Faces of Paisle

Dear Everett,
I promise, there is no lemon nor vinegar on this bone.

There is no ice cream, nor peanut butter, just out of reach of the Little Bean's tongue.

And there is no robin nor rabbit at my feet, capturing the Bean's attention.
She is just a puppy, trying all new things, with the attention span and concentration of a domestic turkey.

Isn't she precious!

Happy Father's Day

Dear Everett, Dad and Pat played host for today's celebration--Nina and I provided the brunch. Well, part of the brunch.

Dad and Pat made mimosas, starting with one of Dad's favorite champagnes...

and fresh squeezed orange juice....

Nina and Pat discussing the meal....

And here's the table. Nina made two quiches with her farm fresh eggs--ham and cheddar in one, and spinach, mushrooms, and onion in the other. I made a spinach salad with a raspberry vinagrette dressing, goat cheese, etc. Dad wanted fresh croissant, so the Artisan bread didn't make the table, but you can see the bread basket here in the photo. Koren (who is still in NYC but will hopefully be home for July 4th) made that basket many years ago, with ebony hook and eye for handles. (For those of you reading this who know my last name, this is just one example of Koren's innovations while in the shop.)

It was a short gathering, but a fun one.

After cleaning up Dad went back to painting the doors between the garages--Nantucket blue of course. Mr. Wills was home so I went over to say hello and check out some of his antiques. And then the pup and I headed for home. There is a lot of clean up in our neighborhood as we had strong winds topple some trees and bring down some large limbs last night.

As always, wishing you were here.

Chicken Bones & Fire Ants, vs. Robins & Rabbits

Dear Everett,
Paisle has met a whole slew of new friends, successfully bringing smiles and wags from all. We went over to Luke's yard, and played and played. Luke is a rescued toy poodle, whom Sharon has had about a month. Luke is a fraction of Paisle's size. He loves to run in tight circles around the large trees in his yard, and Paisle was good for the chase. Sharon and I laughed and laughed as they went round and round...then laughed some more when Paisle stopped and went the other direction, meeting Luke head on! During one particularly long chase, where Luke weaves and bobs continuously out of range, Paisle almost missed a turn...she corrected herself when she noticed THE HOUSE was in front of her. You know--large colored object stretching high overhead and out in both directions...we humans laughed some more.

Trooper and Gus came over, fresh from a week at the lake, and hung out for a few hours. Trooper was nonplussed with the young bundle of energy, but said bundle and Gus tumbled and chased and tumbled some more. Gus is still pretty young (about 3 yrs?), but light in build. Though Paisle is noticeably petite in frame when put against the young lab, they weigh almost the same. She still has a long way to go, however, to be able to keep up with the dodging Gus, just like the weaving Luke.

We've been blading almost every day--sometimes for longer stretches in the morning in preparation for the coming rain in the late afternoons. Paisle is not as enthusiastic about it as you were, but she goes and goes and goes, so I think she likes it a tiny bit. She does not pull (still way too small for a harness--or at least for your harness) but runs behind me. Thankfully she does not attack the blading boots for the first few minutes, the way you did.

On our walks, I have to watch out for robins and rabbits. I might be putting too much thought into this, but I swear she prefers robins over other birds, because robins walk (or run) before they fly off, instead of hopping like sparrows, blackbirds, and the rest of the common rif raf in the hood. We did see a tree sparrow this morning, which was pretty and petite and on the ground, but overall it's the bullies and the grackles that vie for Paisle's attention, to no avail. I laugh every now and then as I find myself looking for fire ant hills, or chicken bones as well.

For anyone not familiar with the south, fire ants are nasty, biting ants that leave red sores that itch like crazy for days on end on humans--no idea if they itch on the pooches but the biting hurts, no matter who is being bitten. And the chicken bones? Well, buffalo wings are a very common food in the ATL, and people seem to think chucking the bones out the car window is perfectly acceptable. I'll bet some of the bones are from Popeye's or Churches too, but no matter the source the cooked bones are dangerous for all pups. So on our walks it was my job to keep an eye out for chicken bones and fire ants before...now it's robins and rabbits. These times, they are a-changin'!

37 lbs. and growing!

Dear Everett,
In all the excitement from last Thursday, I forgot to mention just how much Paisle has grown. She weighs 37 lbs now, at just 6 months old. So she weighs almost 2/3 as much as Ansel (just shy by 3 lbs), and yet look how much smaller she is, than he.

