1. Ruby is becoming more comfortable as the only dog in the house. She and I are doing a lot more off-leash work in the yard, and she is actually beginning to develop an appreciable attention span! Of course, she never has any difficulty concentrating on bunnies or groundhogs in the yard, as she watches from her perch on the church pew at the dining room window.
2. The roses are still blooming their little heads off. The hot weather last week accelerated some of them, and it still a glorious show in the garden. This is one I eagerly anticipate every year, "Arcata Pink Globe". This rose grows in the right angle where two parts of the fence connect, and it spans 16+ feet in each direction ... and it's about ten feet high ... totally COVERED in light pink, fragrant flowers. (Hey, Karen, how is yours doing?)
3. Here is another photo from the park the other day. Each of these holes on the path into the nature trail were made by a cicada nymph as it dug its way out of the ground after its 17-year nap. Gives you an idea of just how many cicadas there can be in a particular area. Fortunately, they don't eat roses (or much of anything else, I understand) or do much damage to anything besides the tips of tree limbs where the females lay their eggs (they like oaks, especially).
Cicada holes, and goose poop.
4. Dorothy had a follow-up visit to the veterinarian yesterday afternoon. She's been having urinary issues. Yesterday's appointment was to check her urine to make sure that the special food and medicine is making a difference. I'm happy to report that all is well ... her pH came down from 8.5 to 6.5, no more crystals, and no infection! (This is her safe place in the exam room, on the corner of the counter behind the computer monitor.)
5. While Ruby was playing the other day, throwing and shaking the crap out of her toy chicken, one of its legs fell off. This reminded me that I have completely forgotten to tell you that my friend Kim's dog TJ is nominated again in the Therapy Dog category of the American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards.
It reminds me of TJ because he and the toy chicken only have three legs.
This portion of the process is more of a popularity contest endurance event. The dog in each category with the most votes at the end of the voting on July 31 moves on to the finals. Please click HERE to vote for TJ. One vote per day per email address.
TJ was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in July 2010, and he had his left front leg amputated the next day. Osteosarcoma is an aggressive disease, and the average survival time for a dog in his situation is less than 12 months ... TJ has just celebrated 35 months cancer free! I love this dog as if he were my own ... since I just lost my Daniel to a different type of cancer, this is a cause that's very close to my heart.
Spread the word, share the link on FB, put it your blog, pin it on Pinterest, tweet it to the world. Let's do what we can to put TJ into the finals so he can meet Betty White at the awards ceremony in October.
6. The Mockingbird eggs in the rose in our front yard hatched this week. I had a perfect opportunity to take a gorgeous photo of the little darlings, but I couldn't do it without someone to watch my back. Mama and Papa Mockingbird were showing no mercy, as dive-bombed my head whenever I went near the nest. As soon as the rain stops, I will ask The Husband to give me a hand.
Speaking of rain ... it is supposed to rain here all day. Sounds like a perfect day to spend some quality time with my sewing machine. I have martingale collars to make for our Greyhounds Rock booth at the Ashland Strawberry Festival tomorrow. (This is typical for me ... leaving things to the last minute. I'll get it done, though.)
Happy Friday, Everyone!