Monthly Archives: May 2010

May 28, 2010

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The End of Yet Another Week

Time sometimes flies. Time sometimes walks. And sometimes, time moves like molasses in winter (a line from the classic film Gone with the Wind…yes, I’ve seen it!). What’s weird, though, is when time moves in all three ways in one day.

That’s what happened today. It started out kind of slow — woke up, ate breakfast and eventually headed to school — and then it stopped as I patiently waited for the students to finish their projects, for Gretchen to pay more attention to me than the kids who were off task, and for us finally to head out on a walk with our first client – Monty.

Then time sped up. Super fast. We were off like a bullet and soon at Gemma’s house where Gretchen strapped her into her raincoat because today, frankly, was nasty wet. I’m not really sure how I dodged the raincoat, but I did. Whew!

We headed over to the tennis courts where we raced around at the speed of light. This is when I wanted time to slow down, but it didn’t. It just kept whizzing by just like I did in a game of chase!

Gemma took Monty and me back home and then she went on another wet walk with Oshi and Perrito. This is when time slowed again as Monty and I relaxed and Gretchen slogged through the puddles on a walk with the three dogs. Because of the rain, pictures were a a minimum and as you can tell from the soggy dogs, they were none too pleased about time moving slowly during the photo shoot!

Okay, Gretchen…take the last shot so they can get home to their warm, dry houses…

Saber was next, but only after Gretchen came home to fetch us. It was so wet there was nothing much to do but walk so up the stairs to the ridge we headed and sat for a short moment for our photos. But again, way too wet to keep that camera out in the weather for long. Saber and I sat on the boulder and watched a plane fly overhead.

Monty sat on the ground and hoped time would speed up so he could get a treat!

After our walk, time sped up again and slipped by so quickly the next thing I knew I was sleeping on my downstairs bed and Gretchen was off to her other job at the pool. Wow. Just like that and another end of the week has arrived. I wonder what speed the weekend will settle into? I sure hope it’s the molasses kind. It would be good to slow down some.

Remember, no work on Monday for us so we hope you have a pleasant Memorial Day together!

Until Tuesday,

Rubin

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May 27, 2010

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Just Walking

Some days, usually toward the end of the week, when we’ve played and romped, run and tussled we decide that perhaps the best activity for the day is a walk. So today we walked.

A lot.

You might think that walking doesn’t tire us out, but actually it does. Walking is great exercise not just for humans, but for dogs as well. It requires us to not only use our bodies, but also our minds. We need to pay attention. Unlike playing fetch, we must stay focused on all the stimuli around us — the cars, the people who pay no attention to walkers when they’re backing out of their driveways, the possibilities of cats and squirrels, and knowing when Gretchen is reaching into her pocket for a treat.

I’ve tried to research how many calories a dog burns on a walk, but unfortunately, the information is sparse. The most I could find out is that dog my weight (a trim and slim 35 lbs) who is considered a “working dog,” which even though that’s not my breed, I’m definitely working — a dog my size burns about 1400-1800 calories a day. That’s kind of a lot, I think, and accounts for the fact that I enjoy every meal and every snack I’m offered, though it didn’t used to be that way. Before Gretchen made my food — before the supplements and additions — I wasn’t interested in food very much.

Now I’m interested, very interested and now that my appetite has been revived, and my work has me pounding the pavement for 7 miles in a day (that’s probably the total for today), I am allowed to eat more than the average dog.

But I’ve gotten off track. Today we walked. It’s that simple and as I type, I can feel that warm glow of healthy tiredness overtaking me. I feel accomplished. I feel as if I helped other dogs feel accomplished and today they included…

Rosie (who sniffs about as much as she walks, but still, she moves along when she’s motivated…)

Gemma (who walks twice the distance on any given walk because she’s always spinning and turning around and lunging forward…which means Gretchen burns more calories than a normal dog walk, too…)

Woobie (probably the most energy efficient dog we walk…not a wasted calorie for that girl…)

Saber (who works the hardest since he’s a mighty big fella and it takes a lot to lug himself around…)

And then there’s me…who has learned to be efficient because while everyone else goes on at least one walk, I go on almost all of them!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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May 26, 2010

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Wet Whiskered Wednesday

I love alliterations. Some days I find myself just humming them. Silly Saturday seriousness sends shivers slipping up my spine. Breakfast burgers burst with beauty on my buds. Walking on wet Wednesdays weally weally worries my whiskers.