The above is an action shot, taken this morning. It might seem like Ansel has lowered his head, so she can reach him, or maybe tell him a secret in his crinkle ear, but in reality she is flea biting him, and he is about to sweep his head under her forelegs, to begin a round of rough and tumble.
This again, might seem all lovey dovey, but he is now flea biting her, and she has his right front leg (at the joint) in her mouth--you can just see the white pads of his paw above her forehead. See the shadow in the top right corner of the pic? He is in a puppy stance and that's his butt and tail, up high in the sky. Thirty minutes later they rest, and even in a state of repose Paisle is as close as she can get to the goofy dog. He is caught in mid-yawn...and they are both down for the count.

Tonight is our last puppy class--our first and only Monday as we have to graduate before Level 1 starts Wednesday! So we're off to play with more puppies!

Such a Handsome Fellow

Dear Everett,
I've already said once, that I don't think Ansel misses you (even though I do). He really seems to be coming into his own, with you gone. He plays so nicely with Paisle, and he's tolerated her taking his things. He really is a handsome dog, though he has the girth now of an elderly statesman, instead of the high carriage of a spry young thing. I noticed, for the first time today, all the single gray hairs he has in his face. Now, I've noticed in the past that he has many gray hairs creeping into the yards and yards of shiny black coat on his shoulders, throat and back, but never above his eyes, or between his ears.

He has dual ear infections--only the second time in his life his ears have been infected but the last time caused the hematoma that permanently crinkled his right ear flap (November, 2007). The poor dog. And yet he has aged so gracefully.

I remember once watching the two of you play, and remarking (to myself) that you have two different kinds of grace. Yours was strong, quick--efficient in your cuts and weaves. You had very sharp eye/mouth coordination and caught everything thrown for you, even in your elder years. Ansel, on the other hand, is lean and smooth and he seems to float when he runs. He remains completely inept at following a ball or stick or anything in motion, but he can run like the wind on his long legs with a lightness one might associate with a greyhound. Even now when he bowls over Paisle and she tumbles once or twice before regaining her footing and spins back into the fray, he does it with seamless effort and masterful choreography. I cannot tell what Paisle's movement will graduate to; she is still finding her sea legs, as it were. But honestly, the kinds of smooth motion each of you exhibit is both exhilarating, and inspiring. I wish I knew how to draw or paint in bold swift strokes; to see each of you come alive on paper in your respective fluidness would be so much fun.

These dogs fascinate me. I have thousands of pictures, mostly of you. But as time wears on and I snap my garden growing, the bouts of gaiety with Ansel and Paisle, interesting clouds and other things that catch my eye, the archive grows but the photos of you remain stagnant in number. I try to take lots and lots of shots of Ansel and Paisle, so as they both grow older I will have archives of their fun and interaction, as I did of you and yours in the last 4 months we had together. Bless Jenny, for giving me the camera for Christmas--it is hands down the best and most significant present I've ever received. With it, I created reminders of the small every day things we did, as well as expressions and reminders of events that might otherwise fade in both short and long term memory.

The photos make me laugh! They are so much fun, and I am so glad to have them.

There Is No Such Thing As A Bad Dog....

Only a bad owner. And boy, was I a bad owner!

Dear Everett,
Paisle got out of her crate today. Thankfully I only worked a half day, so I could take both the Little Bean and Ansel to the vet this afternoon. I have not determined how she got out, but as shown above, she demolished an entire (UNOPENED) 40 lbs. bag of Canidae. I am unclear if she ate any of it, but she did spread it very nicely over the entire garage floor. The above photo shows one of the piles I have to throw away, and the small amount left in the bag that I can save. She also chewed the tongues and heels of both rollerblade boots, as well as one of two pair of running shoes by the house door.

She clearly tried to get out the back door, too, to the south lawn, because the door knob is scarred with teeth marks (which she had to repeatedly jump to grab as even standing on her hind legs, she cannot reach it), but the door itself bears no scars. None.

And...even though I don't know how long she was loose in the garage...not a single accident. No pee, and no poop. And she did not destroy her kennel, either. She just wanted out! Good thing the vet was in the calendar already--I am thankful to report she has no ill effects from her 'outing.'

More later--I am rushing around for puppy class in between the rain drops, but just wanted to get this published.