One of the biggest luxuries in my life is eating breakfast on the patio on summer mornings.

This morning I looked up from the newspaper and saw I had a visitor.



It sat there long enough for me to go in the house, grab my camera and take some pictures before hopping (where else?) into the rabbitbrush.

I've found myself treating the wild creatures in our yard more like pets since our dog Margo died in February. Here is the dove family that lived on our front porch this summer.



We did have a dog for a few days this summer when we took care of our grandpuppy, Ichi.


Yeah, I've been looking for an excuse to put this picture in my blog. I was thinking about writing an entry called "Every garden needs a dog." Of course dogs create extra work and sometimes damage gardens, but to me their companionship while I work outside is well worth the inconvenience.