Snow-trimmed glimmer

It's tough sometimes to catch sunset's fiery shimmer on the surrounding landscape. It lasts only seconds and often deserves a musical score. Tonight we put our snowy Frisbee toss on hold a while and caught the glimmering final seconds of the grand finale of our snow season.

Snowfall: This Border Collie's joy of joys!

Look at what we woke up to this morning! The Casey couldn't have been happier. Wouldn't this have been cool a couple of weeks ago? Luckily Casey hasn't mastered the calendar.

Now we're heading out and letting him do some real snowfall gallivanting.

The temperature's nearing 34 or 35, so time's a wastin.

Weigh-in with a clip job

It was time for a 2-fer today at the Fairhaven Veterinary Hospital - a nail clipping for Stella and a weigh-in for Casey. Not near as ominous as it sounds, except maybe in the minds of two rescued works in progress who still aren't quite sure about the clinic.




Just ecstatic about being here. Can't you tell?



The techs always do a great job with Stella's pedicure, so much better than the shaky "parents" that a trip to the clinic for this trauma-free grooming is well-worth the $15 every six weeks.

And Casey's herding weight has never varied from today's weigh-in of 53.2 lbs. So he's doing great - or we are. 

We're really trying to watch the fat content in his diet - an organic diet doesn't guarantee the right balance of fat versus everthing else. It can easily get away from you during the winter months.

Casey never hestitates to show us the door when the bill's paid - with or without Stella. He's not into hanging around for small talk with the staff.   

Heading home

Starting out our Samish neighborhood walk in bright sunshine, wishing I'd have brought sunglasses, and closing out with weather closing in...not bad timing, for once.

Best burger joint in town

Veggie mushroom burger (l) and wild salmon burger, with yam and French fries

Sometimes you just feel like a burger. Well, OK, maybe not a burger - we haven't gone the red meat route for years and years. But Fiamma's, in downtown Bellingham, serves up the absolute best alternative sandwiches to non-carnivores in town.

Home-baked egg buns, organic produce, 100% natural beef, turkey and bison, with a choice of yam or French fries, are regular menu items.

The only down-side to the veggie mushroom and wild salmon burgers we had tonight is that they were too juicey to be savored. They were history in just a few bites. With secret sauce and juices running down our wrists, they had to be devoured. 

Back to normal?

After a couple of days away, Stella, our welcoming committee of one, seems to be having no trouble at all settling back into her normal pace. 

Of course, normalcy? What's that exactly with Casey around?

Capitol Hill diversion

The Jimi Hendrix commemorative statue on Broadway is one of the most photographed wayposts in Seattle's Capitol Hill District. But today it just marked the left turn on Pine towards where we spent most of the afternoon with friends - Oddfellows Cafe and Cal Anderson Park.

Casey and Gene

With temperatures "warming up" into the high 30s, most of our paid parking time was spent inside catching up with friends visiting from Nevada. Later, Casey got to unwind in Cal Anderson Park.

  
Nothing at all like last year's spring visit with temps pushing 80 degrees, but the park fountain complex, half of it frozen over, is always a draw for the kid.




 Next time through though, we'll be hanging around and soaking up the sun and sights.

May 2010

The follow-up appointment: 191 and a wake up

Over three months - 192 treatments, morning and night - since our first visit to Animal Eye Care and Casey's diagnosis by Dr Terri McCalla of an immune disorder called Chronic Superficial Keratitis, or pannus, today had finally arrived - the dreaded follow-up visit. After so many eye drop and ointment applications, we just had to hear that all the Border Collie wrestling matches paid off. 

By the time Dr. Terri could have  possibly completed the exam we were ready for anything - expecting years of additional eye dropper head locks, big brown eyes smeared with Tacrolimus day and night, and even canine psychoanalysis for Collie stress.



But when Terri gave us the results of her examination, we were ready to jump and high-five or hug anyone who came into the room! Casey's eyesight was 100 per cent - more than a 40 per cent improvement since October!

The treatment regimen was outlined in our September 29, 2010 post. But Casey recovered because he had two great veterinarians - Dr. Terri McCalla and Dan Hall - making the calls, and two "parents" that realize how lucky they are to have this comeback kid in their lives, and hung in there.

While we were checking out we noticed the picture of Joe the Lab on a donation jar at the counter and had to know about his story. It turns out Joe came to Animal Eye Care to remove cataracts, which Dr. Terri surgically removed.

It should be the end of the story, right. Not so fast.

It turns out that Joe was also suffering from a genetic condition that resulted in his retinas detaching, unless he received surgery. The owner's decision - euthanasia. Dr. Terri countered with adoption and surgical repair in Seattle, picking up the tab, with one of a handful of ophthalmologists in the US, a colleague, that performs this surgery. And with the help of the Alternative Humane Society of Whatcom County, Joe was placed in a house full of kids more than willing to deal with his ball obsession. He'll need additional treatment of course, so anything helps to defray costs. Two great causes - Joe's treatment at Animal Eye Care and the Alternative Humane Society. 

Lucky guy. If he had opposable thumbs I'd have him buy us Lotto tickets. 

High on a hill

630 foot Sehome Hill on the Western Washington University campus was nearly deserted today, so the Douglas Fir Trail, part of over 5 miles of hiking on the Sehome Arboretum complex, was where we spent most of a crisp, clear Sunday afternoon. 

Occasionally my hiking partner would venture out of sight and all I would have to do was look up or out to the nearest ledge, and there he was. I usually just hold my breath as he backtracks to the trail. 

Surprisingly, Casey seems to have little or no fear of heights - now, kids on skateboards, that's a different story.

On hiking trails, on or off leash, he's in his element. Soon we'll be checking out an 80 foot tower on the crest that apparently has a great view of Bellingham Bay. 





And up there, you'd better believe Casey will be on a leash.

Sehome Hill at sunset



2011: No fear here

When you feel a little apprehensive about the new year, just log on to this post.

Happy New Year: Hopeful horizons for 2011



Bellingham from Samish Ridge


I feel as if we opened a book about great ocean voyages
and found ourselves on a great ocean voyage:
sailing through December, around the horn of Christmas
and into the January Sea, and sailing on and on

From "Voyage" by Tony Hoagland

Last sunset of 2010

Late night cozy

29 degrees and falling, but who cares, as long as the fireplace is stoked. OK...it's a natural gas fireplace. These buds could care less about esthetics though, on a night like this. 

Off the beaten path

A brief break in the weather and a jog through Whatcom Falls Park was the draw today. And as this rainy December closes out 2010, the creek's flow to Bellingham Bay seems more relentless with each outing.   

Surprisingly, less than 200 or 300 feet down the Lower Gorge Trail from our routine Waterline Bridge crossing to the west, straight ahead instead of an abrupt left turn, Casey and I were treated to a new bend in the creek and an impressive new torrent.

Sometimes it takes venturing out just a little - a right turn instead of a left - to be awestruck, or even pleasantly surprised.