As noted in the original post, (August 17, 2008), Pip was a "rescue" dog, with no papers and with no information on his heritage. As Barbara was leaving the vets in Tuscon the final time, she told me on the phone "I'm going to find out exactly what this damn dog was!"
For a small(?) sum you can get a DNA analysis of any dog, to find out more or less what's in his/her background, and Barbara sent a specimen off. We finally received the results: He was very nearly 50/50 Border Collie and Australian Shepard. Nothing else was in there in sufficient quantities to detect. This explains a lot. His characteristics (high intelligence, loyalty, communication skills, etc) are pretty much those that stand out in both of those breeds.
Something did, and still, puzzles us. Pip was unusually large for either a Border or an Australian shepard. A vet once told us that the Borders in the northern England/Scotland counties can be quite large, better enabling them to fend off predators from the flocks. Maybe one of his "largeness" genes got turned on.
Should we ever have another dog (and it would be quite a while if we made that commitment), we would look for this mix again. . . it worked absolutely perfectly at least once.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
Wildlife
Barbara has seen these kits' mother trotting across our back yard. (This picture was taken by our neighbor, Lew Fench). We have also seen foxes in Rocky Mtn NP, Colorado, Kodiak, AK, and in Talketna, AK.Barbara and I have also seen Mountain lions up close (from the saftey of our car) in Iowa (really) and in Colorado, Bob Cats in AZ, Moose in CO, and endless wild turkeys, elk, etc, etc.
In this day of urban existence, it is good to experience nature as often as possible. The creatures that co-habitate this earth with us are an intimate contact we have with the wonders of the cosmos. The widely known (and both reviled and honored) Princeton Ethics writer, Peter Singer, has taught us to respect and treat well these sentient creatures, and allow them to help us know ourselves. Much better than hunting for sport in my opinion.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Pip 1998-2008
There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
But when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.
- Rudyard Kipling
From men and women to fill our day;
But when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.
- Rudyard Kipling
Today, August 17 2008, Pip finished his journey with Barbara and me. It was a heart-wrenching parting, for he was truely a sentient creature, who shared our laughs as well as our sadness. It is very difficult for me to write with the lump in my throat and tears clouding the screen, but this is something I find necessary.
More than one friend has told us that they want to come back in their second life as our dog, and I guess we did spoil him a bit, but we have such wonderful memories because we treated him pretty much as a member of the family.
Pip originally found Anne at the small animal program at Kirkwood Community College where he was a rescue dog who had been putting up with all the things the students did to him in learning their skills. Anne drew Pip for her training class, after the other students had passed him over in favor of the "cute" smaller dogs . . . their mistake! Pip is by appearance mostly Border Collie, and he ceratinly had the mind of a hearding dog. Intellegent and eager to please, he and Anne were quite a team.
Barbara and I found ourselves agreeing to keep Pip "for a few weeks; no more than 2 or 3 months" while Anne situated herself in more permanent housing. She never got him back; not so much as because she did not have the best situation for keeping a dog but more because we really fell hard for this guy. It was plesant to have someone happy to greet you on coming home, no matter how bad your day was. In return for food and a warm place to sleep, he gave pure affection, was a very good listener, and kept away the bad guys with a ferocious bark when appropriate.
There were a few growing problems in his youth. The first time we left him in the house at Estes Park, we decided to "keep him out of trouble" by closing him in the bedroom. . . . big mistake. On return, he had chewed the phone, a book, and several other choice items. I am sure this was to give us the message that this was not a good way to treat a loyal friend. Thereafter we left him to roam the entire house, and he in return guarded the place and left the phone, the books, etc alone.
He did fail his training on occasion. Rabbits, deer, and assorted birds were great entertainment. Fortunately in his earlier years we lived on 3 acres with a lot of trees and he could chase the animals through this forrest rather than into the streets. In his older years, he still let them know he was there, but the chases were shorter for the most part.
He was known far and wide as a conniver. Friends would comment on his generous body, while at the same time yielding to his persuasion to them to feed him from their plate. He would smile, wag his tail, and get all but the most hardened of men to bend down and give him a rub and scratch behind the ears.
