Dogs. And Agility.

SUMMARY: Pix and Ponderings about dogs, agility, nonagility, travel, activities…

This started as a blog about me and my dogs in agility. And it pretty much continued that way for over a decade, with forays into random realms.

But I hardly ever post here any more. Mean to, really I do. Because the secondary purpose was to be my diary, since I suck at keeping a written one, plus can’t click to insert photos into paper!

And then when I do post, it’s hardly ever about dogs. So, here’s a dog. Waiting for the neighbor’s dog to come to the fence so they can bark ferociously at each other. What passes for entertainment in the dog world.

Not too many weekends ago, I went to my club’s agility trial about 50-60 minutes from here. Nice freeway drive through less urbanified areas. At least, early in the morning. I worked. Took a few photos. My heart wasn’t into either one. I think what finally did it for me was that there was a snooker course with an element in it that is one of the spectacular Ellen-and-Boost-fail-to-get-a-Super-Q near misses that just broke my heart. I let too many things break my heart in agility, I think, but even telling myself here and now that that didn’t matter and I’d do anything to have my little blue border collie back, it just kept hitting me.

And I’m not that interested in the courses now–I’m nowhere near competition ready in that I have no agility dogs, even if I were completely physically fit. (Actually feeling pretty good these days, but quite out of condition.)

Agility people are still wonderful. Lots of friends there. Chatted with several. And then they’d need to go run their dogs, or walk their dogs, or take their dogs to the doggie masseuse (really, she’s wonderful; Tika loved her). More and more people running, every time I go to a trial, whom I don’t know from Adam. More and more known people with new dogs I’ve never met and know nothing about So many of the people I became friends with–and dogs, too– by being in classes and seminars with them for long periods.

I haven’t done agility trials or classes or seminars now for over 3 years, except for a very few small attempts at class with each of the dogs. I know that Zorro would love it and would be very good at it. I just can’t spark my own interest in working on it. Doesn’t he look like he’s ready for something new and more exciting?

And then, with that last trial, I just didn’t even want to go to the next couple in the same location, and now there’s one right here locally this weekend and I’m not going there, either. Can’t exactly say why; I had planned on it. But didn’t.

Meanwhile, I’ve been going more and more places and doing more and more things as I get physically better and better– all the interesting and different kinds of places and things that I used to do a lot of before I started agility–

Las Vegas and Grand Canyon in November, for a photo seminar and much more. (I’ve posted almost none of the photos, but here are a couple.)
Yosemite in March, and lucked out in having snow fall on us, something I’ve wanted to happen for many many years but haven’t had the spare weekends also for many years. (Almost no photos posted, but here are a couple.)
Walt Disney World in Florida in April. (almost nothing posted yet, but here are a couple of shots.)
Arizona in May (even though it was for a memorial, still we got around and did things.)
Later this summer, I’m going to Reno for the balloon races, something I’ve wanted to do since I first learned about them many many years ago.
Later still, in the fall, I’ll be going to Ouray, Colorado, for a photo workshop on fall colors in the Rockies, something I’ve almost done several times and then didn’t for one reason or another.
Tomorrow it’s Big Sur: my sis and bro-in-law and I are going on an adventure–Driving there, taking the shuttle to the closed part of Highway 1, hiking over the brand-new trail around the damaged highway, then shuttle on the other side to Nepenthe, a restaurant that we like perched above the cliffs on the ocean, before it’s too late and they finally replace the destroyed Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge and the shuttle will no longer run and Big Sur will no longer be isolated from the rest of the world (at least, from the North–who knows how long until they find the missing Pacific Coast Highway south of there). Until the next Highway 1 disaster.

Had I been doing agility, I likely wouldn’t have done any of these. So, it’s tradeoffs. Always.

And the dogs have stayed home through everything. So, it’s a different life.

I still mostly think of myself as an agility person. Hard not to, with 20 years of classes and competitions and seminars and trips and parties and clubs and all. And yet–I feel that I’m slowly going back to being just a Boring Pet Dog Owner. And yet–I’m still not ready to let the Agility go.

And then–Retirement is looking more and more like it could actually happen. Sooner rather than later. How cool would that be? But what would it mean for what and where and when and how and who? Thought for EVER so long that I’d travel around, hiking, doing agility, and like that. But–now–who knows!

The future is wide open.

Headers and profiles and sites, oh my!

SUMMARY: Just nonsense about blogs and other websites that need–yes, need!-– photo choices.

Everything that one does online these days demands (yes! demands!) a profile photo. How to choose the look that one wants? Do you want people to like you or not? Do you want them to think you’re strange or not? Do you want them to get a flavor of your personality, or hobbies, or environment, or family, or history? Or not?

I have generic-y photos that I can put anywhere, and mostly do for professional-y things. Like this one, looking all normal-y (blue/purple tie-dye is normal, right?) surrounded by professional-y-looking grammar books, style guides, and dictionaries. (And professional-y-looking stuffed animals, water bottles, and random professional-y-looking crap. For authenticity.)

