August, 2006

Ahhh....the dog days of August. What better place to cool off than the doggy swimmin' hole on Rock Creek? The big brown dog in the middle of the photo (the one standing right in the water, and the biggest dog there by far) is 10-month old puppy Squeak, tethered to his water-logged owner, Cathy. All the dogs in the area adore this spot, and they play very nicely together, chasing and leaping and sniffing each other happily--no aggression. The water is really down now, and Squeak swam all the way across for the first time (probably cuz his toes could still touch bottom). When Squeak got home, he went into his crate and conked out cold. THAT's exercise!!



Out in Chicago, others take to the water, too, including Mia and her pal, Mr. Turtle.



Ummm....might be good in soup, eh?



Last weekend, Steven McGowan celebrated his 21st birthday! Congratulations, Steven. You can drink legally now at O'Hare, which startled the heck out of yrs truly by asking for my ID last trip through. i mean, gee....can't they tell??? Steven's fellow revelers include this lovely young lady on the left (your girlfriend, Steven?), plus the usual suspects: Annabelle, Gabey, and Jeanne Letizia and Helen and Mia Costello.



Of course, some of us don't need inebriating spirits to have a good time. Los tres amigos here are having a wonderful time just sitting on the floor!!



Sally and Jay were in Chicago for a wedding and came for the b'day, too. They've never been able to spend much time with the Chicago folks before this, and they had a great time.


Can't forget the other Sarah....here she is holding her niece Mia.



Our front yard is looking pretty good these days...my neighbor Katherine's window boxes are spectacular this year, as is her herb garden arranged in pots below her windows and going up the front steps. Notice the big leaves in the lower rh corner of this photo?



Here's a better view....wot is it? Squash? Pumpkin?



Here's a Monarch, Peggy....It's dining on some lavender in Montrose Park, through which we have to walk to get to the doggy beach (which is in Dumbarton Park, actually. Nothing is simple here.) I love Monarchs. They were the first non-cabbage butterflies I ever saw--and not until we got our lake cottage in Minnesota, either, when I was about 10.




Here's my dear Iowa pal Erda with her new moped and Smurf safety flag. (She took the first photo here to show that the orange horn in the second photo was not growing out of her head!) Erda says she gets 100 mpg on this thing! She also says not to buy a Vespa..."They're too expensive!" Well, more money to buy Smurfs, right, Erda?