Happy Turkey Day!

Autumn and my brother and I went out to eat at a place recommended by a friend for Thanksgiving dinner, ‘Hs. Lordships‘. It’s in the middle of the Berkeley marina, stuck way out in the bay. Gorgeous view. Humongous buffet. The food was… fine. Some of it was quite good, some of it was okay, some of it was… not. And it was insanely busy. Meh. For $25 each it would have been a great deal. For $50 each, there are literally a hundred restaurants within walking distance of my apartment that would have done a better job, though admittedly not with a buffet.

Ah well. The view was pretty spectacular (even if we weren’t anywhere near the windows).

In other news, here we have some very relieved fowl. Autumn and I ran into them while doing a tour of Vasco Caves, which is a kind of neat wildlife reserve (it has kit foxes!) with some Native American cave paintings that aren’t actually in caves. (Actually, they barely have one cave and it only goes in ten feet and is like fifty feet wider than it is deep. The name is suspect.) It’s really hard to get on the tour list, they only do a couple a month, but a last-minute spot opened up. And we saw a bunch of wildlife, including these turkeys, a bunch of other birds, a couple of coyotes, etc, but alas did not see any kit foxes.

Happy Turkey Day, to you and to these fowl, and to everyone else who lived to peck and squawk at least a little longer.

Two Wild Turkeys In Vasco Caves Area

Turkey photos by Autumn, who was the one with the camera that day.

Wild Turkeys Running Away From Camera In Vasco Caves Area

Apparently they can fly well enough to perch in the tops of trees. After I heard that, I kept my eyes upward whenever we were near trees. Being pooped on by a songbird is one thing…

Posted in Dog of the Day | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Dog of the Day: Kona the Basenji German Shepherd Mix Puppy

Kona is nine months old and may well actually be a basenji German shepherd mix, despite the fact that (as referenced in a comment on this post) rather a wide variety of things get labeled ‘basenji mix’. Well, whatever she is, she’s very photogenic.

Happy almost-turkey day! What’re you having for Thanksgiving?

Close-Up Of German Shepherd Basenji Mix

She has gorgeous brown eyes.

German Shepherd Basenji Mix Looking Over Her Shoulder

This is the classic ‘parent trying to get dog to look at photographer’ shot. It NEVER works.

German Shepherd Basenji Mix  Staring At The Camera

There are the pseudo-basenji concerned forehead wrinkles.

Posted in Dog of the Day | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Dog of the Day: September the Miniature Schnauzer

September in November! I could use a little more of that… specifically, I could use a little more daylight. This time of year I walk out of work at 6 PM and … it feels like I’m leaving work at 8. Which was never a favorite thing of mine to do. (And yes, San Francisco sunsets are preeeeetty early this time of year.)

So happy September! September is a 10-year-old salt and pepper miniature schnauzer, which as we all know are wont to schnauze at any opportunity. She prefers to wear her fur long, and although she is brushed quite frequently, she is still enough of a puppy that she tends to go all helter-skelter within a few hours. Doesn’t bother me: I’ve always liked that natural, wind-blown look.

Salt And Pepper Miniature Schnauzer, Untrimmed

Happy little-dog face. She was hard to photograph because every time she looked at me she wanted to give me kisses.

Posted in Dog of the Day | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Dog of the Day: Bodie the Belgian Shepherd Aussie Mix

Bodie may also be Bodhi (we’ve seen a couple of Bodhis before), or some other variation on the name. I didn’t ask for a spelling, because I was too busy admiring his utterly magnificent tail. I have never seen anything like it, neither in my many years of dog-blogging nor before. It is glorious. I did ask his mom what he was, and she said he was a Belgian shepherd Aussie mix. I was a little dubious, because I don’t think I’ve seen an Australian shepherd that was black with tan points, but google sez they’re out there.

Black With Tan Points Australian Cattle Dog Belgian Shepherd Mix

He reminds me a bit of Trucker, except the tail is… well, you’ll see.

Black With Tan Points Australian Cattle Dog Belgian Shepherd Mix With Gloriously Poofly Tail

Look at that tail. Yes, it requires daily brushing. So? It is totally worth it.

