Looking out at the park today, the chapparal-covered mountains are dusty green between huge granite outcroppings. Below, the open spaces where wild grasses and wildflowers grow abundantly during spring, the land is golden with dark-green dots of brush here and there. Last vestiges of spring grow where chapparal and open space meet. Here, the last […]
Read MoreSometimes a day takes an unexpected turn. That happened to me recently, and it all started with a change in routine. Normally, Ted and I go for our walk in the late afternoon, but this day was hot, so we went after dinner—and that made all the difference. It all started when we were walking […]
Read MoreIt is hard to believe that our two little flat-faced tiny puppies are now two years old. Experts say that small dogs are mature at around age two. Notice the vagueness in that statement. I’m happy to say that Sadie and Teddy may be physically mature, but they still have some endearing traits of adolescence—and […]
Read MoreToday, after our morning routine, which includes coffee, praying, catching up on world events, and taking care of the dogs, John said to me, “Do you think we could take the dogs on that hike in La Quinta?” Let me tell you about this hike. It covers a strip of desert between the La Quinta […]
Read MoreThe other day I went to the market. It was a fairly chilly day when I got in the car to head home, and I noticed a bee sitting on my sun-warmed windshield. Coincidentally (or possibly not), I had just been reading about bees. As insects, bees need warmth to keep moving. The bees we […]
Read MoreToday I woke up to cramps in my ankles, probably because my feet were two blocks of ice. The fickle dachshunds had taken up residence in the middle of our king-size bed and were warming each other instead of us. I was standing by the bed when John, who was already up, came in and […]
Read MoreIn a few days, we will open up a figurative calendar that seems to be a blank slate where anything is possible. Being somewhat of an optimist, I’m looking for good things: for happy times, for good health, for milestones reached, for spiritual peace, and for Teddy to finally stop seeing guests as giant hairy […]
Read MoreIt is a typical California December sunset. Branches of deciduous trees and a few palms are silhouetted against the dark shadow of the mountains and a sky that has a slash of deep coral fading into peach, pale yellow, and the purest blue blending into the blue-black cap of the night sky. Tonight, the moon […]
Read MoreSeven weeks ago, I had thumb-joint replacement surgery. I knew it would include a three-month rehab period at the start. What I didn’t know was that Teddy and Sadie would be all in as caretakers. When I arrived home from the surgery, the pups greeted me exuberantly but seemed to know that a lot of […]
Read MoreToday I was going to write about a touch of fall in the air. On my early morning walk with Teddy, it was sweater-weather cool. I noticed some of the neighborhood trees were turning from green to gold and red. A light wind swept over us, and a tree dropped several leaves across our path. […]
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Kathleen Chamberlin 