Dogs

Authors! Novelists can be anyone we want to be! by da-AL

da-AL Adults, Authors, Blogging, Books, Dogs, Photography, Publishing, Self-Publishing, Uncategorized, Women, WordPress, Words, Working, Working from Home, Writing

Novelists can imagine ourselves into whatever characters we choose! Ones who’ve already published, like Valeska Réon, from Germany (given that I’m the soon-to-be self-published author of the upcoming “Flamenco & the Sitting Cat”) inspire to me to no end! I found this photo of her while I was searching for something else (isn’t this always the case?) — and love it so much that I’m sharing it in the hopes that it’ll inspire you too!…

Image by Valeska Réon from Pixabay

I don’t understand German, but I love how boldly she assumes identities on her video channel. In addition to a host of careers she’s had and currently pursues, she loves dogs — she often features them on her Instagram!

Even Valeska Réon’s dog gets in on her act!
Valeska Réon and her dog indulge in a black and white moment.

Who do you imagine yourself as?…

Birds of Australia Part 1 of 2 (and a cute black dog) by da-AL

da-AL Animals, Australia, Beauty, Birds, Dogs, Family, Nature, Travel, Uncategorized, Vacations, Women
California seagull by Dick Daniels (http://carolinabirds.org/).

Seagulls in California are like this — great to look at — and unmistakably made to blend in, not to stand out with color.

Traveling brings to my mind architecture, fashion, culture, food… stuff like that. Animals, not so much. After all, the city dweller that I’ve ever been, animals are just animals, right?

Not when it comes to Australia! After New Zealand’s Auckland / Rotorua / Redwoods / Huka Falls / Craters fo the Moon / Waitomo Glowworms Caves / Taupo / Pirongia / Hamilton Gardens / and then meeting marvelous family in Gold Coast, Australia / and later seeing even more birds of Australia (see Part 2 of 2).

Aussie creatures come in attention-getting colors — here’s their seagull — red legs, beak, and eye rims! He’s just wetting your feet — In the next post, you’ll meet way more dramatic variations of birds.

Australian seagulls, decorated in red, are made to be seen!

Ok — their dogs are as doggy and as cute as ours…

I can’t resist medium-to-large black dogs! Here’s Nugget!

What color are your local birds?

Video: Taupo, New Zealand: From a Duckling to Rafting by da-AL

da-AL Adventure, Aggriculture, Animals, Babies, Dogs, Environment, Farming, Indigenous People, Library, New Zealand, Pigs, Rafting, Travel, Uncategorized, Vacations
Taupo Public Library.

At the risk of sounding like I’m getting paid for this (all us bloggers are wealthy, no?) New Zealand truly has everything! We loved urban Auckland, relaxing Rotorua, the stunning Redwoods, amazing Huka Falls, and astounding Craters of the Moon and Pirongia, as well as Hamilton Gardens. (Later in Australia’s Gold Coast, we visited familyand birds of Australia Part 1 of 2 plus Part 2 of 2.)

In Taupo, we had great fun! We stayed at Sharon Drinnan’s small family farm cottage (you can reach her at DrinnanClan@Farmside.co.NZ). Sharon was so kind that she even made sure we saw this charmer who’d hatched only hours earlier!…

Can one ever get enough of looking wonderfulnesses that includes a dog as black and cute as mine? This dog belongs to our hostess, Sharon…

After breakfast, we drove into town. On the way — “Stop the car!” I yelled, intending to photograph a mamma pig with her small piggies. She, however, had other plans! Before I knew it, she’d corralled the babies into a far corner, then returned to confront me!…

Don’t mess with Mother Pig.

Anyone who visits Happiness Between Tails knows I adore libraries. Taupo has a great one! (More later about the Pūkana expression on the red Māori sculpture)…

The city of Taupo lies along the shore of Lake Taupo — where we enjoyed a river rafting adventure. We had too much fun to take photos. However, after our adventure, my husband took these photos of me with our river guide, Tau Thompson of Tongariro River Rafting when another river guide photo-bombed us. Those Pūkana expressions we’re making (same as on the library statue). Facial expressions are essential to Māori performance…

What’s your best facial expression?

Happy Sounds Video, New Zealand Redwoods and Corrugated Pets by da-AL

da-AL Adults, Adventure, Architecture, Auckland, Australia, Beauty, Dogs, Ecology, Environment, Environmental Protection, Farming, Forests, Global Warming, Hiking, New Zealand, Travel, Uncategorized, Vacations, Wildlife

Turn your sound up high to listen to the ASMR happy sounds of redwood trees creaking in the wind, sounding like old-fashioned rocking chairs…

Most people know of the redwoods of California, where trees are so awe-inspiring that they’ve got names and their Avenue of the Giants. But did you know that New Zealand has its own redwood forest? For our New Zealand vacation, we’d seen a bit of Auckland, then Rotorua, later Huka Falls and Craters of the Moon and Waitomo Glowworms Caves, then Taupo and Pirongia and Hamilton Gardens. Later in Australia’s Gold Coast, we visited family and birds of Australia Part 1 of 2 plus Part 2 of 2. Now we got out of our car and hiked up, up, up…

da-AL strolls up to New Zealand’s redwood forest.

