Brussels sprout stalks make good dog toys.
Bumper crop
Brussels sprout stalks make good dog toys.
Tag: Achilles
A fine day
It is a fine day, about 38F and clear, so the cattle dogs and I celebrated by spending some time outside. they engaged in a bit of play while I enjoyed a cigar.
Back on the couch
Once I finished emptying the boxes of books which were on this love seat in the man cave, Achilles had his bed back. This is by far his favourite spot in the house. Kendal rarely uses this love seat, Stella never. He’s got my back while I compute.
Watchful
I finished shoveling snow to create a pathout to the bird feeder, then took a few photos. Achilles was keeping an eye on the neighbour dog Rascal. If Chili dog is not keeping an eye on me he almost always keeps an eye on the surroundings. It’s very difficult to sneak up on us.
Achilles in the moment
This is another favourite photo. Achilles romps in deep snow in the backyard in Goderich during our first winter in Canada. Living in the moment.
Dog run
This is a favourite photo, taken in Goderich not long after Achilles, Stella, and I arrived in Canada.
Stella as she so often is, is a blur. Angling in on Achilles, who is spotlighted by the sun, whiskers glowing. He’s galloping along, looking sideways at her and running so hard that his big, sturdy, upright ears are flopping down.
It’s a portrait of life, living in the here and now. It’s a good reminder to live in the now.
More holiday swing
Here are a few more photos of the dogs.
Achilles, looking wistfully (pardon my anthropomorphizing) at something . . .
Stella looks right at the photographer.
And Kendal, the best of the three.
Plenty of room on the couch
I do not mind sharing.
Relenting
We have been busy today, up and down offthe couch, getting stuff done. When we did sit down Stella wanted up,and we consistently said ‘nope, no ma’am not going to happen.’ Refusing permission in a matter offact way does scarher for life, she ges on about her caninebusiness soonenough.
We eventually relented. We made time and space for Chili dog. Kendal had already had couch time.
My truck
I bought this 1999 Mazda B2500 new off the lot in January 2000. The shell was added in 2002 and has been removed perhaps three times.
It’s a ’99 model and has been an extraordinarily reliable vehicle. Though it’s almost 14 years old it has around 132,000 miles because for much of its life it’s been the secondary vehicle therefore not driven as much. There are a few scratches yet is virtually no rust, still runs on the original clutch and tranny, probably needs a new power steering pump. Speaking of tranny it has a five speed manual linked to the 2.5 liter engine.
My major (and really only) complaint is that it’s woefully underpowered, which made merging onto IH-35 in downtown Austin an adventure in tooth-grinding as I wound the engine up near the read line simply to approach highway speed as the merge lane came to an all-too-quick end.
Having said that it gets decent mileage (22-25 mpg highway), is fairly comfortable for two people, and the stereo has no blown speakers so it still rocks. I do not permit the dogs to ride in the bed so two dogs fit somewhat comfortably behind the seat, which is where Achilles and Stella rode when I moved to Canada. Three can be stuffed in for short trips.
We hope to get several more years of service from it.
previouslytexan 