Category: Art

Picture Parade Four Hundred and Forty-Nine

A beautiful shot from Southern California.

This photograph was forwarded to me from Dan Gomez, who took it on the morning of last Tuesday.

It was taken in the Coachella Valley and was a morning shot of the sun through the haze caused by the Lion Fire.

Fabulous!

A bond across two very different species

How The Dodo spoke of a dog and a wild shark bonding.

I do not know much about this story apart from the fact that it appeared in The Dodo recently and I took to it.

So please enjoy! (And that assumes you have not already seen the article!)

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Little Dog Forms Remarkable Bond With A Friendly Wild Shark

They meet up almost every day.

By Alana Francis-Crow

Published on Aug 16, 2024

For most dogs, their friend groups usually consist of a mix of humans and other dogs. But Lili, a 3-year-old dog who lives on a French Polynesian atoll called Fakarava, isn’t like most other dogs. She prefers friends who have gills and fins. In fact, her very best friend is a shark.

Ever since Lili’s mom, Emmanuelle Larchet, adopted Lili, she’s known that her dog has an affinity for all things aquatic. She started swimming in the lagoon near Larchet’s house when she was only a month old.

“She’s really a water dog,” Larchet told The Dodo.

There are around 100 sharks who live in this lagoon near Larchet’s house. So when Lili swims in the water there, she’s surrounded by them. While many dog parents would be terrified to see their dog swimming amongst sharks, Larchet knows that the sharks Lili swims with are nurse sharks, who are actually very docile creatures.

“We call them sea puppies because [they’re] like dogs, actually … They are very nice,” Larchet said.

Larchet likes to joke that when Lili swims around with her shark friends, it’s sea puppies meeting earth puppies.

Over the years Lili has been swimming in the lagoon, there’s one shark in particular she’s grown especially close with. His name is Sharky, and he and Lili visit each other almost every day. Larchet and Lili are able to recognize Sharky because he has a special marking on one of his fins.

Lili and Sharky like to explore their lagoon together. They enjoy splashing around in the warm, clear water.

“He comes to say hello every time she sees him,” Larchet said.

Even though Lili and Larchet are best friends themselves, Larchet is more than happy to share her Lili with Sharky. And even though Larchet watches Lili hang out with her shark friends all the time, it never gets old seeing them spend time together.

“[When] I see her swimming with Sharky, [I’m] so happy,” Larchet said.

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It is a lovely story!

Picture Parade Four Hundred and Forty-Eight

Now for something different, but marvellous!

My son, Alex, is a keen photographer.

Here is his photograph of a tawny owl and her owlet, taken in an Urban city park in Bristol, England. It is shared with you with Alex’s permission.

It is an amazing picture!

A dog as a camera animal

This is a lovely story from The Dodo.

I saw this article in the August 23rd issue of The Dodo magazine and it appealed to me.

So I wanted to share it with you all.

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Couple Hires Dog To Film Their Wedding — And The Results Are Simply Perfect

Such a great idea ❤️

By Alana Francis-Crow

Published on Aug 23, 2024

Ellie Woods’ family dog Bobby has always been an important part of her love story with her wife Georgie Woods. When Ellie brought Georgie home for the first time, the family member she was most anxious for Georgie to meet was Bobby.

When the couple got engaged and started planning their wedding, they decided it would be fun to try to document the wedding from Bobby’s unique perspective. So right before the ceremony started, they attached a GoPro to Bobby’s back and then set him loose.

For some dogs, walking around with a camera on their back might take some getting used to — but not for Bobby. He immediately felt comfortable.

“He loves being the center of attention,” Georgie told The Dodo. “He just loved it.”

Georgie and Ellie said having Bobby at their wedding was incredibly meaningful for them.

“Animals are really important to queer couples,” Ellie said. “[I]t was so important to have him … as part of our big day.

When the newlyweds sat down to watch the footage Bobby had captured, what they saw surprised and delighted them. The GoPro had caught Bobby stealing hors d’oeuvres and even walking in on Georgie’s sister in the bathroom. While Bobby is an expert videographer, he is still a dog, after all.

Of course, Bobby’s camera recorded much more than shenanigans. Georgie and Ellie loved watching themselves walk down the aisle together from Bobby’s perspective.

“It captured some really special moments,” Ellie said. “[W]e couldn’t be happier for how it came out because it’s just so organic and such an interesting, different perspective.”

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Dogs are just incredible. As much as I have already said that, time and time again there comes a story that just reinforces that previous sentence.

One is humbled at times.

I’m speaking of a radio programme on BBC Radio 4.

Yesterday, we listened to a fabulous broadcast on the subject of Awe.

The programme was called ‘MORE WOW’ and the picture of the page from BBC Sounds follows:

It is available on BBC Sounds and the link is https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0022kt2

As I said to Jeannie the broadcast really spoke to me as each morning I am in awe of the black-tailed deer that I go down to feed near the old stables just outside the house.

Then I pause on my way back and look at Mount Sexton and the rising sun; again I am in awe.

Then at night, being a crystal-clear sky on many occasions, I am in awe at the heavens above.

The programme spoke of one being in awe of both the small and the large and I want to close with two of my photographs of me sensing awe in both scales.