Hello, friends. You have arrived on Antelope Hill, a place where people and Shelties are wearing heavy coats and boots every day. The site navigation buttons are at the bottom of the page, so scroll all the way down to find our Shelties and the Sheltie art, stories, and articles. But Antelope Hill is more than just the Shelties. Do come in, and don't forget to bring your imagination. It has been a while since I have had time to update (so this update is long overdue), but I am hoping that will change in a few weeks. Read on.

As winter deepens, please do not forget the displaced families and dogs caught in the economic recession, and help them if you can.

Welcome to the Hill as the snow flies! You have now stepped from the outside world onto Clan Duncan Virtual Hill.  Antelope Hill is a real hill, a little bump of land somewhere in the West. We invite you to linger on the Hill in midwinter, where coyotes leave only traces of tracks on the crusty snow, where quail are puffed out like little cannonballs to increase the insulation of their feathers, and where the Great Horned Owls are in full courtship mode: "Hoo, hoo hoo hoo, hooo."

Holy, catfish, friends, I am going to retire soon! Just a few weeks from now will find me jobless in the spring, and not caring a single bit! I have worked my whole life, and hopefully will be handing off my fascinating and (I believe) important job to someone capable and dedicated. I long for more time for art, writing, puppies, and travel -- not to mention finishing the house! It has been so long since we had a real home . . . If you wish to contact me, please email me at danaq@aol.com.  If I don’t reply, please try again – I had a spell where I was offline for a long time because of a damaged phone line. But -- our house is now a wireless internet site!

Be sure to place your mouse over all the images, great and small, for more text. That is how I always get the last word!

Above is little Matt. You have seen him before. Now he has a "real" name and is growing up beautifully! He is a member of the litter we call "The Little Styx," and we think he is very cool. He was named "Matt" because that is the main character in the movie River of No Return, starring Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe. Robert Mitchum was one of my mother's favorite stars, and I grew up exploring the real River of No Return. To this day, when I am not standing with my feet in its waters, when I am too far away to hear the thunder of the river tumbling over its stones, I find the River of No Return running through my dreams.

There is a new Puppy Page this time, and as always, a new Hill Page, where you will find our midwinter doings. And we would like to offer --

We would like to offer sparkly and excited congratulations to our friends Thomas and Wade of Davishall Shelties. This weekend at his first two shows, their blue puppy Zorro (better known as Davishall Incognito) went Best of Breed! Zorro's sire is Ch. Sea Haven Virtual Image, and his dam is Clan Duncan Luna Moth. There are few things as satisfying as seeing a cherished girl go on to produce such a lovely puppy for another breeder. Luna Moth is litter sister to our elegant Ch. Freddie and sweet Rachel, 8 pts. Luna Moth will come back to the Hill sometime later this year. I am also very pleased to be Zorro's co-breeder! Click the button below to visit Davishall and see Zorro and his parents.

Three of our small folk have gone to forever homes since our last posting. Totally cuddly, furry, and gentle Teddy, one of the Little Styx, now lives in Texas and has his own little boy. Teddy got to go to Grandma's for Christmas! Tiny singleton Dinah, daughter of Oreo and Tardy, is now with a delightful local family. I'm sure the two sweet girls and their parents will spoil Dinah, but only at first -- they plan obedience training in Dinah's future. Most recently, playful and sturdy Snowy (another of the Little Styx) went home with my colonel to his small farm. He and his wife will be in Boston on an Ivy League fellowship for a year, starting this summer, and Snowy gets to go. Please stay in touch, everyone!

Please click the wording above to go with us on our last trip to Australia (I am going to leave this up just a bit longer, by request.) Here you will see parrots, reef fish, the red desert, giant lizards, rainforest birds, and the other wonders we encountered.

I am still looking for dogs down from the “old” Clan Duncan Shelties, now especially for any Sheltie with  either one of these two in the pedigree:  Clan Duncan Midnight Special, or Clan Duncan Mtn Bluebird.  Recently I was so pleased to find descendents of both Midnight and Wartville, so you never know what may turn up next! Please let me know if you come across any descendents of any of the old Clan Duncan dogs. A caveat here -- there are uncountable descendents of Tinsel (Clan Duncan Banchory Bluette) because she was the dam of Ch. Banchory Thunder Blue, ROM and thus the granddam of Ch. Banchory Deep Purple, ROM. Do stay awhile and explore the other pages, and visit again soon.