Our Padma

A little bird has told us that all is not well in the Rushdie household. Padma Lakshmi, aka Mrs. Salman Rushdie, may have lost patience with her husband, postcolonial guru and self-orbiting intellectual. Even though Mr. Rushdie authored our human's favorite novel, Midnight's Children, our human is not beyond coveting the man's wife. We'll give him that: the Top Chef host, cookbook author, and super model is HOT HOT HOT. We apologize for the juvenile behavior--at times, it just cannot be contained. Silly humans.

And stay tuned... the human got inked! Yup, Narra is now art, body art to be exact. Picture forthcoming.

Where is our art?

Under the cover of pelting sleet, someone absconded with our monument, aka, "rabbit on a fence." Narra had been poking around the area where rabbit hung, but the human--standing in the doorway (he has been very sick this week)--didn't know why (yet again). She must have been the first to notice that something was amiss. Can our existential question be resolved so simply, so brutally? Is that the answer?

Super Hero Narra

We could call this "midlife crisis, stage 1:" the human has decided to get a tattoo (tattooS even). We might consider this a questionable decision if not for the fact that we are--of course--the subject of the aforementioned tattoos. :) In fact, a right bicep (the lightning bolt will be an arm band) will soon be adorned with "Super Hero Narra," a` la comic book art.

The design is still in progress but will soon be unleashed. We think the world needs a new super hero (still working on those super powers, though).

Elmer Fudd's Revenge

It was a wild night: shrouded moon, deer stampeding through the woods, and a piercing scream from the underbrush. Have you ever heard a rabbit scream? Depending on your proclivities, it can be quite exhilarating. Buko, especially, loves the chase. But all of us on this night connected with our lupine selves. Escape foiled, mortality inevitable. Poor wabbit.

The human didn't really know what had happened (as is so often the case). Since we emerged from the underbrush with empty, blood-free jowls, he assumed the critter got away. The light of morning revealed the tragedy. Not only that, rigor mortis had cemented the carcass in place. Add below-freezing temperatures, the rabbit still hangs, a small monument to what we once were.

Another NC attraction!

We'd like to congratulate our friends Amy and Jason on the birth of their new baby Sharon Rae! Welcome, Baby Rae!!! We know the baby will have the best of everything, including our new friend Savannah the GSD to watch over her.

We can't wait to visit! Asheville--and beer--here we come!!!

Ever Advancing

What a great weekend for us! Not only was the weather in Winston-Salem, North Carolina relatively warm--not to mention sunny--Buko and Narra did great at the Obedience/Rally trial! In fact, we've been focused on agility for so long that we forgot what it was like to do well! :) Buko qualified both days in Rally, as did Narra. In addition, Narra qualified in Open B for the first time with a pretty awesome performance. To commemorate their success, Buko and Narra now have new titles: Rally Advanced (RA)!

Of course, no trip would be complete without some exploring. Between turns in the ring, we headed north to check out Pilot Mountain State Park and also Hanging Rock State Park. Again, weather was incredibly good, so we could hardly go wrong. Pilot Mountain involved a little climbing, so the boys guarded the van while Narra and her human checked out the summit. Hanging Rock, on the other hand, was just right for everyone--we all enjoyed the lake and trails. Also, our trial site bordered historic Bethabara, so we walked the Wagon Road Trail (is that redundant?). Correction, our bad: it's Wagon Trail road (no less redundant).

We should mention, btw, that there were dogs EVERYWHERE! The state parks were teeming with them. Mostly little ones, though: a jack russell, a fluffy one (like a shih-tzu?), a cute terrier mix (who was being carried); some bigger ones also: border collie, cattle dog mix, boxers, american bulldogs, and plenty of labs, of course ... We were, however, the only shepherds we saw. :) We could go on and on (like Narra did, showing off her heeling and other moves when she had an audience). So, yeah, North Carolina's got it going on. No wonder our human likes it there. Good times.

Here's Buko posing like a (Moravian?) pilgrim...