Gnome Update

Before
After

Yikes....and he his still growing...this after only 4 days. Watch out friend who cringes.

Introducing Flat Tony

We are playing host to Flat Tony. His 3-D self lives in Tasmania, Australia and can't get away on many vacations. Many of us around this globe are showing Flat Tony around. If anyone else is interested in hosting Flat Tony, I am sure he would be thrilled. For further details on Flat Tony's travels or you want to host, check out Tony's blog. It is a good time. Tony's blog address is listed below.

http://ynot60.blogspot.com/

Things You Never Want to Find at the Beach

But unfortunately you do.

Another Photoshow

Have been meaning to put this out on the Blog. Still trying to perfect my skills using the software to put this together. So please bear with me.

We spent another lovely day at the beach on t Sunday with human and doggie friends. After the walk, we had a nice lunch and visit at Chipolte's. The photoshow includes pictures of Walter, Kate, Susan and Eddie. Good times. :-)

Update on the Prius with the McCain bumpersticker. Haven't seen it back in the garage since that day. Funny.

More Gnome Tales

So I go out to the mailbox and what do I find, a package from my friend Eileen B. I open it up and inside is a "Grow Your Own Gnome" doll. Fortunately it will take about 10 days to grow all the way so I have time to make room in the house. I am happy. I will be placing it in water where it will grow 600% it's current size. Sounds big doesn't it. It promises to bring me good luck and a chuckle to all my friends. It also promises to make one of my friends cringe. So here you go friends...those who will chuckle and those who will cringe.

P.S. I will have a picture of the 600% grown gnome is approximately ten days.

Bay Area Road Trip

Today I decided I was going to take a trip around the San Francisco and North Bay Coast. I haven't been around the North Bay coast for years and thought it might be fun to play tourist today. I started out the day (left the house at 6am) taking the dogs to Fort Funston. Boy was it foggy. The tide was low so we had lots of beach to walk on. I walked (dogs ran and ran) for a couple of hours. Once back to the car, I headed out to the north bay. The first stop was at the vista point over the Golden Gate Bridge. You wouldn't believe the difference. There was no fog once I was on the Marin side of the bridge. I was there for about 25 minutes, taking in the sights, taking a few pictures for myself, and taking pictures of the tourists with their cameras. It was really beautiful. There were a lot of people there. But there always are. The next destination was Muir Beach overlook. It is an area hundreds of feet above the coastline. It is beautiful on clear day but equally beautiful when the cloud bank is in. That's what we had today. It looks the same as when you are in an airplane above the clouds. Pretty cool really. There were some open areas where you could see the water. Quite stunning really. Next, I had lunch in Olema. It is a little town along the coast right before you get to Point Reyes National Shoreline. It's claim to fame is that is was at the epicenter of one of the earthquakes (I should know this but don't). I then headed up to Point Reyes. There is a lighthouse at the very tip of lands end. I was hoping to see the whales migrating. When I arrived there were so many folks there I couldn't find a place to park. Even though I didn't make it to the lighthouse, I was still able to overlook the shoreline. I am always amazed at how beautiful this area is. On my way out of the park, I stopped at South Beach (not the Miami one) and took a few more pictures. I really enjoyed the mini road trip. I forget how much there is to see around here.

Above is a little photoshow of some of the things I saw today.

Represented in Illinios

Spreading the word and helping get the Feedjit Map red. And it is not even a family member's car. Woo-Hoo!

Games for Dixy

On Thursday nights I train with Grady and Dixy. With Grady, we are working on a specific goal. With Dixy, not so much. With Dixy it is just a matter of trying to get her brain tired. She has boundless energy. This video is a game we play were she brings me stuff from the box. Everytime she brings me something she gets a click and a treat. If we are not fast enough in treating her, she lets me know. She is a real character.

Lordy, Lordy Look Who's Forty-Michael Guerin

I am sending a shout out to my brother-in-law who is turning forty today (September 26th). Happy birthday Michael. Doesn't seem possible that you have reached that age. I remember when you and Tiffany used to come to my house on Sundays for chicken dinner and America's Funniest Home Video (can't believe I am admitting to that). That was more than twenty years ago. Wow! Anyways, you are a great brother-in-law and I am glad to have you as part of the family. Happy Birthday!

Pigeon Picture and Curious Actions

Here is a picture I thought was interesting. I went to meet a friend for lunch today and as I was waiting for her I noticed this running water "fountain" in the center of the plaza. The birds obviously thought it was their personal bird bath. They were perched on the edge of the fountain as the water was running, just as comfortable as can be. Every once in awhile they would start bathing and preening. It was interesting to watch as I passed the time waiting for my friend. I tried to capture their reflections in the water but the angle and lighting weren't quite right. I am sharing it anyway.

