Peace and joy dog: Ragtag Daily Prompt

There are two things that bring peace and joy to my dog, Shelby.

When she’s feeling stressed or trying to get to sleep, she sucks on her blankie. She never bites holes in it. As you can see in the video, this nooking activity brings her peace.

The thing that brings her joy, is her ball. I do a “fetch walk” with her every morning. She also likes to play fetch down a hallway, in a garage, or anywhere else she can.

Peace and joy dog, Bend, Oregon 8 April 2020

As a new year begins, I hope you too find things that bring you peace and joy. 🕊

Ragtag Daily Prompt (RDP) – New

Clean dog to a dirty dog: LAPC & FF

How can your canine companions go so quickly from being a clean dog to a dirty dog?

Dog walking along flower border

I walked my dog recently along this trail bordered with flowers in the Old Mill district of Bend.

I often play fetch with her after we get home. The second picture shows what she looks like after she catches her ball a few times when we’ve had a little rain.

What a pretty girl! Can she sit on your lap? 😉

clean dog to a dirty dog

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge (LAPC) – Opposites

Friday Flowers (FF)

Seeing seaside sunset: LAPC

Seeing seaside sunset with my dog near Waldport, Oregon. She doesn’t like water, but felt comfortable taking in the scene from this distance.

seeing seaside sunset

The Lens- Artist Photo Challenge this week is Here Comes the Sun, but this is more like “there goes the sun.” 😉

What our pets teach us: Sunday Stills

We don’t always pay attention to what our pets teach us. Here are a few things my pets have taught me.

Sometimes you need to pause and smell the flowers.

What our pets teach us - smell the flowers

It’s nice to share what you have with those you care about.

Dog sleeping on feet

Our pets teach us it’s okay to explore strange new worlds.

Dog at painted hills
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Giant tumbleweed in my yard: KOB

I found a giant tumbleweed in my yard after a big wind storm earlier this month. I took a photo of it, but it didn’t really show the scale.

Giant tumbleweed

Can you tell how big it is when I put my medium-sized dog, Shelby, and my large-sized dog, Tesla, in the picture? They were glad it didn’t tumble on top of them. 😀

Dogs and invasive weed

How about if I stand behind it? I’m 5 foot 4 inches tall. Can you see me?

Giant tumbleweed

Finally, I decided to show the tumbleweed in front of my little blue Subaru. I wouldn’t want this thing rolling in front of me when driving down the road!

Invasive weed in front of car

Can you guess how big this giant tumbleweed was? 7 feet 6 inches across. A whopper!

Kammie’s Oddball Photo Challenge (KOB)

A husky pocket pet: First Friday Art

Here’s a husky pocket pet I painted on a rock. This breed can sometimes be a handful.

A husky pocket pet by Siobhan Sullivan

But in the right hands, they’re great pets. Here it is curled up in a cozy blanket.

Painted rock by Siobhan Sullivan

My first dog, J.C., was part husky. One of the things I remember most about her was her thick undercoat – a common trait of huskies.

After brushing her, I understood how people such as the Coast Salish once made blankets from dog fur.

A Woman Weaving a Blanket by Paul Kane. 1856.

Do you have artwork you would like to share? If so, include a First Friday Art tag on your post.

Music from my singing dog – Happy Howl-idays!

My dog, Tesla, loves to sing along to music. She especially likes harmonica music. Here’s her version of Jingle Bells.

You may not be able to hear it very well in the background, but here’s who Tesla was singing along with. This talented musician plays 10 Christmas carols in 5 minutes.

May music find its way into your holiday celebrations.

Where words fail, music speaks.

Hans Christian Andersen

25 Day Christmas Challenge – Day 25 Christmas Morning

Sheepdog & pine basket: First Friday Art

To help celebrate the holidays this year, I’m sharing two pieces – a sheepdog & pine basket. I painted this Old English sheepdog on a rock for a friend. Doesn’t it look comfortable? This breed’s fluffy coat makes them appear much bigger than they are.

Sheepdog & pine basket

I’m portraying this rock on a small pine needle basket that I usually display on a wall. Though I’ve made pine needle baskets before, I didn’t make this one.

This piece was in an antique store so I don’t know its history. I love the pinwheel pattern in the center. Some unknown artist put a lot of time into creating this basket. Its delicate center, surrounded by the strength of the bundled pine needles, is tied together with radiating lines of tiny stitches.

