Tag Archives: Dogs

Deb and Jeff’s Visit

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A few days ago, I showed you some photos of our trip to the Herradura Tequila Distillery. Here are a few photos of the rest of Debbie and Jeff’s visit, including trips to our local Tiengas market, Tonala and Telaquepaque as well as to Jesus Lopez Vega’s art studio, Chac Lan Restaurant  at Monte Coxala and Yolanda’s house!

Click on first photo to enlarge photos and read captions.

A visit to Yolanda’s house to see Oscar’s new dog.
And to the Brewhouse
for a little wining…
and dining
Then a musical welcome to Tlaquepaque.
Debbie and Judy earn their wings in Tlaquepaque (photo by Jeff)
A little more dining…
to the music of female mariachis
in Telaquepaque.
Lots of local color…
and shopping.
Then a return to Lake Chapala
and a trip to Monte Coxala (photo by Jeff)
for a drink at Chac Lan Restaurant,
to be serenaded by birds,
and to enjoy the remarkable artistry of every detail of the restaurant and grounds,
Then a trip to Jesus Lopez Vega’s studio
Jesus and Jeff.
and a visit to the local Pantheon where artisans were creating a wonderful domed crypt.
To find the graves I adopted four years ago have again reverted to nature after my absence for last year’s Day of the Dead cleanup. Time to hire some help to clean them up again.
A trip through La Floresta
as well as a visit to the local tiengas market
with its plethora
of colorful fares.
Yum.

Dogs

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Dogs

Dogs following their masters, close upon their heels.
Dogs waiting under tables, patiently, for meals.
Dogs sitting at attention, or looking for their balls.
Dogs patiently waiting for their masters’ calls.
Dogs upon the sofa, singly or in pairs.
Dogs listening for a certain car, on the carport stairs.
Some dogs travel as luggage. Others stay at home.
When masters get their leashes out, that’s when they get to roam.
Sitting on the rooftop or waiting on the stairs,
some dogs live as singles. Others roam in pairs.
Strolling ‘round the pool or sunning at the beach,
one dog or another is rarely out of reach.
Some dogs simply have to finish what they start.
First it’s just a little tug, but soon things fall apart.
Then they get in trouble for what was meant as fun
That’s why they look so innocent after they are done!
Why were they given teeth at all If they weren’t meant to use them?
It wasn’t their intention, when they started, to abuse them!
Their collars and their leashes incite their excitation
as  harbingers of their favorite form of recreation.
But other types of collars are labelled cones of shame.
Hard for dogs to understand that they are not to blame.
Dogs are made for leaping. Some even look like goats.
Some roam the world au naturel whereas others wear coats.
So many different types of dogs and different types of masters.
But all agree their good points atone for their disasters.

(Click on any photo to enlarge all.)

 

For Ragtag’s prompt, “Dog“.

Plumeria: Sunday Trees, July 8, 2018

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My plumeria (frangipani) tree has stayed lush for so much longer than usual this year.  I think it has actually bloomed twice, probably due to the early rains.  Thought it deserved a post of its own, but the dogs photobombed at the last minute.

Wednesday in the Hammock with Morrie

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There is a commentary that goes with these photos.  To see it and to enlarge them all, click on the first photo. The arrow on the right of the photo will take you to the next photo.  Have fun! Morrie and I want to share our afternoon with you. He’s narrating.

