Stand by for news!

We pickup our newest addition later today. Pearl (aka Bull Lea) is joining the ranks at our hound hacienda! Pictures and details to follow.

It's All About the Weather (Station)

OK, so it's a geek thing. I wanted a weather station to report environmental conditions here at the Hound Hacienda. After a lot of research I decided on a Davis VantageVue. It's US made, accurate and has a self-contained instrumentation unit. The indoor console is detailed, has a nice interface, and can be linked to the computer to post data to the internet. I've had the unit running for a couple of weeks now in a temporary location while I decided on the final location and mounting.

I decided on a 20 foot telescoping aluminum flagpole for the mounting. I use an identical one to mount the radio repeater antenna, and it has been up for 5 years with no issue. It's a simple task to dig the hole and set the mounting sleeve in concrete, then drop in the flagpole. An added benefit is that you can easily bring the pole back down for maintenance, it's just about 6 feet tall when collapsed.

The location was selected to keep the station out of the influence of the house and nearby trees and shrubs, for both rain collection and wind measurements. It's recommended to have the wind sensor at least 4 feet above rooflines and a distance equal or greater than twice the height of the building. I chose a site in open land 100 feet away from the house.

In addition to the local display on my desk, I send data to the internet and to several sites that collect weather data and display it for personal, commercial and statistical use. At the bottom of this page are the various links to these sites. I participate in CWOP, the Citizen's Weather Observation Program, and also send to the Weather Underground (Wunderground) site.

LIVE DATA BELOW




Close-up view of instrument package


Instruments on top of collapsed pole


Making sure that the system is level


A person for some size and scale


System fully up and operational

LINKS
MesoWest surface map with weather stations listed
My station is in the center of the map. Zoom in to see more details. There are two in Clarkdale, mine is the one that is lower on the screen

MesoWest Station Details for Station D4348 (me)

MesoWest Current Conditions for D4348

Weather Conditions with graphs

Living in Clarkdale - Weather

A Fresh Start Today

Today started better than yesterday...the snow is clean and refreshing. Sadly yesterday began with the lady next door taking her life. She went outside and shot herself. She was a renter and had been there since September...yet we had never met her. I only saw her outdoors once, briefly as we drove out. I couldn't have picked her out of a lineup if challenged.

Police, fire and EMS came, whisked her away. I had to go into the house (we have the key, owners are in CA) and locate her purse so they could ID her. They rushed her to the hospital, then airlifted her to the trauma center. I understand she's brain dead and on life support until her son can arrive from overseas. Very very sad. What's stuck in my mind is cleaning up the side yard after everyone left, didn't want to leave that there as a reminder.

Sad that we never had a chance to know her, I always looked for her when I was outside to say "hi", but the only hint that she was even living there was that the trash cans went in and out each week, and I could hear the central vacuum running from time to time.

May she rest in peace.

Hounds for the Holidays

Well, we are officially ahead of schedule. We have taken the photos for our annual Christmas card, and it's not even Thanksgiving yet. That's a milestone!

This year's card will feature a photo of each dog in holiday collar. Preview below of the chosen images.

Miss Bella


Tasha


Parker


Kingman


Macho


Sparky


Figgy

Parker and the Rat

OK, this one's all in fun. Parker and the rat are vying for the title of "Most Scary Grin". Who do you think is the winner?



Happy Halloween!

Can you help?

First, I have to say that this is out of my comfort zone. I don't like to ask for money, and often would rather work for free than have to bill someone. Maybe it's the whole karma thing, but I always hope for the best.

I feel better since my request isn't for me personally. My "cause" is the Verde Valley Humane Society. I have been serving as the board president for three years and in that time we have been doing our best to gather money to build a new facility to replace our 23 year old building. Through generous donations and special people, we gathered enough money to start the project this March. Project completion is near, but we need to raise an additional $150,000 to get it done. This is where I ask for money...$10, $100, $10,000, whatever you feel you could donate to this project. It's a tax-deductible donation, we are an IRS approved 501(c)3 organization. After so many years, we are so close, it just pains me to see us stop due to lack of funds. (And if you are wondering if I support my own cause, the answer is "YES", through donations of time, materials and several thousand dollars...)

