Okay, the photo is of a chicken not a turkey, but still, it's a roasted poultry item. I love Thanksgiving. How could I not? The culture has collectively given all of us permission to over indulge and it is the beginning of a chance to slow down, reflect and . . . eat some more. But most of all, I love Thanksgiving because it is a holiday whose very title focuses on what is important: The giving of thanks. It's good for us. I do it every week in my journal, and sometimes, lucky me, I get to do it here. This year, it doesn't feel like enough to just give thanks. I am compelled to turn my thanks into action. I may have my complaints, but I am a very, very lucky person, and I am compelled to do what I can to help others. Here's my list of actions I am committed to taking before the Read More
Archives for 2019
A Photo Journal of Life at 71
Oh my. Jim and I just turned 71. Fittingly, Steve Dahlgren, a great photographer specializing in dogs and those who love them, came out to update some of the photos I use for the website and publicity. Like many people, I hate having my own photograph taken, but you really can't keep using photographs that show someone who is barely recognizable now. So, taking a breath, here are some of the photos that Steve got. I should mention that he also did a drone video of Maggie working sheep. I haven't seen that yet, it should be fun. I've shown this one before, but since I consider it the best of the bunch, I just had to lead with it. Maggie and Willie used to play "race horse" every day and it was an important part of her staying in condition. After Willie died, Maggie and I taught each Read More
Teaching Dogs to Talk?
Have you seen the news that a speech pathologist, Christina Hunger, has taught her dog to "talk," or to communicate not just nouns and verbs, but "her thoughts and feelings as well"? Christina taught her Catahoula/Blue Heeler mix, Stella, to use a "sound board," similar to the kind she uses to help very young children communicate. Here's a video: https://youtu.be/bJCxrc7Ns_g There are so many ways to deconstruct this--here are just a few: One the one hand, it's easy to dismiss this as a naive Dr. Doolittle-ish desire to "talk to the animals". There are innumerable examples of well-meaning people who believed they had cracked the code and found a way directly into a non-human animal's brain. The most famous, of course, is the case of the horse, Clever Hans, who was Read More
The Poetry of Nick Names
Maggie, Maggie Mae, Magdelene, Margaret, Princess Maggie, Princess Margaret, The Divine Miss M. Tootsie, Toots, Toot Toot, Tootie-Potootie, Tootsie-Roo, Tooter-Rootie, Tootsie Roll, The Poot. That's a lot of names for two dogs. But is there anyone on earth who doesn't have a number of nicknames for their dog (or cat, or horse, or . . .)? Three questions for you: One: Do you think there is a correlation between how many nicknames you have for your pet and how close you are to them? Two: Do you know of a book with nothing but lists of women's nicknames for their pets? It exists; I had it in my library but now can't find it. I couldn't locate it online either (although I'll keep looking). Please let us know if you know what I'm talking about; the book is a treasure. Three: Read More
Fall Colors and Sheep, Maggie, Sheep
A quick post today, tomorrow is my second cataract surgery so I'll be a tad less productive for a few days. It's been glorious the last few days; here are a few photos to share: Here's Maggie from last weekend after one of her sessions. The fall colors came out so fast we could almost see them change. Some lovely color on the way home: Here's one on me: I was working Maggie at home just a few hours ago, and took this photo of her unable to see the sheep (see the white butts to the right of the tree?). And then we I walked up a few more feet toward the gate on the left, exactly where she'd been looking: Yup, trust your dog. I like this photo of Maggie bringing the sheep to me at the gate; a rather nice shot of speckle-faced Beyonce, on the Read More
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