Come Sleep, O Sleep … Come, Sleep! O Sleep, the certain knot of peace,The baiting-place of wit, the balm of woe,The poor man’s wealth, the prisoner’s release,The indifferent judge between the high and low;With shield of proof shield me from… Read More ›
Pets
THE DOG WITH A YELLOW BOW
Photos by Garry Armstrong The Duke is Marilyn’s secret weapon. When the cowbirds are being particularly obnoxious, she tells him to go outside and bark at the birds. He used to look confused but these days, he goes outside. Sniffs… Read More ›
ALWAYS THE HARDEST DECISION
Fandango’s Provocative Question #193 What’s the hardest decision you’ve ever had to make? What made the decision so difficult? The first time we had to put down an old and ailing pet was terrible. It was hard for me, awful for… Read More ›
LAST PHOTO FOR OCTOBER 2022
Last photo for October 2022 I took an awful lot of pictures this past month. None of them are still on the original chips, though, so exactly what was last? Not sure. But these were definitely a few of the… Read More ›
THE DUKE GOES TO THE VET AND ANOTHER YEAR BEGINS
Once a year, you just gotta do it, but the Duke doesn’t care for the vet. I have to admit this up front: the Duke is a wimp. You do anything to him he doesn’t like? He screams like he… Read More ›
SKETCHBOOK 86 – CAT IN THE GRASS
It looks like a cat. I’ll improve with practice. It’s the first cat’s face that looks catlike. For some reason, this picture looks better on paper than it does in the photograph. The colors blend together well on paper, but… Read More ›
KINDNESS
CFFC: Symbolizes an act of kindness This was a hard one for which to find photographs. It’s not that there have not been many acts of kindness. It’s that I don’t have pictures from most of them.
SKETCHBOOK 56 – DUKE ON GROOMING DAY
This isn’t the first time I’ve drawn The Duke, but it’s the first time I’ve drawn any living thing from “life” rather than a photograph. I was just sitting there, pad in my lap and pencil in hand, looking at… Read More ›
LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS?
Fandango’s Provocative Question #159 So, Jefferson, among many others said: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and… Read More ›
A MAN & HIS DOG – SQUARE ODDS
The Square Odds I had the camera in my hand and Garry had the Duke in his lap. There commenced a bit of a power struggle as Garry tried to get the Duke to settle down and the Duke tried… Read More ›
LOST IN SPACE – GARRY ARMSTRONG
THE CONTINUING SAGA OF MISSING ITEMS This is not Sci-Fi. It’s true. No names or places have been changed for dramatic purposes. Things are, in plain sight, vanishing and it’s becoming unnerving. First, it was my computer glasses. Kept in… Read More ›
MIDWEEK MADNESS: A CLOSEUP AND MACRO
CMMC: February Close Up or Macro This is a closeup of the Duke. I took the picture this afternoon. He’s not a happy camper right now with an infected bad ear — which I’m treating. It takes a few days and… Read More ›
SKETCHBOOK 5 – BESIEGED
The pictures I drew don’t show it, but we are under siege by a huge number of grackles and a flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds who showed up a couple of days ago, much to my dismay. The Blue Jays looked… Read More ›
TOUGH DECISIONS
Fandango’s Provocative Question #153 This isn’t a question I can answer. It’s not that I haven’t had any life-changing tough decision, but because I’ve had so many. Which one was the hardest? I can’t say because all of the hard ones… Read More ›
MAO, A CAT
Jeff and I got Mao as an 8-week-old kitten in the fall of 1965. We had just gotten married the month before, and of course, we had to have a cat right away. Why a Siamese? I don’t know. Karma… Read More ›
SPA DAY FOR THE DUKE
A Photo a Week Challenge: Animals Grooming Duke costs twice what it used to cost me to get my hair trimmed, colored, and dried. Of course, they didn’t have to comb out the fur on my butt or deal with my… Read More ›
AND THEN, THEY ARE GONE
It’s a good day for looking back. When I wrote this in 2015, it was five years since Tinker and Griffin, our two PBGV (French rabbit hounds) had died. Since then, Bonnie who was a young dog then is gone,… Read More ›
BEWARE THE FARTING DOG
The Duke is a picky overeater. How, you ask, can you be both picky and an overeater? Really, it’s simple. You beg for any piece of food in the hand or or on the plate belonging to a human. If… Read More ›
BIRD SEED AND COOKING FOR THE DUKE
I was watching an ad last night. I don’t remember what the ad was about, but it was talking about a guy who was out shopping for food. He’d spenT $50 on his own food and was bringing home an… Read More ›
CUTENESS IN BLACK & WHITE
CBWC: Cute Factor If pets weren’t cute, we probably wouldn’t love them. Although, to be fair, I’ve loved some pretty unattractive dogs and cats over the years and I think I might have loved them even more because they weren’t… Read More ›