Air BC

Thanks to the Langley Kennel Club for having us last weekend. the cool weather whipped everybody up and there were some terrific runs!

Finally Moved

Well we've been off the air for a little while. Finally got moved. Here's a snap of the agility field and observatory location.

Mach2 Thor

It was great fun getting back into the swing of agility at the Greater Fredericksburg Kennel Club agility trials. And the traffic home on Sunday wasn't even bad! Congratulations to MACH2 Thor and Lois and MACH3 Cheetah and Wendy. This is Thor getting MACH2!

DKC Obedience Trials

Thanks to the DKC Club for having us shoot last weekend. It was nice to be inside. The dogs appreciated it and we had alot of fun. So did the dogs. Here's a picture of Nicki Camerra's Mastiff Noah - he was definitely having some fun!

A Great Weekend at CCC

What a great weekend at the Capital City Cocker Club trials. The weather totally cooperated so that the building never really got overly hot. Fun challenging courses for everyone. A super way to end our spring shooting schedule. thanks again to the club for having us!

Thanks Again!

Thanks again to the Belroi Agility Club for having us shoot last weekend. The rain held off for the most part and we had a great weekend! Also thanks to Laura for hosting the event at such a great site.

In A Rush

Thanks to the DKC for having us last weekend.Although we got a bit of weather Friday night, the days were just fine for agility. Also best of luck to the DKC on their new Chatham home for their fall agility trials.Here's a quick one of Rush doing her usual sprint over the A-frame.

New Tire

Well the new breakaway tire didn't slow anyone down this weekend. Thanks to the Danville Kennel Club for having us shoot this weekend. The Olde Dominion Agriculture Complex is a great indoor venue and the club did its usual superb job of running the trial.

Sheltie On The Move

Thanks to the CPA club for inviting us to shoot last weekend. The weather outside was a little ugly on Friday and Saturday but inside was just fine! Here's Elsie a Mike Padgett pup tearing up the dog walk.

All Good Things In Time

Thanks to the Star City folks for having us shoot last weekend.The trials went off like clockwork and we had some terrific runs. A special shout out to Nelson and Bright for getting their MACH this weekend.

Star City and DOTC

Great to be back shooting again in the New Year. Thanks to Star City and the Lynchburg DOTC for having us. Here's Ace burning up the chute.

First Light

Well she's finally finished! Got her out last night with great results. Smooth action, good color, superb detail and easy collimation - life is good. A 14 inch f4.5 ZOC mirror on a telekit base.

Fall Fun!

Some retriever practice for Rush this Thanksgiving holiday. Oh do I enjoy the fall weather!

Thanksgiving

A great way to spend Thanksgiving - a little shooting with some friends!

Table!

Thanks to the Youngsville Agility Club for inviting us to shoot at their trials last weekend. We couldn't have asked for better weather for a November trial date. The dogs also had a big time as can been seen by this little guy launching himself for the table.

OK OK But I Love This Dog

OK, I know, two Newfie pictures in a row but he was having such a great time at the Langley Agility trials in Toano last weekend hurricane and all. Thanks to the Langley club for having us shoot and once again many thanks to Laura for hosting the event and putting us up in the barn - much better than outside in the wind and rain!

Poles What Poles

Thanks again to the Tidelands Poodle Club for having us shoot last weekend. A little rainy on Sunday but that didn't seem to slow down the dogs at all. Also thanks to Laura for hosting the event. Still one of our most favorite outdoor locations!

Look Ma No Feets

Well another sunny, rainy, sunny, muddy and yet fun weekend at the DKC's fall agility trials. Thanks to the club for having us shoot - we always enjoy shooting here even if we seem to have a little rain sneak in most times. There were a ton of exciting runs this weekend including some from Emmy shown here with no feets tearing up the dog walk.

Cutie!

Now wouldn't you like to take this little guy home! Not only cute but a fantastic agility dog. Thanks to the Richmond club for having us shoot last weekend. The weather was great and as usual we had some terrific runs. Also many thanks to Laura for hosting the event and letting us set up in the barn.

Great Skies

Well the last couple of weekends before we start hitting the agility road again. The weather has finally co-operated with some nice night skies. Here is SH2-188 the dolphin nebula. A really nice planetary nebula in Cassiopeia.

Mist and Moon

Out to Medoc last week for an evening of astronomy. The weather has been so bad that even a night with a full moon and humidly (read ground fog) couldn't keep us astronuts away. this great pic was taken by Tony Garcia.

Beautiful but Deadly

Back from our trip to Sulawesi in Indonesia. Had a great trip and logged a large number of creature pics. Here's one of a blue ringed octopus. This creature is beautiful to look at but has the dubious distinction of being the most deadly animal in the world.

Coming Together

Last bit of work on the telescope before we leave for Indonesia. This is a test fit of the miror and rocker boxes.

Indoors - Thank Goodness

Well a very hot weekend but thankfully we were indoors at a very nice venue in Cary, NC. Thanks to the DKC for inviting us to shoot their obedience trials.

Telescope Progress

Karen is headed home this Sunday so its time to get the garage cleaned up. I am making progress on the telescope. Here is a test fit of the mirror box and rocker box.

