Dog Day : The 20th Anniversary

Today is Dog Day.  Dog Day was established when Bear was born on September 1, 1995.  At the time we had Oppey,  Buddy & Jezebel -- Bear was the last in that long line of great Labs.  Rather than celebrating so many birthdays I declared September 1st as Dog Day.  The celebration has continued throughout the years, even after the incredibly sad loss of Bear.  It has become less a birthday celebration and more a day to honor all dogs and the place they share in our lives.  In spite of the name, the day is also for cats, indeed any pet, because they are all members of our families, and they all give us great joy and comfort.

Dog Day is a celebration so today I will remember Bear and Buddy and Oppey and Jezzie.  And I will both mourn and remember Blackie the Brown Dog who I lost in 2012, and my sweet Lucy who I just lost this past April. I will remember them all with love and gratitude for all they have given me.  

Blackie (the Brown Dog)

Lucy

Lucy was my last dog.  My new life is no longer suited to caring for large, rambunctious Labs.  But I now have the adorable Mister Pip, still a kitten but already a member of my family.

Mister Pip

So in honor of Bear, and in honor of all our fur-friends past and present, please celebrate a very happy Dog Day.

A Day at the Portland Zoo

Green Heron

This morning it was nice enough to read on the dock.  The water is still cold so not many pond critters are stirring yet, just a few bullfrogs.  Birds on the other hand are everywhere.  And today I got to add a new bird to my life list. Two Green Herons came to the pond and I have never seen one before -- at least not since starting the list sometime in the 1980s.  Naturally I had no camera, sadder yet because they were so close to me and they stayed for maybe 10 minutes, one on each side of the pond.  But this picture is an exact image of the birds I saw today.   

      

Christmas For The Birds

Quite a few years ago I stopped having a decorated tree in the house for Christmas.  In place of that tradition I started a new one, a Christmas tree for the birds.  I decorate the tree with seed bells and suet cakes (for the birds) and small lights (for me).  The tree stands just outside my kitchen window.  

We've had some snow since the tree was first put up.

 The treats on this tree seem especially attractive to the smaller birds.  Like this little Downy Woodpecker.

And lots of Juncos.  My personal favorites.

When I was in Portland, we went to the Zoo