Back in the early 1900s, New Zealand officials admired our redwoods — and then planted some of their own! — resulting in the Redwoods Forest of Whakarewarewa. New Zealand soil is so dense with nutrients that the trees grew faster there than they do in the U.S. Like California’s, New Zealand’s big trees provide homes to an abundance of wildlife, including endangered creatures.

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Trees actually talk to each other, creating an ecosystem among themselves that feeds everything from below their roots to far into the air! Redwoods can live for thousands of years — unless humans cut them down or pollute them to death. Alas, the largest was felled around 1945. The most massive tree on earth now is the General Sherman, at 83.8 meters (275 ft) high by 7.7 m (25 ft) wide. The world’s oldest tree lives in California too — a bristlecone pine that’s 5,068 years old. Let’s hope we don’t kill them or their kin.

A little further along, we stopped to pet corrugated animals in the city of Tirau!…

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What’s the biggest tree you’ve ever seen?

Video: Hail! Hail! All Hail Hail! by da-AL

da-AL Beauty, Dogs, Happiness, Joy, Life, Mindfulness, Modern Life, Multiculturalism, Pets, Uncategorized, United States, Videos
My doggie and me on a sunny day.

Hail in Los Angles is highly unusual. Hail that lasts longer than a minute or two basically never happens.

But that’s what we got on the first day of Spring, a.k.a. Persian New Year! A hailstorm that lasted twenty minutes and was followed with brilliant sunshine!

Surely this means we’re off to an interesting season — or year — ahead! As you’ll hear my husband talking on the video, even our doggie shivered with anticipation…

How often does it hail where you live?

Awe for Auckland, New Zealand by da-AL

da-AL Adults, Adventure, Dining, Dogs, Eating, Food, Heaven on Earth, New Zealand, Travel, Uncategorized
Too little time for da-AL to discover all of Mt. Eden, Auckland, New Zealand.

Mount Eden is the place to go for a fantastic full-circle view of Auckland, where my husband and I began and ended our visit to New Zealand. (Next we’d be off to Rotorua, then New Zealand’s Redwoods and Huka Falls, plus Craters of the Moon and Waitomo Glowworms Caves, then Taupo and Pirongia, as well as Hamilton Gardens. Later in Australia’s Gold Coast, we visited family, and then admired the birds of Australia Part 1 of 2 plus Part 2 of 2.)

The site is actually three cinder cones, two of them filled in by the last one. Auckland is a lovely city filled with great restaurants with menus from all over the world — and great independent bookstores!

Time Out Bookstore, Mount Eden, Auckland, New Zealand. Auckland has some great independent bookstores, like this one!

Claire and Sam (our hostess and her golden retriever), along with her young neighbor (and the darling girl’s black dog), were all very welcoming. To stay at Claire’s lovely B&B, email her at duncan5@xtra.co.nz or call her at 0274512691

Khashayar, hostess Claire, and a charming young neighbor with da-AL. Khashayar, hostess Claire, and a charming young neighbor with da-AL.

So much to do in too little time …

da-AL at non-active crater, Mount Eden, Auckland, New Zealand. da-AL at non-active crater, Mount Eden, Auckland, New Zealand.

Next, we visited the rousing city of Rotorua…

Have you visited a crater?

Arthritis Remedy for Dogs and Cats: The Power of Warmth by da-AL

da-AL Aging, Animals, Arthritis, Cats, Dogs, Health, Pets, Uncategorized

Winter can cruel to aging warm-blooded pets. The best arthritis advice I received was when my great vet told me, “Just get them through the winter.”

Cropped photo of someone in a bunny rabbit suit walking into bleak distance
Wonderfulness via Ryan McGuire of Gratisography.com and tweaked by da-AL

Even in warmer climates like Southern California, winter is his busy time when it comes to pet owners frantic to relieve their pets of arthritis pain. “Even if it feels warm to us, they know it’s winter,” he said.

“Keep them warm,” was his advice. At all hours.

An electric blanket is perfect during the night. Toss it over your pet’s sleeping area. Make sure it’s the type that will stay on at a very low setting all night (don’t get the kind that switches off after only an hour).

Of the many remedies I explored to make my best friends comfortable, the electric blanket afforded them most dramatic relief.

How do your pets fare in winter?