Saturday, October 10, 2009

Lynden dog wins Nobly Pees Prize


In the humble hamlet of Lynden, Washington, a diminutive dog whose outsize effort in the realm of canine territorial marking during his twice-daily walks has captured the world’s imagination has won the Nobly Pees Prize. His actions have made it clear that he is helping the world move toward the day when no shrub, tree, or telephone pole will exist without the blessing that only a devoted dog can bestow.

His human assistant spoke on the prize-winner’s behalf. “It has been truly humbling to play a part in this little dog’s mission to the world. Just to hold the other end of his leash while he performs his task is so inspiring. Sometimes I stand for what seems like a long time as he carefully sniffs around for exactly the right spot. You can tell that for him, his vocation is really an art form. And, I know he would be too modest to mention this himself, but I think people will want to know that on almost every walk he also makes a larger contribution to the world, if you get my drift.” She added that on certain rare occasions he makes the larger contribution twice in one walk. “Those are the really special days,” she said.

The old song, “Let there be pee-pee all over the earth, and let it begin with me,” expresses his philosophy of life. This dog realizes his own role is small in fact—realistically, he can only cover a few blocks in his walks—but the symbolism of what he does is powerful. If every dog lived like him, no protuberance on earth would remain unanointed.

The prize-winner himself has often indicated that the only rewards he seeks for his tireless efforts are two bowls of dog food a day and a rawhide bone every so often. And maybe what you have on your plate would be interesting. And if he rolled over on his back, you could rub his belly. But even if no one pays attention to him and he spends most of the day sleeping on the couch, he will again get up and go forth on his mission in the morning and in the evening, every day for the rest of his life.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

www = Western Washington Wildflowers

Along a chain link fence near where I work, there are a lot of weeds, but also among them some pretty wildflowers. These are just yellow balls.

This one is clover. When I was a girl, I would pick one, pull out the flower petals and gently nibble the base of the petals to release a sweet flavor. I wonder who taught me that, and who told me it was clover.

This bloom looks like a variation on the humble dandelion, but its leaves don't look like dandelion leaves to me.

This picture is somewhat indistinct, but these are white ball-like blooms.

This flower was a light purple color, though the camera didn't capture it. This particular bloom was among all these fuzzy ones.

And this is the same kind, but without the fuzzies.


I took all these pictures with my phone. The phone's pictures are never very clear, and the process of accessing the photos is somewhat time consuming. I have to e-mail them to myself one by one, and the phone takes a long time to send the e-mails. And sometimes the sending fails, and I have to resend. Still, here they are. I happened to have my phone with me when I decided to appreciate the wildflowers among the weeds.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Big tree

I just love this tree with its big, knobby, mossy trunk. Sometimes the moss shines such a bright green. Kids from all around come to this cul-de-sac to swing on that rope. They come by bike and scooter.

Signs of fall



Carpe-ing the diem

This fern showed up as a volunteer among the pansies.



Here comes the sun.

I come to the garden alone . . .

. . . while the dew is still on the petunias . . .

I think that was Fanny Crosby's first draft.