2 Year Anniversary

2 years ago exactly our Pretty Kitty, Mucho-Macho-Lover-Boy, Saemi, formerly San, joined our pack, I thought temporarily, but we were able to keep this charmer, luck bringer and mice-dispeller.

His responsiveness impressed and endeared me to him right away. One shush, and he would stop nibbling on a plant, or get off where he wasn't welcome.

Here I am in search of catness, this mysterious quality of cat, that is so different from dogs. This kitty is street smart and seemingly unafraid. He will approach any dog when he deems the time right.

Our Lover-Boy has now finagled for 2 years, trying to get up close to cuddle with Sumo. His desire is so intense and his approach so devious, as he inches his way closer.

These are my pups on their first encounter with a cat in our home. Isabella's quizzical look is priceless and so very familiar. She never been close to a cat before while Sumo had lived with one prior. His tendency is to start licking and cleaning himself just like a cat.

Thankfully we never had a fight. In the beginning I was concerned about the sudden swipes coming from the Pretty Kitty, just as they were getting more comfortable with him. Now I understand this was his way of demanding respect and attention which he gets now from both. My Isabella-girl I think is really impressed with his ability to scale the fence. This must have contributed in great parts to his current good looks and loss of weight.

I never imagined sharing my tiny home, with three furry ones, much less sleeping with them on a narrow single bed, which now I really enjoy! I can feel the benefits of snuggling up to other mammals. I bet my heart opens, my blood pressure lowers and I can attest to the improvement of my mood in general. I even fidget less.

We are very lucky to count our black cat as part of our pack!

Happy Valentine's Day!

May advances from or to you be more welcome
then between my cat and dog.



May you weather the inevitable storms.



And may you continue to play together,
as those may more likely stay together.

I made a point to grab a chance and meet this colorful character and his service dog when I spotted them hanging out on the plaza. Only days earlier our dogs had barked ferociously at each other, and I deem it important to teach my pups good manners. It helps to go towards what we fear, I think in general. I practice this more with my pups then myself I must admit. So this is how I started to learn that about Ray Masterson, a Vietnam vet and his certified assistance dog Yukon.

Yukon came to him after his prior service dog had died, so he had to train this fourth service dog from scratch, not easy. But Yukon learned to help him negotiate their blind corners from the back of their bike, they were such a sight together, here at the Fiesta 08 Parade, bicycling for peace. When I met them they had been together already 10 years.

Today I learned that Yukon, now 14 years old, lives retired at Melon Ranch with three other female dogs, but not before he trained the next service dog. Ray found him like all the ones prior at a shelter and only 2 years old, the puppy in him still visible. Ray looks very pleased with his new companion, somehow I was not in the frame of mind to take their image even though my Olympus was in my pocket and they looked handsome together, for once on foot.

His yellow bike got replaced with a new Schwinn that has given him nothing but problems, so he said today. But then walking is not the worst when the roads still are littered with icy patches. I am glad our streets are filled with colorful characters like Ray and his service dogs.

Sumo the trooper, my canine version of Super Hero

ferocious Sumo in action

I am getting much mileage out of my extended flickr toys, here with "focal zoom."

Man in Nature

I was out hunting for fall images and rather annoyed at people obstructing my view, until this man passed me by, I am a slow walker, especially up hill. I noticed how he blended in to the environment and realized a person might actually enhance my image.

But what happened to the singing? We always sang when out in the woods. My mom sang riding her bike, she never realized how far her voice actually carried, but when I hum to myself I get weird looks from strangers. I miss singing, casually, for the sheer fun of it. So looking at this image I find myself humming a song about a father, a wanderer and blood ties.

"Mein Vater war ein Wandersman und mir steckts auch im Blut, drum wandr ich froh, so lang ich kann und schwenke meinen Hut. Falleri, fallera, falleri, fallera - ha -ha -ha -ha -ha, falleri ..."