Solace in Photos
I need some solace today (dogs are fine!), before I jump into action. While cuddling with Jim this morning, talking about our day, I realized I just didn’t have it in me to write a content-heavy post right now. Jim, bless him, knowing I’d mentioned earlier I needed to cut down the 15,787 photos on my laptop, said “Why don’t you combine the two and post some of your favorite photos, the ones that make you happiest?”As usual, good advice.
So I scrolled through and found what is, out of all the artistic-ish photos I’ve taken, the one that makes me happiest. It is from the Japanese gardens in Portland, OR.
Here’s another, taken in Port Douglas, Australia in ’03 or ‘o4, of my very own George Clooney look-alike. (And, just to be clear, I’m reminded of what one of my friends said when introducing her new beau to her girlfriends: “This is John. My John.” Just saying.
Jim is joined by the other handsome man in my life, taken just a few days after we got him. Some people think we were fools to keep him after we found out he had a bad heart. I have nothing to say to them beyond what’s obvious in this photograph.
And, lest my dearest Maggie, my Maggie Mae, my Princess Margaret, my Sister Magdeline, who turned twelve recently, feels left out: You are the most talented, funniest, and expressive dog I have ever had. I love you to the moon, Funny Girl.
To the flowers, trees, and grasses of all descriptions that bring me joy, and help to keep me sane (mostly): Thank You.
To all the amazing trips I’ve taken (so far!), in part because of the opportunities I’ve had to travel the world, here’s to you (Africa and Alaska).
Because it is not feasible to include even a few of my favorite photographs of family and many, dear friends, I’ll include the one I took of the two Wendy’s in my life, my sister and my niece, taken in 2023, not long before my sister, Wendy Barker, died.
Because it makes me smile, here’s a photo I found from . . . 1965? While visiting an aunt in Texas, my sister Liza and I let ourselves, naively, get picked up by two guys who took us scuba diving at a lake outside of Houston. Lucky for us, they were super responsible young men, who taught us well, took care of us, and got me up out of the deep when I went into honest-to-god rapture, face-to-face with a monstrous grouper. (I am not sure I would have gotten back to the surface in good time, it was AMAZING!) It was also a good reminder of how many good men there are out there. And, the circle of life. (Photos of me in a bathing suit 60 years later are not currently available.)
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Can’t write much more, apologies, my To Do list this week is ridiculous, but here’s a “Save the Date” alert for on April 5, in Madison, WI. Dr Wydeven will talk about All Things Wolf in Wisconsin, my talk is tentatively titled “Dogs Are Wolves, Dogs Are Not Wolves.” Both relatively brief talks will be followed me doing my best (or worst, but I guarantee amusing) impression of an auctioneer, auctioning off way cool things (go wolf howling with Adrian, work Skip and Maggie on sheep!), to benefit Green Fire and our state’s environmental health.
One last thing. If you’re reading this on February 3-5, and you’re anywhere near Milwaukee, come join me to listen to Nickolas Butler talk about his newest book, The Forty Year Kiss, at 6:30 in Boswell Books, Milwaukee on Wednesday, April 5th. I know it’s late notice, but if you make it, come and say hi!
I hope your week is a good one, or good enough, and that, perhaps, an old photograph arises above the rapids of life to bring you joy.
29 Comments
SUBSCRIBE VIA EMAIL
About the Author
Patricia B. McConnell, PhD, CAAB Emeritus is an applied animal behaviorist who has been working with, studying, and writing about dogs for over twenty-five years. She encourages your participation, believing that your voice adds greatly to its value. She enjoys reading every comment, and adds her own responses when she can.
LEARN MORE FROM PATRICIA’S BOOKS & DVDs!
Patricia is known the world over for her clear and engaging books and DVDs on dog training and canine behavior problems. You can also “meet” Patricia in person on her seminar DVDs, from The Art & Science of Canine Behavior to Treating Dog-Dog Reactivity.
Wonderful! Any time you need a “light” post, more photos suits me fine.
That photo of your two Wendys was so special the first time you shared it, and is even more so now.
I love your beautiful photos. Thank you for sharing them. In the midst of the insanity that is the US ‘government’ (in quotes because I’m not sure what’s happening can be called governing) taking time to enjoy the things that bring us joy is especially important.
In late October of last year I ran across a quilt of dragon images that I started almost a quarter century ago. In November I began sharing photos of the blocks and sharing the saga of the dragon quilt on my Facebook page. I’ve been surprised how many friends are following along and looking forward to the next installment. This is the center block https://www.flickr.com/photos/33350160@N02/54306189053/in/dateposted-family/
Wonderful, fabulous photographs – thank you. You remind me to glory in the beauty of the every day, to treasure my family and friends and to take joy in my animals (even in hand feeding elderly Sophy her sticky home cooked breakfast and washing yet another peed on mat!).
Thank you so much for sharing those wonderful pictures and memories!
All the best wishes to you and your loved ones, as it sounds like you could need them. And who doesn’t.
My current dog is named Solace. It has been a tumultuous 10 years and i treasure her precence in my life.
