Back yard gymnastics

Every day, our goldfinches display their gymnastic talents. 
 

Toby has taken lessons, although he has a tendency to doze off in the middle of his stretching routine. 

The scent of rain

Virga is the rain we don't get. 

MW Dictionary says virga is "wisps of precipitation evaporating before reaching the ground" 

The Oxford dictionary says virga is "a mass of streaks of rain appearing to hang under a cloud and evaporating before reaching the ground"

 

We know it as a scent. 

We can smell the virga, 

but we never feel it. 

We can see it - sheets of rain leaving a cloud. 

But the rain never touches us.

Toby sits and waits for rain. 

He smells it....

A Girl Threw a Ball...

I threw a ball into the air.

It landed, but I know not where.

(Toby has a better idea than I do...)

WHOOPS!

"The wind came up and blew around,

Would it please blew our tennis ball down?"

(waiting... waiting... waiting...)

"We heard a roll, a tremble of the roof,

He posed to jump, his paws aloof.

 "He reached up skyward with strength and might

He'd claim this ball with brawn and fight!"

"He leaped, he leaped, he leaped very high!

And the ball rolled down, as if dropping from the sky".

CAUGHT!

"The wait was over, the ball returned to his glove,

The victory lap began, his eyes brimming with love."

And all is good once again.

Splay

SPLAY

–verb (used with object)

1. to spread out, expand, or extend.

2. to form with an oblique angle; make slanting; bevel.

3. to make with a splay or splays. 
4. to disjoin; dislocate.

EXPAND

–verb (used without object)

5. to have an oblique or slanting direction.

6. to spread or flare.

 Toby, splayed.
(enbiggen photo for full splay effect)

How do you share?

Sharing

Our local mud pond

A run at the city dog park after rain means 

LET PLAY IN THE WATER, EVERYONE!

 So every dog did.

Mr. Hector, our great dane puppy friend.

Totally...

Gus, totally happy...

 

Toby's ancestors, totally content.

Can you see the similarity?

What Gus does on a rainy day

 

A rainy day is a perfect day to sleep in the game room.

The room offers twin french doors out to the backyard.

But you don't have to sleep on the floor to catch the mood of the day.

Toby gets into the spirit, too, with a cozy spot on the carpet.

 

If the camera flash would quit going off... we could all sleep!

ONE dog to rule them all

Since I always post photos of Sophie or Gus or Shado... it is time that Toby got his fair shake.
Toby was/is E's first dog - and still his 'main dog'. And I am lucky to spend lots of time with them!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for meeting Toby. He gets a lot less ink than the others, but he is the sweetest of the bunch.

Most of the time...
Toby has appeared here,  here and here.
He is also a charter member of "I can lick the skin right off your face" club.

I think I gotta go scratch his ears right now.

(hopefully tomorrow my armed will be casted and I can try real typing again!)

Fun with a photo

My husband is the 'photoshop' person is our household. He has the full-blown version on his Macintosh, and he loves playing with the effects. Sometimes I look over his shoulder and watch. Other times, I just give him a photo and let him fly...

This is one of Toby taken yesterday at the dogpark.
Be sure to click on the photo to enlarge it.
Once you do, you will see not ALL the color is gone...

For more 'pet fun' with Photoshop, check out this posting:

http://www.the7msnranch.com/2009/11/mon-petit-fleurs-and-few-thoughts-on.html

The birthday hike

Today's my husband's birthday.
I remember being as young as he is now...

Anyway, since the mornings are staying cooler, we decided to take Toby and Shado for a hike.

This photo is actually me with my Shado.

New trail, but the sights remain the same.

The dead-looking cactus above is an ocotillo. Altadena Hiker, this is for you! They aren't in bloom right now. After a rain the tips of the twigs become covered in red/orange blooms. Can't wait to snap a shot then.

Toby and Shado really love hiking with us. They both keep their heads up, drink water right from the Camelbak tube, and carry on for as long as we do. And then they are ready to ride home and take a good nap.

This isn't the post I had in my mind all day - I want to respond to my sister-in-law's query about the ornate loveseat/Argentina saga of alligators and snakes and rain pouring in the house... I just have to find the right photos to include in that story. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have it all together, but it seems a shame to leave the dogs and desert behind!