So can you help? Will you help? You can donate in money in several ways:

• You can sponsor me in our "Drive for the Last Mile" golf fundraiser. I'm supposed to hit 100 balls into the hole, and need sponsors for at least $1.00 per hole. If you want to help me to help them, click here to send me an email and I will get you the details. If the email doesn't work for you, just comment on this blog with your contact info.
• You can go to our website and click on the donation link and send money via PayPal. That's fast and easy.
• You can send a check to us at the address below:
  Verde Valley Humane Society
  P.O. Box 1429
  Cottonwood, AZ 86326
  Make checks payable to: VVHS Building Fund

You can be anonymous or have your name published as a donor. In either case, we will send you a donation receipt for tax purposes.

If I haven't lost you yet, please read more about our Humane Society below. The photo below is of the existing building when it was opened in 1986.


When the building was opened the size was appropriate for our needs. Sadly, today is it grossly undersized, and many of the dog kennels are outdoors. Something is always in need of repair. The staff have no place to eat lunch or take a break except outdoors, under a corrugated metal roof and next to the crematory. In the heat of summer or the cold of winter, both animals and people are not in a good place.

Why we need to finish our new building:

• The current facility can no longer accommodate the rapidly increasing population of the Verde Valley. VVHS already cares for 1900-2400 animals per year.
• The current 3000 sq. ft. shelter is inadequate in many ways. Many kennels are open to the elements and all areas are overcrowded. There is no area to isolate animals with illnesses or injuries, which causes unnecessary euthanization.
• This society’s policy uses euthanasia as a last resort. Animals with serious behavior or health problems are euthanized, but at times perfectly healthy animals die simply due to a lack of space.
• The new facility will give VVHS additional dog kennels and cat cages. It will also include get-acquainted rooms, clinic/exam room, grooming area, laundry facility, ample storage areas and adequate staff facilities.
• A new facility will provide space (in the existing facility) for rehabilitating animals that are abused physically or emotionally, and allow them time for recovery before adoption.

The photo below is our "work-in-progress". The outside is nearly complete, the inside has drywall up and the basics installed. Paint is in process, as is the flooring. We're getting very close, and our contractor has been working very closely with our CEO to ensure we maximize every dollar we spend.




You can read more at our website

Thank you for reading all the way through, and thank you in advance for any donation that you make. We're all counting on you!

Funny How This Happens...Here's Macho!

So here we go again. It has been just a couple of weeks since we lost Tillie. As we have always said, we don't go looking for dogs, they find us. We had an open bed and there was a dog in desperate need of a loving home.

Macho had been adopted out in 2000. Since then his people have fallen on hard times, and have been neglecting his care and health. We had heard of him nearly two years ago, and thought he would be surrendered back to our adoption group. But his owner changed her mind and let go of her other dog instead. He needed better care even then, but there was nothing we could do at the time.

Recently the same person was seeking assistance to pay for his basic needs, and he still needed much more. This time a friend stepped in and got the surrender paperwork signed. She took him in to see her veterinarian for some "triage". He was covered in fleas, had a toenail growing well into the pad on one foot, has teeth that are absolutely nasty and smell rotten. He's got a slight fever and heart murmur, probably a result of all those bad teeth. Of course our group agreed to take him back. And we agreed to take him in.



So here's Macho. He's been in to see Dr. Flannery, and we waiting for all the test results. A full blood panel, fecal exam, x-rays and general evaluation. He's on strong antibiotics for awhile to get things under control before we can begin dental work. It's likely he will lose most of his teeth, they are so bad. But in the last 48 hours he has had the nail clipped, and the wound dressed. He has had a flea bath and is clean again. His diet has improved 2000% over the "Ol Roy" canned food he was getting. We've started him on vitamins and supplements, and he's eating with gusto.

I'm hopeful that in a month or so he will have his weight down a few pounds, the arthritis pain managed, the nails in order, the teeth cleaned or removed, and generally look like the other healthy hounds that live in our home. He has fit in with all of the pack, and is working on learning the dog door. So far he has gone out, but not back in yet. The photo below shows how he is integrating...



This boy will be 12 in October. There are many similarities between Macho and Tillie:

• Both were close to 11 when we took them in
• Both have long soft fuzzy fur
• Both are cow-spotted (Tillie black, Macho red)
• Both were in poor condition
• Both needed serious dental work
• Both are very much loved in our family

Stay tuned for updates!