Coffee Bark with FIDO

The knee is substantially better, and we crossed to Long Meadow to attend Fido's Coffee Bark - a once-monthly gathering of dogs and dog lovers. Coffee and pastries for the humans, biscuits and water for the doggies. Lots of people and dogs. Anne and Ed came, and were treated as the heroes that they are, having brought the poor park conditions to the attention of the public. Tony (President of FIDO) was in the latest Courier, furious about the mess left in the park after Labor Day. He's a great character, and I hope that his fame persists. Someone referred to Anne as Joan of Park, which she wasn't too happy about. Not in the mood to be burned at the stake. I assured that that almost never happened any more. I told them about Elizabeth Cady Stanton's comments, when they, our foremothers, were mocked and abused, that it's fine to be laughed at - it got people talking and exchanging ideas, and that was the way change happened.

No Park officials were there. Quelle surprise!! Their attitude about the Memorial Day mess was that it could have been a lot worse. That's like, "I'm not fat because I see people who are fatter." Pretty much a bullshit argument. Of course it could be worse. We could have a massive oil spill or Hurricane in Prospect Park.

We met lovely people and great dogs. One dog looked like she was adopting Anne, but the dog was just old and partially blind and enjoyed the quiet circle we made while talking. We got JJ's picture taken, and she'll be in next year's FIDO calendar. March 17 will be JJ's Day. Possibly also mine, since I was in the picture too. Ber is more persistent in saying no to photos than I am.

No turtles needing rescue today. Just overturned latrines AGAIN, trash barrel in the lake AGAIN, and one of the new trash cans by BBQ Plaza overturned. Pretty impressive, since it was set in about 8 inches of concrete to keep it from being moved or tilted. Hard to believe people have the strength. A vehicle? But why only one, and not the two other next to it. Inquiring minds want to know.

And the geese really seem to be taking over. Could this explain why no one has seen baby ducklings in the last 2 years? Could the geese have overrun their nests, as they've tried to do with the swan nests?

Parts of the park are becoming beautifully lush and overgrown with greenery and totally gorgeous, but i think I've posted enough pictures for today.

Mover and shaker or just taking credit?

This was supposed to be yesterday's blog. I spent a lot of time uploading pictures. One of them was a little blurry. I carefully searched the help section to find out how to delete one picture. I followed the directions carefully. Aargh!!!! The whole thing got deleted. So I rewrote the text in Word, and will take on the uploading of pictures today. I think I should write everything first in Word from now on, so I don't lose anything.


On Wednesday, I wrote about Tony from FIDO and the containers for recycling fishing line that FIDO had ordered and how they weren’t up yet. And lo and behold, there they are! Rather nice and odd looking. They remind me of the dancing tubes that I think I once saw in Cirque de Soleil. Or maybe it was Mummenschanz. At least as seen in an episode of Northern Exposure with Bill Irwin playing a mute "flying man" who romanced Elaine One of my favorite episodes. Anyway, the containers look like they should have faces painted on them. Maybe the Park can get artists to paint them. Or maybe hold a contest for the best way to decorate them. It would get people’s attention. And save the waterfowl from being strangled, always nice. We only saw two of the containers, but we didn’t circumnavigate the lake.

We also met a dog named Hooper, known as Hoop. Poor Hoop had a run-in last night at the Parade Grounds with a pitbull. The pitbull attacked Hoop for no apparent reason, and the pitbull’s owner was completely unable to control him. Hoop and owner tried to run into a ball field and close the gate, but the pitbull kept attacking. Poor Hoop was taken to Animal Kind Animal Hospital for stitches, as you can see. This happened in the early evening. Tony (from FIDO) had said one time that he thought people were training pitbulls to fight in the park at night. I wonder if this is one of those cases. It all seems pretty horrible. Dangerous, plus it is really bad for the pitbull’s reputation. BE WARNED ABOUT THE PARADE GROUNDS IN THE EVENINGS. (May 29 addition: Norana has been looking for a new dog. last week they went to the shelter - full of pitbulls! Apparently you can't insure damage from a pitbull anymore. After seeing Hooper, I am not surprised. In the law, "every dog gets one bite." Then you know the dog is a biter and you are responsible. I think pitbulls have lost that benefit of the doubt. No wonder.)

JJ had a wonderful time with her new summer coat. A little odd looking and almost unrecognizable without her usual long, thick hair. Plus, she is velvety smooth and a delight to poet. Maybe we should keep her like this . But then we’d have to get her clothes in the winter, something I do not favor for dogs.

About 2 weeks ago, I expressed delight that the trash can, which had been the lake for at least a year, was finally removed. Clearly someone else had a different perspective and missed its familiar presence. Now there’s a new trash can in the lake. I notice that the standing trash cans have begun to get chained, so they not end up in the lake.

TURTLE RESCUED

A turtle got stuck on a pile of wood chips by the lake. It was probably a lovely spot yesterday during all that rain. Poor thing thing was trying to get out, to no avail. Ber took him off the pile, and the turtle was in the water before we could get a shot of him. Faster than a speeding bullet! Whomever said turtles are slow hadn’t met this one.


May 29 addition: Cayuga duck is still at the lake and is looking a little better. He is now able to straighten out his neck almost all the way. Big Mallard and the caramel ducks seem to be checking on him.