Okay, so I don’t follow the rules exactly, but you get the point. Today was truly a wet whiskered day as the rain, while it didn’t come down hard, came down almost every moment we were outside. Therefore, for almost every moment I was wet, which makes my curls, well… curl right up.

Monty’s too…

As for Oshi and Perrito, the wet makes them shiver, which in turn worries Monty, which in turn I find rather endearing…

Yes, this is how we started our day — me humming alliterations and Monty consoling the shivering puppies. Of course, we didn’t have to wear raincoats and to that I say Rah Rah Rah no repugnant raincoats!

Other dogs did wear raincoats though because once we were dried off and resting at home, Gretchen was sweating in her rain gear and walking Gemma and Zoe in theirs!

Both Zoe and Gemma don’t seem to mind their rascally raincoats. In fact, they didn’t even notice them because all they wanted to do was either get the first treat out of Gretchen’s pocket or wrestle with each other and ruin the photograph!

Gemma kept backing into Zoe and Zoe kept moving closer to Gretchen, disregarding the “sit” command and smiling her silly smile like she couldn’t hear a thing Gretchen was saying.

Eventually, Gretchen got them separated long enough to actually get a decent photograph. But it didn’t last long apparently because once the camera was put away, the two of them burst into super play mode!

I thought for sure we’d have to wear raincoats when Gretchen returned, but luckily the heavy mist lightened a bit and we got to go naked…I mean, sans raincoats! Yahoo!

Saber was next and now that he’s one year and one day old, he was a bit more mature…

Okay, maybe not that mature, but he still had his quiet moments.

Monty, the eldest of us all, is not the least bit mature. He’s just downright goofy. The second we arrive at the tennis courts, he heads straight for the bench. Why oh why? We may never know!

What’s particularly fascinating about Monty’s behavior is that he always drops his ball and then watches as it rolls across the court away from him. Then he stays on the bench and watches as Saber and I tackle and shove, wrestle and run with each for awhile. Only after awhile does he decide to leave the bench and pounce on his ball…

…or Gretchen decides to throw it and Monty decides to fetch it, but where does he go after he gets it?

You guessed it, right back on the bench where he does the whole routine all over again.

So much for a correlation between age and maturity.

I thought our romp at the tennis courts and our subsequent walk through the park was the end of my day and technically, it was. Gretchen took us all home then packed up her bags and drove off in the car. Yes, she had to work tonight at the pool and I waited patiently at home for her like the good boy I am.

Of course, I got to spend time with my other mom, Ann, and she took me for a walk and even brushed out my hair (second most dreaded thing next to the raincoat). Anyway, we both waited for Gretchen to come home and when she did, not only did she smell like chlorine (from the pool), but she smelled of another dog.

“Wait just one minute!” I said. “I know you help other dogs at the pool, but this dog smell doesn’t smell wet at all! In fact, this dog smell smells like you went on another walk without me!”

“You’re right, Rubes,” Gretchen responded calmly. “I walked Paige, my boss’s dog.”

“Without me?” I sobbed.

“Well, you know I always take the first walk with a new dog without you,” she tried to explain.

“Yeah, but is she a new dog?”

“Not really,” was her lame excuse. “I’m just helping out occasionally.”

“Does that mean I get to walk with her next time?”

“Yeah, it does.”

“Well, okay then…but first, what’s with her ears?”

“What do you mean?” Gretchen asked. “What about her ears?”

“They look kind of big,” I said. “I’ve never seen ears that tall. I mean, they are so tall you can’t even fit them into the picture.”