Black With Tan Points Australian Cattle Dog Belgian Shepherd Mix With Gloriously Poofly Tail

And this is what happens when he wags. (Which he does rather a lot.)

Posted in Dog of the Day | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Sunday Switchup: You’re Hairy, Potter

So I went to a pet fair in Golden Gate Park a few weeks ago, and this happened. Apparently they are highly educated and eminently employable goats. Apparently they used to be hired out to provide constructive criticism on people’s resumes but they kept eating them so now they’re hired out to mow lawns.

A Goat Dressed As Harry Potter

No, I have no idea why the goat is dressed as Harry Potter, but I believe that’s who he is dressed as.

Posted in Sunday Switchup | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Caturday Supplement: Macy’s Window Kittens!

Guess what time of year it is? Yes, that’s right, it’s the exhausting and emotionally draining and dark all the time time of year!

Wait, wait, no, that’s not where I was going with this. Um… oh! Right! It’s the first weekend of Macy’s window kittens! And thank goodness for that. I am going to be walking home by Macy’s every evening, and wishing that the windows opened earlier so I could stop in on my way to work too.

Calico Kitten And Black Kitten With White Socks Sleeping

This is my reaction to this time of year, too. But I don’t have the ‘just spent two hours in a frenzy of play’ excuse.

Calico Kitten Sleeping Half On A Cat Bed

This is one of those ‘only a cat could find this comfortable’ poses.

Posted in Caturday Supplement | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Dog of the Day: I Dunno But I Want One

I have no idea. I just know she’s a puppy, she’s adorable, and I want one of whatever she is. Or maybe two.

White Puppy With Black Spots On Her Ears And Black Mascara

When I saw her, she was surrounded by four kids and three adults. Not hard to see why.

White Puppy With Black Spots On Her Ears And Black Mascara

Yes, the ‘mascara’ is on both eyes.

Posted in Dog of the Day | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Dog of the Day: Börte the Dutch Shepherd

Börte is a Dutch shepherd! Börte is the first empress of Mongolia! Börte is a highly trained circus dog! Börte is a client of Autumn’s!

In short, there is no ‘in short’, because Börte is too awesome to be summarized.

Black Brindled Dutch Shepherd Looking At The Camera Out Of The Corner Of Her Eye

Börte’s sucker radar is going off.

Black Brindled Dutch Shepherd Grinning At The Camera

She has such a great grin. She also has the lamentable tendency to jump up and try to lick people’s faces if given half a chance.

Black Brindled Dutch Shepherd Grinning With Eyes Closed

But when she looks like this it’s awfully hard not to forgive her.

Posted in Dog of the Day | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Double Dog Day: Hound and Corgi Playing

I love watching dogs play. I could just lie down in the grass and watch them for an hour at a time. I know this, because I’ve done so.

In fact, funny story: my last telephone job interview, I took my phone out and sat in Rincon Park, under the giant bow and arrow. And watched the dogs run around and play madly, while I talked on the phone to some guy about a programming job. He paused, pretty early on, and said, ‘Uh… is that a dog barking?’ And I said, ‘Yeah,’ and didn’t volunteer any more details.

I didn’t get offered the job, but I did get to pet some dogs, and then went to work at Hipmunk anyway, so that worked out just fine.

Corgi And Hound Playing

When the floppy ears fly up above their heads it always makes them look so surprised.

Posted in Dog of the Day | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Dog of the Day: Fiona the Wheaten Terrier Puppy

I can’t even begin to imagine how I neglected to post Fiona. I ran into her almost a year ago, when she was just three and a half months old, and the softest thing in the entire state of California. (Except for sea otters. And seals. And really tiny baby kittens. And… okay, okay. But she was really soft.) And it was dark outside and she was tearing around and, um, chewing on more or less everything actually. But in a cute way!

Wheaten Terrier Puppy

I ran into her on very nearly the only rainy day in San Francisco in the first nine months of 2015. She didn’t mind.

Wheaten Terrier Puppy

You just want to bury your face against her side and go to sleep.

Posted in Dog of the Day | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment