Lamenting Fry the Dog in Santa Fe

We had to put Fry The Dog down a few weeks ago. He had a big tumor on his shoulder, but we elected to not have it removed because the x-rays showed metastases in his lungs and abdomen. He did fine for a long while, but the tumor continued to grow and it hemorrhaged at the vet’s so we had it removed, and he continued to do well, until he didn’t, and then it was time. It’s been hard for us, and I don’t know how Maggie The Dog (they have the same middle name also!) feels.

So we are in Santa Fe for the first time since then, and just one-dogged. Maggie herself is getting older, and while she is fine with us on early morning hikes (such as the one to Diablo Canyon today) she gets wiped out for quite a while. Maggie stays near, while if Fry were off the leash he’d go off for a while. He’d come back eventually, but in his own time. Not always compatible with making plans – like driving home! We take a shorter walk in the evening and enjoy the late (it is summer!) and always beautiful sunsets. Yesterday it was a perfect evening, and we sat out on the deck and watching the sun set, and stayed for the post-sunset, as the sky gradually darkened. Cool enough, slight breeze, and no mosquitoes here. Of course, the sunset is terrific here every night, as is the sunrise (which wakes me up), but each one is also the one that is happening, and I feel inspired to take a picture.

It was a fine day, starting with the sunrise picture, and then about a 4 mile or more hike on some of the trails that surround us. Lazy afternoon, nap and workout, and then a good dinner with a good friend. Now that I don’t live in KC any more, I feel ok about ordering ribs in another town. At Harry’s Roadhouse they were actually excellent, great flavor and little fat (just enough for flavor). And then driving home to the desert as the sun is going down, the typical cottontails, and a couple of lean coyotes ambling by, and jackrabbits hopping across the prairie, so big it is somehow difficult to tell, other than by the speed, that it is jackrabbit or coyote. And, then there was the big pink racer, or red racer, or coachwhip, snake on the hike the other morning. I somehow was able to appreciate, as I saw it just off to my right, that it was red and not rattling so not venomous, and even better was moving off away from the trail. Still, when you see a 5 foot red snake right next to you, it can cause a sharp intake of breath…although they do kill rattlers.

Anyway, the sitting outside watching the light go was the best part of a good day.

Except for the pic of the red racer, which is stock, the rest are mine.

 Fry

 Maggie

Red Racer

 Diablo Canyon

Reflected Sunset

Sunrise

Sunset