Sunday, August 13, 2017

Sunday, August 13, 2017

Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2006 in San Diego, CA. We always took Mattie every August out to California to visit my parents. My parents introduced Mattie to San Diego, specifically here Balboa Park. Balboa Park has something for everyone. Mattie loved their train museum, the zoo, and even this lovely pond with the water lilies. You can't see as closely as I can into Mattie's lap. But he was holding something black and white! It was a toy version of Shamu the whale from Sea World. Mattie always loved his San Diego adventures, and he never left a place without a little memento in his hands. 


Quote of the day: Look at our farmers markets today, bursting with heritage breeds and heirloom varieties, foods that were once abundant when we were an agricultural nation, but that we have lost touch with. Bringing all these back helps us connect to our roots, our communities and helps us feed America the proper way. ~ Jose Andres

This wonderfully cute photo of Sunny was taken by his groomer, Mandy. She just sent it to me today. We entitled it, "our All American Pup!" Mandy happens to love Sunny, but what is not to love? She feels he is very easy going and a pleasure to be around. But she also says he has really become more accustomed to getting groomed now. For the most part, Sunny doesn't like water, the sound of it, and forget about getting up on the grooming table. All things Sunny practically refused to do at first. But I take Sunny monthly for a grooming, because like a collie, he has a ton of fur, and sheds incredibly. So he needs daily maintenance, which I do. But it helps to start with a clean dog that has a good grooming! I am so happy to hear that Sunny is getting acclaimed to the process. 

Peter, Sunny, and I walked to Dupont Circle to visit the Farmer's Market. It is about a one mile walk each way. I hate to say this, since I have lived in this city for 23 years, but I have never gone to this Farmer's Market before today. It is hard to believe, given that it is every Sunday, THROUGHOUT the year. Even in the winter. 

One our walk to Dupont Circle, I admired this person's zinnias! 

This is what the market looks like. Unfortunately we learned that dogs are NOT allowed inside, despite the fact that there is no mention of this on-line. Any case, Peter stayed with Sunny on the grass and I strolled from tent to tent. Within each tent are local farmers selling their products. It is an incredible experience, as they sell all sorts of fruits, vegetables, flowers, baked goods, pasta, meats, and soaps. 

Get the picture! Tomatoes like I have never seen in any grocery store. Including Whole Foods. Everything smelled fresh and enticing, and all the people working in the tents are super friendly and proud of their products! 

There was a salad/green for just about everyone! I have never seen greens displayed like this but it made you want to buy lettuce. Unlike the sad excuse for lettuce that is in the grocery stores. 

Everything is displayed so beautifully. I struck up a conversation with people in every tent! There was a live musician playing for little kids as well, and my one thing I took notice of was that there was NO place to eat food on-site. They sold it, but there were just no tables and chairs.  

Glorious flowers! Besides vegetables, I bought one fresh cherry scone and two blueberry popovers. We brought them home and ate them outside on our deck. That was one of the most relaxing portions of our weekend. Sitting still and not working, doesn't come naturally to me. So this was a great retreat, that took us walking through the city, supporting local farms, and eating special treats. 

This afternoon, I took Sunny out for another walk. We have a neighbor who insists on feeding the squirrels. She has done it for practically as long as I lived here. She has a thing for squirrels. I on the other hand do not like squirrels because to me they are the day-time rat. In any case, "our squirrel lady" had passed by this tree right before us and distributed peanuts everywhere. Of course that meant that the squirrels were out and about eating. Sunny is fixated on squirrels and will hunt and chase them down. If I did not pull back on him, he would most definitely catch and kill one! 

Naturally the Squirrel Lady and I don't particularly like each other. I respect that she wants to feed these creatures, but she is very bothered that Sunny would want to catch a squirrel! She has argued with me on occasion, because she doesn't want Sunny to scare the squirrels away from our property. Needless to say, I snapped this photo because Sunny was transfixed at this squirrel on the tree, just hanging there and eating a peanut. Frankly I think this was one brazen squirrel and if I let Sunny go, it would have been a dead one at that.