“How about this? Is this better?”

“Oh my, that’s much, much better,” I gasped. “She’s beautiful! Can I meet her soon?”

“Hope so, buddy, but don’t get all gushy on her, okay? I mean, she is my boss’s dog and we want to make a good impression.”

“I’ll be on my best behavior,” I said out loud and then mumbled, “for about a minute then I may have to gush.”

“What did you say?” Gretchen asked.

I hummed, “Dandy Doberman dat dog!”

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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May 25, 2010

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How to Throw a Party!

Today, Saber turned one year old and we threw an impromptu party. I mean, we knew it was his birthday, but as the day unfolded, we decided to gather up some of his friends and throw a real party for him. Boy, was he surprised! I was surprised, too because I kind of became a party favor, but more about that in a minute. First, the party day, which began with me playing “Jump the Student” early this morning.

Three students laid down in a row and another called me over. I sniffed the students on the ground, but then the standing student (the one who called me over) asked me to “Hup,” which means to jump and so I jumped, right over the three students lying down. Oh, they thought that was great fun (I did, too), but soon Gretchen put a stop to it since everyone (me included) was getting way too excited and not focusing on our work for the day.

I rested from my excitement of the morning, while Gretchen walked Rosie and this is when Gretchen hatched the plan for Saber’s party. It started like this:

Rosie: What else ya doing today, Gretchen?

Gretchen: Well, I need to walk five more dogs after you and one of those dogs turns one year old today.

Rosie: Why don’t you throw that dog a birthday party?

Gretchen: That’s a great idea, Rosie. Thanks!

Rosie: Wish I could attend.

Gretchen: I wish you could too, but I think you’d be kind of overwhelmed with all those dogs partying around you.

Rosie: Yeah, I suppose I do get overstimulated and then, who knows what I might do.

Gretchen: You’re a good dog, Rosey Posey and when I’m done teaching and have someone to help me, I think it’s time you met some other dogs I walk.

Rosie: Really?

Gretchen: Yep, really, but unfortunately I can’t invite you to the party, but I’ll let Saber know it was your idea.

Rosie: Thanks. That means a lot to me!

And with that, Rosie launched the idea that unfolded as follows:

Gretchen picked me up and we headed in the car over to Ollie’s house. Yes, Ollie’s new house and he was happy to see us. He piled into the car with me and we drove to Zoe’s house. They have never met, but both of them like meeting other dogs so with much fanfare, they sniffed and smelled each other and then off we went on a nice long walk through the neighborhood!

Of course, we have to stop for photos, but it’s always difficult with Ollie because he likes to receive the treats before he’s earned them. Getting him to sit and stay in one spot when he knows there are cookies in Gretchen’s pocket is as hard as anything. He sits for a nano-second and then scoots forward until he as close to Gretchen as he can get. It makes for interesting pictures.

Zoe sits and waits pretty well, but she has to know there is a reward. Gretchen lets her smell the treats and Zoe waits patiently for the photographs to be taken. Ollie, on the other hand, gets so close to Gretchen it’s hard to get a picture of his whole body!

At this point, Gretchen could have taken Ollie home, but she decided to take both of us to Gemma’s house. Ollie hasn’t seen Gemma in awhile, but once the car door open, he knew EXACTLY where he was. He raced right up the stairs and bounced and bounced waiting for Gemma to emerge.

Gemma was happy to see her long, lost friend and the two of them nuzzled each other before we headed out to get the birthday boy. Saber was beside himself that not only was I there, not only was Gemma there, but Ollie was there too. “Par-tay!” he howled and off we went to play hard and fast at the tennis courts! I think the photos speak for themselves, but do notice that Ollie was a bit nervous about partying and so, as is his desire, he hung out as close to Gretchen (or Gretchen’s treat pocket) as he could!

What a party. Can you see how I became the party favor? Now I have a bit of a hangover and as soon as I finish this blog, I’m going to take two aspirin and take a nap!