Which I can crop down to just get my true essence, of light-hearted professionalism with tie dye, and some books.

But what’s the fun of normalcy?

(Side note: OMD, just noticed how long ago I took that photo! I like to think that I look exactly the same, but, eh, I don’t. I should take a new one. Or should I go much much older, back to scanned photos from my film camera days? Very professional-y, eh?)

I currently have different profile photos for my Blogger account –which is here–and for my Google account–which I log into to edit my Blogger account. They display really really tiny in chats and stuff — here’s what I see while editing my page (lower left and upper right):

The left one above I created using xxx-ize me sites (such as simpsonize me (no longer exists, sorry), peanutize me, and so on). Like these:

Plus big yellow dogs.

Plus big blue-merle dogs (wellll… gray. it’s the closest I could get with the tool).

Plus kitchen.

Should my profile photo include my dogs? Like my current Google one– but, oh, my, the site limitations on cropping often limit what’s appropriate. For example–original photo:

As displayed on my Google account, I have one complete dog, one half dog, and a random dog ear in case someone’s goes missing:

(Side note: yep, that’s out of date, too, by 3 years and 3 dogs. So, do I need a new one? It’s always something.)

And then there’s Facebook– FB simplifies changing the profile and cover photo. Very simple. Too simple. Because that means that they DEMAND, yes, DEMAND to be changed frequently! For a while, I posted a different shot of me with dogs every week. Then a different shot of me with some random hat every week. Then it just became random things at random times. OK, so, if you want to see ALLLLLLL the profile photos I’ve ever used in my 10 (?) years on facebook– try this link (you don’t have to log in or sign up; just say Not Now and then click on a photo, use arrow keys to skim thru them. Not that intriguing, really).

Then there’s the whole thing about header photos! What feel do I want to give my blog as a whole? And what photo looks pretty good wide and short and with space where the heading text isn’t hidden by what’s in the photo? And am I even capable of taking such photos deliberately? Challenging.

Sometimes things work out OK. Not too long ago I changed this long-time header photo–

To this:

Which I just now replaced with this.

Whatchu think?

Do you post profile photos and/or header photos?

What do you think about when adding a profile photo or header photo?

Do you have multiple sites that can each have different profiles or headers?

DO they each have different ones?

How often do you update each?

What …is your quest? What …is your favorite color? (oh… sorry… carried away there...)

Demanding, inquiring minds want to know.

Dear Taj MuttHall, Where Have You Gone?

SUMMARY: A letter to myself

Dear Taj MuttHall:

I am sad that you haven’t been posting. One post in each of January, February, and March (so far)? Truly that’s all?

And nothing about life with dogs–or life at all, just some nice photos. Which are nice, of course, but I was hoping for substance. And dogs.

You intended this as a journal for yourself, to look back at from your Future Life and marvel at the progress that you made with each canine beasties and all of the things that you did together. But words seem to have failed you.

I understand that your Mom died two days after Christmas, and then you went to work clearing out the family home of 48 years and putting it on the market. And that you’ve been wrung dry of things to say or energy to say it.

I miss you, Taj MuttHall. I read some of your older posts from way back, and they make me laugh, or think, or sing. Please find yourself/myself again.

Sincerely,

Taj MuttHall

Luke officially in Taj Mutthall

SUMMARY: He now has his own photo in the right sidebar here–big ears and all.

Speaking of Changing the Environment–

SUMMARY: Yep, blog appearance changed.

Just felt as if, like other things in my life, it’s time for a little change. Dang, should’ve done a screen capture of the previous format. C’est la vie.

So here’s a capture of the new format. This should look freaky.

Started Another Blog plus History of Martial Cottle Park

SUMMARY: Martial Cottle Park Naughty Neighbor Patrol.

Sooooooo I haven’t been posting here much. Maybe blame it on Facebook (where I do post pithy pointless sayings and photos), or blame it on not doing much in the way of dog sports or dog training, or whatever.

Meanwhile, a new, nearly 300-acre park opened its perimeter trail right behind my house. We’ve been waiting for this for many, many years, and the neighborhood loves it, based on how many people I see out on the trail at all times of the day. This, in an area where going for walks at any time of the day usually found the sidewalks deserted.

No landscaping yet, and the west side near me will mostly be agricultural land, but it’s still nice to go walking.

A little history: The Cottle family moved to the San Jose area in the mid-1800s. San Jose was next to nothing until the gold rush, when the whole valley began providing food for the booming San Francisco and the mining towns in the Sierras. This is really where money was to be made! The Santa Clara valley is amazingly fertile, and over time, agriculture spread across the valley, with plum and cherry trees in particular, so that in the spring, the whole valley bloomed. It became known as The Valley of Heart’s Delight. (Now it’s Silicon Valley. Which do you prefer? Discuss.)

Martial Cottle, born in 1833 in Missouri, came here with his family when he was 21. They were fairly affluent to begin with, bringing 600 head of cattle with them. They bought and married into–I think–several square miles of the the valley. When his father died, Martial ended up with hundreds of acres, but on this 350-acre parcel he lived, built a Victorian farmhouse (still there), and raised wheat, cattle, and orchards.

