Lambiedog

In a desert, seeking that little patch of green

 

California is in the midst of a serious drought, and the bluffs are definitely not getting any watering.

A dog has to be resourceful to sniff out the green spots that signal comfort for personal activities. 

    

Back in beautiful sunset territory

Yes, the winter sunsets have begun again: my seasonal cathedral.

But if you look closely at this photo you will see that my attention is focused elsewhere.  I am staring fixedly across the street hoping that Suse will come out and offer me a treat.

I make a friend

This will probably shock my readers, but the majority of the dogs I refer to herein as 'friends' would more technically be described as acquaintances whom I see regularly. Just like a toddler whose playdates are dictated by his parents' friendships, I have been thrown together with and become 'friendly' with the dogs of my owner's friends. 

Today, however, I made a friend on my own.  His name is Lou, short for Loup-Garou, and he lives on the next bluff over from us.  

We got along unusually well.

    Active friendships are rare for me.  I hope to see Lou again soon.  

Hard loss

 

Howard's beloved dog Molly died on Thursday, after twelve-plus years with him.

 

 

New dog in the neighborhood

This morning at the bluff I met Bella, the dog who has just joined Nene and Rusty's family.

I was intrigued by Bella's strikingly high social IQ.  She played with the big dogs, but was quite diplomatic about letting me sniff her as well.

  Also, she seems to have almost instantaneously established a deep connection with her new family.  It's a good augur.

Scheme Engine in town

    I just found this photo from my reunion with Thomas at the airport last month.  He was on the west coast with other members of the Scheme Engine crew documenting Beyoncé and Jay Z's On the Run concert tour.  

    While the team was in L.A. they stayed with us.  Though they were out at the concert venue for long hours, when they were back here we had some nice moments together.  

To the right you can see Ben and Yip enjoying our legendary Nespresso hospitality, as Thomas and I lead them to the end of the bluff to look down at the crumbling fire road.

An especially nice element of the visit was that T's 'old' friends -- Genny, Dustin and eb -- were in town, enabling him to introduce them and his 'new' friends:  Devin, Ben and Yip.    

One night eb brought a canine guest, Copper, along to dinner. Copper is a recent adoptee and got anxious when separated from eb by more than six inches. That made him my favorite kind of guest: someone with zero interest in grabbing  my stuff.  But I monitored the situation closely, just in case he got any ideas.

 

There were many more great moments, but finally the fabulous visit had to end.

  I was sad watching Thomas pack up, yet buoyed by the hope that he and his compatriots will find more reasons to come visit me again.  

I think my shimmering lifestyle could make a good topic for a Life+Times piece, for example.

Chronicle of a busy Sunday

My day started early with a trip out to the bluffs, as usual.

Next up: a walk into town with Ollie, Winnie and Dolce. We stopped to rest at the Village Green before walking back.

 

After that I rested, as I had another engagement coming up that I wanted to be fresh for.

The upcoming engagement was the annual Arbramar block party.  Dolce would be there, and perhaps some other dogs as well.  Yet I knew I would still have to fight my social anxiety.

 I am just never that comfortable in social situations.  Thank goodness for the refreshment table, which gives me something to act like I'm busy with.   

 

 I guess it could have been worse.

Finally, it was back to the bluffs to enjoy the twilight. 

Another Sunday appreciated by me.

Rusty

    Rusty died last week, after a series of medical hard knocks. He loved and was loved by his family, who were greatly supportive during his illness and are now shattered by their loss.

    When Rusty joined them, the family already included one dog, Nene.  But Rusty added a different form of canine energy. Watching him playing with Rambo across the street, you might have thought he was a tough guy.  Yet he was exceptionally gentle and sweet.  

    We are so sad for all of them.

Best seat in the house

via Instagram

Summer days

Charlie and Laura came down for Independence Day weekend. 

                 

 We took some sunset walks, had friends over on the Fourth, and generally just hung out. 

 I hated to see them leave.