More than one friend has told us that they want to come back in their second life as our dog, and I guess we did spoil him a bit, but we have such wonderful memories because we treated him pretty much as a member of the family.
Pip originally found Anne at the small animal program at Kirkwood Community College where he was a rescue dog who had been putting up with all the things the students did to him in learning their skills. Anne drew Pip for her training class, after the other students had passed him over in favor of the "cute" smaller dogs . . . their mistake! Pip is by appearance mostly Border Collie, and he ceratinly had the mind of a hearding dog. Intellegent and eager to please, he and Anne were quite a team.
Barbara and I found ourselves agreeing to keep Pip "for a few weeks; no more than 2 or 3 months" while Anne situated herself in more permanent housing. She never got him back; not so much as because she did not have the best situation for keeping a dog but more because we really fell hard for this guy. It was plesant to have someone happy to greet you on coming home, no matter how bad your day was. In return for food and a warm place to sleep, he gave pure affection, was a very good listener, and kept away the bad guys with a ferocious bark when appropriate.
There were a few growing problems in his youth. The first time we left him in the house at Estes Park, we decided to "keep him out of trouble" by closing him in the bedroom. . . . big mistake. On return, he had chewed the phone, a book, and several other choice items. I am sure this was to give us the message that this was not a good way to treat a loyal friend. Thereafter we left him to roam the entire house, and he in return guarded the place and left the phone, the books, etc alone.
He did fail his training on occasion. Rabbits, deer, and assorted birds were great entertainment. Fortunately in his earlier years we lived on 3 acres with a lot of trees and he could chase the animals through this forrest rather than into the streets. In his older years, he still let them know he was there, but the chases were shorter for the most part.
He was known far and wide as a conniver. Friends would comment on his generous body, while at the same time yielding to his persuasion to them to feed him from their plate. He would smile, wag his tail, and get all but the most hardened of men to bend down and give him a rub and scratch behind the ears.
At this point, I must really admit that Pip was not my dog, but entirely Barbara's. They were really a pair! In the house, in the yard, in the RV; he was always by her side and variously referred to as "Velcro" and "The Shadow". When Barbara was gone, Pip would lie in the yard looking at the street for her car to return, or inside keeping check on the door to make sure he was there to greet her return. As I mentioned, he was a good listener, and occasionally he and Barbara would have 2-way conversations. . . really.
While not banned from the bed, he almost always slept on the floor. However, when we woke up in the mornings, even if we just laid there without talking, we could expect this 90# black and white form to come flying up on the bed, and for this he earned the title of "The Flying Nun." At some point most mornings, he and Barbara would lie in the bed and he would give off sighs and literally purr as she scratched and rubbed the right spots. I was almost jealous!
He LOVED Estes Park. The temperature was suitable for his double coat, and the variations on smells around the town and park were probably on par with my visit to the British Library. From our main deck, he watched and talked to various creatures of the mountains. Without question it was the favorite of his places to live.
Most people experienced in RV life would not think a dog this large would work out in the confined space of a RV; this was not the case. Pip was so well-behaved, and so quick to learn what he should and should not do, that his presence had no impact . . . and his presence was better than a small, barking dog jumping around the dashboard. He was quick to bark and warn off strange noises, and quick to befriend guest when present. Traveling won't be the same without him.
This past winter was a good one with Pip. The weeks I was in Palm Springs, we walked almost every day along a 2-mile trail frequented by other dogs/owners. This was an unofficial off-lead area with a hiking trail. Pip would explore and meet other dogs and their people as we circumnavigated our daily route. He would get distracted while I walked ahead, then run to catch up. The first suggestion that there was a problem was that in the last 2 or 3 walks we took, he slowed his pace and seemed to be getting tired at the end. As we moved the motorhome to Tucson, we noticed him doing a lot of panting, and in the last 3 or 4 days he became very lethargic. I was/am in Cedar Rapids as Barbara took him to the Tucson Veterinary Center, and we ultimately got the bad news that he had a spleen tumor that was bleeding into his abdomen and treatment options offered no cure or releif.
