Double trouble

Bodhi and his mini-me, Rita!

This week I’ve been fostering a rescue puppy who came to us by way of Bodhi’s dogsitter. Rita is a spunky little puppy and Bodhi’s mini-me. They get along pretty well and Bodhi’s been a real trooper, sharing his toys and treats with this zippy little girl. They play well together though I can also tell that Bodhi is missing the attention of being the only dog in the house. Me, I’ve been giving double the belly rubs, am learning to walk two dogs without tangling leashes, and adapting to sharing my bed with not one but two wiggly pups.

Out on a walk

Dynamic duo helping me “work”

A Ghoulish Great Night!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween this year was a blast. After carving our pumpkins and decorating the porch, we started the afternoon with the Halloween Pet Parade at the dog park at Pt. Isabel. Bodhi transformed himself into his alter ego, Super Bodhi, and, in my humble opinion, stole the show. My friend Judy came over for the day and we met up with another friend Allison and her dogs Jack (the shark) and Colonel (the pirate) and joined the other four-legged furries who were graciously humoring their pet parents by wearing all manor of cute and silly costumes. There were lots of Star Wars costumes this year and a few devil dogs and hot dogs (ha ha!) too! After the park, we met up with our friend Phil who had come over to help pass out candy and before the crowds arrived, Super Bodhi led his pack for a walk to check out the ghoulish and crazy decorations around the neighborhood. He kept us safe from all manner of zombies and skeletons and even a marauding squirrel who had taken down a neighbor’s jack-o’lanterns. Super Bodhi is not fan of squirrels! As the sun went down, the trick-or-treaters came out in force. We had loads of trick-or-treaters this year. Last year, I had the near panic of almost running out of candy so I was prepared this year. Lots of Elsa’s, storm troopers, skeletons, jelly fish, and even a few Minions. Holidays like this make me feel so lucky to live in such a great neighborhood. I can’t wait to someday have my own little one to take trick-or-treating. And Super Bodhi is looking forward to having a super sidekick!

Spooky Berkeley!

Halloween is in the air!

Halloween is in the air and my neighborhood takes Halloween very seriously! Skeletons, zombies,ghosts and witches but also crazy orange blow up pumpkins are everywhere. Cobwebs coat front porches and shrubs. Not to mention the tombstones that have sprouted up on almost every lawn. This has made walks with Bodhi more lively, especially now that its dark when we take our evening walk. Bodhi is not quite sure what to make of it all and has had several close encounters with skeletons and black cats, of the plastic kind. The first few tombstones he saw required an extra sniff, but now they’re a good stand in for a tree! One of the neighborhood teens down the street puts up a haunted house each year and collects donations to the local food bank from visitors. He starts working on it months before and its fun to see this crazy elaborate haunted house take shape in his driveway every year. The kids love it and its become a local tradition. And this being low-key Berkeley, the decorations will stay up for a good long while even after fright night passes. No one seems to care that the ghost hanging from the tree looks a bit droopy and out of place come Valentine’s Day. One of my neighbors lined their entrance path with skeleton head lights last year and when they were still up at Christmas, they gave each skeleton a green or red bow on top. Creative recycling at its best….only in Berkeley!

Halloween is in the air!

Tilden Little Farm

I had a super fun morning today hanging out at Little Farm in Tilden Park with Victoria, Luis, Eleanor and Sebastian. Berkeley has many special places but one of my favorite is Tilden Park. It’s a wonderful park with all sorts of great trails and activities, and only ten minutes from my house. One of my favorite Tilden places for spending time with kids is Little Farm. As the name says, Little Farm is a “little farm” and petting zoo for kids. They have sheep, goats, cows, geese, chickens, rabbits and some really portly pigs. “That’s a lot of bacon!” was a common (if not very creative) refrain from the adults. What I love about little farm is that the “farm hands” are all older kids (middle school age) who come spend their weekends at the farm introducing the little ones to how to brush, clean, and feed the animals. We came prepared with our bags of lettuce and celery and had a great time feeding and petting the animals. Eleanor was an old pro and did a great job of showing her little brother Sebastian that, despite the giant tongue, the mama cow was only interested in the celery and not his hand!

Art and friends: visit to di Rosa Collection

Today I visited the di Rosa Collection in Napa for an “art hike” with Phil and Doug. It was a classically beautiful Napa day, and we hiked up a hill for amazing views of Napa and the Bay Area fog in the distance. I love art that is outdoors and if I ever strike it rich (!!), I’d want my own sculpture garden. For now, this might inspire me to do some work in the garden and maybe look for some funky garden art at my next flea market visit.