A Darling Dog

This evening, shortly before dark, I was out walking my dog Griffin. We were out by the main road which runs at the end of our street, when all of a sudden a dog came charging up to us, trailing a leash behind her. She was very excited, but using her freedom in a dangerous way, running out into the road. Luckily there was no traffic just then, but I was worried about this dog's safety. The dog, a Husky (a breed know for being escape artists), would not come to me, but she was interested in my dog, so I hoped I could get her to follow us away from the main road, and I quickly walked Griffin back to our street and turned in there. She did follow us up, even running ahead of us. She had a LOT of energy! But she still would not come to me when I called her.

I got back to my house and put Griffin inside and grabbed a dog biscuit. Back outside, after following the lost dog around my yard for a while, I finally was able to tempt her with the biscuit to come close enough for me to get a hold on her leash. I brought her inside, much to the horror of several of my cats who saw her. She had tags (one of which read "I'm a lover, not a biter"), and I saw that her name was Darling. And she lived up to her name, too, being a very sweet dog once she calmed down from the excitement of her wild escapade. I tried calling her humans, but there was no answer. Here is a photo of her- you can see she is a beauty!

I kept her separated from my animals, in the cat boarding room, at first.  But it was clear that she and Griffin wanted to play with each other, so after a while I opened the door, and here's what happened:

This was the first time I've seen Griffin play with another dog, and it was clear he had a wonderful time!

After their play session I was able to reach Darling's humans, and she was picked up and taken home where she belongs.  A happy ending was had by all. 

Animals Singing 'Deck The Halls'

If this sweet video doesn't put you in the Christmas spirit, nothing will.  ENJOY!!

I Push And Pull...

In my life, I push and I pull, but only with myself.  That is what I see, when I look at this old doodle of mine which I recently found in one of my notebooks...

Here's.... ??... Griffin!

My dear old dog Lucy, who was with me for 12 or 13 years, recently died.  She had not been feeling well for some time, and the vet felt it was time to let her be free of her old body.  I agreed.  And so she left.  But she left a hole in my life.  While I am more of a 'cat person', it was the first time in almost 30 years that I'd been without a dog in my house, and it just felt wrong.  So I began looking at the photos of the dogs waiting for adoption at my local animal shelter.  There was one fellow in particular who captured my attention.  Yesterday I went and met him, and today he came home.  Right now, he is here as a foster care dog, until I'm sure he is OK with my cats.  He's been here about 4 hours so far, and he's doing OK, though he has barked at the cats a couple of times.  I'm not ready to let him be around the kitties unsupervised yet, but I think they will all work it out...  

He had been at the shelter for about 3 weeks.  They said he was clearly scared and depressed when he first arrived, but had been doing better recently.  He seemed friendly with all the shelter workers who approached him while I was there.   His behavior has been pretty mellow, but I think he's still subdued because of the trauma he's been through.  He was found as a stray, so I don't know anything about his past history before he got to the shelter.  They estimate his age is somewhere around a year and a half.  The shelter has been calling him Duncan, but I think I'm going to name him Dougal, after a childhood friend of mine.  I also was contemplating the names Bailey, Emmet, and Bob.  UPDATE:  After 12 hours together, I find that 'Dougal' does not seem to fit him.  I'm now leaning towards the name Griffin.  We'll see if that one sticks...

He's tuckered out from his big day, coming home to yet another strange new place.  He found his way to the dog bed within an hour of his arrival, and settled in for a nap.  That's when I got these first photos of him.  I think he's adorable.  He looks to me as if he might be some sort of Wheaton Terrier mix.  What do you think?   UPDATE:  My friend MaLu pointed out, after seeing his photos, that he looks like an Irish Wolfhound.   After studying photos of that breed (which I was not familiar with), I have to agree.  So I think he is part Irish Wolfhound, and part Mystery!

And when he finally fell asleep, he was in this position, using his paws as pillows.

Gavin & Sylvester

I had two very sweet kitties boarding with me over the Thanksgiving holiday, and I got some photos of them while they were here.  The orange and white fellow is 15 year old Gavin, and the grey and white one is enormous 12 year old Sylvester.  He would roll around on the floor purring and purring.

Chester Likes The New Heater...

Well, he likes the box the new heater came in, anyway...

Do You Prefer Being Irradiated Or Groped Before Flying?

