Pocketful of Memory Cards

Mallards at Rotary Marsh Here I am at week 22 of my public declarations of gratitude.  It's a great way to start the week especially when Monday can be such a down day.  I'm feeling grateful for all the tasks I completed today.  It's amazing what I can accomplish when I get away from the computer for a while. I'm thankful I was able to sort through the spare room closet, while visiting with Val on Facebook (Ok, I wasn't away from the computer the  entire time!) I'm thankful it stopped raining long enough to take the dogs to the dog park. I was worried the butcher was closed on Mondays but I'm thankful it was open so I could pick up a few things while I was out this afternoon. I'm thankful I was able to get through bunch of housework, including Mount Washmore (even thought it really doesn't look like I did much). I'm thankful I was home when my sister called so we could have a nice chat. I'm thankful that befor...

Castanet promised rain for the week and I was rather disappointed to miss my hike yesterday.  Thankfully they were wrong about the rain today.  The dogs and I enjoyed beautiful sunshine at the dog park this morning and I'll be climbing Knox again this afternoon.   While leaving the park I spotted this beautiful blue heron staring intently into the swamp.  The bird was oblivious to the cars, and people passing by.  It didn't seem to notice me snapping away, nor was it disturbed by hearing me curse Max as he bounded out of the car window and crossed the street to let me know I was taking much too long.   After standing as still as a statue for ten minutes the heron wandered a few feet away, gave a great flap of it's massive wings and took off. In my excitement to capture a photo, I couldn't hold the camera quite still enough, or make the necessary adjustments quickly enough before it disappeared into the bullrushes across the way.   ...

March has been it's typical roller-coaster of a month.  We've had rain, we've had snow, we've had bright sunshine and great gusty winds. Yesterday a layer of crystalline snow coated my car.  I wedged my scraper under a crunchy corner and peeled it off my windows like the shell off a giant hard boiled egg. The dog park was a mess  with a river running from the parking lot through the entry way, settling in dips, making for a very brief visit and a trip straight to the laundry room when we got home. This morning, somehow the park was relatively dry and I got my first sight of my personal harbinger of spring.  Each March, when  I see a red-winged blackbird , it reminds me that warm weather and blooming flowers are just around the corner. 

We took our boys to the Mission Creek dog park this morning.  All the dogs had a great romp ....and our dogs had  a great nap afterwards. Max makes a new friend named Murray - an 8 month old lab/great dane Pitou's friend Jack the Jack Russell The people enjoy it as much as the dogs do. Willow,  Max and Ruby (Vizla)   Mercury (doberman puppy) finds a new favourite toy. Pitou says, "Wait for me!"  

I'd forgotten that the last Sunday of the month is Beagle day at the Mission dog park . About twenty very cute and friendly dogs turned up this morning.  I canvased their owners to find out their names, hoping I'd get an idea for our new puppy.  We're still not sure if we've settled on one yet so I'm looking for ideas where ever I can find them. It's a little ironic because if I had a male beagle, I know exactly what I'd name him...Darwin.  Kind of clever I thought, since The Beagle was the name of Charles Darwin's ship.  Unfortunately nobody famous ever had a ship named The Rhodesian Ridgeback.... or did they?   Google! 

Here in the outer reaches of the Mission Creek Dog Park , we observe the stealthy Husky-Whippet stalking her prey.  The elusive Poodle Mix is blissfully unaware of the immanent danger lurking just a few feet away. Perhaps some dormant ancestral wolf memory in the Husky part of her brain has been reawakened by the sheep like appearance of this new visitor to her territory.

These are not the dog days of summer we were promised.  Usually it's the heat that keeps our pack small in the summer, but this year between the rain,  the mosquitos and vacations, it's slim pickin's for playmates at the Mission Dog Park .   At our usual visiting time in the spring and fall there's at least a dozen dogs to play with at any given time. Only a few today, but Pitou made the best of it. Pitou is usually chewing on Aussie's ears. He loves to chase Libby. He always tries to heard the Border Collies After proper introductions, Pitou and Zoe love a good wrestle.

Nikki and Cleo, two of the dogs in the pack we are part of at the Mission dog park.