstinacy with which I stuck to my convictions; they suggested that I should give up the unequal struggle and accept the opinion of others having a wider experience of bloodhound tracking than myself.”

I don’t think I blame them.

Budgett, however, didn’t stop his inquiries, and the subheadings of a couple of chapters in Hunting by Scent will sound very familiar to hunters who have asked the same questions, and devloped their own theories based on their own experiences, about what variables affect scenting on a hunt day–and why. The subheads outline every hunter’s quest for understanding: “Conditions under which scent is good or bad. Direction of air currents on which scent is carried. Relative temperatures of air and ground. Examples. Effect of sun. High wind. Woodlands. Ploughland. Snow and frost. Hound’s knowledge of scent conditions. Meterological considerations. Forecasts of scenting conditions. Effects of moisture in the ground and in the air. The use of smoke to determine movements of air currents. Experiments with anemometer fan and spider’s web. Valuable results obtained with this delicate apparatus. Reasons for its abandonment. Electrical scent instruments. Walking-stick scent indicators.”

If that reads like a cross between Merlin’s lab book and the diary of a man slowly going insane, well, probably there are many huntsmen who feel a little like both as they try to parse the scenting and the weather and then determine where to cast their hounds.

Jacob, Medina and I recently visited Jacob’s family while they were camping in New Braunfels, TX at the Guadalupe River. Medina had a blast, as did Guera, Jacob’s uncle’s dog. The whole series can be seen here.

Later that evening I left Jacob and Medina to stay with Jacob’s family for the night. Around midnight that night Jacob broke his leg – his ankle, to be exact. He has an oblique fracture of the distal fibula. This is Jacob’s second major injury on the Guadalupe River (the first was several years ago and required several sutures to his head). He’s in a splint now but will receive a cast once the soft tissue swelling is reduced.

I love the smirk on his face in this picture. Who needs kids when you have an accident prone husband? Accident prone, at least, since he turned 30 this year!