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How to Pick a Dog Person Out of a Crowd

We’re in a period where there have been a lot of people showing up at the house.

While I enjoy most people, I don’t love having any of them show up unannounced.

That’s because there’s a fair amount of management that goes into keeping Graidy and Wink safe since both of them are Houdini escape artists.

Open the door a slit and turn your back. GONE.

Open the door to come in and stand there talking like you don’t have … Read More

This is the Speech I Wish Cait had Heard

It’s graduation season. David McCullough spoke at Cait’s graduation and gave a talk about luck. It was a very nice speech. But this is the speech that would have better served her, and I daresay most, if not al,l of her class. This is the message we all need to hear. This is how we make our own luck.

Abby Wambach, Remarks as Delivered to the Barnard Class of 2018

Greetings to President Beilock, Barnard faculty, trustees, and honorees: Katherine

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One of the Most Incredible Scents on the Planet

Flowering-black-locust

This is a Black Locust tree. Our property is full of them. And at this time of year, the most glorious scent wafts through the air. I do believe it may be my all-time most favorite smell. If only the web had a scratch-n-sniff feature… But come to find out, perfumeries have also discovered this heavenly scent and its used in many perfumes.

It’s also one of my all-time favorite wild edibles The flower clusters taste like the sweetest of … Read More

A Beautiful Thing I Just Saw

I woke up to this email from Cait, who is in her last semester of college. I don’t believe it requires any prelude or conclusion. It speaks for itself:

Subject: A Beautiful Thing I Just Saw

It’s nearly midnight on a Monday evening in the deep quiet zone of the library.

There is an older man, perhaps in his 50’s, working on a tablet propped up on a black backpack. He wears a beige baseball cap pulled too far down

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Rescuers Buy Dogs From Breeders at Auctions

This is so sad. My heart is breaking for the state of the world. Truly, we have lost our way…

Shelters buy Puppy mill dogs

Dog rescuers, flush with donations, buy animals from the breeders they scorn

By Kim Kavin, Washington Post, April 12, 2018

An effort that animal rescuers began more than a decade ago to buy dogs for $5 or $10 apiece from commercial breeders has become a nationwide shadow market that today sees some rescuers, fueled by Internet fundraising, paying breeders $5,000 … Read More

There Must be a Dog God

Over the weekend, Andrew wanted to make a stop at a local minimart to pick up a few things on the way back home.  It was a cold, dark evening, and the parking lot of this little strip mall wasn’t very well lit.

Since I was not in need of anything, I stayed in the car while  Andrew hopped out to go get his items. A moment later I watched a guy walk up, put his old beagle mix in … Read More

What It Takes to be a Successful Writer

editing paper

Several people have asked what it takes to be a successful writer. In order to address this question, it requires that I ask a question in return: What is your definition of success? Because there are many kinds of successes–and failures–one can experience in writing. The writing experience can run the full gamut from simply loving something you’ve written, to getting it published, to experiencing writer’s block, to not being able to get a foot in the publishing door.

As … Read More

It’s Official – Lyme Season Has Begun

Just pulled four dear ticks, the carriers of Lyme disease, off of Wink today — in March. Let the Lyme wars begin! :(

I’m too bummed to explain our Lyme protocol for you today, but I will give a refresher soon. Until then, you can review here where I have a photo of what a Lyme bulls-eye looks like, and here where I outline various options for tackling Lyme.… Read More

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