Pip gave to us as much as we gave to him, and Webster's states it well:
Friend (n) " one attached to another by affection or esteem".
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Comments on Amazon's Kindle
My "Kindle"
Displaying a W J Bryan paper downloaded free
from the "Gutenberg" project
Following from my natural inclination towards technologies that improve my experience with work or play, you would not be surprised that I have one of the current "e-book" readers. This time, Barbara beat me to the punch and gave it to me as a birthday present this winter. I have since been using it almost every day, on occasion for several hours.
On the last few airline trips I have read from the Kindle before, during and between flights, and I have been interrupted (I don't mind) a number of times by inquisitive fellow travelers. Answering their questions led me to formulate some observations and opinions on what I have found to be a pretty nice product.
What do I use it for?
Books: (a) purchased from Amazon, and (b) downloaded free from sites such as the Gutenberg project
Periodicals: The Wall Street Journal
Other: i.e. PDFs from several sources, including financial reports and medical articles.
How does it work?
The technology is pretty neat. The display is a technology called "ink" that is reflective (not back lit) and draws minimal power from the batteries. It is connected to Amazon by the Sprint cell network, though I could also directly load content from my PC. It has the ability for MP3 music and audio books, though these I have not used yet (I still take my iPod). It will accept a standard SD memory card, but at this point I am still using <2%> of the on board memory.
Of all the reviews I have seen, click here to see the one with which I find myself most in agreement. If interested in the Kindle, you should check this link, since it says a lot of what I would have otherwise written in this post.
PROS:
1. Big selection of books available from Amazon, including most best-sellers, and at a significant discount (i.e. James Patterson's new book, 7th Heaven is $27 list, $16.97 + shipping Amazon discount price, and $9.99 with no shipping for the Kindle)
2. Ergonomic / user-friendly
3. LONG battery life. Unless I turn on the wireless, I can read for hours every day for weeks on end without recharging.
4. I can send my own books, articles, etc as a PDF to my Kindle (as an attachment on email sent to my Kindle email address) for the standard text-message charge of 10 cents.
5. I can have the newspaper or magazine delivered in seconds, no matter if I am at home or traveling (and even though I can subscribe to the electronic edition of most periodicals for computer-viewing, the Kindle version is cheaper and I can read it on the patio, at the airline gate, or anywhere else I have the time.)
6. The display is easily readable; the brighter the light, the better.
7. In a package the size of a medium format paperback, I can travel with dozens, actually hundreds, of books readily at hand.
CONS:
1. Many of the non-fiction books or older books I tend to read are not available for the Kindle.
2. The cost is still relatively high at $399.
3. Some of the graphical content for the WSJ does not come across on the Kindle.
4. Though not a major problem, the Kindle text conversion occasionally drops a letter from a word.
5. The screen is really not B & W, but black on light grey, and it can catch some glare in some situations. The contrast is not quite as good as a good-quality printed book. It it still very readable (except in the dark).
6. The "next page" bar on the right side should be 1/2 the length, allowing one to hold that side of the device without advancing the pages.
SUMMARY: I like it, and use it all the time, but half my reading is still from printed books.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Anza-Borrego: Another Desert Garden Tour
Like my last blog on Joshua Tree, this is another post mainly consisting of pictures. Just haven't had anything to share (publicly at least) for a few days.
Last Monday, Barbara and I loaded the Jeep with cameras, binoculars, Leki hiking sticks, a picnic lunch and jumped in with Pip for a day outing to Anza Borrego State Park. This park is entirely desert, but in the spring, with just a little rain, it turns into a carpet of wildflowers in many places. It is about an hour west of the San Diego suburbs.
We headed south out of the Coachella valley on hwy 86 through the desert west of the Salton Sea, then over to the town of Borrego Springs on S-22 and then out of the town still on 22 up into the mountains where we connected with Hwy 79 going north. We then took Hwy 341 east to catch Hwy 74 back down into Palm Desert. At a fairly leisurely pace, and with lots of stopping, we did this tour in about 8 hours.