I personally have not flown anywhere since 9/11, but I am disgusted by what I'm reading about the new security measures being taken at airports across the US.  I'm really glad I'm not planning on flying anywhere over the holidays.  If I were to fly, and was randomly selected to go through the new whole body scanning devices, I would not want to be irradiated by them.  Nor would I want to choose the alternative and be groped by a TSA agent during an 'enhanced' pat down.  This video gives a good look at the issues:

 I agree with what was said on November 17th

by Congressman Ron Paul:

Go here: http://www.optoutday.com/ for info on National Opt-Out Day,
November 24th, which Ron Paul mentions in his speech in the video above.

Will you be flying in the US anytime soon?
Do you have concerns about airport security screening?

My Yummy Apple Tart!

Earlier today I watched a short video of someone baking an apple tart type thing using puff pastry.  I very rarely bake anything, but this looked so easy that I was inspired to give it a try.  I already had everything except the puff pastry, so I went out and got that at the grocery store.  When I came back, I went to work and quickly had created my own version of this apple tart.  I made a few mistakes, such as slicing the apples too thick, but it still turned out very well and tasted great.  I had intended to take a photo of it when it came out of the oven, but I forgot and ate part of it instead.  I took a photo of a corner of it later on though, so you can get some idea of what the whole thing looked like.  A link to the recipe for it is below, in case you want to make one yourself.  It's quite easy.

 Recipe:  http://www.kitchendaily.com/recipe/simple-apple-tart-142590

Sun Filtered Through Marigold

Yesterday I noticed how pretty one orange marigold looked, as the sun filtered through it.  It is growing in a pot with a much bigger plant.  They were outside during the summer, but now that it is cold again I have brought them inside, and they are in front of the big window by my desk.

Hot Air Balloons Over Taos

Saturday morning I was at work, where I'd been there all night. Shortly after the sun came up, I stepped outside to get something from my car, and saw the sky was filled with hot air balloons!  They were so beautiful.  Here are a few photos I was able to get of them as they flew over me, and over the building I work in.  The first balloon, the yellow one, was the first one to arrive, passing directly over me, as I stood in the parking lot gawking upward.   It came the closest to me of any, so I got more photos of it than any of the others.

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Fall Has Fallen

Yes, autumn is upon us here.  I've piled all the blankets on the bed to stay warm at night, the heat has been turned on, and the cats are sleeping cuddled up in piles again.  Outside there are even more obvious signs of fall that seem to have rather suddenly appeared...  The aspen trees in my neighbors' yard have turned a gorgeous golden orange color, the street in front of my house is full of leaves, and my peek-a-boo view of the mountains shows the tops are covered in snow.

Mom Raps About Foreclosure

I've been trying to find a house to buy for quite a while, and the foreclosure crisis has been of great interest to me.  I just saw this video, which I think does a great job of explaining the situation so many US homeowners have found themselves in recently...    Perhaps I'm lucky I didn't find a house to buy!

Zebbie & Fieldsie Napping

A few minutes ago I looked over and saw this sweet scene, with two of my orange boys, Zebbie and Fieldsie, snuggled up together, snoozing.

Big Fluffy Clouds

Sometimes the clouds around here almost look solid enough to walk upon.  I pulled off the road near Taos to take these photos.  You can see the fall colors from the changing aspen trees in the last photo.

Crow Caw

This crow is often sitting up in the tree by the front door where I work.  He usually has a lot to say, and today I snapped a photo of him as he was voicing some of his commentary.

Lucy's Leg

Below you see my elderly dog, Lucy, with her bandaged up leg.  She somehow cut her paw and was leaving puddles of blood all over.  After figuring out where the blood was coming from, I bandaged up her paw, to give the cut a chance to heal.  Then I decided to treat another issue she has going on with her elbow, a 'hygroma', on the same leg.  It needs cushioning to heal.  It has several layers of soft sock around it now, in addition to the bandage.   Her paw has healed up just fine since I took this photo last week, and that bandage has been removed.  The upper arm cushioning will stay on for longer...  Lucy has been very tolerant of all this, she's a good dog.  We've been together for 11 or 12 years now.

Birthday Sky

A couple of months ago, on my birthday, I drove down to Santa Fe.  As I drove down there were some heavy rain storms, followed by wonderful rainbows.  And as I drove back north again, there were some magnificent sunset cloud formations.  It felt as if the sky was celebrating my birthday with me.  Here are some photos I took:

Reeds By The Rio Grande

Driving by the Rio Grande yesterday I stopped to sit by the water for a while.  A wind began to blow and I was captivated by the reeds dancing in the breeze.