:Bits and pieces
Posted: February 23, 2008 Filed under: DRambles on Black Mountain, Gompa Lhasa Apsos 11 CommentsI finished a book this morning. Before going to my recliner to start another, waiting for Julie’s phone call about C’est La Vie, thought I’d stop by to let you all know that I’ll be playing catch up this weekend. Catch up with rest. Catch up with What’s New. Things will be filtering into the blog in bits and pieces, without rhyme or reason.
Obviously, I’m going to have to set up something better in the way of lighting to showcase the puppies, along with removing Nagpo during the photo shoot. Here’s Every Body Eating.
Kunza at FleetFire Timbers 
I hope everyone has a good imagination!!
Next time you have time to read a book, read The Time Traveller’s Wife. It has nothing whatsoever to do with anything on your blog. But it is as good….
Susan
Okay…that photo was taken during my Surreal era. Hope everyone caught the Puppy Pile photo I took later that day. You’d think with all the stuff Nate has taught me, I’d give up the point and shoot. It rarely works! I noticed the light coming in just right later that day, separated Nagpo from the puppies, set the depth of field and got some good shots. Scroll up to Puppy Pile.
And…Susan, thanks for tip on the book. I’ve put it on reserve at the library. As far as not having anything to do with the blog…it has everything to do with the blog. Maybe it’s not about dogs, but, to me, the blog is much more than dogs. It’s people. A place for all of us to meet and share.
I title posts (Kathy sent..Julie shared..) to encourage everyone to send stuff to me that can be shared on the blog. It’s a neat way to develop more of an understanding of each other. So, anytime you read a good book – share!
Okay, then. I should tell you that I have read a lot of and skimmed almost the rest of Canine Body Language, and it’s fabulous. Thanks. I find myself crawling around on the floor with the puppies and whispering, ahah, there’s a “paw lift”….oh, maybe a “look away” would be a good idea here….
Susan
Susan, I love The Time Traveller’s Wife! Keep the book suggestions coming…and the photos of your Pack. Something that has caught my eye…many of our What’s New community submit gorgeous photos of their pups reclining on beautiful woven rugs…the apsos look relaxed and regal on their magic carpets!!
Canine Body Language! Let me reiterate Susan’s review. It’s fabulous. Anyone who lives with at least two dogs should have a copy. It would be beneficial to those with one dog, but with two dogs you actually see canines communicating with each other. Singleton dogs don’t have as much opportunity to ‘talk dog’.
If you liked Time Travellers Wife, try Ann Patchett’s The Magician’s Assistant. Seemed to me I got into it because it reminded me of the Niffenegger book. That led me to read ALL of Ann Patchett. Some of it I like. All of it amazes me. RUN is her most recent and probably the very best. I didn’t like the one that made her famous (Bel Canto). I even tried it again after I found how much I liked some of her others.
Susan
Another book for dog lovers.
This is a tiny book that I found in the used book store attached to my public library.
It’s called Good Dog, Stay, by Anna Quindlan. She’s one of my favorite journalist/writers, and this book is a small gem with glorious pictures.
If you see it grab it.
Two more reads: “Dog Man evokes the ancient myths: deep and quiet like high mountains in snow. Morie Sawataishi has learned from his beloved Akitas to embrace the wild. Read this book and feel that power.”Neenah Ellis, —Dog Man is a great book about sacrifice and love to save a breed of dog…also: Tell Me Where It Hurts by Dr. Nick Trout–“a day of humor, healing and hope in the life of an animal surgeon…”
You guys should see the pile of audio books sitting on the front seat of Suzanne! Susan, I listed to Run several months ago, on one of the road trips for the Ranpa handoff. I loved it and will have to put more of her books on hold…just as soon as I work my way through the current pile.
I always have a ‘real’ book – or three – going too, but audio books are great for my lifestyle. It often takes me a while to make my way through a real book. By the time I plunk my tired body down at night to read, I’m exhausted and drift in and out of snoozing in an upright position. A situation that has entertained my family for years. Makes me remember grandma falling asleep, sitting upright on the couch. Grandpa would pretent to play an instrument, holding his fingers by her nose, moving them as she exhaled (often snoring). That made us little girls giggle!
With audio books, I can ‘read’ while driving or working. I save the later until Carol leaves the shop, but mid to late afternoon clients will often find me plugged in as I finish.
Susan, with your recent reading, if you were going to recommend several dog books for new owners, which would they be? I’m curious about your perspective, given your latest knowledge.
Whoa, that’s a tall order. I’m thinking that the books you have recommended are the ones I’ve resonated with. They are also all ones which I think of as being books that might not have resonated with me until later….after I’d had my dogs for a while. It’s interesting, for example, that I’ve read or skimmed all of the Cesar Millan books and I think they are helpful;/useful, but I wouldn’t want someone to be too impressed with him. What he has to say is important, but it wasn’t until I read Bones Would Rain from the Sky that I was able to take the edges off of Millan’s stridency.
Anyway, I will think about your question more. I did just put in a request for a book from the library that I remembered reading a couple of times when I first got Rinchen. It’s called “How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With”, and I am going to be interested to see if I still think it is as good as I thought it was then. Mostly what I’ve found is that no book ever quite nails it. For example, when I got Rinchen he was already 6 months old, so all of the stuff about what was so important for a youngster was….too late. And when I got Sammy I already had Rinchen, so training a second dog with a dog already around was different from how they tell you to train a single dog. It all seems to be a matter of sifting. You have to read a whole lot more books than you think you should to cull out the good stuff….
Anway, that’s a long winded way of saying….I’ll get back to you.