Hunkering down indoors

On the first real day of summer, already topping 80 on the outdoor thermometer, a day when only the tough get going, we're wimping out and staying indoors. Later on it promises to be dee-lightful conditions for doing...whatever. No complaints from our cat-herding Bordie. Besides, he can always keep an eye on things in the yard from any one of Stella's window perches.

Mesmerizing Lepidoptera

This morning this extraterrestrial showed up on the front porch and didn't seem like it was going anywhere anytime soon. In fact it's late afternoon and this exotic nomad is still hanging around.



After perusing several pdf files on butterflies and moths found in the Pacific Northwest and Western Washington we're coming up empty identifying this species. With about 160,000 total to choose from worldwide (10 times more than butterflies) we're just going to settle for pure fascination.

Opportunist

Casey is partial to cooling off on the kitchen floor on a warm summer afternoon, because you just never know, dinner preparations might result in a cleanup on aisle one. 

 

Street show

Enjoying a quick espresso this afternoon, 30 feet away from Casey, waiting in the shade and violating his car privileges by jumping in the driver's seat, we noticed that a note had been stuck to our windshield when we weren't looking.




Alarmed, Vic stepped out of the cafe to check it out. Before she could get to the car, a  pair of couples at an sidewalk table said it was left by two girls that had become fans of the kid, just as they had. Apparently Casey was working the outdoor crowd. The Post-it note says it all, a rave review.

Show off. 

A couple of late bloomers

The white hydrangea is finally showing its face, a week or two later than expected, after weeks of unusually rainy weather.

Alternative Independence Day fleur de lis

Here we go again, enduring hours of legal and illegal fireworks, fraying the nerves of pets like Casey and Stella, but also more distressingly triggering PTSD symptoms in local combat veterans. Every year we have to wonder why we didn’t travel an hour north to Vancouver to get away from these moronic, irresponsible displays of 4th of July jingo-patriotism from American males and Rambo wannabees. God forbid we consider the colossal waste of money during an economic collapse, while destroying what’s left of the atmosphere.

While we wait for tonight’s cease fire and tomorrow's 4th of July Darwin Awards, here are some alternative displays of color that don’t leave any ash residue or clouds of cordite, and if anything we look forward to each year.

Rose campion from a front yard berm

Arboretum overload

From the racket on the sun room of a late night downpour, we should consider the timing of our trek this afternoon on the trails of Sehome Arboretum either dumb luck or perfect timing. Tomorrow we couldn't have done it without cleats.

Miles of trails and 165 acres of hilltop and after an hour most of the ground Casey and I were covering seemed to go nowhere but uphill, but we practically had the woodlands all to ourselves. Except for an infrequent crow squabble the quiet was deafening. You could almost hear the ferns murmer as we passed, not that Casey noticed.

After covering nearly three times my mileage today, on a pace that was nowhere near maximum conserve, he really conked out early - more like the farm dog he used to be. 


There was no way Casey was going to wait until I put the lid on the laptop down tonight. 

View from lookout tower on Sehome Hill

Swoop scoop

Another day in one of Casey's worlds, the environs of Lake Padden, just 2 1/2 miles as as eagle flies down the road, got some press today. Of course this sort of thing happens all the time, right? OK, maybe not - but this year the skies seem to be full of these big boys around Whatcom County that we're starting to take them for granted. 

A bald eagle swoops down over fly fisherman Bruce Huntley as it unsuccessfully attempts to steal a rainbow trout from Huntley's fishing line at lake Padden in this photo made by amateur photographer Rick Warren on Wednesday morning, June 13, 2012. The fish can be seen in the lower left corner of the photo. Huntley and Warren, both of Ferndale, are neighbors. "It was incredible," Warren said about making this picture. "I was watching the eagle, waiting for it to come down. I had a fish on my own line but I lost it while taking the picture."

