What do you call your dogs? Do they have pet names? What is is about us humans, that we have to have special names for those we love? (Glenn calls me Babe - which has nothing to do with the pig - I think.)

We call Amy and Bernadette  "The Puppies" - they just turned 9, for crying out loud. But that's how we call them - "Puppies! Puppies!" The fact that when we do that they come running might have something to do with why we keep calling them Puppies.

8 weeks old. Bernadette on the left, Amy with the white spot on her forehead.

We got Amy and Bernadette from a friend who always liked to give her girl dogs one litter of puppies before being spayed. Momma was a Labradoodle. Poppa was an Australian Shepherd (as opposed to a Rolling Stone). The Puppies look like Poppa except more slender than your typical Aussie, and they're more mid-sized, about 35 lbs each.

When we first saw them we were deep into whatever season of Big Bang Theory (BBT) was on the air. We asked the puppies what the...

If we listen closely, our animal friends tell us what they need. But we have to be open to getting our ego out of the way and seeing what wants to happen. Good lesson for all parts of life!

A cat named George lived on the property of a rescue group. He had shelter, and someone who fed him, but was pretty much left to himself. He wasn't unfriendly, he was just there. He was outside for a reason.

NOT George, but as cute as....

Attempts to introduce him to the joys of indoor living were met with scorn by George. Unbeknownst to those taking care of him, he had other plans, and it wasn't being where he was. Whenever he was brought inside he would mark all the horizontal surfaces. This was primarily the middle of the caretaker's bed. So she did what a lot of people do. She decided he could live outside. Okay by George. Part 1 of the plan done and done! (Be a little difficult.)

A few years passed, and he got in a fight. He was hurt pretty badly, and the vet, after cleaning him up, decided...

Cougars, Mountain Lions, Panthers, Puma - they're all the same thing, just different names. They, like most apex predators, are maligned and hunted.

I was just reading today about a Mountain Lion called P-22, who lived in Griffith Park in southern California. He wandered through the park and on the streets of Hollywood for 10 years. He wore a tracking collar, and provided so much data about the activities of male Mountain Lions - most of it involved minding his own business.

See some P-22 footage here: https://www.facebook.com/reel/901397757971206

He was humanely euthanized in 2022, after being hit by a car. If that had been the only problem, he'd probably still be alive, but he, like our domestic kitties, had a number of problems. He had kidney disease; he had rat poison in his system (from eating rodents who had ingested the poison); he had serious arthritis. Instead of weighing the usual 125 lbs, he was only 90 lbs when he was captured. He was having trouble hunting.

And yet thi...

Last week was a tease. This week you get the full story about Bennie-the-street-cat and his pal Muffin.

Bennie lives in Washington state, and he is one of many, many cats my friend Kathleen feeds in the dodgier parts of South Seattle. She is a Warrior and deserves a medal.

Kathleen and another Warrior, Morgan, noticed a huge orange kitty at one of the sites they both support. He has long hair, which mats up something fierce because - street cat, who's got time to groom?

Bennie was pretty friendly, for a fellow from the street. Most of them don't want to have anything to do with people, but he would allow Warrior Kathleen to pet him a little bit while he was eating. She had caught him once to get his mats shaved off and to be neutered, and then because there was no place else for him to go, he went back on the street. 

Bennie has a girlfriend named Muffin. She's pretty friendly too, and had also been trapped, spayed and returned.

Bennie and Muffin "on the street." Bennie looks li...

Without the Jets. (a la Elton John)

Bennie is a street cat.

Let me rephrase. Bennie WAS a street cat. Bennie got rescued, got his mats taken care of, and is going off to a new life. He has a girlfriend, too!

More on the details later.

Meanwhile, here's a picture of Bennie:

Happy New Year, everyone! Are you ready for 2026? 

2025 was a heavy year. The energy was heavy. There was lots of worry. There were many endings (in numerology, 2025 is a “9” year, which is a year of endings). 

2026 starts a brand new cycle. In addition, it is the Chinese Zodiac year of the Fire Horse, which starts February 17. Things should feel lighter, and more enthusiastic. There is hope in the air.

If you want to know more about the Year of the Horse, go to this site: https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/social_customs/zodiac/horse.htm

If you were born in the year of the Horse (which comes around every 12 years, but a Fire Horse only comes around every 60 years), you can find out more about what the Chinese Zodiac says about all the different elements (Fire, Water, Metal, Earth, Wood) here: https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/social_customs/zodiac/horse/five-elements.htm

My brother was born in the year of the Horse. He is very much as described, and has always been a cha...

What is the Holiday season without snow?

Usually it's Arizona here in the U.S. This year it's also Colorado and a lot of other places.

Today in Colorado it was 73 degrees, which is about 30 degrees above normal. Hot, dry, windy, Red Flag warnings, and fingers crossed, we're safe, even though we live in the middle of a brown field.

This does not look like December in Colorado. More like April. Or September.

So in the spirit of the Holidays, here is a little Snow Furry for you, from Sandra Boynton. I used to buy her cards all the time. She had her own line in the 70's, and they were all soooo good!

May your Holiday be merry and bright. We will be staying in our Jammie's, eating popcorn and watching holiday movies. And appreciating you all so much!

Nope, not talking about the TV show, although if you haven't seen it, and its British counterpart (on which the U.S. version is based) I highly recommend it.

I'm talking about how spirit continues even after it leaves the 3-D body. We are consciousness. Consciousness knows no boundaries. And sometimes that consciousness hangs around - and you can always ask it to be present.

When my dad (who believed there was nothing after this 3-D life) passed, he gave me signs that he was still around, and he seemed excited about what he could do now that he wasn't in a body. My mom, on the other hand, knew exactly where she was going when she passed, and I didn't feel her at all. Zzzzzzip! Gone. 

That said, mom will come back from wherever she is and talk to me if I ask for her.

Another thing I thought was interesting: my dad passed about 10 years before my mom, and whenever I'd think of him or have an interaction, he always "looked" in my minds eye like an older man - 60's or older. After my m...

What's all the fuss about anyway?

With each passing year I'm more and more inclined to visit with my mom and sister (if she doesn't have plans) for Thanksgiving and then stay home during the December holidays. What's not to appreciate with a morning walk with the dogs, followed by breakfast, a nice toasty fire in the wood stove, good food in the oven, or Chinese take out (inside joke), holiday-themed movies, and of course, popcorn!

Over the years when I was raising two children with my first wife we would visit with her two sisters and their families throughout the year. Each sister hosted a holiday: Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas with a little Hannukah sprinkled in for me. Meals were an extravaganza with all the trimmings depending upon the holiday.

Now that I think about it, we ALWAYS HAD BLACK OLIVES with every holiday meal. Was it a family tradition or was there something special about those fleshy orbs of fruit?

Botanically speaking, olives are technically fruits because t...

As I sat down to write this post my fingers typed the title before I could think about what I wanted to write about.

Magic.

Since I was raised on rock-n-roll starting in the late 50's, yes that's the 1950's, I was wondering how many songs were written with the same title. I knew a couple of versions, firstly thinking of the Alan Parson's Project, and then to my surprise after searching on the web of the digital domain, I saw a long list of music with the same title and by a variety of artists. 

Wow, this old music aficionado learned something new toady! The first song was actually written in 1917 by Written by Percy Wenrich and Howard Johnson shortly after WWI. Even more surprising are the number of songs that I saw: 30 or more. I'm willing to bet some share the same lyrics and music with different styles based on the artist. Didn't stop to listen to any of them though. I leave that up to you.

This post is actually about how we live our lives going forward. There seems to be a 'bef...