Mary Dale Tanabata

Mary and Dale in one the few and far in between moments when I can get both to sit still long enough for a family portrait!

Tanabata Festival decorations put up in the local park. Most of the decorations were made by local school children 

The groundskeepers use traditionally hand-wove ropes and bamboo stalks from the park to put up the decorations. 

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Slipper Park

I have given up on buying slippers for the house. They simply become a toy for her to chew on and destroy!

What a nice and warm early summer evening. Love this time of year for dog walks in the park. 

Pix4Japan by R.D.S. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Miniature Pinscher

Known as the king of toy dogs, I refer to her as Queen Mary since she thinks she's a queen. Ironic since she was actually the runt of her litter. 

Her sight isn't the best, but she has got very good hearing and sense of smell -- more so than her "sister' the Border Collie.

That tounge of hers is always running. When we go to bed, she'll lick my hands so much that I start smelling like dog breath!

She doesn't usually walk like a normal dog, but has a gait like a horse. 

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Mostly Morris

Just done with work and now spending a little time with Morris.

He is a lovable little fella'!

Of course, Dale can never get enough play time!

Have to be careful about wearing a suit with Morris. Still learning how to use puppy pads.

He doesn't quite realize that he's smaller and weaker than Dale. He is more than willing to take her on in a game of tug-of-war using old towels.

Blurry shot, I know, but I love his big whiskers!

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Morris Mary Dale

A new kid on the block. Morris (male border collie) has just joined up with Mary and Dale. 

Mary doing what she does best -- napping!

Dale patiently waiting for a walk, waiting to play, waiting to do anything besides waiting!

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Mary Dale Cemetery

Took Dale and Mary to Hinochuo Cemetery for their evening walk. The sun was finally setting, helping to bring down the temperatures and humidity a bit.

Love taking them for walks in this cemetery. Usually there are no other people around, and Dale loves playing hide-and-seek among the tombstones.

iPhone 4S, Aperture 2.53, f/2.4, ISO 50

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Mary Dale Dealership

Took these shots on a hot summer afternoon after a quick walk to the nearby park.

Both girls were miserable even in the shade of this Toyota used-car dealership sign.

Both shots taken with an iPhone 5, f/2.4, ISO 50, 

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Chinowa

Chinowa (or sometimes referred to as suganuki), is a large ring made of cogon grass that is as tall as a man, and put up on the pathway that leads up to a Shinto shrine. According to Shinto tradition, visitors visit the shrine and walk through the chinowa, which looks like a big Hula-Hoop of grass, in June or July during a purification ceremony to ward off evil.

It was a bit hard to catch a good shot of this chinowa at night using an iPhone.

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Napping Playtime

Mary taking a nap. 

She makes it hard to get up and do some work or anything else for that matter. 

As expected, Dale wants to play fetch with her squeaky ball. 

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Two Girls and a Boy

Took Mary and Dale for a dog walk this afternoon. Got stuck in a rain storm, so we took shelter in a highway underpass until the rain passed.

Mary can't stand the cold and was shivering a lot! So much for her exercise. We ended up playing kangaroo -- me the mother and she the joey.

Finally after the long afternoon walk, Dale chilled out and took her nap on the kitchen floor.

Mary took her nap on my lap as usual.

And Morris, who is too young to go out for dog walks since he hasn't got his vaccinations yet, just chilled out because that is what dogs do best! :-)

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Best & Worst

Finally back home from the hospital after getting stitches in my head and a cast for my thumb.

Took a day off from work and took Dale and Mary for a slow, quiet afternoon walk to the local shrine.

These poor girls have been through a lot in the past few days.

I promise to keep them safe and to make them as happy as I can.

Mary and I have hit it off very well. 

Morris is a new addition, but three dogs is just too much. I need to find a new home for him before I get too attached.

Pix4Japan by R.D.S. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.