Dog In A Victorian

You know how cats love to lounge in a sunny window...

I was in San Francisco this week, doing some research for my next book. We came upon a classy Victorian.  It had plenty of windows but no cats that we saw. But look at the left of the top-most windows. There was a dog lounging, jaw stretched out, resting on the windowsill. Looking north toward Alcatraz. Waiting for its owner to come home from work? From prison? There's a story in there someplace...

Wolves Play Fetch??!!

Wolf pups don't play fetch, right?
Or do they?

Dogs were domesticated from wolves a long time ago, maybe 30,000 years. The result of that domestication produced animals (dogs) that were very focused on humans, almost as if humans were gods to dogs. Humans provide dogs with shelter and food and companionship and protection. In return, dogs pay attention to every little thing regarding humans, and they can read human cues better than any other animal, better than chimps or elephants or cats or parrots. Some people believe that dogs can read human cues better than other people can! (Just try to get ready to take your dog for a walk without letting her know. It doesn't work. She always knows when you're going for a walk. Even if you spell all of your words and do your best to hide your intentions, she'll still know. How does she do it? I don't know!)

Dogs serve as guards and hunters and companions. They haul sleds with heavy loads. They pay attention to every little sound in your house when you are asleep. They sit on your couch and eat popcorn with you. They also serve as playmates like, for example, playing fetch.

Modern wolves are very different than modern dogs. In some ways they are more intelligent and better at solving puzzles. But when it comes to understanding humans, they don't come close to dogs. Dogs get what we want, and they try to deliver for us. Throw a ball and they go fetch it. Wolves don't do that.

Except, wait, maybe they do. A researcher was doing tests, showing that wolves won't fetch. She used multiple litters of wolf pups for subjects. She was thorough in every aspect of demonstrating that wolves won't retrieve a ball.

But then some did.

Another wrench in the science gears!

Here's a link: to the NPR story on wolves that fetch.

ENJOY!

Peregrine Falcons In Tahoe!

The Peregrine Falcon is often mentioned as the fastest animal on the planet. Some reliable sources, such as National Geographic, say the bird can fly over 200 miles per hour in a dive. Accurate or not, the Peregrine is a magnificent bird.

Peregrines nearly went extinct several decades ago because of their sensitivity to the pesticide DDT in the environment. When DDT was finally banned, Peregrines made a slow comeback.

Peregrines are roughly the size of crows. They weigh up to 3 pounds (the females are significantly bigger than the males), and their wingspan can be 4 feet.

Like all raptors, Peregrines hunt their food using their amazing vision while they fly at high heights. They take a wide range of birds, including some much bigger than themselves. They occasionally feed on rodents as well

Recently, Peregrines were spotted in Tahoe at Castle Rock just to the north of Kingsbury Grade.

According to Tahoe In Depth, the newspaper put out by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Peregrines were seen at Castle Rock back in 2011 and they returned there for a few years. Then they weren't seen for a time.

Recently, they reappeared. Here's link to the article: Falcons at Tahoe.

What a cool bird to have in Tahoe!

A Toast To Sam Bauman

Long time Tahoe-area writer Sam Bauman died a few days ago. He was vital into his nineties.

Sam was a friend, a journalist, and a fellow novelist. He wrote for the Tahoe Tribune, the Nevada Appeal, and many other newspapers and journals and websites. He supported and wrote reviews of my novels, as I did of his. Sam lived and traveled and skied all over the world. 

Sam and I got together to talk shop and Tahoe over coffee and lunch. He invited my wife and I to dinners. Sam was also a writing teacher, although I don't know that he thought of himself that way. To this day, I still use some of the writing tips he gave me back when I was a newbie novelist in the early 2000s and he was a veteran writer. 

I will always appreciate Sam's presence in my life.