More spring color

Photos of a dogwood tree in my neighbor Joan's front yard. The tree is currently in full bloom.

The Wii Me

I took the plunge and got a Nintendo Wii today! It's a lot of fun. Here's a video of the Wii version of me bowling. Note the resemblance! The Wii gives you a great ability to create a characterization of yourself. You pick your head shape, type of eyes, nose, mouth, hair, body shape and so forth.

My backyard tulips

I like the way the sunlight shines through the petals, and how you are able to tell where the petals are only one layer thick. For next year I want to plant a LOT more tulips!! More photos on flickr.

Tulip at dusk

I took this photo of a beautiful, vibrant tulip shortly before sunset last night. It was a beautiful evening. I was on a dog walk with Oliver.

Spring budding

Trees are in all different stages of budding these days. Here's just one example in a photograph I took today at lunch.

Good food

My favorite Chinese restaurant in U City has added a new neon window sign that's quite cool. Hon's Wok is located at 6900 Olive Blvd. in the Schnucks plaza. Inexpensive and quite delicious.

Party for Brian & Natalie

Photos from the April 5 party we had for Brian & Natalie are now online. A few of my favorites are below. The full set of photos is here.

Giving up a pet for a significant other

On her blog, Ellen Ellick of the St. Louis Senior Dog Project writes about pet owners who give up their pets at the request or insistence of a new boyfriend/girlfriend or spouse:

Shouldn’t a request like this make you pause? Do you really want to be with someone who asks you to give up your pet? Is this something you ask of someone you love?

One of the stories that Ellen shares is a remarkable one with a rare outcome:

Snuffles, a Pug, lost his original home when his owner met a guy who wasn’t a dog person, so she gave Snuffles away to what she thought was a good home. Ultimately, the romance fizzled, and Snuffles’s former owner cried on the shoulder of a friend about the great dog she’d given up for this loser. She didn’t know how to contact the people who’d taken Snuffles from her. And she didn’t know they’d given Snuffles away.

Then things got interesting. The friend checked out Petfinder.com one night, trying to find a Pug as great as Snuffles. That’s when she saw a Pug named Snuffles now with the Senior Dog Project. A phone call determined that this was the same Snuffles, once again in need of a new home.

In this case, we accomplished a great happy ending. Snuffles and his former owner left my home determined to grow old together. Tears flowed, and this is one woman who will never again give up a pet for anyone.