Tag: dog

It Is Defended

Our dog Ellie lies on the hardwood while our cat Trixie watches from my office

You might think you can sneak into my office, past the guard dog whose old bones are loathe to move unless food is in the offing, whose old ears can no longer hear footsteps. But that’s when you fall into my trap! For waiting around the corner in my office is young little Trixie, who will eagerly snuggle up into your lap and … I think my office defenses need a re-think.

Spring Comes to Irving Park

Our dog Ellie sits in front of blossoming trees in the dog park section of Irving Park in the Irvington neighborhood of Portland, Oregon in April 2017

A picture of Ellie from April in front of blossoming trees at the edge of the dog park section of Irving Park. As much as I love the rain even I was ready for such a glorious sunny day after a wet winter and a wet start to the spring. But then the spring got unusually hot and dry for a while and I was longing for the rain again. I was standing in line at the cafeteria the other day when we had a lovely warm day after a stretch of miserable hot days, and the cashier asked me if this weather was more to my liking since he knows I hate the heat. I said it was just about perfect but I’d love some rain and a colleague in line looked like she was about to have a heart attack and made me repeat what I had just said, her eyes wide in disbelief.

I post this as evidence that I do like the sun in addition to the rain, just give me the warm days, you can keep the hot ones.

Insert Food Here

Our dog Ellie yawns in front of a blossoming tree

After studying the feeding techniques of the alligator snapping turtle, a large turtle that often sits and waits with its mouth open, using its tongue to lure in prey, Ellie decided to give it a go on our walks. She can charm treats out of just about anyone. She’s been on a bland diet for a while after some brief digestive issues but started normal food yesterday and, much to her great relief, was given her white dental bone treat this morning.

Summer & Winter

Our dog Ellie stands next to a tree in Irving Park in the morning light of summer

I got up early this morning to walk Ellie as we are in the midst of a heat wave with back-to-back days near or over 100˚, and it only cooled off to 70˚ overnight (and even then only for a short while), so I wanted to get her out before sun and temperature rose high. The early light was beautiful and since I had my camera with me I made Ellie pose in front of the same tree near the dog park as the picture below (which I’ve posted before). The two pictures are taken in the same spot and the same year, separated by six months, one on one of our hottest days, the other on our snowiest. Two different cameras too. Same great pup.

On that winter day she gave me an epic walk but a rather short one this morning, although she cut it short because of hunger not heat. Her stomach was upset overnight so she’s on a bland diet of chicken and rice for a few days until we’re sure she’s feeling well again, and she hadn’t had even that for breakfast yet. She kept reminding me all day that I ‘forgot’ to give her a dental bone this morning, her favorite treat. My pup keeps careful track of her treats. It’s going to be a long few days, but thankfully at least cooler weather returns tomorrow.

Black in White

Jedi

Our dog Ellie sits outside a door with a sign that says Women

I’ve seen this painting on a door many times but was never sure what it was supposed to represent. Regardless I love photographing the artwork in our neighborhood and finally one day had my camera with me as I walked past, only to discover I was unable to approach the entrance as it was guarded by the most fearsome hound. Only a Jedi could get past to approach the door, I thought to myself, and then I noticed the sign that said ‘Women’. And suddenly I understood, right here in our sleepy little neighborhood is a little enclave of female Jedi, fighting the good fight, while the rest of us go about our lives. Each time they vanquish a foe, another little lightsaber gets painted on the door.

Just so there’s no confusion, now when I walk past I say out loud how much I admire Obi-Wan Kenobi and how that Darth Vader is a real jerk (and upon hearing that the pup even let me move in for a nice close-up of the painting).

A painting on a door in the Irvington neighborhood of Portland

There’s more than a little truth to that.

I was eight years old when Star Wars came out. There was my life before Star Wars, and my life after. If there’s been a day since that I haven’t thought about something from that world, there haven’t been many. I don’t recall if I saw it more than once in the theaters, but it didn’t matter, it filled my imagination. All of it. Jedi, the Force, lightsabers, Wookiees, stormtroopers, X-wings, TIE Fighters, the Falcon, the Death Star. Han and Chewie. R2 and C-3PO. Luke and Leia. Obi-Wan and Vader.

Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan changed my life.

As I came of age, I enjoyed a good righteous anger and seeing people get what was coming to them, and wondered why in the gospels we were told to turn the other cheek if the other was struck, why we were to pray for our enemies. About vengeance not being ours to take. I didn’t see that in the national policy of our supposedly Christian country, or in many people I knew. These were central teachings, why were they ignored? What was I missing? And what was their point?

“There are alternatives to fighting.” You mystified me, Obi-Wan. I loved you and needed to understand you.

I was eleven when The Empire Strikes Back came out. Obi-Wan was gone (spoilers!) after sacrificing himself in the first movie, but now I had Yoda. A tiny little kid had a tiny little hero. There’s a scene where Yoda is teaching Luke to become a Jedi and Luke senses his friends are in trouble far away and rushes off to save them, before his training has completed. I had seen enough shows and movies on TV to know how the movie would play out, that Yoda would shake his head at his eager apprentice, with a knowing grin and maybe even a wink to the camera, and then Luke would go and save his friends.

He was the good guy. Right beats might.

Except it didn’t. Yoda was depressed when Luke left. Luke didn’t save his friends, they had to save him. Han got captured anyway.

What? WHAT?

For years Empire made me think about life more than any movie before or since. I knew Obi-Wan and Yoda were fictional characters but I thought often of what they did, and why. About not giving in to anger, even righteous anger that I felt was mine to hold, about how it would harden you. Forgiveness wasn’t just for the benefit of those you forgave, but for yourself. Anger, even righteous anger, maybe especially righteous anger, could destroy you, slowly, without you noticing. Forgive. Seventy times seven. And again.

Stand up for what’s right. Don’t give in to anger. Forgive, forgive, forgive.

I was a quiet kid who kept too much inside, tried too hard to figure things out on my own, and perhaps it’s a little ridiculous that two fictional characters would make it so much easier for me to take messages from the gospels that I loved and apply them in my own life, but so it was.

So it delighted me to no end to see in the new Star Wars movies, The Force Awakens and Rogue One, women and people of color in central roles, unapologetically strong. Representation is important. I love that more people can look up on the screen and see people that look like them, and want to be like them too.

Detective Samwise

Our cat Sam with his catnip bag while our dog Ellie sleeps in the background

I’m pleased to announce that we’ve begun production on a new TV series called Detective Samwise, a show in the long tradition of slightly silly murder mysteries. Detective Samwise is called in to investigate a string of cat burglaries, in which it turns out actual cats are being stolen. By coincidence our hero detective is himself a cat, so he goes undercover to catch the thief red-handed but finds more than he bargained for when he discovers a murder most foul! We are having some issues with the actress playing our murder victim, however, as while she’s quite good at laying still, she keeps swiveling her ears around so she can hear if craft services has started laying out snacks.

A close-up of our dog Ellie with her ears in the air

In My Dreams I Run With You

Our dog Ellie sleeps on the hardwood floor in a running position

I love it when Ellie sleeps on her side in a running position, sometimes her legs churn and she makes “whoop whoop whoop” noises as though she’s running in her dreams. She does it more now, either from old age or the medicines she takes. I used to think that sleep separated us but it occurred to me recently that perhaps instead we’re continuing on together in her dreams, running without old age to slow her down, and the treats that come from my pockets are pizzas and pot roasts.