Pine needle basket

First Friday Art

Hope you liked my sheepdog & pine basket artwork this month. Do you have artwork you would like to share? Include a First Friday Art tag on your post.

Rockridge Park – Trails & More: LAPC

Rockridge Park, in northeast Bend, is a nice place for walks and more. Bend Park and Recreation preserved features of High Desert habitat in this 36-acre park and added a few unique activities. It’s one of 82 parks in the city.

You’ll see a “forest” of juniper tree trunks near the small parking area. This play area for kids includes black “talk tubes” that connect underground. Primitive cell phones. 😉

  • Rockridge Park in Bend, Oregon October 2020
  • Play area in Bend, Oregon October 2020

I’ve been keeping an eye out for fall foliage and this park had several colorful trees. The maple trees are beginning to turn red and the paper birch leaves are turning a lovely shade of gold.

  • Fall maple trees October 2020
  • Fall birch trees October 2020

The trails in this park include a paved one-mile+ trail and more than a mile of unpaved bike trails. The beginner and intermediate bike trails include boardwalks and other obstacles.

Bike trails in Rockridge Park Bend, Oregon October 2020
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Encouraging words on my walk: Monochrome Monday

I saw these encouraging words while walking my dog in a local park. I shared words seen on another walk on Hopeful words seen on my walk.

Encouraging words on my walk Bend, Oregon August 2020

These words were drawn onto a curving section of the path. In these times of uncertainty, it was nice to see that someone took the time to brighten our days.

Words on my walk Bend, Oregon August 2020
Seen on my walk Bend, Oregon August 2020
Seen on my walk Bend, Oregon August 2020
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Friday Flowers with a Friend

Friday lowers with a friend

I’m treasuring Friday flowers with a friend before the weather changes. It was warm and sunny here yesterday but snow is predicted this weekend. The weather in the high desert is always interesting. 😁

Friday Flowers

Peaceful pets at rest: LAPC

This post shows peaceful pets at rest in our home. Yes, they can be very active, but these pictures focus on their time asleep.

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.

Anatole France

Taking a little cat nap

Peaceful pets. Cat asleep on a dog bed 13 June 2016
Motor sound asleep

Our cat, Motor, was very happy to see I bought a new dog bed. He was the first to try it out.

Two cats asleep in a La-Z-Boy chair
Lazy boy (and girl) in the La-Z-Boy chair
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Dog Art+ in Bend, Oregon

This mural is by husband and wife artists Paul Alan Bennett and Carolyn Platt. Can you see why I titled this post Dog Art+? One of those “dogs” looks a little different.

Dog Art+ in Bend 19April2019

Here in Bend, we are into dogs so it only makes sense they are featured in our public art. We have many dog-friendly businesses and plenty of trails to hike with your four-footed friends.

Flower Border at Old Mill: Friday Flowers

Flower border in full bloom

Flower Border at the Old Mill district of Bend, Oregon 14 September 2018It’s been a while since I walked one of my favorite  short trails in Bend, Oregon . The flower border along the Mill A Loop trail is spectacular right now. Even my dog had to stop and smell the roses.

Flower Border at the Old Mill district of Bend, Oregon 14 September 2018

Friday Flowers

Sweet mutt

A sweet story

We adopted our dog, Tesla, a year ago and she is a sweet mutt. She was at a local Humane Society shelter as a young puppy as part of a litter of ten. Each puppy in this litter from Warm Springs, Oregon was given a temporary name that started with a “C.” A loving family adopted her and gave her a new name. Unfortunately, they had to return her due to their circumstances. We drove an hour through a snowstorm and walked into the shelter in Madras a half an hour after she was dropped off. She was stressed out and nervous when we met her but we knew she was the one for us.

She is a Heinz 57 mix of breeds with a very sweet personality. Tesla was a star student in her obedience class. As you can probably tell from the photos, she is kind of goofy. She likes to play with her toys while standing on her head. Her ears are sometimes up, sometimes down, or sometimes one is up while the other is down. Tesla still loves to chase her very long tail – even though she is almost two-years old.

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Friday Flowers with my Furry Friend

Saw lots of beautiful flowers while out walking my dog this morning in the Old Mill District of Bend, Oregon.