Welcome to the season of mists and autumnal colours.
With thanks to Mother Nature Network where these wonderful photographs were published.
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Happy November 1st to you all.
Category: Photography
Picture parade one hundred and eighteen
In recognition that a week ago National Wolf Awareness Week started.
The photographs were seen here but the original source of both the text and photographs is the National Geographic website.
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Intelligent and highly social, wolves fascinate us as the untamed predecessors to Man’s Best Friend. But the relationship between humans and wolves has not always been so reverential, especially in the United States.
Through the early 1900s, populations of Canis lupus, the gray wolf, shrank from estimated historical highs of 2 million to near-extinction in the lower 48 states, largely a result of expanded human settlement in the western U.S. and large-scale poisonings meant to protect livestock.
In 1973, the gray wolf was classified as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and after decades of conservation efforts, wolves are doing well in the U.S. Current estimates peg the gray wolf population in the lower 48 at around 5,500—with at least 7,000 more in Alaska. In fact, a pack of wolves recently planted roots in Siskiyou County, California, the first wolfpack in modern Californian history.
“The gray wolf is in no danger of being endangered, biologically,” says Dave Mech, a senior research scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey.
But controversy still swirls around the gray wolf’s conservation status. In 2013, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed removing the gray wolf from the federal list of endangered species, a move it says reflects the wolves’ rebound. But animal rights groups and environmental organizations have decried the very thought, unsuccessfully petitioning the Service to maintain national protections for the gray wolf. Meanwhile, ranchers in the northwestern United States have pushed for rollbacks to state-level wolf protections.
In fact, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declined to comment about the gray wolf, due to ongoing litigation with conservationists over the Mexican gray wolf, a rare subspecies. And given the wolf’s status as both a possible scourge to ranchers and an ecological marvel to environmentalists, the debate is “always going to be contentious,” says Mech.
Yet the allure of the wolf will endure, as it always has in the public’s imagination. “I think there’s a certain aesthetic beauty to [wolves],” says Mech, that defines “their charismatic nature.”
In honor of National Wolf Awareness Week, which begins October 11, we take a closer look at the fascinating ways in which wolves around the world eke out a living.
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There are another six photographs that I will offer you in next Sunday’s Picture Parade.
A Wet Saturday!
All the indications are that, at long last, rain is heading our way!
Yesterday afternoon, the forecast for Grants Pass and area was:
Tonight (Friday): A 30 percent chance of rain after 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53. West wind around 6 mph becoming calm after midnight.
Saturday: Rain before 11am, then showers likely after 11am. High near 71. Calm wind becoming west southwest around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 50. West wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening.
As the crow flies, here in Merlin we are a tad over 10 miles to the North-West of the centre of Grants Pass. So we are holding our breath that we receive a decent wetting over this coming weekend.
All of which creates a wonderful lead-in to a recent item published over on Mother Nature News, that I am delighted to share with you.
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‘Wet Dog’ portraits expose bath-time vulnerability
By: Catie Leary, October 15, 2015.
Bath time may not be a pup’s favorite activity, but if these comical “Wet Dog”‘ portraits are any indication, there may be a silver lining to this necessary evil.
The dog lover behind this endearing series is Sophie Gamand, a New York-based photographer who regularly focuses her lens on canines to examine the relationship they have with humans.
“Wet Dog is a series of dogs captured at the groomer during their least favorite activity: Bath time,” Gamand writes on her website. “I chose this activity because it is a very unnatural one for the dogs, yet it is a direct consequence of their cohabitation with humans.”
Seeing our best friends in such a vulnerable state can be comical and heart-wrenching — especially because canine facial expressions possess an uncanny resemblance to our own.
Gamand began photographing soggy doggies a while back, but after some of the images went viral, she felt compelled to put together a complete “Wet Dog” photo book.
The comical coffee table book, which is now available for purchase, is filled with 120 photos of these soaked doggies — each sporting his own unique post-bath expression.
Continue below for a look at just a few of the images featured in the book.
Picture parade one hundred and seventeen.
The second set of rapidly disappearing memories of a hot summer.
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As ever, you take good care of yourselves.
Picture parade one hundred and sixteen
Rapidly disappearing memories of a hot summer.
(Another set of pictures sent to me by Dan.)
Set One
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Aren’t they wonderful! Set two in a week’s time.
You all take care out there.
Picture parade one hundred and fifteen.
The openness of dogs, and cats, to new ways of living.
Today’s picture parade needs a short introduction.
