We’ve had a deliciously mild summer so far, but August seems intent on making up for lost time. So when I take Clementine for the late afternoon walk, I’m all for being focused and brief with our attentions to all the familiar landmarks. But what can you do with a scent hound? Clementine caught scent […]

From the yellow light of October to the white light of November. Earlier this week, I was still enjoying the glinting sun, bright blue sky and crispy leaves underfoot. Then today, November woke up, and the sky went flat and bright. It reminded me of the light of diamonds, which in turn reminded me of […]

Saturday morning Clementine the dog was being a little restless, so I sat down on her loveseat to see if a little focused affection would calm her down. This loveseat is a piece of rented furniture that we’ve long-since bought and paid for, which is a little galling, since it’s such an ugly thing. It’s […]

I forgot. Early spring isn’t really a very attractive time of year.

You’d think I’d remember, but I never do. Poets are so full of good words about spring that I get lulled into thinking that a good time will be had by all. And then the weather warms up, the sky goes from concrete white […]

When I got a dog, I found out that some of my assumptions about dogs were wrong. I thought dogs bounded around all day long, since dog-people regularly remark on the lethargy of cats. Nope, I don’t know what breed of dog those people had, but our Clementine maps her day out in terms of […]

Earlier this week, temperatures fell into the single digits and everyone bundled into coats and blankets and hunkered down to keep warm. But today the temperatures have drifted nonchalantly above freezing, the somewhat fitful February sun is making an appearance, and I find it in my heart to believe that yes, the seasons might actually […]

My little town is putting on a fall festival this weekend, and so they had scheduled a parade for this morning. But with the usual contrariness of weather, it seems like they have been granted the very worst day ever on which to hold a parade. Yesterday’s mild temperatures have dipped down five degrees, and […]

End of summer fun: just before you close the community pool for the year, let the dogs in.
I’m probably a little bit more of a cat person than a dog person, but there are some things you just can’t do with a cat (unless you’re wearing full body armor).

BTW, the link to the 2007 Plunge […]

It’s a drizzly day and the mood of the house is sleepy. The dog cracks me up on days like this. Her hunting-dog half is handily overmastered by her lap-dog half where rainy days are concerned. The weather has been so mild that the hibernating creatures have woken up and during our morning time we […]

We’ve gotten to that part of October. The sky outside is postcard blue, and the air outside feels so cold and clean you wish you could bathe in it. But I’m still glad I’m not in the high school marching band that I hear. Apparently, they have to practice the walking-and-chewing-gum thing — marching and […]