This swallowtail gave Mom a merry chase.
She took at least fifty shots before she could get photos good enough to share.
Then she was so tuckered out that she decided to take a little rest in the hammock.
She enjoyed looking at the lawn Pasiano had just mowed that morning. I tried to help by nipping at his heels, but he got a bit testy, so I retired to my bed in the doggie domain.
She then saw Ganesha staring at her from across the way. He’s the patron of writers, which reminded her she had a book to read.
So she read a few lines before. . . .
I decided to join her! I’ve gotten real good at jumping up into the hammock, sometimes jumping up so fast that she lands on top of me as she’s getting in the hammock. Then it is an interesting tussle.
I’m pretty happy to have mom’s full attention
in spite of Diego’s best efforts to win them away from me. Once he tried to jump up with us, which created a lot of excitement.
For once, although he is twice my size, I have the upper hand. I taunt him with my smile!
Once we are settled, mom gives up trying to read and we have another look around.
We see a little sprout growing from the tarred area where the men cut off the big limb when they cut back the pistachio tree.
Some of the foliage is starting to come back
One of the limbs had a little decoration hanging from it, so they left just enough of it to support the wire it was hanging from. Mom kind of had a laugh at that.
We could see the birds and butterflies still alighting in the tabachine tree.
A cardinal perched on the top of a cactus for such a short time that Mom couldn’t focus fast enough, so she didn’t get a very good shot.
Same was true of the yellow bird she thought was an Oriole but later discovered was probably a yellow-breasted chat
But I got tired of watching birds I couldn’t get out of the hammock fast enough to chase, so I decided to get comfortable.
Mom had a massage today and I saw him rubbing her feet.
But she didn’t get the hint.
So I settled back to take it easty.
I’m trying to be a good influence for my Mom, who is entirely too wrapped up in that machine she taps day and night. Today was different. She had a date with me! Sorry Diego. I’d like to say it is your turn next, but I’m afraid this is one place where being the runt of the littler pays off!

Self-indulgence

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Some would say I was indulging my pets when I built them their own little room onto my house, then steps down into the pool to aid in Morrie’s easy exit when he goes in to retrieve a ball I haven’t retrieved and thrown for him with sufficient speed, but in truth, I’m indulging myself as it means more space in my part of the house, less worry that Morrie will drown if he falls in the pool when it is half full, and more ease in feeding them since there is a little fridge and pull-out drawers for their dry food in their room so I don’t have to stoop over to scoop. Nor do I have to let them in and out on rainy nights, because it has its own entrance. No cruises or diamonds for me.  Just give me a new doggie domain and steps down into the pool.  Indulging us all.

The Ragtag prompt today is indulgence.

lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown

Now that we are recovered from and over the thrill of the Doggie Domainconstruction earlier this year, I have decided the pups needed a second indulgence.  For 15 years, I’ve been entering and leaving my pool via a ladder really intended for a hot tub, which makes the first step a doozie and upper arm strength a must. Until Morrie arrived, I’ve never thought much about what would happen if one of the dogs fell in the pool.  Although they all hate the water, probably because it is their super-sized doggy water dish and they even resent me immersing myself in it, I nonetheless have pulled them all into the pool enough times to know that when it is full, they can make it to the side and crawl out.  The problem is that sometimes it is half full, because Pasiano empties it half way three mornings a week to allow…

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In Quick Time

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The more I slow down, the more rapidly the days seem to slip by. This oxymoron dominates my thoughts in those wee hours when I am trying valiantly to sleep. The awareness of how quickly my life is advancing into its third trimester plugs up my throat until I find it hard to breathe. I fumble for the door key, open the sliding glass doors and slip out onto the patio to gulp the cool night air.

The dogs circle round, Morrie drops hopefully in front of me, a ubiquitous green tennis ball in his jaws. There must be one of those balls hidden behind every plant in my garden.  Just four months ago, I had bought five tubes of them at the sports goods store—each containing three balls. I was about to set out on my yearly  two-month trip to the ocean. I wanted the house sitters to be well-supplied in everything, and the balls were on sale, so I had purchased what I thought would be a lifetime supply. But those balls seem to have vanished as quickly as the two months since my return home had. Two days ago, I had purchased two more tubes of balls. They sit unopened in the doggie supply vault that stores the large bin of dry dog food, a small fridge that holds the wet food I add to the dry food twice daily when I feed them, and other doggy paraphernalia: leashes, collars, medicines, rawhide bones, doggy biscuits.

And so this is a ball he must have rapidly reclaimed from some garden shadow when he heard my key in the lock to the terrace. I bend and reclaim the ball, then throw it over the pool down into the lower garden. Almost as soon as my arm falls to a vertical position, he is back with it again––everything in life seeming to speed up as I slow down.

Now, hours of insomnia and fewer hours of sleep later, I hear him whining on the other side of the security bars outside the open bedroom sliders. He would now have his morning come on more rapidly as I lie, computer on chest, writing my morning blog. I have slowed the world down for long enough. I find an appropriate ending and swing my feet to the floor, in search of Crocs. Time to get in line with the faster world’s schedule, at least for the time it takes to feed the dogs and cats.

 

Click on any photo to enlarge all.

The prompt today is rapid.