February 28, 2013

february 2013 stats

Ondine 39.84, Pan 39.25, Fergus 3.43, Total 82.52.

bc at the blanton!


This is Colonel John Bullock by Thomas Gainsborough, one of the paintings in the Blanton Museum's new exhibit, Through the Eyes of Texas: Masterworks from Alumni Collections. This is a great exhibit, from which we can draw a couple conclusions, including: a) Several of UT's alumni are loaded, and b) Some of them have very good taste. My favorites (apart from the Gainsborough) were Janine Antoni's Lick and Lather, a lovely Modigliani, and a flower painting that caught my eye and drew me across the room, which turned out to be a Renoir. That guy could paint, man. If you're in the neighborhood, go see this exhibit!

snippets, 2-28-13

Pan would love these gorillas playing in leaves. (This is not so far-fetched, either: the Bonobo Hope Sanctuary plans to house border collies with bonobos. Road trip!)

February 27, 2013

ii-xxvii-xiii



Bren found this fellow on the woodpile today, fresh from its cocoon.

February 26, 2013

February 24, 2013

February 23, 2013

February 20, 2013

February 19, 2013

February 18, 2013

February 17, 2013

ondine in the garden


mexican fan palm



We planted this palm today where the chinaberry used to be. We also bought a couple small Mediterranean fan palms but we're not sure where to put them yet. Maybe up front?

February 16, 2013

field notes, ii-xvi-xiii



Ondine had her annual exam this week. The doctor says her leg looks great; he doesn't feel much difference in the musculature of her good leg and her bad one, and her weight is perfect. Long walks help a lot.

I took both Ondine and Pan out for four-mile walks today. Mid-60's and clear, and they both behaved beautifully. A memory-book day. (Pan is always good - he reminds me of Frosty and the forest walks we shared a quarter century ago.)

We've been babysitting Odin a lot. Pan and Odin play hard together, and Odin is relentless - we've seen a few clear demonstrations of "hounding." Ondine ignores him, even when Odin barks his deep, gruff bark in her face. She snarls him off every now and then, but mostly she's indifferent.

Odin was chewing on the hall table a few nights ago. Bren chased him away, but as dogs do, Odin went back to try again. Then Pan stepped in and said, "Mom said no," and wouldn't let him continue. He nudged and nosed and body-blocked Odin away from the table until Odin got bored and left. Border collies are cool.

early lantana


February 11, 2013

pan in b&w



eleven months

snippets, 2-11-13

Dogs understand human perspective, say researchers.

I had to laugh at the last sentence, "...we still can't be completely sure if the results mean dogs have a truly flexible understanding of the mind and others' minds. It has always been assumed only humans had this ability." (Only? Who's assuming we have it at all?)

February 10, 2013

best seat in the house



(I swear, guys, I'll find a way to work from home...and with any luck, "home" will be somewhere along a long, open trail...)

February 5, 2013

odin!



Amy and her boyfriend Jared just adopted this handsome 18-week-old blue lacy/redbone coonhound. He's been playing with Pan all afternoon. (Ondine's like, geez, boys.)


February 3, 2013