Dog Days

Another reason I was into non-blogging mode for many months was the sudden and inexplicable demise of my beloved wolf-dog, Leo, at the end of March.

The photo above was taken in early January, when we went on a long walk on the beach to go see the Iredale Shipwreck once I heard the bones of it were sticking out of the sand again.

The photo below was taken a few days before he died, when there was a wonderful snow storm at the end of March. Flowers were blooming under the snow.

He had never seen snow close-up, so I had an urge to take him out for a walk during the storm. I had a nagging feeling it was a one-time-only experience, and felt compelled to take my camera. I am so glad I did.

It was so strange seeing the blooming flowers look so alive under the snow, even as they were dying, especially since a few days later I realized that was the case with Leo, too.

When I took him to Dr. Goza, he took a sample of the fluid in Leo's chest. It was full of cancer cells, and already his breathing was labored. With great difficulty I made the decision to end it then and there before things deteriorated into a crisis state, and I stayed with Leo and held him while Dr. Goza did the deed.

To say we were devastated would be putting it mildly.

However, I've always felt the best way to honor a rescued pet (and Leo was a pound puppy) is to rescue another. So five days later, I rescued a St. Bernard mix, Clancy, from a shelter.

Clancy and I are getting used to each other. It's been about four months now, and we're taking long walks all over the place. Leo would approve.

Click here to see Elleda's photography at the Astoria Photografpix web site

Sunday Marketeering

Ah well, I've been a very bad blogger. I have no excuse except that the approach of the Sunday Market season, then the actual arrival of same, has kept me from pounding the keyboard blog-wise. Been slaving making new images for months, but not doing much else computer-wise except those damn online jigsaw puzzles, which are rapidly becoming some sort of weird addiction.

Sunday Market has been a revelation this year. And I don't mean in a good way. The gas prices have made things unpredictable at best. People who travel to Astoria have spent so much money on gas to get here, and to feed themselves once they arrive, that there is little disposable income left for frivolities like photos. Heavy sigh. It just ain't my year.

And it's getting to be a bummer to be there every Sunday, what with all the empty booth spaces all over the place. It looks like a ghost market. So this will be the summer of passing out business cards. Seems like a hell of a lot of work, emptying the car and setting up the tent and schlepping all that heavy crap under it, but hey, what the hell.

You may ask why I bother. I wish I could say I had a rational answer. I don't. Perhaps it is sheer masochism.

I tried the Grays Harbor Market, a good idea in theory. Yes, indeed, there is a parade of traffic going by on either end of the market, but ... there's no way to stop the traffic, and no place for the cars to park if they actually did decide to stop. Another heavy sigh.

Like Bette Davis said, getting old [and marketeering] ain't for sissies.

Click here to see Elleda's photography at the Astoria Photografpix web site