Happy Birthday, Saber! We forgot to give you your present today, but we promise to bring it tomorrow!

Rubin

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May 24, 2010

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Crossing Paths

Gretchen often tells her students that what goes around, comes around. I think she’s trying to tell them that if they are kind to everyone, they’ll receive kindness in their lives. But in many ways, what goes around, comes around can be more than a lesson in kindness and karma. It can also be a lesson in the beauty and brevity of life.

I’ve been reading a lot of philosophy lately (in my spare time while Gretchen is working at Wellsprings) and I am constantly fascinated by human obsession with eternity. Even today, as we were driving to our work, we heard an author talk about his need to believe that there was something after this life, something more wonderful than the aches and pains and tragedies of each day.

“Do all humans believe this?” I asked Gretchen.

“Not all,” she said, “But a fair amount believe that there must be something after we no longer exist.”

I was shocked by this information. As a dog, I believe the world of now is far more entertaining and glorious than the world we cannot see, in the world we hope will be there when we no longer are in this moment, this life. I believe that all time is now and that my passing (whenever that may be) is not about the extinguishing of a life force, but about my life force moving into a bigger sphere.

Take, for instance, my predecessor Chester. He was a beloved dog who spent 14 years in a living form. When he passed, after a yearlong battle with a brain tumor and subsequent seizures, he was not forgotten. In fact, his photos still perch on shelves all around our house and his ashes sit on the nightstand right by where I sleep.

Occasionally, I’ll hear stories about Chester — about how he ate chicken bones and never got sick, about how he snatched up some dried duck legs off the beach and Gretchen tried to get them out, how he ate a hot dog on the day he was found by Ann, how he had the nickname Mr. Pajama Pants because of his pantaloons, and how, after a seizure, he tried to eat his way through the glove compartment in the car to get to the dog treats he could smell within. He loved the snow, but wasn’t fond of the water. He loved long walks, but was a bit testy with other dogs. He loved to look in your eyes long and serious while you petted him. And he loved to clean up the floor if someone spilled cheese.

See! He’s not gone. He’s here and every day, I can feel his presence. Our paths cross, as it were though technically I never really knew him.

But there are also little ways in which our paths cross. Not necessarily Chester’s and mine, but with all the people and places I’ve known in my short, but rich life. What got me thinking about all of this –aside from my time reading Plato and Voltaire– was that Gretchen told me she got to see Wilson. Wilson was a dog we walked last year while his Dad served in Iraq and his Mom worked nights as a nurse. Wilson and I played in the yard…

…swam at the lake…

…and played fetch at the little field…

Until Gretchen mentioned his name again, I hadn’t realized how much I missed Wilson, but when she came home on Saturday from her work at the pool, she smelled like Wilson (and chlorine, too) and all these wonderful memories of my time with Wilson came flooding back.

“How is he?” I asked.

“He had surgery awhile back on his knee,” she told me, “But he’s recovering well and I’ll be working with him at the pool.”

See how paths cross? And it doesn’t even stop there. Nope, the pool where Gretchen works is on 25th Ave. SW. We live on 25th Ave. S. The cross street is SW Dakota and today, while we were dropping bread off at our good friends’ house, I noticed the cross street was S Dakota. We teach at a school that’s in the same zip code as our house and all the dogs we walk have interesting connections — like Woobie’s Dad works at the same place as Saber’s parents (just to name one interesting coincidence).

Gretchen says it’s called six degrees of separation, but I’m beginning to think it’s more like three degrees and sometimes it’s just one degree.

Anyway, Wilson had his first session in the pool and though he was nervous, he soon relaxed in the warm water and enjoyed the massage.

When he’s completely healed, we’re hoping for a play date, but even if it doesn’t happen, I know he’s with me both in memory and in my universe. I don’t need to think about meeting him in some beyond time. Instead, I’m happy to have had him (and still have him) in the circle of my life even if it is just his scent at this point.

