Photos from the yard
August 1, 2011
Digging the Escape Tunnel?
Side by Side 
False Pregnancy
November 2, 2010
Tawzalt’s due date has come and gone without any puppy arrivals. We had plenty of pregnant behaviors and secondary signs but, unfortunately, there were no puppies in there. Thanks to everyone who expressed interest.
Stay tuned for next year. We will try again.
Azawakh Puppies
September 13, 2010
Tawzalt Idiiyat-es-Sahel (Aslam Idiiyat-es-Sahel X Semteende Idiiyat-es-Sahel) was bred by Ettebel Azelouan (Multi. CH Tombouktou’s Qulood X WeWille Dari) on August 22. The due date for puppies is approximately October 24, 2010. Both dogs have FCI pedigrees and the litter will be registered with the FCI. Both brindled and solid fawn colors are genetically possible.
Please email inquiries about puppy placement to brian dot reiter at gmail dot com.
Smell Fresh and Clean Like a… Camel
August 16, 2010
I have to wonder where the association between camel and soap came into being. My conception of camel is pretty much the antithesis of soap. I don’t think a soap exists that can de-funkify a camel.
Hmm. Maybe that’s the pitch. This soap is so powerful, it can clean a camel, you should use it on your whole family.
Camel cleaning –> use on the whole family.
This camel soap is in no way related to the open source software.
African Wild Ass Lineage is the Foundation of all Donkeys
August 11, 2010
I just came across this article at National Geographic. I must admit I have quite a fondness for African donkeys. They just keep keepin’on in the most difficult circumstances. Their bray is other-worldly. It sounds pretty much like the Tusken Raider that tries to kill Luke just before he meets Ben Kenobi in the original Star Wars.
Genetic analysis proves that the African wild ass, which may be down to the last few hundred individuals, is the ancestor of modern donkeys. The same study by an international group of researchers suggests that a subspecies, the Nubian wild ass, thought to have vanished, might have survived after all.
It turns out that the Wild Ass of East Africa is the living ancestor of all modern donkey lineages. These asses were domesticated by pastoral nomads around about 5,000 years ago. That’s potentially in the same ballpark as the domestication of the Azawakh dogs by those same nomads.
Not for Re-Use
August 2, 2010
I snapped this image of a guy collecting rubbish to recycle near my house in Accra, Ghana. The bag is a diplomatic pouch which normally carries sensitive communications and movies from Amazon for our foreign service officers.
U.S.A
DEPT. OF STATE
DIPLOMATIC POUCH
NOT FOR RE-USE
Dr. Jihad
July 28, 2010
My wife broke a tooth a few weeks after we arrived in Ghana. She was waiting to get it fixed until our sea shipment arrived with her dental X-Rays. Unfortunately the shipping company decided to put those X-Rays in storage and send half of our DVDs instead.
Anyway…
The dentist she got on a referral from the US Embassy is a Lebanese fellow, first name of Jihad.
Now I have to send a wire transfer to the bank of Dr. Jihad in Lebanon.
Should I be worried?
NSA, if you are listening. It’s just a broken tooth!
Lease is signed
May 18, 2010
So we have signed the lease and it is a done deal that we have a house. We will be moving in on June 1. There is much to do in the mean time.
The house is somewhat stripped. The hot water heaters and air conditioners have mostly been stolen. The toilets are beyond all hope of cleaning. One of the door frames has been eaten by termites. There is a leak in the roof over the kitchen and the kitchen cabinets are infested with a thick white mold that will never come out. Two of the three copper wires that connect the house to the electric grid have been stolen. Etc, etc.
By force of will, we arranged for the electricity to be re-connected this afternoon. We have a carpenter building a whole new kitchen, a large book shelf and built-in wardrobes in the closets.
Making life interesting, the monsoon rains have started. On any given day, there might be torrential downpours. After the rain stops there are frogs and birds everywhere feasting on the bugs that come out. There are also giant snails which leave their daytime hiding places.
100% Pure-bred Village Dogs
May 12, 2010
I quite enjoyed this flyer posted at my daughter’s school.
It reads:
Free Puppies
100% Pure-bred Village Dogs
- Friendly with children
- Superior guard dogs
- Good hunting dogs (grass cutters, palm rats)
Grass cutters are Greater Cane Rats which grow to be about two feet long and up to about 20 pounds.
I think the poster is only being slightly facetious about the puppies being pure-bred. In Accra, it is difficult to get a pure village-type dog. A lot of the dogs here are noticeably mixed with European breeds like German Shepherd, Rottweiler, Doberman Pinscher, Labradors, Beagles and Terriers.
The unadulterated local dogs are more like a giant Basenji or Azawakh-Basenji cross. I would expect that in the Hausa region in the north of Ghana as you enter the Sahel and approach Burkina Faso border, the local dogs are likely indistinguishable from Azawakh.
Our new house (probably)
May 11, 2010
I believe we have managed to negotiate a lease for a house in Accra. The real estate market here is INSANE. Monthly rents are at the same level or higher than in DC and are paid one or two years IN ADVANCE!
For that money you get a stripped house with no appliances or hot water heaters or air conditioners. You further may not have working plumbing or electricity. You need to also get a generator because the power is quite unreliable and finally you need a giant water tank because city water service goes out for weeks at a time. Furthermore, leases are very favorable to the landlord. Standard terms are that the tenant is responsible for making repairs to the property.
It is really quite amazing. Of course, this real estate boom may be related somewhat to the relatively recent discovery of oil offshore.
Anyway, we have found a place that we can make nice. It has one very, very awesome feature. It has is on a 1.5 acre plot within a 10 foot wall. There is a tropical garden and some very old trees that are perhaps 5 stories tall.
And there are frogs.
Aidi wan n'Eezel: the loyal azawakh 