Tag Archives: Tisen

Wags & Whiskers Wednesday (#7)

Posted by dkrashb on

For all you dog lovers, here’s an awesome blog for you. They were kind enough to feature Tisen in this week’s Wags & Whiskers Wednesday, which posts submissions from readers. Enjoy!

Wags and Whiskers's avatarWags & Whiskers | Dog Walking and Pet Sitting

Wishes for a happy Wednesday to you all!

I’ve never been overly concerned with Valentine’s Day.  Maybe it’s because I spent so many of them single, but I think it’s more to do with the silliness of it all.  Do I really need another day of the year to give and receive cards, gifts, and sweets from my husband?  Do we really need to shell out our hard earned dollars to eat a fancy meal?  I was content to stay in last night and eat a wonderfully delicious dinner at home … that way I could spend this holiday not only with my husband, but with my equally loved pup.   As Pablo (that would be my husband) was making supper (YUM!) and I was relaxing with my margarita, Buffy (that would be my pup…but you probably already knew that) sat sweetly at my feet.  On a day meant for celebrating…

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The Singing Towhee

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I sit on the balcony and watch cars roll by.  It’s been a while since I’ve sat out here with my morning coffee–I am reminded of when we first arrived in Chattanooga 5 1/2 months ago.  Although, it was August then and I only sat on the balcony before sunrise–it got much too hot once the sun was up.

Earlier this morning, Tisen and I walked through the park listening to birds who clearly felt it was spring.  I believe it was just two nights ago there was a winter weather warning.  I listen to an Eastern Towhee and realize I’ve never heard one sing before–well, at least not when I knew that’s what I was hearing.  In fact, seeing an Eastern Towhee was always a rare event for me.  When I check the range map, I learn that they are present year round and this is not a harbinger of spring.  However, the urgency and vigor of his song competing with the robins’ probably is.

Our walk is uneventful, but when we return home, Tisen cannot wait to get off his leash and prance into the living room.  He does his playful prance that involves throwing limbs in directions it doesn’t seem like they should go.  I think he’s excited to see his daddy, but it turns out it’s Mr. Beaver he’s so excited to reunite with.

He and Mr. Beaver curl up on the couch.  Since my camera is still sitting on the tripod, I figure I might as well take a few shots, although I don’t bother to change the lens.  And, since I have my 17-55mm lens on the camera, I might as well go out on the balcony and see if the light is doing anything interesting to the view.  The city is shrouded in a slight mist this morning–the sun casting long shadows as it rises above the horizon.  In the sky above, a waning moon hangs mid-sky, too far from anything to get a decent shot with a my wide angle lens.

One thing is obvious–it’s going to be a beautiful sunny day.  Or at least morning.  I plop myself down on a balcony chair to write wearing my pajamas and no jacket and feel sorry for all the people below me in their cars who had to get up, get showered and into office clothes and are now on their commute to the office.

Of course, maybe they’ll have move fun at the office than I will have working from my isolated home office.  There is something about working from home that can make a person a little stir crazy.  I catch myself talking to Tisen more and more often.  He hasn’t answered yet, so I think I’m OK.  But perhaps it’s the fact that I don’t see other people all day that makes me notice things like the song of the Towhee?

Freezing Time

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We had a winter weather warning last night.  Perhaps it did get dangerous last night when I was sound asleep, but when I got up this morning, it just looked like another rainy day.  Then, I realize I have to go out in this rainy day.

Is it wrong that I long for snow whenever it rains in the winter?  Wouldn’t everyone rather have the landscape blanketed in the fluffy white stuff than to duck in and out of overhangs trying to keep their hair dry?

I decide that it must be miserably cold in the rain and that this may be my only opportunity wear real winter garb:  a Patagonia down “sweater” (still don’t get why they call them that) with my North Face tri-climate shell.  I also pull my rain pants on over the fleece pants I wore to bed last night (I rarely bother to change out of my “pajamas” before walking Tisen in the morning; good thing I sleep in hiking clothes).

I look a bit, well, shall we say, more eccentric than usual?

It’s not really that cold out.  Even so, Tisen is not enthusiastic about the rain–thankfully he does not refuse to out in it like some dogs.  He does, however, walk the minimum distance required for him to complete his business and then immediately turns back towards home.  In spite of the short walk, I am starting to sweat by the time we return, but I can’t resist taking a quick self-portrait while all the water is still beading on my jacket.  Perhaps “more eccentric” was too kind?

