Lambiedog

Ollie

There's a new puppy in town.  His name is Prince Oliver -- Ollie for short.

Ollie is a Corgi, like his adoptive sister Winnie. Their family also includes a very elder stateswoman, Trudie.  Below is a photo of Ollie and Winnie together, and at right is a photo of all three sibs. 

 

In my brief acquaintance with Ollie I have found him to be, frankly, adorable. He is both enthusiastic and trusting;  cute and roly-poly but not shy.  He has a very nice demeanor, he's adventuresome, and  he plays well with others. 

I think he's going to be a wonderful addition to our bluffs crowd. 

                              

Another kind of bench memorial

This memorial to the late Patrick Kretschmer was more transitory in construction than the other bench memorials at the bluff, but no less heartfelt.

Elementary, my dear Watson

I have been working on honing my powers of deduction.

This morning, for example, I met a fellow named Ziggy at the bluffs and followed him around for a bit.

                           

    I was able to pick up a lot about this guy just by careful observation.  For instance, he has very good posture.  From this I deduce that he may have a military background.  And he is very agile, suggesting that he has taken dancing lessons.

    Ziggy was quite affable about letting me sniff him in the interests of furthering my detective skills. 

    I must hasten to add that I do not believe he has a criminal nature in the least.  

Calamaro

    Who was the late Fino Calamaro?  From his bench plaque at the bluffs, we know that Mr. Calamaro was born in 1919 and died in 1996.

   The Blue and Gold Yearbook of the University of California at Berkeley lists a 1949 graduate by the name of Raphael Fino i Calamaro, who graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering.  The yearbook states that he hailed from Eypt,and was a transfer from Ecole Francaise d'Ingenieurs.   

    We also know that Mr. Calamaro an engineer who worked in the aerospace industry at McDonnell Douglas in the 1960s and 1970s, because he is mentioned in the memoirs  of a finite element analysis consultant named Henry Fong.

    There has been and continues to be a Calamaro living in the bluffs area since 1973 -- a relative, perhaps?

    What we know for sure is that Mr. Calamaro was loved and is missed by his family.

Wild licorice

    Some find wild licorice to be an acquired taste.

    For me, the attraction was instantaneous.

    The stuff is a grazer's delight.

Moon bounce

That je ne sais quoi

 

 

    Sylvie is new to the bluffs.

    She is a delicate black dog, a Schipperke who was just adopted by a couple who love dogs and had owned a Schipperke previously.  They gave her the name Sylvie in honor of her breed's Belgian roots.

    Right now, Sylvie still stays close to her owner.

She was too shy to come and cavort with me and the other dogs and a little boy we were playing with. 

So I decided to approach her where she felt safest. 

    I think Sylvie's going to be a good addition to our group.  We could use some Continental sophistication.

 

 

 

 

Beauty at the bluffs

    I met some young ladies at the bluff.  I was dazzled by their beauty and their sandals.   

    They were deep in conversation and texting, but they welcomed me and we exchanged pleasantries.  

    I was not part of their world, but they were temporarily part of mine.  And that's the magic of the bluffs.

        

Wisdom of the elders

 

My grandpa's been visiting.  

I took him out for a walk on the bluffs.

 

 

 

Later on, we sat together in companionable silence while he read his newspaper and I chewed on my bone.

 

 

Heartwarming encounter

I met some high spirited children at the bluffs.

I was apprehensive at first that they might tie a can to my tail or something.  But actually they were quite tender with me, and respectful of my dog ways. 

When it was time to leave them, I turned my head so no one would see the tears in my eyes, then walked away resolutely, without looking back.