(Left-Click to enlarge this and other photos)
(Above) The town of Borrego Springs is nestled up against the mountains and almost completely surrounded by the Anza Borrego State Park. You will find no Holiday Inns, etc here, but there are a number of local hotels and resorts. Be aware that the Borrego Springs Inn has, I believe, one of its pools "swim suit optional." There are no stoplights, but in the center of this giant traffic circle in the middle of town there is a most pleasant local park with lots of grass and picnic tables. There are orchards north of town, with good produce stands at several locations. One local restaurant advertises its "dog friendly" patio seating. This is probably like what Palm Springs was in the early 1900's, few people and no traffic at all. It's isolated, but a nice oasis for the desert traveler.
The Ocatillo, one of our favorite cacti, were just coming into bloom, but their full deep red flowers had not yet fully developed on most of them.
After leaving Borrego Springs and climbing the S-22 switchbacks up from Borrego Springs, we encountered the grass-covered hills and the trees as a nice change from the desert floor.
The 1858 Oak Grove Butterfield Station pictured above is a simple one story adobe building surrounded by ancient oak trees. The Butterfield Overland Mail operated from 1858 to 1861 on this route between San Francisco and St. Louis, Missouri - Memphis, Tennessee. The Oak Grove Butterfield Station is a rare remaining original example of a stage route station. The two routes (St. Louis and Memphis) converged at Fort Smith, Arkansas, dropped into Texas, extended across the southwest to Los Angeles, and then north through the San Joaquin Valley to San Francisco. It took about 25 days for a letter to reach its destination. The Civil War interrupted operations in 1861.
Last Monday, Barbara and I loaded the Jeep with cameras, binoculars, Leki hiking sticks, a picnic lunch and jumped in with Pip for a day outing to Anza Borrego State Park. This park is entirely desert, but in the spring, with just a little rain, it turns into a carpet of wildflowers in many places. It is about an hour west of the San Diego suburbs.
We headed south out of the Coachella valley on hwy 86 through the desert west of the Salton Sea, then over to the town of Borrego Springs on S-22 and then out of the town still on 22 up into the mountains where we connected with Hwy 79 going north. We then took Hwy 341 east to catch Hwy 74 back down into Palm Desert. At a fairly leisurely pace, and with lots of stopping, we did this tour in about 8 hours.
(Left-Click to enlarge this and other photos)(Above) The town of Borrego Springs is nestled up against the mountains and almost completely surrounded by the Anza Borrego State Park. You will find no Holiday Inns, etc here, but there are a number of local hotels and resorts. Be aware that the Borrego Springs Inn has, I believe, one of its pools "swim suit optional." There are no stoplights, but in the center of this giant traffic circle in the middle of town there is a most pleasant local park with lots of grass and picnic tables. There are orchards north of town, with good produce stands at several locations. One local restaurant advertises its "dog friendly" patio seating. This is probably like what Palm Springs was in the early 1900's, few people and no traffic at all. It's isolated, but a nice oasis for the desert traveler.
Around the town are several housing areas with lots of space. The best wildflowers we found in this area were in such a private development.
The Ocatillo, one of our favorite cacti, were just coming into bloom, but their full deep red flowers had not yet fully developed on most of them.
After leaving Borrego Springs and climbing the S-22 switchbacks up from Borrego Springs, we encountered the grass-covered hills and the trees as a nice change from the desert floor.The 1858 Oak Grove Butterfield Station pictured above is a simple one story adobe building surrounded by ancient oak trees. The Butterfield Overland Mail operated from 1858 to 1861 on this route between San Francisco and St. Louis, Missouri - Memphis, Tennessee. The Oak Grove Butterfield Station is a rare remaining original example of a stage route station. The two routes (St. Louis and Memphis) converged at Fort Smith, Arkansas, dropped into Texas, extended across the southwest to Los Angeles, and then north through the San Joaquin Valley to San Francisco. It took about 25 days for a letter to reach its destination. The Civil War interrupted operations in 1861.