His five children were born in the house, including Ethel (1891-1977). Ethel married and had two children, also born in that house, Walter Cottle Lester (b. 1925) and Edith Lester. Walter (and possibly Edith?) lived in that farmhouse their entire lives. Ethel started the idea, as she watched the valley change around her, from agriculture to suburbs and business parks, of preserving the site as a reminder of the valley’s agricultural roots. After Ethel died, Walter talked with various governments for probably two decades–not trusting government and not liking what they wanted to offer–before an agreement began to unfold with the state or the county (not the city–some bad feelings there of some sort).

And then Edith died. Leaving Walter with an enormous inheritance tax: Developers had reportedly offered him up to half a *billion* dollars ($500,000,000) for the property. Eventually, after more negotiations, the state, which had a bit more money at the time, bought half the property, allowing him to pay the taxes, and he donated the rest to the County of Santa Clara, along with a deed that covered BOTH parts of the property as one park and stating explicitly how the park could and could not be used (this is often referred to as “the donor’s vision,” but it is, in fact, a legal document).

Part of the agreement was that he could continue to live on the property in the same house, along with his barns and orchards and smaller fields, in the Life Estate part of the park, until he died. So no development or planning could occur in the Life Estate until then.

This was a few short years after I moved here. Then began the long permitting (environmental reports, etc.) and planning process. I attended many of the public meetings, which started in 2007, and provided my input, as well. Construction finally began first on the perimeter trail last autumn, with heavy equipment working behind my house for months.

We looked forward to the promised opening at the beginning of February. Plans were made for a huge celebration and official opening.

On the evening of January 31 of this year, Walter Cottle Lester died.

On the morning of February 1st, the official opening of the perimeter trail abruptly became a hasty memorial as well, as the very first public access to the park opened: About half of the Perimeter Trail (I think it’s about 1.8 miles of trail). Sadly, I was off doing dog agility that weekend and didn’t attend.

I think that Walter might have held on until he could really see that his mother’s and his sister’s and his vision had become a reality.

Anyway, back to us.

We’ve been out walking around fairly often, and [sigh] picking up litter and occasional abandoned poops. Then, last week, I decided to make a blog about it.

Check out my Martial Cottle Park Naughty Neighbor Patrol blog. Main goal is to track what I’m picking up (and there are others, probably staff, also picking up), but as long as I’m out, might as well throw in some photos and commentary.

Goodbye Google Reader

SUMMARY: Possibly some useful info.

If you use Google Reader to aggregate your RSS feeds, I hope you know by now that it’s going the way of the dinosaurs on July 1st–that’s right, it’s retiring to a building on the train ride in Disneyland.

If you don’t know what “aggregate your RSS feeds” means, or if you don’t use Google Reader, you can stop reading right now and go practice some challenging weave entries.

No, really, it’s going away.

Many tools provide similar services. I’ve been waiting until the last minute, of course, because lots of tools have been upgrading like crazy to try to capture some of the tens of millions of people who were suckered into using Google Reader and are now having the rug pulled out from under them. Fortunately, many of the tools make it so easy to migrate your list that you won’t even realized that anything happened.

Today I opted for Feedly. I logged in to Feedly using my google log-in, and voila, I was up and running. I’ve dinked around with some of the preferences to get things the way I want (I set my initial page view to be the Index, to be the closest to Google Reader, but you might like some of the other options better).

The San Jose Mercury News ran an article yesterday on the subject, which is what finally propelled me. If you can’t read the article, let me know and maybe I can copy it and email it or something like that.

That is all. Happy blog-reading to you all.

Mosaic History

SUMMARY: Wordless Wednesday

For a fun view of Taj MuttHall’s blog over the last few years, featuring photos, click:

Taj MuttHall mosaic.

(Might take a moment to load.

>> Visit the Wordless Wednesday site; lots of blogs. <<

Another View of the Weekend

SUMMARY: From Team Small Dog.

Which includes a photo of me and Boost, too. http://blog.teamsmalldog.com/2011/08/2-whole-days-of-usdaa-with-team-small.html

Slide show of my Photos of the Day

SUMMARY: Experimenting with SmugMug Photo Feature

Updated Feb 19, 2019; replaced nonworking slideshow with new working one.

Earlier in the year, I decided to try posting a good photo every day, on any topic whatsoever.

Well, it hasn’t been exactly every day, and I’ve forgotten to update it since May, but I wanted to try SmugMug’s cool embedded slideshow feature, and that seemed like a good album to try it on.

If the captions are bothersome, there’s a “hide captions” link below the photos. You can also watch the slide show slow, medium, or fast.

If you click a photo somewhere near the middle, it’ll take you to the actual full-sized photo on smugmug. I don’t know why you can’t click anywhere on the photo, and it took me a few tries to find the right spot to click.

But still, pretty cool, eh?