Looking back and forth

There remains an afterglow of Larsen's accomplishment earlier this month.  The backdrop for this accomplishment is the months of healing from Larsen's iliopsoas strain, and the consequential, but in hindsight mistaken, exploratory surgery.  The veterinary claim is that after 6 weeks, the healing is done with.  However, as with  humans, it seems that age reveals again all manner of injuries that in youth were healed and done with.  So I keep an eye on him and coddle him a bit by lifting him in and out of the car, for example.

I've had some successful outings with quail.  I'll try him on chukar, with the e-collar as a reminder that sitting is an absolute precondition to being released for a fetch.  

February provides for the ESS and Bokin tests.   Joe has said that it's not until the 2nd master leg that the dog can be said to be hunting at the master level.  Let's see if we can move in that direction.     

Summertime

At the Publix.  Get on your mark, get set, ahhh!

Valentine's day

Christmas lights

Viewing the light displays at the Sandcastle on Kiawah Island at Christmastime.

Hiking the Emerald Necklace

Dave, Meg, Aki, and I hiked the Emerald Necklace Metropark trail near Boston Mills in Northeastern Ohio with Trigger and Larsen on Thanksgiving.  Trigger is Dave's son Geoff's Britt.  There was a lot of red and white flashing by on the snow-filled trail, and happy, tired dogs afterward.

Larsen enjoys the snow-filled wood.

It's the Great Pumpkin!

It's not early autumn anymore.  Daylight savings time comes to an end this weekend, and the delightful blue domed weather we enjoyed in St. Louis is giving way to swirling pewter skies.  Put away the charcoal grill and find the crock pot.  No more fruited drinks, unless the fruit is a cherry at the bottom of an amber Manhattan.

 

Last days of summer

The water at Lake Alatoona was warm even on a cool day, ushering in the first day of autumn.  In the south, it takes a while for summer to drift away and you can feel it still in the warm afternoons after the cool mornings.

4th of July Tradition

Aki's run some 26 or 27 Peachtree Road races counting the one she ran today.  Duke and I headed off to Lake Alatoona where we ran into Cindy and her two draughthair mixes.  The dogs got along well, and we had a nice walk along the carriage path to the docks and back.  Meanwhile, Aki finished her 6 1/2 mile run and returned with her prized t-shirt.

Ribs, corn on the cob, and coffee ice cream are in her future.

Before & after.  Aki gets set to run the 10-K on a wet 4th of July.

After.  Aki is all smiles as she models her new Peachtree Road Race t-shirt.

The Longest Day

Now how did this happen?  It's windbreaker cold in Chicago and only warm in Atlanta and suddenly, this Friday, is the summer solstice: the longest day of the year.  The days will start winding down.  Of course, the real heat of the summer is still on the upswing and we have the wallpaper-peeling humidity of August to get through, but we are soon tipping toward fall.

Springtime in Chicago

Every April weekend, the bridges along the Chicago River are raised for a few minutes to allow the tall boats to pass from their winter quarters along the river to their summer home in Burnham Harbor in Lake Michigan.  A relatively rare weekday lift produced this photo.  The weather was bright and cool, and the sight provided a tantalizing prospect of summer.

Easter weekend

A weekend at the beach is delightful for anyone, but for a dog, it is nearly heaven.  Larsen plowed through the sand and surf keeping the beach bird-free for one and all.

Larsen is fairly levitating with joy at his day at the beach.

Larsen picks a peck of piping plovers.

There is an inherent pleasure in a job well done.

Aki and Larsen take a breather  during Larsen's busy outing.

Christmas is over

The 12th day, Epiphany, is January 6, 2013, but for the most part, Christmastime is over.  The tree is down and the needles are swept, except for a few that we will find some time in July.  We will also then find a wayward angel or St. Nick in the corner of a bookshelf that didn't find its way onto the shelves in the basement, where the creche, tree ornaments, nutcrackers, stockings, church-mice, placemats, and cups & saucers are now.

  

Oh Christmas tree

Our tree stands dark in our house.  This beautiful wreath, a gift from mom and dad, is our Christmas tree here, on vacation, at the beach.

Merry Christmas from Kiawah Island

Christmas bakery

Maison Robert has moved around over the years, from Roswell Road to some other place, and now across from the MARTA train at the Chamblee Station.  Christmastime or not, Maison Robert is worth the visit.

Aki inspects the tarts, cookies, and cakes at Maison Robert.

Hidden among the sweets: Christmas Stollen.

Chocolates, teas, knick knacks.

Christmas in Chicago

There's no snow this year.  But the lights and displays on Michigan Avenue let you know that Christmastime is here.

Intercontinental Holtel from Wrigley Plaza on Michigan Avenue in Chicago.

Looking southwest along the Chicago River from the Wrigley Plaza.

Operation North Pole on the Metra North line.

Angels soar above the Christmas tree at the Drake Hotel in Chicago.

Thanksgiving 2012

We hope you had a happy and thankful Thanksgiving.

More Octoberness

Mid Fall fun

Larsen and Aki enjoy an October afternoon, and Larsen steals a kiss.

Blue moon

Labor day weekend.  Did you see it?

Blue moon seen from porch in Asheville, NC.