And then...

Winter doldrums

News casts and newspapers  were quite excited about a first winter snowfall this weekend, but all that's happening is rain and dark skies. There's only one thing to do.

We're being threatened with grooming, so we plan to stay as inert as possible.

Mom opened the door to the chicken pen but the chickens wouldn't go out to the yard because even the bugs will be napping. The girls stayed inside the hutch that they use as a day lounge. (They lack artistic sensibilities.)

Maewest stayed in the mini-barn.

Nobody wants to go outside today.

So what happened less than an hour later?

That's not snow so much as freezing rain and hail, so slick that a neighbor could barely get up the slight incline from our road to the main road.

We'll see if the slop turns into something dogs can play in.

Workout

When you are doing calisthenics at home and a dog licks your bare feet and you collapse in laughter, does that count as part of the workout?

Happy new year

We treasure the moment, don't worry about tomorrow, and know the best days are full of walks and treats.
Happy new year from Miro (l) and Alanis (r).

Building a dog park

The city donated the land; KDOG provided the fundraising and labor.

Not open yet because...

We finally finished spreading the rest of Mt. Hog Fuel (ground cover) over the park. The backhoe dumped a large load of hog fuel over the fence. Volunteers spread it by hand with rakes and pitchforks. We were able to purchase the hog fuel with the help of a Petco Foundation grant.

We spread hog fuel over the large dog area.

And the small dog area.

The view.

The wetland outside the park. The park itself was choked with invasive blackberries.

The 5 stages of holiday baking

1. Denial
I’ll just buzz around the kitchen and get this done in no time since I’m not baking anything complicated.

2. Anger
Miró, quit licking the counter! Alanis, get your nose out of the cupboard!

3. Bargaining
Here, take these chewies and go outside.

4. Depression
You're done already? Gurg.

5. Acceptance

You want to smear your nose all over the spice jars? Fine, they’re closed. If you get burned from hovering so close to the oven, I don’t care; it’s your own fault. Do what you want. I’m sure no one will notice a little dog hair in their cookies.

Resistance is futile.

Santa's reindeer found mauled

The suspect feigns sleep.

The good, the bad and the yummy

Good for you.

Pea vines with plum sauce. I got the camera too close to the steam, hence the foggy photo.

The bad.

Three dog beds dragged into the room; toys tossed randomly out of toy box.



The yummy. Duh.

 Whole wheat bread with crunchy millet and sesame seeds. Oatmeal butterscotch cookies.

Steal cookies? Could dogs with these innocent faces steal cookies? (All we had to do was hang around--she drops things.)

Miro's latest work garners Smithsonian attention

Above is a photo of one of Miró’s (Airecraft Carries Me Home) recent works. It's not surprising that art this innovative, yet classic should gain attention in a national forum. Reading the analysis below, you will be struck by how well the critic understands dog art when he writes of taking "color by the throat."

In the December issue of Smithsonian magazine, critic and painter Peter Plagens writes that the artist "took color by the throat, but his chroma is not French or perfumey, like that associated with Monet or Matisse. It's stark, harsh... but not unpleasant." He notes that the orange and blue colors found in the work  "register not only as beautiful, but as awesome in the literal, looking-out-at-the-Grand-Canyon sense of the word." He compares the work to a three-act play: "There's an introduction, with that orange 'character' getting your attention; a white-on-gray transition to the black, meat-of-the-matter second act; then a white climax [the bone of the matter, so to speak] followed by a black [and blue] denouement."

Plagens concludes, "The effect is a stunning first notice, a rhythmic horizontal read and then a deep plunge into the [installation's] inner structure."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

The artist at work.

(Go to the embedded Smithsonian link for more--not to mention real--information.)

Support for the dog park

Miro and I and fellow volunteer Wendy spent this morning at the Kirkland Petco store talking up the new dog park that will open in the new year. The Petco Foundation is the park's biggest donor, with the local store helping out by giving us table space. We were right next to a small-dog adoption event.

There were little dogs in pens, little dogs barking and squeaking, little dogs patrolling the aisles on leash....

Wendy volunteers for Greyhound Rescue and has two greyhounds but she likes little dogs, too.

She tried to put a Santa hat on Miro for a photo but he wriggled so much that this was as far as we got. He's just not a hat guy.

He did work hard to represent the kind of active dog that will enjoy an off-leash dog park.

Our table wasn't far from Creatures of Interest.

The ferrets tumbled over each other in play, then settled for a nap. Miro sniffed around their plexi-glass enclosure but seemed to know they were off-limits.

This is an adult guinea pig. The ears of the babies stand upright. They're the ultimate in cuteness at any age.

We raised a few dollars and gathered a few signatures for the  KDOG mailing list. Funny thing, though. People didn't seem enthusiastic about coming out to help spread groundcover at the park next week.

Socializing is such hard work.