Dog and cat peace!

Hi all! Happy holidays and Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah and Happy Kwanzaa and Happy Tuesday!

I'm working from home today because I've been sick, and I just had the AMAZING privilege of being able to watch a sleepy Shasta go up to a sleepy Gemini, give her a kiss, and curl up with her in front of the woodstove!! I wish I had a picture to show you. There is hope, after all!

Of course, Shasta did roll onto Gemmy's tail, which led to yowling, and so it was a very short time of interspecies peace, but still!

Christmas tree!

We got our Christmas tree today! Tait Farm in State College has lots to choose from, and they're a well-established local farm (for food as well as trees)- despite the (freezing) cold, the perfect tree was found. And Shasta even behaved herself for at least 30 seconds.

Hikin' with the dog

Walking with the dog's definitely been a lot of fun-here's some pictures from a hike we took last week...

A nice hemlock glen-I love this kind of forest.

Some tracks we found in the snow. I think they're from a shrew, but if anybody knows any differently, let me know.

The view from a ridge top. It was a gorgeous day; not too cold and the sun was beautiful on the snow.

Shasta enjoyed her trip too. She gets such a classic "hunting dog" posture when there's something she's interested in.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

It's done (and handed in!)

So as of Wednesday this week I'm officially a Ph.D.! My dissertation was approved by the graduate school without any problems, so all I have to do now is pick up my robe rental and show up for graduation! Woohoo!

I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again, but thank you to everyone who helped over the years-it really wouldn't have been possible without the help!

Fall memories...

My opinion of "Cherry Apples"...I think the expression says it all...

Summer memories

A far cry from the snow flurries today, but here's a nice pic of the ocean from our summer trip the beach.