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Gratuitous pet-blogging: A week of change edition
By Gina Spadafori
April 21, 2008
Yeah, it had to happen: I’m sick. Not sure yet if it’s allergies or a cold, but it seems to always happen that travel for me is not broadening, but sickening (at least in the long term).
While there’s never a good week to feel crummy, this isn’t one I’d choose. It’s a week of change, of sad goodbyes and new beginnings.
The goodbye first: Otter leaves Tuesday night for Texas. Yes, I have known all along this day was coming, but still … it’s hard. I’m been raising her for my friend Mary for the last four months, and now it’s time for her to go home. She’s no longer a fuzzy puppy, but a bratty adolescent with moments of absolute snuggliness. She wants to be grown up, but can’t quite manage it. She’s going to be fine, as am I. But tomorrow night, putting her in the crate at the airport for the quick flight to Texas … well, it ain’t gonna be easy.
She was suppose to go home with Mary from Oregon, but in the middle of the American Airlines mess we decided it would be safer to wait. I’m glad we did.
That’s Tuesday. On Friday I’ll be back to the airport to pick up Ilario (a/k/a Larry), the kitten from Oregon.
No, the situation here is never such a revolving door. It’s just how it’s working out this week.
Pictured: Otter (6 months) gives my grand old girl Heather (closing in on 12) a smooch of thanks. Heather has always been the Queen here, and all the pets know it.
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Well, it is good that you do not live in Colorado.
Four neighborhood kids (in lst or 2nd grade) came over my high fence to throw stones at the birds and squirrels I feed everyday.
I fear next it will be my 15 year old cats that get the stones thrown at them.
Kids will be kids, but do they have to choose little animals to target practice on?
Don’t worry, the police will be out next time speaking to the dear parents who don’t know how to raise their children.
Comment by Colorado Transplant — April 21, 2008 @ 3:37 pm
Climbing over your high fence. Isn’t that trespassing or am I just too old/old-fashioned in my thinking.
Comment by VJ — April 22, 2008 @ 12:36 pm
What’s wrong with Colorado? We’re a great place for pets (even Denver scores very highly in pet friendly places even with the Pit Breed Ban!).
The best asset we have is space and a plurality of yards. Not too many other big cities can claim the same abundance of open space and private space for pets as we can.
Is Colorado really an epicenter of elementary school hijinks? We’re no utopia for angelic children (hello Columbine), but I’d say we’re probably well above average.
Gina is in no safe zone for anti-pet travesties. I recall during my Freshman year out in the Bay Area that there was a serial cat killer (in Los Gatos of all places! Maybe Milpitas too.) that was doing seriously disturbing things to people’s pet cats. I don’t know how that ever turned out, but I remember that it wasn’t the usual “pets go missing in certain neighborhoods” kind of stories. It was sick stuff.
Comment by Christopher — April 22, 2008 @ 2:18 pm
Gina, awesome photo. Really, really excellent capture. Not to diminish your talent (most people don’t appreciate that it’s the photographer not the equipment that takes a great photo) but are you shooting a digital SLR?
Whatever it is, you know your way around it. Excellent series of photos on the site as of late, the kitten, this shot. All very good captures.
Kudos.
Comment by Christopher — April 22, 2008 @ 2:36 pm
We had something like that happen here a few years back … it turned out to be coyotes.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — April 22, 2008 @ 2:48 pm
Thanks, Christopher!
Here’s my secret: Take a million pictures. Delete 999,999.
(I have a Canon Digital Rebel. This one was shot with a 400-700 lens. Or something like that. My brother and I have joint custody of “The Big Boy” lens.)
Comment by Gina Spadafori — April 22, 2008 @ 4:03 pm
Gina, That’s my strategy! And it really does work. It’s amazing how two shots, one taken 1/256th of a second after the one before it can be a 9/10 and the first one is a 2/10.
I love the Canon digital series. My high school graduation present was a Canon D60 about a year after it came out, so an arm and a leg, but not the $5k+ for the Pro level DSLRs of the day and before the Digital Rebel came out (what a deal those are, almost all the goodies and a really nice discount on the price).
The D30 really made waves and started the debate about “can digital beat film” and the D60 really did print 8x10s as nice as film, and there’s no way in hell that I could afford to take 1,000 images at a frisbee event on film. I do it all the time digital.
If you get a good full frame up close shot on 6MP, fractal resizing technology makes printing much larger a breeze with little noticeable issues.
Well, Canon took what they learned on the D30 and D60 and came out with really good digital Rebels when their economy of scale and the ever declining price of sensor chips made doing so profitable. It’s essentially the same camera with a few features removed (like anyone misses them… mostly the features that most of us wouldn’t pay a $1 premium for). Plus, they came out with new models all the time with lost of new goodies worked in that weren’t in the more expensive models because the bigger ticket models weren’t being redone every few months.
GREAT series of cameras. I really think it 20 years the whole Canon digital line will be considered like the Walkman. A major turning point in electronics. A whole class of consumers became “pro-sumers” by having a whole lot of technology put in their hands for a good price.
The Canon vs. Nikon is a favorite flame war in the photog community, with the essential argument being that Nikon has some very expensive lenses that are widely considered better than what Canon offers weighed against the perception that Canon usually wins in functionality of the body. Most of the facts are about bodies and lenses that very few individuals actually own, mostly things so expensive that the newpaper actually owns them or the photog rents them, etc.
In the digital realm, there isn’t even a debate. Canon has really brought digital photography to the masses, both point and shoot all the way up to DSLRs.
Anyway, way too long. I have my own blog. :c)
Comment by Christopher — April 22, 2008 @ 5:15 pm
Yes, VJ, it is trespassing by 4 children. My husband left work early. He said it was trespassing and vandalism and told one parent and one child.
If it happens again, Fort Collins authorities said I should call the police and they would come out and talk to the children.
It doesn’t sound bad, until it happens to you.
I shudder when I see cruelty to animals, and try to stop it from happening whenever I can.
Maybe it is just me, not Colorado. I was just so mad I sounded off on this blog.
I will get my digital video camera ready so if there is another incident, I will have proof.
You know how it is—some parents will call you a liar and say that there kid didn’t do anything wrong.
Forgive me, I am still angry. I did not have a full “complement” of birds and squirrels today because they do not trust my yard. I hope the rest come back soon.
I am watching Batman, my 15 year-old cat, like a hawk. Not for prey, but for love. He is an unusual, loving cat and a little like Gina will miss Heather, my heart will never heal when he goes—but he will live there in my heart space always.
Comment by Colorado Transplant — April 22, 2008 @ 7:53 pm