Contemplating Valentines

Both the girls are thinking about Valentines Day. Sage, more than Annie, has lots of boyfriends. She has jilted many a heart. But her true love, Pele, has been absent from her romping for awhile (note to self: call Liz). They walked and romped with each other almost every night for several years. Then Liz's car broke down.

Annie, well, she is the tomboy. She can run faster, leap farther, do better tricks than any boy dog, so they sort of abandon her early in the "dating" process. Doesn't seem to bother her all that much. She has Sage to annoy, after all.

Murphy's day.

Really, It's Spring Here!

To my friends and colleagues in the mid-Atlantic region...despite this picture it really is spring here in the Northwest. But Sage and Annie are oh-so envious of your snow. Send some our way! Sage is dying to make snow labs!

Murphy's day.

There are Moments

There are so many moments I want to pick up a phone and call Mom. Just to tell her something the dogs did, or a story about something I've seen. I used to joke with her. I would tell her I was sending the dogs "back." Both of them came from the east coast, and arrived in Seattle via air (Sage in first class, of course, Annie in cargo). And my mother would say: well, send them here first. It was almost a ritual with us. Then we would laugh. I would ask what she would do with them once they go there and she would say, with a hint of mischievousness in her voice: oh, I don't know...

And that game would continue until she would admit she would just love them...

There are moments, many many moments, I miss.

Murphy's day.

Annie and Coyotes

When the coyotes sing, Annie gets a little nervous. She usually snuggles even closer to me. She may be wild, but not THAT wild.

Murphy's day.

Serious Girl

As I type this Sage is having a dream...she is barking in her sleep, hind legs moving. She is such a serious girl, furrowed brow, worried about her pack. Her dream barks seem serious...

She's my yin and crazy Annie, my yang.

Murphy's day.

I Feel Good!

That has got to be what Sage is singing: I feel good, I knew that I would now...

Murphy's day

Mother GPS

I was thinking this weekend about my Mom. About how she always knew where I was. I called her from the middle of the Mojave Desert, no-where eastern Idaho, a pay phone at Polebridge, Montana (I challenge you to find that place), and from 57th and 3rd in New York City. My mother always knew where I was. And for me, that was comforting. Someone worried about me.

It's what I do for the dogs, too. Even when they run amok, I know where the are.

I think knowing where people or dogs that you love are in this world is important. Finding each other in place and space gives meaning to each others' lives.

I miss my mother.

Murphy's day.