Thank you for sharing your lovely photos. Inspired by a book, The Happiness Project, I spent much of the weekend finding joy in creating a photo album of memories of my heart dog, Bailey, and a collection of puppy to now photos in another book for our current setter, Zoe. It was so fun to do! Your books, too, inspire me so much Patrica!
Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful photo and memories. Portland is my home, and I absolutely love the Japanese Gardens…..along with the many other beautiful public space throughout the city and the state. I hope your wonderful photos also bring some sense of calm to those who seem to feel we are on the road to obliteration. I wish them well.
Wonderful post, and I also had a trip down memory lane with photos when I took the many slides and converted them digitally. Distant places and dogs gone over the rainbow bridge were some of the best memories.
Our current pack of Skye (Aussie BC mix -12), Piper (Aussie -4) and Belle our limitless energy Border Collie 1.5 years old, provides endless fun around our lives. I need to take more pictures of them.
Thanks for the post
Thank you for the comments and wonderful pictures. I needed this as the news is overwhelming and at 87 I am doing my best to cope with it. Music, nature and our kitties help keep us sane at the moment. Sadly we don’t have a dog anymore.
Photos are lovely, thank you! I have just received my back ordered book “abandoned” that you recommended in one of your post. Beautiful to see the transformation in photos of dogs before and after adoptions, I have read through it twice, thank you for your recommendations! I have been approved again for a home based foster program, and while I know it will cause havoc to house/routine etc. it is imperative that I do “good” in this crazy world, especially at this time! I have never had a true puppy before…sometimes I lean towards that, but as a retired ICU nurse and Hospice nurse post retirement I am also considering hospice dog care…who know where this will lead! Thank you for all of your educational post on everything dog, I am truly a novice but have learned so much from this blog and community thus far!
Yay for you lak!! Keep us posted, can’t wait to hear what is next!
Love your photos, as usual! Wishing you lots of light and puppy kisses during this dreary winter!
Look at you, younger than springtime as my mama used to say.
Beautiful photos. Thanks for sharing!
Jen
Beautiful !!! Thank you for sharing !!
Thank you for the beauty Trisha! We all need some lightness and reminders of all the good things that surround us right now. Thank you, thank you , thank you!
wonderful photos!
Love, love, LOVE ALL these photographs! Thank you for sharing them. We all need a little solace these days. I wrote about courage today, and it helped me feel braver, but I do rely on my Aussie to make me laugh.
THANK YOU.
Fabulous photos. Thank you so much for the uplifting start to my day
I loved the photos of your pups. They brought tears to my eyes as I just lost both of my pups within 5 months of each other – Ollie (10-1/2 due to kidney failure) in August and Skye 1/29 (10-1/4 due to a tumor). They were the center of my life.
Dearest Trisha, it will be 25 years ago this spring that we first met – at the conference in Belgium. Just a few words and it turned out that we shared the same grief: our mothers had died just before. It was so good to talk to each other. Or maybe not to talk, just to share moments of silence – and to understand, deeply. Then later Luke’s death. Cool hand Luke! And many thousands of kilometers between us.
English is not my first language, I didn’t have the words. I found a single black and white photo of him. I painted Luke’s portrait for you, an oil painting. A little later you also lost Tulip. Both portraits had just dried when you had a seminar lasting several days on the other side of Germany. So I set off to give you my two portraits in person. They are both still on my website http://www.malerei-nach-wunsch.de/Deutsch/Bildergalerie.html#1 in the gallery but I’m now too weak to paint. But I often think of you and the time we spent together are unforgotten
Ute
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
It so lifts my spirits to see your lovely photo of the Japanese Garden! As the admitted perpetrator of your making an extra stop to speak at Powell’s Books in Portland on one of your trips to the NW a few years ago I wonder whether you visited the Garden and took this pic on that same trip. Whether that was the case or not, it’s a stunning photograph and I’m so grateful that you’re sharing it with us in the season of cold gray rain here. The color and light is so healing – and I always get a lift from seeing what your dogs are up to. Thank you for the change of scenery and the wonderful stories of your travels!
Just wanted to say thanks for this post–just what I needed in a time when so much can feel so daunting. Your photos are extraordinary, Patricia.
Thank you for this beautiful post. I lost my wonderful big boy Brody this past May… The many photos of him scrolling past on my Echo — from puppyhood to the last one I took the day before he died — make me smile even as I weep. Solace and sorrow.
I can see why your photos are a needed balm to your heart. They were lovely. Here’s hoping their healing magic continues.
After reading your post, I was able to take a deep breath and just let all the anxiety of the world blow out of me. It was a brief but ever so meaningful and impactful oasis. Thank you.
Yes, Portland Japanese Gardens are beautiful.
And your photos of your dogs are wonderful!
https://www.texassaltwaterfishingmagazine.com/fishing/features/joe-richard/grouper-id-time#:~:text=From%20Florida%20they%20migrate%20to,fishing:%20calm%20but%20deep%20water.
Nice post, beautiful photos, including the one of you with the tank on. I’m pretty sure that grouper are relegated to salt water; perhaps you guys were diving in a bay? Grouper do migrate down to Texas waters from Florida, and some have been introduced to Texas bays.
OO, thanks for the correction Ian. I remember it as a grouper (or that’s what we were told), but it was forever ago and I’m sure I am wrong. I wonder what it was!