Mother's Day Mini-Vacation, No. 22 - Across the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway--the Deschutes River--an old dog knows all the tricks.

Little dog, six or seven months old. Big dog, 13 years old. Stick and man, ages unknown. Fun for old dog--ageless. Learning for young dog--ongoing. Photos of old dog having a blast--priceless!
 



Shower time!




Help an ol' dog get outta the river, please.




Throw it again. I'm just about ready.




I see it. Thanks!




I love to make these big splashes!




Stick, you belong to me!




Son, you've got a lot learn and the energy to do it!

Seen on the street, February 16, 2013, No. 4

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A minute after the cleaner in yesterday's post cleared out of this sidewalk space, here came this woman and her big white dog. The restaurant whose kitchen is off the unmarked door and whose entrance sports its name, Bistro Petit Oiseau, is The Oregonian's 2012 restaurant of the year. One of these days I need to go there for dinner. 

Seen on a TriMet bus

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(1) The bus rolled to a stop. I noticed two passengers in the space for one, associated with this motorized wheelchair and a hanging black bag. 


(2) The bus driver gives the pup a pat as he/she continues dangling on the back of the exiting wheelchair. 


(3) You know, I assumed the black bag was a backpack, but now that I see it from this angle, I'm thinking maybe it's a duffle bag with its handles hanging over the headrest on the chair. 


(4) Almost gone, swiftly and silently rolling on their way. Bye, doggie. 

I took this series of photos on November 20, 2010.

Framed for Christmas, No. 9

At Tuba Christmas, held at Pioneer Courthouse Square, on December 8, 2012, I saw this fellow in an elf costume. He's pretty cute, and I like the fact that if you look close enough, you can see the man's face in the elf's hat. I'm happy that I got this shot, but it wasn't until I looked at it on the iMac that I noticed the woman behind the elf, sort of holding onto him. I'm guessing that she is helping with peripheral vision for the elf.

My favorite part of the photo--the white dog wearing a sweater and reindeer antlers. Seeming to smile, the dog looks intently at that woman in the dark coat, perhaps thinking that a treat is on the way. I didn't stay around to check--Leland and I crossed the street to catch the MAX Yellow Line so that we could go eat lunch.

Seen in conjunction with The Big Float, No. 3

Bubbles, bubbles everywhere, even on this dog's nose! I know you're wondering what this photo has to do with The Big Float. Before I realized I was standing in the wrong place to see any close-up float action, I stood with a couple and their two dogs just south of the Hawthorne Bridge, thinking eventually the float would go by right in front of me, well to the back of me if you look at the perspective of this photo. I call it serendipity because I got to watch this dog have such a good time trying to catch the bubbles being blown by a little girl. Not once were they close enough for a good shot of the two of them together, but I still like these two in particular.



I tried here to crop and alter the photo in order to make the bubble more visible. Not sure I succeeded.It's right there where the nose meets the dog's coat, just on the right side of the snout.
 

Here's one more. I think there are two bubbles on the nose this time!



See two? I do.

It's all in the eyes

This dog's eyes mesmerized me, instantly. As I took this photo, curiosity overcame my good sense, so I walked over to take a closer look. Lo and behold, I realized there were some sort of artificial lenses on the dog's eyes. I surely do wish I could have talked with the owner. No time, though, because I was headed to the Laurelhurst for a movie. Maybe I'll see them again sometime since that particular Whole Foods is within walking distance of my apartment.

Waiting. Nope. Saying hello. And a bit with Mama.

At first I noticed just the man in the yellow shirt and the golden retriever, obviously very happy with each other. All of a sudden, the woman appeared and sat down, just as the man in the striped hoodie appeared with the black lab on a leash. The dogs didn't waste any time saying hello.

I took this photo on July 29, 2010. I was inside a Zipcar about to start it up and head right at the corner so that I could circle around to our one way street and pick up Mama for a trip to the Lucky Eagle Casino in Washington. We wanted to play the penny machines. We had fun, although I'm sure we lost some money. Mama thoroughly enjoyed the ride there, the playing, the eating, and the ride back home.


Here we are, later on downtown before we headed out of town. We had stopped by the downtown Zipcar offices for the Grand Opening at their new location. Gosh, it's hard to believe that on that particular day she had only a little over five months left to live.


This is the Zipcar, a Scion xA Artale. My first thought as I pulled out to turn right was "This is like driving a windshield!" Not one bit of the hood is visible as you drive.


And here's Mama, about to get back into Artale after our visit at the Grand Opening.

Waiting, with Resignation. #3

I took three photos--this is the last of the three.


Here's the first photo I took when the dog and I both had noticed each other. What a beautiful glossy coat!