I look out the window and see the magical effect of the street light on the pouring rain.  I love how you can’t see that it’s raining except in that one, tiny patch of light directly under the street light when it’s still dark out.  I decide to try to shoot the rain in the street light.  I setup my tripod on the balcony and get ready to shoot.

First, I realize that the slow shutter speed required for the lighting conditions prevents me from capturing the rain drops.  I need a fast shutter for the individual drops to show up–as it is, they disappear into a barely perceivable mist.

Then, my ADD kicks in (I don’t really have ADD, but I’ve been feeling left out) and I find myself distracted by the long streaks of light captured as cars drive through the frame.  This is one of the effects of photography that I know I shouldn’t like, but I just get so mesmerized by it.  Despite the fact that when I look at the photos later, I mostly think they look like a cliche, I can’t stop myself from taking them.  There is something inherently fun about shifting reality by perceiving the passage of time from the perspective of an open shutter.  How else can we see the passage of time frozen in a single frame?

George Tisen and Mr. Beaver

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Just in time for Valentine’s Day, George Tisen, aka Tisen, has a new friend. His name is Mr. Beaver. Unlike Red Dog and Squirrel, Mr. Beaver required a more formal title.

Mr. Beaver was yet another spontaneous purchase, this time at Target. I responded to some super natural force that caused me to turn unexpectedly down the dog toy aisle. In spite of the fact that Tisen now has a squeaky toy collection of Red Dog, Squirrel, Puppy Love, and Minnie Teddy in addition to 3 squeaky Kong tennis balls, I felt compelled to add Mr. Beaver to the collection. It seems neither one of us can resist a squeaky toy. I’m guessing our neighbors in our echo-chamber apartment building love them just as much as we do.

But George Tisen loves his toys so much, it’s hard to resist buying him another one. Especially when he does something as adorable as he did today. He took Mr. Beaver with him on our evening walk. I managed to get Mr. Beaver out of his mouth long enough to slip the collar over Tisen’s head, but when I tried to push Mr. Beaver out of the way of the door, Tisen snagged him up and headed out the door with him in his mouth. I was too overcome by the giggles to take Mr. Beaver away and leave him at home.

Tisen often likes to carry toys with him on walks, but this is the largest he’s insisted on taking with him. Last time I let him carry a toy, it was a tennis ball. He got bored with it and set it down in the gutter just before we crossed a busy street. I didn’t realize he’d set it down until we got well into the park. Luckily, it was still sitting where he left it on the way back and he snapped it back up again on the way home.

Today, I’m confident Mr. Beaver won’t fair so well if Tisen leaves him somewhere, so I watch him like a hawk for signs he’s planning to set Mr. Beaver down. He holds Mr. Beaver all the way across the street, through the parking lot, past the first pee stop, and doesn’t set him down until we’re at the first grassy knoll. I pick up Mr. Beaver just to ensure he doesn’t end up in the line of fire since Tisen is sniffing around. Tisen turns around and grabs Mr. Beaver immediately, apparently upset that I’ve picked him up.

At one point, Tisen spots an area that’s recently been dug up. He sets Mr. Beaver down and starts to dig like he’s going to bury him. I tell him he can’t bury Mr. Beaver and pick him up again. Tisen takes him back once more and doesn’t set him down again until we’re inside the apartment.

It’s better entertainment and cheaper than a movie.

The Etiquette of Dog Flatulence

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I took Tisen to the vet.  He was due for heartworm medicine and given the number of mosquitos that have been active, I figured it’s not safe to skip heartworm in the winter like we used to in Columbus.

He weighed in at 60 pounds, but the vet thought he still looked like he was on the thin side.  He’s gained 20 pounds since he first arrived at the McKamey Animal Center.  1/3 of his total body weight.  I wonder what I would look like I lost 1/3 of my total body weight?  That’s rhetorical.

Apparently the bald patches in his fur are due to a severe allergy to fleas.  Although his hair is growing back and we’ve seen no sign of fleas, the vet encourages me to try a flea treatment that is a bacteria taken orally.

I give him the “test” pill with his dinner Friday night.

