"Snow falling and night falling fast, oh, fast
In a field I looked into going past,
And the ground almost covered with snow,
But a few weeds and stubble showing fast."

Desert Places by Robert Frost

Nostalgia and sadness, regrets and gladness. It has been one of those days, fairly uncommon for me, that I have to really work to sort things out. I am thinking mostly about the passing yesterday of Hannelore Heller. 

During my 40 years 'in the breed' no one has had more influence on standard longhaired dachshunds than Hannelore. That is how active, committed, knowledgeable, and instrumental she was. It is truly impossible to express the impact that Hannelore made. But there are exceedingly few in the forest of longhairs today that are not rooted somewhere in time to her life-long labor of love.

Hannelore was strong and smart, and she smiled and laughed a lot. I remember that she was amused when my H litter was born in 1987, (sired by DC Han-Jo's Cassius L), and I told that I had named two of the four puppies Hanna and Hella. 

I met Joe & Hannelore Heller in the '70s when I was a teenager. I believe that Hannelore was specialing Java at the time. Joe had a dog supplies business at the shows. He occasionally asked me to help him and he paid me well. My mother, Hannelore, and a few times Maria Hayes, all of them German born and raised, would be at some show with their beloved 'Germanic' longhairs and converse in an eclectic mix of German, English, and dog show vocabulary. 

It is nice to think that they are visiting again. 

I can imagine the reception that Joe is giving his beautiful and devoted bride.

Speaking of devotion, Sue Hauser promised Joe before he died that she would see to it that Hannelore was taken care of. And she did, for so many years, in so many ways, and so very well. Sue, I admire what you have done beyond my ability to describe it. I regret that I did not visit again in the year that it has been since I last saw the two of you.

Rest in Peace, in God's Love, and in your tremendous contributions to all of us, dear Hannelore. You have been called an icon. Yes. You were. Are.

Ashley Roseberry, owner of Kurbis, sent these great shots from her place in Michigan. Talk about snow photos!


Thank you, Ashley!

What a sparkling, jewel-encrusted landscape this morning! Clouds were rolling in while I was out taking photos but some of them are pretty good. I am only posting this one before I leave for work.

Opened my eyes this morning, saw sunshine in the window and couldn't get out of bed fast enough! Now I am waiting for the sun to move up over the evergreens and shine on all those iced up trees!!!

In the meantime, these are photos of my dogs that I took on our walk early evening yesterday. I DID figure out how to walk four dogs and carry my camera, too. And I felt safe carrying it with me on the icy road because I had on my Yaktrax. If not for the Yaktrax, I would not have been able to walk the road.

Played around a bit and had some fun with effects, too. I haven't quite figured out how to tone down the reds. It shows up pretty dark and brilliant in snow. But then, they are brilliant. : )

My neck of the woods this morning. It is beautiful! But I cannot say as much for the road since I must be driving on it later today. I went out and took a few photos after the dogs came back in. We don't have a lot of snow but with a layer of ice on top, snow shoes may have been useful. 

Breakfast afterward included a chicken & pineapple hot dog cut up into what I call 'pan luck.' It was good! Who would think? Apparently not many. Kroger had them marked way down as a manager's special! 

I took some photos of Owl outside in the dark in the snow tonight. Then I cropped and edited the very last and best photo and this is what I came up with.  I like it. But that's easy, because I like Owl! I am learning a lot about photography as I go along trying things out. It is fun to discover what works and what doesn't.

I have added an article reflecting my thoughts on dachshund coat types, primarily longhaired coats, with regard to suitability for field work.

Stan Knoll and Oslo bested an entry of 59 dachshunds in Kirbyville, Texas. They are pictured with Absolute judges Ashley Dumas (left) and Sandi Myers.

In the class of 8 Field Champion Bitches, Oslo's daughter Seiko had the second best run in 1st series, was High after 2nd series,  then finished in second place. Super Seiko was handled by her owner Laura Knoll.

Congratulations to Stan & Oslo, and Laura & Seiko!!

Seiko was called back 2nd of 8 Field Champion Bitches and finished 4th. The field trials this weekend are hosted by the Dallas-Fort Worth Dachshund Club and being held at Windsong Acres in Kirbyville, Texas. 

Seiko was handled by her owner Laura Knoll who is responsible for this excellent photo of Seiko with her prize!

Thank you, Laura, and Congratulations to both of you!