As we traveled north on 79, we encountered hills and valleys covered with poppies, the California state flower. These are ubiquitous to the state, but when in this profusion are striking in their color and pattern.
Just north of Warner Springs, there is the missionary Saint Francis Chapel (exterior above, interior below). This 1830 structure sits in eastern San Diego County, the location of the historic Warner Ranch (still an active ranch, but now also operating a notable spa).
Just north of Warner Springs, there is the missionary Saint Francis Chapel (exterior above, interior below). This 1830 structure sits in eastern San Diego County, the location of the historic Warner Ranch (still an active ranch, but now also operating a notable spa).
As we crossed back to hwy 74 and started the switchback back down into the Coachella valley, we stopped for a moment to take in a view of Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, and Indian Wells. It was a nice day.
Joshua Tree National Monument
Joshua Tree National Monument spreads across mountain desert northeast of the Coachella Valley (Palm Springs, Palm Desert, etc). Last Friday Bill Fritz and I made the drive through the Monument, mainly to view the desert spring flowers which were scheduled to be in full bloom after a wet (for this area) winter. JTNM (link) is a great place for seeing wildflowers in March, blooming Cacti in April and May, and some really, really big rocks year round. It has some excellent campgrounds, and would be a nice place for star-gazing, but take a tent or small RV.
This is a 3o+ ft high Joshua tree with early blooms (they are huge!) at the top.
This was the backdrop for our meal. The silence was deafening after weeks in town.
The Cholla garden is quite a site, and dangerous. (Click to enlarge)
A young woman was taking pictures and stepped back into one of these, with the barbed spines going right through her clothing and into her skin. Several good Samaritans with pliers removed the barbs, but not the inflammation and pain. Here is a link to a very nice photographic essay on this group of cholla.
All of the pictures can be enlarged with a left-click
This is a 3o+ ft high Joshua tree with early blooms (they are huge!) at the top.
The flowers were found mainly on the south entrance to the park.
Full bloom as advertised!
Full bloom as advertised!
The park is full of huge piles of boulders; those above reach up to 200'
(click to enlarge)
(click to enlarge)
These piles began as solid layers of rock, with fracture lines scattered within them.
Over time, moisture and organisms enlarged the fracture/fault lines, and eventually the rocks separated and fell into piles as we see today.
Over time, moisture and organisms enlarged the fracture/fault lines, and eventually the rocks separated and fell into piles as we see today.
We brought our lunch and enjoyed a sunny picnic table among the rocks.
This was the backdrop for our meal. The silence was deafening after weeks in town.
The Cholla garden is quite a site, and dangerous. (Click to enlarge)A young woman was taking pictures and stepped back into one of these, with the barbed spines going right through her clothing and into her skin. Several good Samaritans with pliers removed the barbs, but not the inflammation and pain. Here is a link to a very nice photographic essay on this group of cholla.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Flashback
I was cleaning up some old files and came across a bit of a travel document from 10 years ago. I was riding part way to California with Matt (John M) the summer he was headed to Berkley to test the planning waters with some courses there. We had done a trip to Ireland when he graduated from high school, but he was older for this trip, and it was different. I don't seem to be able to find any pictures (a shame), but here is the original commentary I wrote after that trip; remember it was written a decade ago:
Trip with Matt, 1998
Hi. I’ve been on the road for a while and haven’t answered any e-mail for a while. Matt was heading to
We started with a short drive over to
We stopped at
We then headed across west
As we drove to Slaton, the desert was covered with green and with blooming flowers and cacti as I have never seen ( or at least as I don’t remember).
We dove to Ft Summer, NM and visited Wm. Bonne’s grave (Billy the Kid), through a lovely valley to a small village called Puerto de Luna (gate of the moon), where Billy hung out with pals, then into
We hit
Even with this head start, we still had another 2-3 hour drive to the
Description of
We made it to
The next morning we had breakfast together and Matt dropped me off at the airport, and I flew back to
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