RICK WARREN — COURTESY TO THE BELLINGHAM HERALD 

Fluffed up

Look who's still all fluffed out like a rough collie after a much needed shampoo and bath yesterday. After Casey took a liking to a hunk of carrion resulting in an irresistible stench roll during a walk in a nearby greenbelt, what he really needed was an after-hours dog groomer or a HAZMAT team. Naturally these side-trips happen after hours so Vic and Gene had to do the dirty work at home.

Two baths, four or five rinses, several towels and a blow dry later - and don't forget the new collar - voila. And look who's all smiles, until the next time.

Good day sunshine

While the rest of the country is screaming for relief from withering heat indexes, a walk on a Bellingham interurban is a ready reminder why almost nothing pries us out of Whatcom County in the summer.

We are a thankful lot this time of year.

Waiting and working for the payoff

You gotta be patient, keep a low profile, and remember the eyes. Casey can work a crowd with those eyes - it's a gene pool thing. A Border Collie who is making eye contact is having a conversation, and waiting for a response.

Today's conversation at lunch was pretty one-sided for a while. But the kid knows that it's just a matter of time - when lunch handouts and debris will be raining down.

Collie crash

Early evening and the kid has already checked out. Snuffles highlighted by sporadic paw flicks and nail clicks mean that he's either dream-chasing a rabbit or running down a Frisbee - but who's to say he's not flying over a stone fence in the lowlands or working stock in another life, long before Minnesota or Bellingham.

 

For love of the chase

Here's how it goes, every morning, first thing. Squirrel taunts Casey, Casey bolts out the back door and gives chase. Of course the squirrel is cagey enough to never leave the confines of a tree or the top of the fence latice.



Never ever deters our boy though. It makes his day. If you look up "staying power" on dictionary.com you'll likely see Casey's picture.

Show off

Oh sure, but does he do impersonations?

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Rolling a fat one

So whaddaya think, Casey impersonating Winston Churchhill with his rolled up rawhide chew...or something more political like that gas-bag Rush Limbaugh?

Regardless, he cracks us up when he tags along in the yard sporting his chewie like this.

Just turn out the lights

It's way past the time Mr Relaxation here usually turns in, disappearing into his kennel in the bedroom in spite of his human charges' late hours. But tonight he's obviously just too damn tired or too damn comfortable to move. No matter, this is our photo of the day.

Just listen up

I can't quite make out the tune, but the melody this dapper little guy's been whistling has perked up the backyard for days. The morning sunshine jumpstarts this white-crowned sparrow's repertoire and set after set, song after song roll out of him all day - and finally, I notice. Can't say that about Victoria though, who's referred to them as "stripie heads" and grooved to this gardener's opus for years.

Looking smart, dressed especially for the occasion, he and his friends will perch on fence posts or eaves and sound off in a fractured harmony, if only to impress devotee Stella the cat, watching intently from the back door, tail wagging in time.

The total package today from Bedlam Farm

If readers haven't discovered Jon Katz and his life on Bedlam Farm, today's post from his journal could be the hook. Check it out. This incredible visual of his new Border Collie, Red, at sunrise, along with words to spark inspiration in all of us. The total package, on the first day of summer.

One is the loneliest number

Well, what do you know. It looks like we gave up too soon on the Bosc pear trees we planted last year. One lonely pear. Not exactly a bumper crop - but it's a start.

Comeback

All I said was "You wanna Frisbee?" That's all it usually takes and you're committed. But for some reason last week, after thousands of tosses and catches, Casey decided he was going to retire from flying disc competition. In the middle of a workout that was his idea in the first place, Casey walked off the field, couldn't have cared less. Early retirement.

Since then, after our initial confoundment had worn off, we'd been preoccupied, looking for reasons that a Frisbee fanatic suddenly loses interest. No amount of reverse psychology or coaxing could crack this Border Collie code. We just decided to let him work it out - and it finally paid off yesterday. So this morning, there it was again, that trademark inquisitive cocked head. He's back, baby.

Now, just be careful what you bring up in casual conversation.