Here is a curious thing. I stopped at the grocery store on the way home today. I usually go in there after a hike while I am usually in shorts. Today I went in wearing my work attire (business suit) and it was interesting how differently I was treated. The employees are always nice to me but today they went out of their way to see if they could help me. I am sure that they didn't recognize me even though I have shopped there for years. I just think it is interesting how we are perceived in such a different way based on what we are wearing.

Compelled by Dennis the Vizsla's "Go-Go Gadget Ears"

I love seeing the pictures of the dogs ears flying in the wing. When I saw the picture of Dennis the Viszla going over the agility jump, it made me want to pull out a few of the pictures I have of flying dog ears. Hope you don't mind Dennis. Something about these pictures makes me think...boy, they are sure having a good time and how can I learn how to have fun with such reckless abandon. I haven't figured that out yet but the pictures bring a smile to my face. The doberman is our friend Flirtie. Her ears are always up.

Trolls, Leprechauns, and Gnomes-Fun Facts

I don't think I have laughed as hard as I did today in a long time. I was speaking to a friend of mine and somehow the topic of Gnomes came up. She is very afraid of them and thinks they are creepy. I told her my mom collected them and I have a tattoo of one on my ankle (come to find out it is really a fairy). This led to a discussion about trolls (I think of the plastic dolls from the sixties, she thinks of the creatures from under a bridge) and how evil they are. Which further led to conversations of Leprechauns and their nastiness. Again, our images of them were completely different. She-Leprechaun the movie, me Lucky Charm Cereal. That led to her finding all kind crazy websites including one one Gnome that play really goofy music and another http://www.badmovies.org/ describing the Leprechaun movie.

Fun Gnome, Leprechaun & Troll Facts

Gnomes-There are several types. Woodland, Dune, Farm, House, Garden, & Siberian. The Garden gnome belongs to the general type. He lives in old gardens, even those hemmed in between the new houses of modern "model" cities. His nature is on the somber side, and he rather enjoys telling melancholy tales. If he begins to feel too closed in , he simply goes to the woods. But, as he is quite learned, he sometimes feels out of place there. The Siberian gnome has been the most affected by crossbreeding. He is centimeters larger than the European type and associates freely with trolls. In certain regions there is not a single gnome to be trusted. The Siberian gnome takes revenge for even the slightest offense by killing cattle, causing bad harvests, droughts, abnormally cold weather, and so forth. The less said about him, the better. There is even a Free the Gnome Society. Pretty funny really.

Leprechauns-One of a race of elves in Irish folklore who can reveal hidden treasure to those who catch them. But they don't like humans.

Trolls-don't see very well. They are as blind as a bat and can't see their own hand in front of them. Trolls hate the daylight (Unless you are Wendy's Troll Doll). If they are caught in the sun, they will turn to stone. The worst thing you could ever do to a troll is be happy. They hate happiness and things that make people happy. So be careful not to be too happy, you might make a troll mad. If you do, a troll will not take kindly to you.


Thanks for indulging my weirdness today.

In a World Gone Mad-Maybe I'll Sell Avon

Now what would be crazier? Really...anyone who knows me knows this would be equivalent to reality television shows becoming unpopular. If you are wondering where this came from, well I was watching TV (first mistake) and an Avon ad with a chipper little woman comes on talking about how happy she was with her first big sale of Avon products. It went on to imply this was a good career choice. Now mind you, I have nothing against sellers of Avon but with all the craziness that is the state of our national finances it just really struck me as funny that anyone could suggest this is a viable career choice. But with everything that is going on...maybe this IS where the future is. Crazier things have been known to happen.

Sometimes We Have Stressful days Even at the Most Beautiful Places-Written by Dixy

Boy, was I excited about going to the beach today. Mom bought a new toy that would save her arm from the aches and pains of constantly throwing the tennis ball for me. Something about this thing lets her to throw it way far and it and it doesn't hurt. I don't understand it. I am not wired that way. Now ask me about sniffing out tennis balls and I can woof all about that. Anyways, we got to the beach at about 8:15 (mom didn't want to get there too early because long walk really make Colvin tired) and mom brought out the "Chuck It". Oh boy, was I excited. Mom flung the ball and I was off. It landed in a bush far away but I found it in no time. If rubber is what you are hunting, call my mom. I am really good at finding it. Okay, back to the story. We stayed at the top for awhile. We were waiting for my other brother and sister to show up. I like going on family walks even though I try to beat everyone to the ball. They don't seem to mind though. I think they just like to chase me. Oops, I am off track again. Sorry, my mind races a hundred miles a minute.

Today was a little different of a walk than usual. Mom was a little tense. I am not sure why but it might have been because a strange dog walked with us the whole time. It was really strange because he was without his people. I guess he lives close by and his people let him go where ever he wants by himself. He looked funny too. I heard mom say he was an unneutered pit mix. Not sure what that means but I think mom was worried he may not behave himself with the rest of us. Turns out he wasn't mean, just a real pest. He kept pestering Grady first, then Jasper, then Anise. He tried to pester Sara but she told him right off. He couldn't keep up with me so I was never even bothered. I heard mom saying something about how irresponsible his mom was. He didn't play with people too well and mom thought it was because he wasn't well socialized. Well because of him, mom wanted to turn and go back so the walk was a lot shorter than usual. Then on top of that, Kate's car was broken into. It wasn't the best day at the beach for the humans. I guess us dogs had a good enough time, just too short.