In the second photo, the dog's turning his head to his right, away from me. Seems to be asking, "Are you sure you have to take my picture? I shall ignore you in hopes of discouraging your efforts."


With resignation, "Oh, well. It didn't work." Here's the last of the three again, the original of the top photo in this post. You can see how I altered it using Picnik's contrast, sharpness, and HDR-ish.

I took these photos on October 30, 2010. I didn't have a clue where the two of us were, so I searched through my Flickr Photostream and am convinced that I took this photo on NE Broadway, between NE 15th where I got off the bus and NE 16th where I went into a building.

Waiting, with Loyalty, #2

I noticed just this much visible of the waiting dog. I couldn't resist taking a photo of what I felt represented a fine slice of life. I love how the dog could care less about that nearby orange and red fire hydrant.


A few minutes later, the dog's man came out and they walked north on SW 6th Avenue, downtown Portland.

About the Green Line MAX public art on the Transit Mall which you can see most of there between the woman with the red bag and the man with the black backpack:

Continuation, 2009
ARTIST
Michihiro Kosuge
LOCATION
On 6th Avenue, between Columbia and Clay streets
DESCRIPTION
With the five sculptures that make up Continuation, Michihiro Kosuge reused red granite from an earlier sculpture and fountain installation on the Portland Mall. To create relationships between the sculptures while allowing each one to stand on its own, the artist sculpted pieces with interconnecting visual elements that include repetition, tension and stability.

Waiting, with Loyalty, #1

Downtown Portland, September 27, 2009.

Looking through my older photos taken when I worked in Southeast Portland and lived in Northwest Portland which made for a visually interesting commute twice daily has made me realize I need to get out and about on weekends more, on the hunt for photos to shoot. You see, since Mama died in January, 2011, and I moved, I still work in Southeast Portland, but I live in Northeast Portland. My twice daily commute offers somewhat less variety, especially during the winter. It's good for me to have a goal. How to you operate best? Setting goals for yourself?

Vehicle windows and dogs, #3

Dogs grin. You can see for yourself, looking at this little cutie. Grinning, enjoying a sunny July 9, 2009. That's all there is to it, for the little dog anyway. I think that driver is on her cell phone, which is illegal in Oregon.

Vehicle windows and dogs, #2

Same dog, turned the corner. Did you expect those cute ears to point so sharply forward? In this photo, the dog just radiates curiosity to me. Do you think it's the sights, smells or the breeze the dog most enjoys?

I believe this dog is an Akita. What do you think?

Vehicle windows and dogs, #1

Check out that pink tongue. Someone's enjoying a backseat ride downtown on sunny June 23, 2009.

We've had several sunny days in a row now, so wonderful. Rain comes back and stays for a while. That is OK because the sun will return, bringing our amazingly long days.

Part 2, our last fun day together, Sunday, August 28, 2011

Our second stop, the beach at Lincoln City. We had to wait quite a while for a parking space, but I was bound and determined to get one so that we could all get out of the car, go to the bathroom, and walk on the beach if we were of a mind to do so.



Somebody's about to get a mouthful of tennis ball and sand!


Had some difficulty getting whoaed up, as they say in NASCAR. Where is it? Where IS it? I see it! Now, if I can just get my right back leg out of this sand! Yes! Here I come, tennis ball! Ready! Set! Go! Full tilt boogie. That's how I roll.



Lincoln City doesn't actually do things backwards. These kites flew above the beach through which runs the "World's Shortest River," the D River. It runs a total of 120 feet from Devils Lake to the Pacific Ocean. Twice a year the city hosts a kite festival here which are known as two of the largest kite festivals in the world, so Lincoln City is known as the Kite Capital of the World. I know for a fact that the wind's always been blowing when I've been at this particular part of the Oregon coast. That's the D River you can see there, dissecting the beach. And, of course, this is not a photo during a kite festival, just an amazingly sunny Sunday around noon.


Sand in my shoes! OK with me. I knocked it out, put them back on, and we all got back into the SUV. Each of us enjoyed our short stop at the beach. Then we went looking for somewhere to eat lunch. Come see all about that soon.

Thursday, August 25, Part 3 of this day's fun, watching this woman and her dog!

I hope you have as much fun looking at these photos as I did watching the two of them playing in the Columbia River!

First, here's a photo, out of sequence, so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about here. The dog had been in the river well before the activity caught my eye. I don't know if the woman had thrown a stick out over the river or not, but it's obvious from this shot that the dog wants that stick!













This is the next photo in sequence after the one at the top of today's post.










Someone sees just where the stick landed!


And it's not the woman!



I am so glad that I got the dog looking back to see what the woman is doing. I believe that's because the instant the dog gets on dry land, it'll be ready to do it all over again. If you've ever played with a dog, you know I speak the truth!