So today, while we walked our current clients, I tried to hold the memory of our moments in the beauty of the now in which I live, though I must admit, I’m glad to have this blog so I can look back at all the fun times we’ve had.

And even though there are some dogs I may never actually meet (like Rosie and Tyson…though I’m still hoping we’ll meet one day), their scent is a part of my life every time Gretchen comes home from walking them (as she did today).

Others — like Gemma, Oshi, and Perrito — are IN my life and though I didn’t walk with all three of them today, I can tell from the photos they had fun at the field chasing the ball and rolling in the freshly mowed grass.

Saber is in my life almost on a daily basis and today, as we passed the off leash dog park and saw that it was empty, I let loose and got Saber to play a rousing game of chase, which creates some of my favorite memories that will stay with me for my entire life.

I only see Alice once a week and I have to admit, at first I didn’t think she liked me much, but today she was almost beside herself with excitement. In fact, Alice didn’t even bark when Gretchen entered the house (something Alice often does even though she knows it’s Gretchen) and when Alice and I got to run on the grassy boulevard, she actually smiled and nudged me as we ran side by side.

Of course when we stopped for a photo op, I kind of freaked Alice out by rolling around in the cool grass. She thought I was kind of cuckoo and for a moment, I suppose I was, but still, Alice is someone who will remain in my long term memory because she, like all of our clients, is unique and connected to me through scent and our time together.

I don’t know if I believe in god, but I do know that I believe in DOG and in all the possibilities and opportunities to have our paths cross whenever and where ever that may be.

What goes around, comes around and so…

…until tomorrow, when it comes around once again…

Rubin

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May 21, 2010

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By the Hairs on My Chinny Chin Chin

Friday has arrived. Thank Dog! And we pretty much missed the rain. Yes, we got wet on some days, but looking back, we really missed the downpours, thunderstorms, and deluges. Again, Thank Dog! Even today the rain didn’t find us. Well, at least not until the last 100 steps of our walk and then it wasn’t really rain, but mist. Whew.

I probably complain too much about the rain, but heck, it’s getting towards the end of May and you’d think we’d see less of it these days. Unfortunately, it’s so not been the case. It even has the forecasters baffled.

But we made it to Friday and I’m very glad. I’ll admit, I’m a tired pup so I will provide you the day in photos and quotes from the dogs we walk since they often have very funny and enlightened comments!

Until Monday…have a good weekend,

Rubin

"Did you throw a treat over here? I swear you did. Didn't you?"

"Nope, she threw the ball for me. Yep, justs for me and I'm never going to give it back!"

"Nope, she threw a treat and I found it and now I'm coming back for more. More treats, more treats, more treats!"

"Okay, I might give up this wonderful ball for a big, juicy treat. What ya got?"

"Hey Gretchen, how do I make this carpet sample run so I can chase him?"

"Chase? Did I hear the word chase? I'm going to stay way over here until we go home. Can we go home now?"

"I am not a carpet sample!"

"Hey, are you my relative? I mean, we both have red hair."

"Hey, carpet sample, I found my long lost brother! See, we both have red hair!"

"Why does that ball not stay on the backpack?"

"Do you see how he is? He always steals my ball and then tosses it around in front of me!"

"I love this ball, I love this ball, I love this ball!"

"Okay, maybe I love that ball more!"

"I don't care what ball I have as long as I can rest on this bench. I love this bench!"

"I got my ball back. Neener neener neener!"

"Got my ball and I'm heading to my favorite bench!"

"You two play your roughhouse games. I'm going to commune with my ball and my bench!"

"This is the best way to spend a Friday afternoon, isn't it Saber?"

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May 20, 2010

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Things Aren’t Always What They Seem

I am always astonished by human assumptions especially when those assumptions are about dogs. Take, for instance, Gretchen’s assumption about Rosie. She assumes that Rosie is more driven by treats than anything else in her life. She assumes that given the choice between a bird, let’s say, and a cheesy treat Rosie will choose the later and gladly ignore the former.