Annual Beach Clean up Day

Today was the Annual Beach Clean Up Day. It is a day that is advertised in hopes that lots of people will come out and clean up the beaches. This year, Dave and his sons were out managing the hordes of people looking to help with the clean up. I like to help for a couple of reasons. One-I love the beach, as you can tell from how often I go there, and I hate that some people seem to think it is their trash can. Two-with all the bad press that dogs and their owners get, I like to show that we can be good social citizens. The dogs and I got out there at about 8am. We filled up a bag and brought up some old boards. I dropped them off in the dumpster and waited for friends who were arriving at 9. As you can tell from the photos, there was quite a good turn out. When we went down to the beach the second time, we weren't even able to fill the trash bag a quarter of the way. That was great. Anyways, it is good to see a lot of younger humans out picking up the trash. I hope it gives them an appreciation of the earth and how we have to take care of it. I am also grateful that the Daves in the world take the time to organize these events.

Giving the Other Vs Equal Time

I wanted to make sure that the others (Dixy and Sara) got equal time. Here are the pups pointing another rooster pheasant. Check out Sara's honoring of the other dogs. Look at the intensity in her eyes. She is amazing.

Vizslas-Finding What They Are Looking For

Went out to Hastings Island today to take the dogs for their run. From the onset, I knew the dogs would be doing a lot of hunting. There was bird scent EVERYWHERE. They must have found at least 9 rooster pheasants. The above pictures tell the story of what our day at Hastings was like.

1-The pheasant

2-Colvin and Grady on point

3-Grady creeping up on the pheasant (yes, I know, I need to work on that with him).

After it was all said and done, the rooster went his way and we went ours. :-)

Random Thoughts On (my) Aging and International Talk Like A Pirate Day

Okay, this is kind of funny. Funny in an ironic way not a haha way. I turn 50 and my body immediately breaks down. I have my first signs of arthritis. So this is what they mean by youth being wasted on the young. I have all this knowledge and understanding (yea right) and yet...I won't be able to use it. Oh well, thanks to my friend Wendy who let us all know it is International talk like a Pirate Day...at least I can have fun with that. ARR!!

Speaking of that, isn't it kind of funny there is such a thing. I mean really, International Talk Like a Pirate Day". How fun...So in honor of Wendy and International Talk Like a Pirate Day...comments should be made in pirate.

The Pirate Life: Unleashing Your Inner Buccaneer,by Ol' Chumbucket and Cap'n Slappy

Christmas in September?? Isn't That a Bit Much?

Doesn't it seem just a little bit odd that Christmas decorations are out already? I mean, it is only September 17th, almost a month and a half away from Halloween. And I actually saw them out in another store this weekend. I just don't get it. When I was a little kid, Christmas decorations didn't go out until the day after Thanksgiving. As I got older, they were put out earlier and earlier. This, however, is the earliest. If we are not careful. We will be shopping for next year's Christmas the day after the present year's Christmas. The advertising will become relentless. It will be the only way to get our attention. This holiday will become meaningless. I just don't get it.

Dixy Chilling

As hard as Dixy likes to play, she also knows how to relax. Her she is laying on her sleeping bag just relaxing. At least that was what she was doing before I pestered her to let me take her picture. :-)

Grady on Point

Here is a picture of Grady on Point. He was hunting pretty seriously, covering a lot of ground. I knew he was on a scent. I can just tell by the way he quarters back and forth and how his tail moves. About 30 seconds after this picture was taken, a jackrabbit came tearing out about 5 feet away him. Grady thought about chasing it but I commanded him to wait and he didn't take a step. I was very proud. This is the stuff he loves. Can't wait to start the training for his senior hunter title.

McCain Bumpersticker on a Prius????

There are just so many things wrong with this picture. I don't know where to begin. See if you can pick them out.

Grady's Weekend at the Dog Show

Our weekend at the dog show didn't quite go as well as planned. On Saturday, Grady showed wonderfully. He stacked out like a champ and floated around the ring. He looked beautiful. Unfortunately the judge didn't agree and Grady took last in his class. I don't believe that was the right place but judging is subjective. Still it does get discouraging when it is hard to understand how the judge made their decision. Sunday was a completely different story. He would not even stand for his exam. For whatever reason, he did not want to stand and no amount of coaxing would change his mind. He ended up being excused. The judge was very nice about it and just suggested I work with him. It really is hard we the judges only see the dogs for a short period of time. I know he is the sweetest boy and I wish all could see the same thing in him. I am a little bummed.