When Jean and I moved from San Carlos in Mexico to Payson, Arizona, we came with twelve dogs and seven cats of which all but one (Pharaoh) were rescues from the Mexican streets over the years; many from before Jean and I met each other.
That was five years ago and, inevitably, some of the dogs and cats have died of old age.
Since we arrived here in Merlin, Oregon, three years ago this October, the five cats we came with have been living in our largish double garage that, as you can imagine, is pretty cold during the winter. One cat died last year and Jean and I were thinking how nice it would be to bring the remaining four cats into the house.
Thus, just over a week ago, we brought two of the cats, George and Mitts, across to the house and the following pictures reveal a little of how that has gone.
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I hope to update you with the news of how the final two cats make the transition into the house in two or three weeks time.
Please adopt your next dog.
Continuing the message of that special bond between us humans and our dogs.
Yesterday’s post regarding the dog saved from the Texas floods came to mind when earlier today (Tuesday) I was reading the Fall issue of The Bark magazine.
Reading the magazine took me across to The Bark website and from there I ended up reading about dogs being mentioned in people’s obituaries. Here’s a snippet of that article:
Dogs in Obituaries
Included as cherished family members
Karen B. London, PhD | September 18, 2015
It’s been a long time since the majority of people with dogs considered them property, but the inclusion of them in the celebrations and events of life associated with family continues to grow. Birthday parties and gifts for dogs have become increasingly common in recent years, and the number of dogs included in family photos or in signatures on greeting cards is bigger than ever. It’s really old news to say that many people consider dogs to be family members, but interesting studies of the ways in which that’s true continue to be published.
Earlier this year, a study called Companion Animals in Obituaries: An Exploratory Study was published in the journal Anthrozoös. The study illuminated the importance of companion animals, including dogs, based on the frequency and manner in which they were mentioned in obituaries.
Another article in that same issue of The Bark was by photographer Traer Scott. Scott is the author of the book Shelter Dogs and has just launched a new book called Finding Home: shelter dogs & their stories. (Her blogsite is here.) As is detailed on her website:
Traer Scott is an award winning fine art and commercial photographer and author of six books including “Nocturne: Creatures of the Night” (Princeton Architectural Press, 2014) and her newest release “Finding Home; Shelter Dogs and Their Stories” (Princeton Architectural Press, Fall 2015). Her work has been exhibited in several countries and featured in National Geographic, Life, Vogue, People, O, on the NY Times Lens Blog, “Behold” and dozens of other national and international print and online publications. Her first solo museum show Natural History opens at the University of Maine Museum of Art in October 2015. Traer was the recipient of the Rhode Island State Council for the Arts 2010 Photography Fellowship Grant and the 2008 Helen Woodward Humane Award for animal welfare activism. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island with her husband, daughter and adopted dogs: a pit bull and a baby basset hound.
A quick mouse-click took me to Amazon and to Scott’s latest book. Where one reads:
Bold, retiring, serious, sparkling, quirky, or lovable—the dogs in Traer Scott’s remarkable photographs regard us with humor, dignity, and an abundance of feeling. Scott began photographing these dogs in 2005 as a volunteer at animal shelters. Her first book, Shelter Dogs, was a runaway success, and in this follow-up, Scott introduces a new collection of canine subjects, each with indomitable character and spirit: Morrissey, a pit bull, who suffered from anxiety related behaviors brought on by shelter life until adopted by a family with four children; Chloe, a young chocolate Lab mix, surrendered to a shelter by a family with allergies; Gabriel and Cody, retired racing greyhounds; and Bingley, a dog who lost his hearing during a drug bust but was brought home by a loving family that has risen to the challenge of living with a deaf dog. Through extended features we become better acquainted with the personalities and life stories of selected dogs and watch as they experience the sometimes rocky and always emotional transition to new homes. The portraits in Finding Home form an eloquent plea for the urgent need for more adoptive families, as well as a tribute to dogs everywhere.
Further down that Amazon page there was a review by The Bark magazine and what they wrote is the perfect way of heading to the close of today’s post. [My emphasis]
“Photographer Traer Scott follows up her groundbreaking book Shelter Dogs with a new work of equal grace and sensitivity. The portraits in Finding Home not only showcase a collection of canines with indomitable character and spirit, they are also an eloquent plea for more adoptive families, and a tribute to all dogs everywhere.” – The Bark
Please, howsoever you can, share the benefits of adopting a dog from your nearest animal care centre.
