the neighbors stopped by to check us out
“when strangers start acting like neighbors… communities are reinvigorated.”
-ralph nader
An adorable Shiba Inu named Ken-kun in Hokkaido, Japan remarkably runs his own sweet potato stand.
The watchful dog politely tends to whatever the customer needs, however, he is not able to accept payment. That situation is solved with a slot in which to put the money.
Customers need to have the exact amount (or be willing to leave the rest), as a sign on the front of the stand reads:
“Because I am a dog, I can’t give you change.”
—
“the dog lives for the day, the hour, even the moment.”
-robert falcon scott
—
sources: Lori Dorn, laughing squid

f visits the garden
by the lake
kneels down
to talk to the bumblebees
to see them up close
then befriends them
as they
learn more about each other
full of calm and peace
without fear
and after they make
a short visit to his place
gently
puts them back
where he found them
and says
goodbye for now.
the garden suggests there might be a place where we can meet nature halfway.
Michael Pollan
saw the listing below
in our city’s
rec and ed catalog
and
thought about
dogs
and how
they don’t really need
a class in this
it seems to come
quite naturally
to most of them
but
how great
it would be
for some
of the humans
to take this class.
—
the great pleasure of a dog
is that you may make a fool of yourself with him
and not only will he not scold you,
but he will make a fool of himself too.
– samuel butler
—
credits: youtube, ann arbor rec and ed department
happy chinese lunar new year 2015
apparently
there is some controversy.
is this
the year of
the sheep,
the ram,
or
the goat?
opinions differ
but
everyone agrees
on one thing
it’s a horned animal
of some sort
and
it
looks like
these two
either
started early
or
wandered in
from an
extended
mardi gras
celebration.
***
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-31511109
—
– credits: google images, bbc.com
we did not give up
after
our sea monkeys
never hatched
and
did not live
to rule the kingdom
of kindergarten
and now
we’ve welcomed
‘lobo’ the fish
yes, it means wolf
named by
our spanish teacher
whose only pet was a dog
and ‘lobo’
feels like
what a pet means
to her
and to us
and we tried
to make
his new home
look like the ocean
and sparkle like the sea
and say hi to him each day
and feed him when he’s ready
and invite him to nap when we do
and let him hear us singing and playing
and give him clean water when he needs it
and we hope
‘lobo’
is as tough
as a wolf dog
and lives
a happy life
with us
for a long time.
—-
do not tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly,
don’t tell them where they know the fish.
– mark twain