Well today, Rosie disproved Gretchen’s assumptions. They were playing treat fetch at the park and Rosie was doing a great job hunting down the treats and racing back to Gretchen when all of the sudden a swallow crossed Rosie’s path. And in the blink of an eye, Rosie was off chasing the swallow like a bird dog on a mission. The swallows, of course, torment dogs. They dive bomb and tease, swoop right above our heads, and circle back for more. You can actually hear them laughing when we reach out and snap at them never quite catching them.

So Rosie, assumed by Gretchen NOT to be a bird dog, chased those swallows with as much fervor as a 6 month old puppy. Even after Gretchen grabbed Rosie’s leash and the headed out for a walk, Rosie bounced and pulled, lunged and spun every time a tormenting swallow swooped by.

What did Gretchen? Her assumption about Rosie was false. She’s a bird dog in a Boxer body!

We only had four dogs today, but I swear we walked more today than we did yesterday when we had seven dogs on the docket. I guess that was my wrong assumption that four dogs would be less work than seven, but we ended up walking just as much if not more today, which explains why I have tired paws.

Gemma was after Rosie and we all walked up to Woobie’s house for a walk down through the park and then, of all things, to Saber’s house. Gretchen’s thought was that Gemma could get worn out by the walk and then be less rambunctious with Saber at the tennis courts, only that was another silly assumption. Gemma never wears out.

Another assumption is that dogs of a similar breed will all be the same. For instance, Gemma is a purebred Irish Terrier. Woobie, on the other hand, is a mixed breed, but most likely a Bearded Collie and a Tibetan Terrier. Now you’d think that that terrier gene, as persistent as it is, would show itself as much in Woobie as it does in Gemma. But alas, this is so not the case.

Gemma is high strung.

Woobie is relaxed.

Gemma is tenacious.

Woobie waits for the world to unfold before her.

Two dogs with similar genes, but two dogs with completely different dog-a-tudes.

From this photo…

…you’d assume Saber thinks we’re picking on him. I guess we sort of were, but in a friendly way. He actually loved it and raced around the court begging us to chase him.

Saber loves to be chased, but given his size and weight he tires out quickly. But we keep trying to rile him up and he falls for it every time.

Woobie just watches and laughs…

Aside from canine assumptions, Gretchen sometimes makes false weather assumptions — like the big, black cloud to the west is going to dump on us and therefore she must put on her raincoat. But no rain came and while we got a few sprinkles, to assume the sky was going to open up on us never really proved true today.

I’m actually glad because on top of the miles we put in today, walking in a rainstorm would have been a bit more than I could take.

At least, that’s what I’m assuming.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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May 19, 2010

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Lesson for the Day: It isn’t what they say it is until it is what it is.

Gretchen is the first to get up in our household. She stretches a bit then makes her way downstairs while Ann and I cuddle in bed. And no, I don’t sleep on the bed until the morning — Gretchen calls me up when she’s leaving. Anyway, she makes her way down the stairs and inevitably turns on the radio to listen to the news while she makes the coffee and gets things ready for breakfast.

This morning the news reporters were abuzz about the incoming storm. “High winds up to 75 miles an hour!” they exclaimed. “It will be 68 degrees, but thunderstorms and heavy rains will batter the Puget Sound area!” they proclaimed. And so today, when we started our walking, Gretchen was a bit hurried as if at any moment the wind would knock us down and the rain would wash us away.

Only there wasn’t any wind, there wasn’t any rain, and thankfully, there weren’t any thunderstorms. Instead, it was blue skies and warm temperatures the whole day. About halfway through the day, I finally said to Gretchen, “You worry too much!”

To which she replied, “I know, Rubin. It’s not a good quality is it?”

“Nope,” was my honest response. “You need to remember that it isn’t what they say it is until it is what it is.”

“You’re so astute, Rubin,” she said and I walked a little prouder all the rest of the day.

