Our Friend Minnie

 

This morning I happened to hear a story on NPR where an historian said that when ancient civilizations are discovered and human bones are found, it is not uncommon to also find the bones of dogs. This little factoid indicating how deeply the human/canine bond lives in our DNA really resonated with me because yesterday our dog Minnie, an 18-year-old Australian Shepherd,  died. And though Leah and I knew that 18 is quite old for a dog and could see that Minnie's health was deteriorating and understood that no being lives forever, her absence in our house today is unmistakable.

I spent some time this morning looking through some photographs I have taken of our little four-legged friend over the years.  And though recently she spent her old-girl days camped out near her food bowl, not wanting to miss her next meal, the pictures I found remind me that,  as a youngster, Minnie was a go-getter, an imp, a social being who was usually right there, close by the humans and other creatures who populated her world.

We humans are lucky that dogs allow us to be part of their lives.

Thankful

The Thanksgiving meal is in the oven and our guests will be here in about an hour.  The house is warm and cozy. It feels like a holiday.

I got up early this morning and drove to Bainbridge Island where I ran in a 5k Turkey Trot. I know how fortunate I am to have good health, and that, most every day, I’m able to get out and go for a run or head to the mountains for a hike. I am appreciative of the life I have.

What I’m really thankful for, however, is what you see in the photographs I made recently and have posted here: The Three Girls in my life. Leah, my mom, and Paxie.

A photographer sometimes needs a muse, and I am thankful that I have three.

Horse Treats

The woman who for years has pastured her horse Rusty just down the lane from our place told me about a month ago that she was going to move him to a farm several miles from here, and last week a big pickup truck and horse trailer showed up and took my horse friend away.

Nearly every day it’s been part of my routine to put horse treats or an apple in my pocket and our dog Pax and I would walk down to visit Rusty.

Rusty’s owner knows what buds her horse and I are, and she kindly told me I could go visit him whenever I want.  I’ll do that, of course, but for now I really miss having Rusty close by.

Last Day in Kathmandu

(Leah and I recently returned from a three week trip to India and Nepal. This is the last of 16 daily posts I've done, sharing photos and journal notes I made as we traveled.)

Kathmandu, Nepal
July 19, 2014

I don't know that I'm willing to call this journey that Leah and I have been on the past three weeks "The Trip of a Lifetime." That sounds a little final, like there won't be other trips in our future.

It has, however, really been something, and I appreciate it so much that you've joined along, via these posts. I do hope you have enjoyed yourself.

Our last day in Kathmandu looked like this:
--We made one last trip to our hosts' neighborhood market, and the three pictures you see above were made in the alleyways along the way. All reflect the color and humanity to be found on the streets of the city, but I particularly like the top image because it seems joyous and hopeful, the way Kathmandu feels to me.
--We spent some time in our hosts' kitchen (see photos below) and, as our friend Saraswati cooked, I photographed the wonderful braid that hung down her back. We all laughed, shared food,  used my camera to shoot goofy "selfies," and enjoyed a few last hours of visiting.
--Our friends asked me to shoot a few "family pictures," and Leah and I were flattered to be included in some of those. Bhagawati (last image, on the left) and Saraswati dressed Leah up for the photos, then insisted that she take the outfit home as a gift.

We head for the Kathmandu airport in just a few hours. We should be back in Seattle by early afternoon Sunday.

Thanks again for reading!

Afloat?

(Leah and I recently returned from a three week trip to India and Nepal. This is the 15th of 16 daily posts I will do, sharing photos and journal notes I made as we traveled.)

Kathmandu, Nepal
July 19, 2014


Our Nepali hosts took us to Kathmandu's ancient and amazing Pashupati Temple today, our last full day of this trip, and, if there is a place on this planet where the Human Experience is more in-your-face, I am pretty sure I am not enough of a stoic to handle it.

As I walked around the temple grounds, I was part of a crowd of people so diverse -- beggars, the affluent, individuals who are faithful, and I'd guess some who are not -- that I couldn't help but think about that famous newsreel film clip of the crashing of the Hindenburg, where the announcer keeps exclaiming "Oh, the humanity! Oh, the humanity!"

The temple's recorded history dates back to the time of the birth of Christ, and today it  is sacred to Hindus, Buddhists, and others.  It is a place for prayer and meditation, for very public funerals and cremations -- smoke from the burning bodies hangs in the air over the temple -- as well as a market where visitors can shop for candles and flowers to leave at the temple as offerings, or buy gifts to take back home.

As always, I wanted to be a humble --and I hope respectful -- visitor and observer,  while trying my best to stay emotionally afloat and positive in that sea of humanity.

 

Coming Full Circle

(Leah and I recently returned from a three week trip to India and Nepal. This is the 14th of about 16 daily posts I will do, sharing photos and journal notes I made as we traveled.)

Kathmandu, Nepal
July 18, 2014

Leah and I traveled to Nepal in 2007, and it turned out to be a trip loaded with many "firsts."

--It was our first trip overseas.
--The trek we did to Kala Patar near the Mt. Everest Base Camp was the first time I'd experienced any problems with altitude sickness, even though I'd climbed most of the highest peaks in the Cascades, including eight times to the summit of Mt. Rainier.
--It was the first time Leah was no-contest stronger on a mountain trip than I was (the altitude sickness reduced me to a whimpering wreck.)
--That trip was the first time I met Tibetan refugees, or visited a Buddhist monastery.

Today our Nepali host (he was our guide in 2007) took Leah and me on a walking tour of the neighborhood where he lives in Kathmandu. The tour included the traditional, circular kora walk around Boudanath Stupa, a sacred site which, on our trip here seven years ago, was my first encounter with Tibetan Buddhism...but it sparked something that is a huge part of who I am today.

As we joined the pilgrims making the clockwise circle around the stupa seven years ago, I was very much a tourist.

Today I felt right at home.