Field Trials and Telescopes

Well, while Karen is up in Maine getting some retriever training in and getting a third place on Miss Spinner in the qualifying and two more legs to get Miss Rush to a Senior Hunter, I have been building a new telescope. It's chaos in the garage until I get it built. It looks like Karen will be home before its done.Guess the car will have to stay outside.

Yahoo!

Well Miss Spinner didn't have too successful a weekend Q-wise but she had a big time running on the fabulous turf at Laura's place. Thanks to the Belroi club for putting on a great trial and thanks again to Laura and Dave for providing such a super venue.

Wet and Wild

Well it's Durham Agility Club's trials again and as much as we do enjoy shooting there - there always seems to be a little (or a lot) of rain. Two great days on Friday and Saturday and then the skies opened up on Sunday. It did make for some interesting shots - as Willow would atest too. Once again thanks for having us.

Thank You Merrimac

Always good weather and great runs at the Merrimac trials. Thanks for having us and thanks to Laura and Dave for being such accommodating hosts! I think there was a jump somewhere ahead?

Super Nova SN2012aw

Well had one clear night last week. Took a shot of the new supernova in M95 - SN2012aw. M95 is pretty close to us - only 37 million light years away so the event we're seeing now happened a scant 37 million years ago. I've marked the location of SN2012aw so you can see it better.

Happy Dog!

A very big thank you to the Tidelands Poodle Club for having us shoot this weekend at what has to be one of our most favorite outdoor venues (thank you Laura and Dave). Here's a shot of Spinner having a big time through the tire. See you all at Merrimac!

Nightly Vigil

For those of you who have wondered where those astro images come from - here you go. The Astro Haven. I figure every hour spent in here under the stars is time added to my life.

Jumping With Style

Thanks to the Star City Agility Club for having us this weekend. We had a big time as usual with the exception of the loooooong ride home on Sunday. Courses were great and the dogs - well just awesome.

The Owl Nebula

Yep no trials again this weekend so I had time to get out last night and do a little imaging again. This is one of my favorite planetary nebula's M97 or The Owl Nebula.

The Cigar Galaxy

Finally had a little time and clear evenings to get out to the observatory. Here is a quick process of M82 or often called the "Cigar" galaxy for good reason. It's about 12 million light years away from us.

Spinner Caricature

Spinner at her finest! Created by Camille Weber from woofsbyweber.com

Tunnel Fun!

Thanks to the DOTC and Star City clubs for having us shoot their January trial. The Virginia Horse Center is a terrific venue. Karen and I apologize for not being able to shoot Sunday. The good news is she is up and around again and should be ready for next months gig.

Another Year!

Wow, how time flies. The DKC Obedience and Rally trials mark the end of the year for us with Christmas just around the corner. It's hard to imagine that we have gone a whole year since the last one. Thanks to the club for putting on a great trial and thanks for letting us take pictures of all your wonderful dogs.

Nice To Be Inside

A big shout out to Carolina Piedmont Agility for putting together a great trial last weekend. It was nice to be inside on a very crispy (read darn cold) weekend. Thanks for having us and we look forward to the next trial.

Thanks to YAC!

A great weekend at the Youngsville trials. Thanks to the Youngsville Agility Club and Teamworks for having us. Weather was terrific. Let's hope for a few more days like this before Christmas. Here's Spinner in the weaves.

MACH 2 For Spin and Karen!

A great weekend for the Stewarts: the motorhome worked and even more importantly Karen and Spinner got their MACH 2. Thanks to the GKC for having us and to Laura and Dave for being such good hosts.

George!

Definitely one of my favorite pups! George does the teeter with great enthusiasm albeit a bit of a fly off. Thanks to the Warrenton and PVBSD Clubs for having us. A bit muddy but much more comfortable temperatures than the last few months.

Bubble Nebula

OK more dog photos coming once we get started shooting again next month. in the interim here's a shot of the Bubble Nebula or NGC7635. This is a false color image with the red channel from Hydrogen Alpha the Blue Channel from Oxygen 3 and the green a synthetic made from the other two.

Cayman Fun!

Karen and I are back from our trip to little Cayman. We had a super time with a ton of shark activity. Too cool! Here's a Caribbean Reef Shark checking out his reflection in my dome port.

Moven en Shaken

Thanks to the Movers and Shakers for having us shoot their annual Southern Splash even. We had a great time and the dogs obviously enjoyed it. Lots of super shots - here's one from the Courier Class.

Elephant Trunk Nebula

Life is good! The weather has co-operated for the last couple of nights. Here is a shot of the Elephant trunk Nebula (IC1396) through a Hydrogen Alpha filter.

The Great Globular Cluster

Well while Karen is up training in Maine I waited patiently for a few clear nights. Here's one from a couple of weeks ago - Messier 13 or M13 sometimes called the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules. It is a globular cluster of about 300,000 stars. Way cool!

Triple Q

Kudos to Karen and Spinner for a triple Q day. They have been harder to come by this year but they pulled it off this weekend. Thanks to the Piedmont Border Collie Association for having us last weekend. A hot but a least a dry one.

Pure Joy

Congrats to Judy and Seig on their shinny new MACH! Thanks to the Belroi Agility Club for having us shoot this weekend and a big thank you to Laura and Dave for hosting the event on their fabulous homestead. Laura great job - carrying on the tradition of Emily and Nelson's hospitality and expertise.