He does not exhibit any allergic reaction, but by Saturday morning, he seems to be suffering from excessive flatulence.  Well, at least he has excessive flatulence–not sure he’s suffering as much as we are.

Of course, this is the day I am having a guest.  What exactly is proper etiquette when your dog is passing gas silently, but so lethally that it makes your eyes water?  Do you say, “Oh my, Tisen, you’re really stinky today!”

I think about an article by Miss Manners on this topic.  As I recall, she felt because a polite person would, of course, never pass gas, there was no reason to excuse one’s self because it simply didn’t happen.  Does this rule apply to dogs?

I eventually am so distracted by his stench, I have to say something.  I end up telling this story:  When I first started working from home many years ago, I didn’t have a desk.  So, I would sit in a recliner with my laptop in my lap and a speaker phone further down on my legs, which were propped up on the foot rest.  Our Mastiff, Bogart, liked to come over and sit in my lap from time to time.  He would walk up, swing his rear around in a large arc, and then plop his butt down on my lap while all 4 feet were still on the floor.

On this particular occasion, I was on the speaker phone on a call with 12 people.  When Bogart swung his rear around, he paused about 6 inches above the speaker phone.  Then, he passed gas for at least 10 seconds with reverberation audible in the next room.

The longest silence on a conference call I’ve ever experienced followed.  Since I didn’t think “It was the dog” was going to fly, I remained silent and hoped no one knew it was my phone.

I wonder what Miss Manners would say about that?

Today, I am back to using the iPhone to snap a few shots of Tisen curled up next to my lap, still stinking up the room.

Winter After All

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Apparently I am all-powerful.  I wished for winter, and winter was delivered.  Is it too late to un-wish?

I passed a clump of blooming daffodils yesterday, I suppose they are not happy with me and my wish for winter, either.  The temperature started dropping yesterday, but today it was in the “bitterly cold” range.  Or, at least compared to the near 70 degree temperatures we had last week it felt bitterly cold.  There was a lot of snow in the air, although none on the ground.  For a while, the flakes were large and fluffy looking.

It was cold enough I was glad we decided not to go hang gliding today.  That is the offshoot of me wishing for winter and having my wish granted–we will not hang glide this weekend.

Today, it was probably a good thing.  I agreed to shoot the hand-carved plague S.O.A.R uses for its logo so they could have a high quality image of it to use for printing.  Since it was easier to shoot at our place with my lighting and equipment, Dale came to me.

This was a milestone occasion for me (although I didn’t tell her).  Dale was our first in-town guest since we moved to Chattanooga.  I spend the morning cleaning and rearranging, although only partly because she was coming.  We needed to rearrange anyway and when I rearrange, I have to clean because I always uncover something icky in the process.

About a half an hour before I expect Dale, I realize I have absolutely nothing edible to offer her.  As I contemplated trying to fancy up the two handfuls of raw almonds left in the cupboard or heating up some tomato soup,  I get a text from Pat telling me he is on his way with snacks for us.  No wonder I married this man!

I set up my tripod and diffused light in the middle of the living room.  I have my long lens on the camera, but I wait until Dale arrives to choose a lens.  I end up using my wide angle lens because the plague is large.  For whatever reason, autofocus is confused into believing the image is in focus when it isn’t.  My first set of shots are all a big blur.  I switch to manual focus and get much sharper images.

Another milestone, I use the feature on my tripod that allows spreading the legs wide to get the camera closer to the ground for the first time.  The images turn out pretty good.  I do some cropping and cut out the yoga blanket background just to see if it looks better on white.

After doing some photo editing, I discover I’ve left the diffused light on.  It must be generating heat because Tisen decides to lay on the floor under the light.  I can’t resist moving in and shooting him from above just like the logo.  Tisen really wasn’t meant to be shot from above, however.

Missing the Moon

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I am out walking late again.  It’s 11PM and the moon is full.  As I cross the street with Tisen, I realize I forgot to check the lunar calendar.  I’d been experimenting with shooting the full moon on the horizon.  It’s a more interesting subject that way.

Last August, I discovered the moon was rising behind the Walnut St bridge and attempted to capture people walking in front of it on the bridge.  This was a great concept, but the lack of a tripod led to poor execution.  Since then, I’ve only managed to catch the full moon in November.

