October 05, 2006
October 2006
Henry goes on point to protect CJ from the menacing roller blader. Actually, he was more likely to trip the guy wanting to play with him. Still, I like that bulldog stance Henry takes whenever something surprises him.
Face to face with Henry.
I spent the week in Huntington Beach, California, just down the road from LA. I took this picture from my cell phone, and thought it came out pretty well. Sometimes the technology is just a starting point.
Another picture of Huntington Beach from my cell. I stayed at a very nice hotel only a hundred yards or so away from the beach. It was a busy business trip, but nice to look out and see the ocean. There were lots of surfers out most of the time, with two to three foot waves.
There is something about moving water. We stopped along the SMP hiking trail to try for this shot. The dogs wanted in the water desperately. I thought it was a nice fall metaphor.
This is a stylized image taken from Shawnee Mission Parkway a couple of weeks ago. It has great hiking trails and makes you forget you live in a city.
CJ shot this picture at Shawnee Mission Park. The dogs just love the area, and it is a good place to wear them, and us, out on the trails.
This bridge in Shawnee Mission Park gives a glimpse of autumn colors a couple of weeks early. There are lots of trees and underbrush in this area. It looks like a pretty fall for the park.
CJ takes a break with Henry and Gracie. Henry really doesn't take breaks, as you can easily tell. This little guy is all go all the time.
These are some of the close up sights along our walk through Shawnee Mission Park.
The colors in the park are just starting to turn. This whets our appetites for the coming fall color change. It was a beautiful fall day. The pups were anxious to keep moving as I played with the camera, so CJ took the reins. She normally walks them together this way. I am always surprised how well they behave walking in tandem....well usually behave.
Our friends Teresa and Paul at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. I have known both of them since my college days. I feel very privileged to have them as friends.
Paul tried to get all the dogs in one place for Charlotte to take a picture. Neither of our dogs are as big as the male dogs' heads.
Breakfast time with Teresa and Paul was fun. We sat out on the lawn, drank coffee and talked while the puppies chased birds and dragonflies. Abbie decided to grab a little attention while the other dogs were busy barking.
As I said, we formed our own little "Breakfast Club" on the lawn. Teresa was explaining their repair plans for the storage shed and greenhouse. This was probably my favorite part of the trip. It really felt like an unhurried vacation.
This frog and wading pool greet visitors at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. When I was stationed at Carswell AFB, this was one of the places GIs could go for free. It has developed considerably since then, but is still mostly free. THe park now includes over 100 acres.
A better look at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. The area now seems quite large, with a number of formal garden sections. The lush greenery is not typical of Fort Worth, but was a great place to visit both then and now.
CJ poses at the Botanical Gardens. Just around the corner, a couple was taking wedding photographs and/or getting married. We managed to steer around them before the ceremonies began.
Teresa and Paul have four Irish Setters. I managed to catch one of the male dogs, Zach I believe, alone for a moment for a quick photo. The pups like to chase dragon flies, and Zach was getting ready for the next charge.
Abbie came by for some one on one time. I loved the blonde color on top of her head and ears. It reminded me of an English rock star.
This is the old house we rented in Fort Worth on Nursery Lane. It wasn't much then, but I was shocked to see it still standing. Our one bedroom apartment was on the upper right. It was furnished, well sort of, for about $100 per month. There was no extra charge for the roaches.
Another view of Nursery Lane. The upper far right window was our living room, and just left was the kitchen windows. The landlord was a guy named Deaver, who appears to have a street named for him just around the corner. He was a very colorful old guy.
A final view of Nursery Lane. The door on the lower left took us up a steep flight of stairs to the apartment. Our next door neighbor owned an ocelot for a while. We occasionally would spend some time on the ground floor porch talking with our civilian neighbors Bonnie and Dan. There is a steep hill on the other side of the apartment leading down to the Trinity River. Once upon a time, we slid down the hill on cardboard to make up for the lack of sledding in Texas.