Sustenance

Chiaro di Luna lives for delicious meals, food, oh yes, tidbits, treats and fruit scavenged on the daily walks if not forthcoming from the most sacred of sources, the kitchen. She's learned to sit in anticipation, and while she would love to jump up and grab it wildly, even manages to take turns and wait til last for breakfast.

 Breakfast is a delicious mix of whatever vegies are to hand with tofu, natto or tofu milk, chicken or fish extras, over Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream kibble and K-9Natural green tripe crumbled and sprinkled on top. Every morning a wee dose of salmon oil and for Chiaro di Luna, a most expensive Japanese iron tablet (Mum gets the cheap but giant and hard to swallow US stuff!),vet's orders, to combat her anemia.

 Claire eats in a most delicate ladylike slow food fashion, and she likes her privacy, so I wait to let gobbledyguts Chiaro di Luna out of her cage until Claire has finished her leisurely meal, otherwise Luna would be a narky disturbing intruder hoping to get extras. 

Nobu's not too keen on being photographed during the meal either, he'll sometimes stop to check up that the ladies are still eating before going back to his bowl...being a gentleman, he's most likely to let them steal his food...not that he'd complain or anything, it's just the way the world works...

 Oblivious to the world, Luna's communing with the food...going, going, gone! Any more on offer? No? Really? Oh....okay, well I'm off to the garden to scout for pigeons then....

Splosh!

 Nobunaga is the most gentle and obedient of dogs on our walkies, trotting along happily behind me and the ladies, only sometimes he likes to just chill and do his own thing, particularly when we get to the terraced ponds in Kuraki Park.

 He loves the way you sink into the muddy bottom so the muddy water comes right up to his armpits, and then he just stands there, enjoying the cool water...

 After a moment or two the girls get restless and want to move on, but I can call and coax and wheedle all I like, Nobu turns away pretending he's deaf as a doornail and will not leave the pond....

I end up hooking the girls' leashes on a post so they don't drag me off balance splosh into the mud with him, and stand there chatting with Nobu a while about how good the water feels, waiting for him to have had enough and come on out, all in his own good time...with legs and paws black with mud all the way up to his body, good thing I have Luminosa shampoo at home to get him clean again.

Hydrangeas

Gentle pom-poms cheering with a confidence that builds an era

Each head an individual face, an English setter smile, 

Nuance crinkles in blue, violet, purple, rose,

Aching memories in the making,

So soft and sweet these stars undo the darkness of deep space to shine.

Photos by Lelantos
This poem for Claire, not really for the hydrangeas after all, but somehow they symbolize how she makes me feel.

Recharging Batteries

When I'm weary, Luna makes the perfect lapdog to justify a day lounging on the sofa doing pretty much nothing. 

She drapes herself across my body molding all her  knobbly bones in perfect angles as though we were lego pieces made to fit together.

Before you know it, the day has gone and it's time for evening walkies and supper...with a wee glass of white wine for Mum. Perfect in every way.

Early Summer

Here space and time exist in light

the eye like the eye of faith believes.

The seen, the known

dissolve in iridescence, become
illusive flesh of light

that was not,

was, 

forever is.

Excerpt from Robert Haydn Monet's Waterlilies
Photos by Lelantos

Nature Beckons

Amazing how in the space of six short weeks we are surrounded by a plethora of green and an abundance of flowers...the roses are in full bloom in Yokohama now, and yesterday saw us coping with summer temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius or 86 degrees Fahrenheit...

For the dogs the onset of summer heralds days sleeping in the air-conditioned room, peewees in the garden and short walkies before the asphalt gets too hot and burns their paws...oh for those glorious cool spring and autumn mornings!

 Photos by Lelantos

Friends

 Nobunaga really enjoys company. Yesterday I was chatting in a group of little kids and mummies and Nobu rolled over, playing dead when I tried to up and leave...we all worked together attempting to get him to stand up to come home, and he loved the attention. He only got up when another dog walked past...he does love saying hello to doggie friends.

 Whether it's on the morning walk, or having a friend drop by on the off chance for a casual playdate, while the girls regally ignore things, Nobunaga is the perfect host.

 Nothing like a spot of tag around the garden to unwind and enjoy life!

 Thirsty dogs and happy smiles, friends are simply the best.

 Photos by Lelantos