Tonight, I look up and see thin, high clouds blowing across the sky, making me feel like I’m watching time lapse photography of a moon rise.  As the clouds pass over the moon, the moon forms a brilliant ring.  As the clouds and light continue to shift, the ring turns a glowing red.  Inspired by a much better photographer, I pull out my iPhone and attempt to capture a shot.  The first picture in the gallery is the best I could do.

A couple of lessons learned on iPhone photography:  1)  even the iPhone 4S with it’s new improved camera doesn’t handle night landscape photography well, and 2) if you’re going to try to get a decent shot of the moon with an iPhone, it’s best not to be holding the leach of a feisty dog while you’re shooting.  No matter how adorable Tisen is, he only assists my photography when he is the model.

About the time I realize I cannot possibly get a decent shot, the ring around the moon shifts from a glowing red to a circular rainbow.  I’ve never seen anything like it.  Unfortunately, the colors do not show up in the iPhone shot and the clouds move on, the rainbow disappearing as quickly as it appeared.

As much as I want to return home to get out my DSLR and tripod, I know Tisen needs more time.  We complete our lap of the park until Tisen is satisfied.  Then, I rush us home as quickly as possible.  There is a huge bank of clouds blowing in and I’m sure I can get set up while it’s still passing over the moon.

I rush to grab my tripod bag.  I knock over a glass, drop the bag, and fall across the couch, waking my dozing husband.  After assuring him all is well, I get out my camera bag, pull out the camera, find the CF card and stick it back in the camera, attach the 1.4x extender and the 100-400mm lens, slide on the wireless remote, locate the remote, and snap the whole thing into the tripod.  I carry it all outside, locate the moon, position the tripod, and finally find the moon through my viewfinder just as the last wisp of cloud blows away.

All that’s left is the naked moon, overly bright and relatively uninteresting.  I’m fairly certain I can see the man in the moon laughing at me.

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Wishing for Winter

Posted by dkrashb on

This evening, I take Tisen out for his evening stroll.  We head across the street, dodging cars that refuse to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk with a green walk light.  This is a curious thing about Chattanooga.  No matter how much infrastructure they build to support pedestrians, the drivers still try to run them over.  I frequently end up stopped half way in the crosswalk waiting for the cars who are turning to realize they need to stop.

I usually give up and try to dive in front of a car where there is enough room for them to stop and the driver appears to be at least paying attention to what’s directly in front of them.  It’s a little dangerous, but after several weeks of this, I’ve found a few more drivers are watching for pedestrians and yielding.  Sometimes it just takes an accidental death to get traffic problems resolved.  🙂

Having made it safely across the street, we make our way down the sidewalk.  Tisen spots a strange mix-breed dog coming towards us, about 50 yards away.  Tisen crouches lower, juts his head out level with his shoulders, and his muzzle appears to have shape-shifted into the shape of a wolf’s.  If I didn’t know any better, I would think I was walking a border collie.  When the bizarre mix (he looks like a golden retriever with a pug’s head) gets closer, Tisen lunges with growly barks.  This is a first!  I think perhaps it is due to the strangeness of the dog.  But then we pass a chocolate lab puppy who is being a typical silly, playful pup and Tisen does a complete repeat performance.

I don’t know what changed between yesterday and today to make him behave so differently.  I keep thinking the longer it’s been since he was neutered, the less aggressive he’ll be, but I’m guessing whatever hormonal effect there will be has already happened.  I consider the possibility that it’s seasonal.  After all, we’ve had ridiculously warm weather for at least a week straight now.  Maybe his body thinks it’s spring.

While I am usually longing for spring this time of year, I find myself longing for winter instead.  Not out of hope it might settle Tisen down, but, in part, because it’s harder to appreciate the spring fully when you haven’t gone through a long, cold winter.  And, to be honest, I’m already tired of swatting mosquitos.  I do not want to think about what the insect population is going to be like if we don’t have any more cold weather this year.  I can only hope the bird, bat, and dragonfly populations keep pace.

Since I cannot take any photos of snow and ice, I decide to pull out some old ones.  Here are some shots from the Canadian Rockies in Jasper National Park, Alberta.  The high temperature our first day there on that trip was -15 Fahrenheit.  Now that is winter.

Finding Joy

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Shifting gears from focusing on the things I want to do to the things I must do on a Monday causes me to think about joy.  Joy is one of those feelings that took me a long time to distinguish.  I finally decided the main symptom of joy versus run-of-the-mill happiness, amusement, infatuation, or any other emotion that might camouflage itself as joy is that my eyes well up just a little.