The bond between dogs and humans
We can never be reminded too often of this most special bond.
Again, the pressures of the book and the fact that Jean and I were away from the house until early afternoon, made it difficult for me to spend time writing a post from scratch.
Then in my blog folder, I saw this lovely story reported by the British Daily Mail newspaper; to be honest, probably quite some time ago.
But so what!
The bond between humans and dogs is timeless.
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Touching moment as firefighters save this dog from flood waters.
Two firefighters with the Austin Fire Department were pictured saving a dog from flood waters in central Texas yesterday.
The department posted the picture of firefighters Matt Harvey and Michael Cooper with the animal to their Facebook page, saying: ‘We don’t just rescue two-legged victims…we love our four-legged friends as well.”
The animal looks like it’s been through a lot, and clings to one of the firefighters as if they’re hugging.
There was a bonus in waiting a while before publishing this. For the story of the dog being reunited with its owner made television news.
Picture parade one hundred and fourteen
The final set of Dan’s wonderful pictures.
(Last week’s set is here.)
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What an incredible run of pictures. I wonder if I will be able to match them with equally fine pictures in a week’s time!
Be careful all of you.
Adopting senior dogs
Don’t shop: Adopt.
We have always adopted dogs on the basis of their need, never letting age come into it. In the years before I knew Jean she was rescuing dogs off the streets of Mexico, again without regard to breed, age, condition or temperament.
So this recent article on Mother Nature Network struck me as important. Please share it.
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Don’t be afraid to adopt an older dog, says photographer
An abandoned dog named Sunny made Lori Fusaro realize that ‘no dog should die alone’ and inspired her to start a photography project to benefit senior pets.
By: Laura Moss, July 22, 2013
The hardest part of loving a pet is having to say goodbye. That’s why the idea of adopting an older animal made dog lover Lori Fusaro so uneasy.
“I thought it would just be too sad and painful,” Fusaro told Today.com, “I didn’t think my heart could take it, so I wasn’t willing to open myself up.”
But that all changed in June 2012 when Fusaro met Shady while she was photographing dogs at the South Los Angeles Animal Shelter. Shady was 16 years old with infected eyes and a large cancerous tumor on her leg.
“She was so sad and depressed. She wouldn’t even lift her head for a treat. I didn’t think I could adopt her and I left the shelter without her. But her face never left my mind. She kept popping into my thoughts.”
As she contemplated adoption, Fusaro sought out more information on the dog.
“I thought Shady was a stray that found her way into the shelter,” she wrote on her blog. “Turns out I was wrong. Living her entire life with a family and then dumped because she was too old. With this new information, her face haunts me even more.”
Fusaro couldn’t stand the idea of the gentle dog dying alone, so she took her home and changed her name to Sunny.
“I always come back to the idea that no dog should have to die alone. Even if she got just two months of joyous, happy life, it’s worth it for my heartbreak,” she said.
Watching Sunny transform from an anxious shelter dog into the happy family member she is today inspired Fusaro to start Silver Hearts, a photography project that showcases senior pets and the joy they bring to people’s lives.
“When I realized that there were probably hundreds of Sunnys languishing in shelters, I knew I had to do something about it. Silver Hearts became a way that I could use my photography to show these dogs as loving, happy souls that have a zest for living and deserve to spend their golden years in a loving home.”
Fusaro visited families across the United States to photograph their dogs and share their compelling stories. Many of the dogs were taken to shelters because they got sick or old or because the families could no longer afford to care for them.
Although older dogs are often calmer — and already house-trained — they’re typically the highest-risk animals in a shelter. Fusaro hopes her photographs can help change that.
She wants to turn her pictures into a book, with proceeds from sales going to three rescue organizations that help find homes for older dogs: Peace of Mind Dog Rescue in Grove, Calif., Willy’s Happy Endings in Woodlawn, Tenn., and Louie’s Legacy Animal Rescue in Ohio and New York.
She launched a Kickstarter campaign to try to raise money to self-publish the book, but failed to make the fundraising goal. Fusaro is now considering other methods of publication.
“When I look back at my unwillingness to adopt an older dog, it was more about my own selfishness — about not wanting to feel that pain, not wanting to make hard decisions,” Fusaro said. “But every dog is important. Every dog deserves a home. I finally just boiled it down to love. That’s the most important thing.”
Lori explains why she photographs senior dogs in the video below.
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Abandoned and homeless dogs so desperately need the love of caring owners.
Learning from Dogs 