"Heel" Your Dog in Slingbacks

I met Sandra Ramirez-Thomas at the 2007 Squaw Valley Writers Workshop, and we've stayed in touch, critiquing one anothers' stories now and then, and following our day-to-day activities on Facebook.

Not long ago, Sandra's FB profile pic featured her dog's feet encased in vintage slingback heels; I thought this was clever and funny, and mentioned it to my daughter, Jena, after realizing her own dog's feet resembled the feet of Sandra's dog.

Jena thought this story was a hoot, and yesterday, sent this pic of Miley.

Gives new meaning entirely to "heeling" your dog.

Ahhhh, Christmas

It was a great Christmas, filled with the goodies a writer/music-lover/reader/gardener appreciates most: gift cards from Starbucks, Borders, iTunes and Capital Nursery. And, yes! Massages too! And from the parents of my son-in-law, a 2-lb. box of See's candy, which Erich and I promptly dove into (and swam around in) shortly before breakfast. In true "Christmas Story" fashion, the four of us (Steve, Maya, Erich, me) finished off the first layer before the evening sky turned "purple and soft."

I also received a small bronze statuette from my mom of a girl reading; she looks like Tinkerbell, and has alighted on my desk, just to the left of my laptop. She's too young to be reading THE COLLECTOR by John Fowles (one of my very early favorites) and too old for the LITTLE HOUSE series. Maybe she's reading GREAT EXPECTATIONS, since it opens on Christmas Eve. I think she will serve as my muse.

Rounding out a great holiday was time spent with my own parents and in-laws; calls from Jena/Jeremy and Pops; and a nap on the floor with Country (Maya and Erich's black Lab puppy), his warm nose buried in my neck. Ahhhh, Christmas.

Big Bunch of Laughing Coyotes

I was reading DRY RAIN STORIES by Pete Fromm, and had gotten almost through "Sage and Salt," when the protagonist hears the "lunatic yippings and laughings of coyotes" and then realizes he isn't hearing coyotes at all, but shouting and laughing, coming from a park.

About a week after our family moved onto Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in south Texas, Jena (who was 13 at the time), came busting into the house at dusk, complaining that a bunch of partiers were whooping it up at the Overlook, which had closed at sunset and was therefore off-limits to visitors. Steve stepped out of the house and walked down the dirt road to investigate, returning a few minutes later, smiling. Turned out the revelers weren’t trespassers at all, but a bunch of coyotes. We all laughed at that. We still recollect that story sometimes -- how funny it is that coyotes and humans sound so much alike.

I Love a Bird with a Topknot

Just returned from south Florida, after spending a week with our daughter, Jena, and her fiance, Jeremy. Great fun – spectacular ocean view, excellent walks on the beach, and a bird I’ve not seen before. Steve got some good shots of royal terns, which are similar in appearance to Caspian terns. Adults have a black crest and head, yellow-orange bill, white body, and black legs. They eat mostly fish but also take marine invertebrates, including shrimp and squid. When they’re not feeding, they loaf on the beach, which is where we found this fellow, along with 30 of his buddies.