My chest also feels like it’s filling with something.  My throat constricts slightly.  The physical symptoms are the same as if I’m about to have a good cry.  But I don’t feel like crying–I’m too busy grinning.

The thing about joy is that it always surprises me.  It’s always the tiny things I so often overlook that suddenly create this overwhelming sense of, well, joy.  There really isn’t a synonym.

When I take Tisen out, his tail wags in time with his foot steps as he prances along like a tiny horse.  The joy of this wag overwhelms me.

When Tisen wiggles his way closer to me just before falling asleep, I smile until I ache.  When Tisen eats his food like he really enjoys it, I nearly do cry.

But it’s not all about Tisen.  The other day, I was walking in the park and saw a small bird perched on top of a light post.  It was back-lit and I couldn’t make it out until I got to the other side of the pole with the sun behind me.  It suddenly burst into the full color of an Eastern Bluebird.  I felt like I’d been let in on a joyful secret.

Sometimes, all it takes is noticing the arrangement of stray branches casting a shadow over a pool of water.  Or a puff of clouds forming a smiley face.  Or a stranger walking by and saying hello with a twinkle in their eyes.

Joy seems to create its own momentum.  After I notice one joyful thing, I suddenly start noticing more.  It’s like getting a glimpse causes me to look for more.  I am reminded of the filter that decides what information to process versus what to ignore.  If you’ve ever bought a new car and suddenly noticed every one on the road, joy is like that.

At the top of the big hang gliding hill yesterday, I stood for just a moment and looked all around.  The grass, the trees, the sky, the mountains.  All there just for the price of noticing.  This is what people mean when they talk about smelling the roses.

Ironically, when I need joy in my life the most, it’s the hardest to find.  I get wrapped up in suffering and suddenly the sunrise isn’t worth noticing, the trees are just trees, and a wagging tail is just a wagging tail.  I wonder what it would be like to be able to see the things that make me smile when I feel the least like smiling?

High Flying

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For today’s triple play, let’s start with hang gliding. On the big training hill, there are 7 tests to “clear,” which means you get your Novice license and you can fly off the mountain launch.  But, if you don’t fly off the mountain for 4 days straight, you have to “re-clear.”

Today, Pat will re-clear and I will continue my endless quest of clearing for the first time.  Yesterday, I learned they mis-counted my total training hill flights:  they missed a page.  At the rate I’m going, I will have about 160 flights by the time I clear for the first time!  They don’t give you a trophy for that; they just charge extra.

After successfully completing one more test today, I’m pretty much spent.  Pat re-cleared and left for the mountain early on, but the wind prevents him from flying.  He picks me up and then we head over to the landing zone where we each get a tandem flight.

For the second time, I hook in with an instructor and we are towed above 2000 feet, literally into the clouds.  But this time, I’m not as mentally paralyzed.  The instructor gives me control and I fly us all the way to the landing (except for those moments when it appears I’m going to kill us both).

Flying a tandem glider with an extra person in it is completely different from flying solo.  It’s good to experience the altitude though–and to have 12 minutes instead of 12 seconds to practice.

Next, let’s talk about Tisen.

Two new things happen at the training hill today.  First, while Tisen has stopped chasing wheels, when I carry my glider he dives at my legs, grabbing at my pants and pinching my skin.  When I set the glider down, he stops.  When I pick it up, he starts again.  He doesn’t seem to be able to associate my legs with my body when I have the glider on my shoulders.

Second, when Pat leaves, he calls Tisen down from the big hill by squeaking his favorite ball.  He was at least 100 yards away and he ran down the hill to get that ball.  The power of a squeaky toy!

In the car later, Tisen starts carrying his squeaky toys up onto the seat in the min-van.  I cannot help but snap a shot with my iPhone.

This leads us to our final subject, Photography.

The pictures from the tandem flight were taken by a small Olympus point and shoot positioned on a mount on the wing.  The camera was set to take a shot every 10 seconds.  This was not my camera, but an add-on service the flight school offers.  Frankly, I can’t tell much from the photos and they all start to look the same after a while, but it is kind of cool.  I am definitely going to wear sunglasses so I don’t have to wear the school’s protective eyewear next time, though!

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