And what a long and busy it day it was. We didn’t have to teach this morning because the students are still on their field trip, but we did need to go into school so we picked up Monty and headed that way. Monty LOVES to go to school only he didn’t love it as much today because the students weren’t there. Still, we watched Gretchen do a bit of work and then we headed out for a nice, long walk. No photos (sorry, Colleen) but we did take some of Sir Montague and the boys — Oshi and Perrito — after we picked them up for a walk through the park.

Aren’t we cute? Well, that’s what this one lady in the park kept saying. “They’re so cute just sittin’ there posin’ for their pictures!”

Gretchen dropped the boys off at their house and Monty and I hung out at our house while she walked to Rosie’s. Rosie was surprised (as we all were) by the warm weather and when it’s warm, Rosie moves a lot slower. She pokes along according to Gretchen since the warm weather tends to overheat her. Yes, it was that warm today and I know exactly how Rosie feels.

Of course, the nice weather made for beautiful views today and Rosie encouraged Gretchen to get a photo of her standing in front of Mt. Rainier, only you really can’t see the mountain in the background so Gretchen took another of just the mountain.

Rosie eventually made it home and she was mighty happy to be back in her cool house. Gretchen then picked up Gemma and the two of them headed over to Zoe’s house. Remember that storm they said was coming? Well, it still hadn’t arrived. In fact, it was so warm Gretchen let Zoe jump in the lake!

Gemma was hesitant, so when Gretchen saw the opportunity, she gave Gemma a little nudge of encouragement and what do you know?

And the view of Mt. Baker to the north is one we rarely see this time of year!

Gemma and Zoe were extremely frisky after their little dip in the water and kept bumping into each other all the way back to Zoe’s house. When they got to the house, they both wanted to rumble, but Gretchen still had the need to hurry since she knew, she just KNEW that storm was coming.

So Zoe went home and then Gemma and finally Gretchen picked up Saber whose first words were, “Storm’s a comin! I heard it on my TV here.” They walked back to our house, leashed up Monty and me and then we all went for a walk through the park and to our favorite little field where we played fetch and chase and eventually relaxed in the cool of the shade.

Okay, it was at that point that I looked to the Southwest and what did I see? Clouds — big, gray banks of clouds and that’s when I turned to Gretchen and said, “Now it is what it is!”

We finished our walk with Saber and Monty and then Gretchen came home to get her stuff ready for her night at the pool. Right when she left, the rain started coming down and by the time she arrived at work, we were in the middle of a mighty storm. It’s still rather windy out there now and though the rain isn’t as violent, the wind is supposed to stick around for the next few hours. Sure hope there aren’t any thunderstorms!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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May 18, 2010

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Our Fair City

As our business expands — with clients moving and new clients calling us — we’ve been able to visit some new neighborhoods of late. In our explorations we’ve noticed two common themes in every neighborhood — stairs and gardens. I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised by these findings since Seattle is hilly (though not as hilly as San Francisco, I’m told) and we do get our fair share of rain, which every garden loves.

Today we got to visit yet another new neighborhood, though it wasn’t with a new dog. Ollie’s family finally found a house to buy and we went today to pick up Ollie at his new digs and then walk around his neighborhood checking out the stairs…

…and the gardens. This is actually called an orchard, but right around the corner is a large pea patch. Sweet!

I hadn’t seen Ollie for a long time and since he’s just moved in, we had a great walk through his new neighborhood checking out the stairs, the gardens, the scents, and all the different routes we might explore later on.

Rosie walks pretty much the same neighborhood as I do since we live just blocks from each other, but she enjoys the views just as much as I do…

Come to think of it, while our city has lots of stairs and gardens, it also has lots of viewpoints from high atop those many hills. And while the view is kind of always the same, it’s also kind of not partly because you never know what the weather will do. Rosie likes the views…

…though she’s not so fond of the stairs…

Zoe’s neighborhood is relatively new to us, though we have friends who live near her so we’ve explored that neighborhood before, though not for work purposes. And yes, there are stairs…

…and there are gardens.

In fact, there are probably more gardens in Zoe’s neighborhood than any others in which walk, but I can’t say for sure. I mean, what makes a garden a garden? This pink bush we sat (patiently) in front of, is actually in a park. Is a park a garden? Hm, I’ll have to think about that? But it’s true, we have a lot of parks, too along with all the stairs, views, and gardens!

For Saber and Gemma, the stairs came later today and Gretchen didn’t take a photograph of them because she was too busy hauling us up, huffing and puffing each one of us, up the 250+ stairs at the pea patch. Yes, they’re behind us in these photos.

But she took us to the tennis courts where she got lots of photos of us playing, which is something we enjoy doing in our fair city…

…some of us enjoy it more than others!

Exploring new neighborhoods is one of the joys of my job. The more I venture out into the world, the more I realize that not only do we live in a beautiful city, but also there’s a whole big world out there just waiting for me to come smell it! Some day.

Until then,

Rubin

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May 17, 2010

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Beauty…

…and the Beast

I’m not sure why I titled today’s post “Beauty and the Beast,” but when I was uploading pictures from the camera today, I was struck by the contrasting feelings of these two photos. The first was taken on our last walk of the day (with Alice) where we were posed on the steps of a beautiful garden…

…and Gretchen found the orange poppies extraordinarily stunning…

I have to admit, the garden was particularly spectacular. In Alice’s new neighborhood there are lots of magnificent gardens and some pretty amazing houses.

But these poppies kind of captured our eyes.

And they were everywhere. It was as if every house in the neighborhood had poppies growing in the front or side garden.

Maybe the seeds traveled. It’s hard to say, but whatever the reason, they were out in full bloom today and simply gorgeous.

Don’t you think? Well, Alice was too. Kind of her own puppy poppy, if you will.

But earlier in the day, the walk right before Alice’s, was a completely different story. It wasn’t about beauty at all, but about romping! And the photo of Saber and his silly face exemplify so perfectly.

Of course, Monty and I were there to keep things a bit more serious!

Okay, so maybe that last photo isn’t so serious. We played at the different tennis courts today — the ones without benches — so Monty had to find somewhere to hang out and he chose the backpack.

And since we’re moving backwards through the day, I’ll tell you about Gemma. She practices being beauty today…

Beauty kind of implies patience and today Gemma didn’t have too much of it. Gretchen was lucky to capture her in her more sedate phases — ready to play and posing with Monty — but Gemma was her usual vim and vigor today. But so was Monty for that matter. He did tire out, though, a bit quicker than Ms. Gemma. Hey, even I tired out before she did!

Of course, before Gemma came to visit us, she’d been out with the boys next door – Oshi and Perrito. Gretchen took them over to the big, big field by the school and was hoping to photograph them running and playing. Only Oshi rarely runs and Perrito, while he’ll chase after a ball, just flops down on top of it…much to Gemma’s frustration.

The real beast today was Gretchen. She’s just starting her report cards, which is a deadly process for everyone involved (well, except the students). She has to write two pages for every student, explaining their strengths and weaknesses (though I think they call them challenges). It takes her a good hour to write one and with 22 students, she’s feeling like she’s climbing a mountain.

She’s not that fun to be around right now, but don’t tell her I told you so.

Rosie and Tyson didn’t seem to notice though. They were beauties and beasts all in one play session today…

Beauties…

Tyson begged to play fetch at the courts today, so Gretchen obliged him. He’s very serious about his game of fetch, but today was particularly warm (despite some scattered showers) so the pups wore out pretty quickly.

I mean, it’s rare that Tyson pants and shows his tongue, but after some vigorous fetch he was one smiling happy dog.

Though no one can smile like Rosie. Of course, it’s hard for Tyson to show his beautiful smile with a ball in his mouth and trust me, today he really wanted that ball in his big, big mouth!

Still, they had some fun “beast” shots as well…

I guess you can’t be beautiful every day, though Gretchen tells me I’m just as beautiful when I’m beastly. Ah, shucks!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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