The Daily Parker

Politics, Weather, Photography, and the Dog

Happy Solstice

The June Solstice happens in 15 minutes, at 1:06pm CDT. Happy Summer! (Or, you know, winter, for the one-third of the world who live in the Southern Hemisphere.)

Dog cruise

The Chicago Anti-Cruelty Society is having a fundraiser that sounds like lots of fun:

Mercury Chicago Skyline Cruiseline Canine Cruise kicks off its 2007 season by hosting a fundraising cruise to support the important programs and services of The Anti-Cruelty Society. Join well-behaved, leashed Chicago pups and their companions on Thursday, June 28 from 7:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m. for a relaxing 90-minute lake and river cruise aboard the Skyline Queen.

Pups will get the royal treatment. A wind-in-the-face experience that can not be beat, all the comforts of home, including water bowls and a restroom, and delectable and doggy-licious treats courtesy of Dog-a-Holics. After all, sailing can make any pup hungry!

Admission to The Anti-Cruelty Society Canine Cruise is $35.00 per person, with or without a dog. Dogs are free. Since ACS is a non for profit, the $35 is a tax deduction.

The cruise will board at the southeast corner of the Michigan Avenue bridge at Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive (look for the blue awning). To make reservations, call (312) 644-8338, extension 307.

Learn more here: http://offleash.meetup.com/22/calendar/5913676/

Today's Daily Parker

Parker will destroy just about anything he discovers in the back yard. Like this welcome mat, for example:

Or this flower pot:

Yesterday I also spent several entertaining moments removing children's bath toys from his mouth. I would take the boat, or scuba diver, or whatever, put it beyond his reach in the play house, and then go back to him and repeat the process until the kiddie pool was totally empty. He thought this was a fun game.

New personal record

I finally got around to updating my biking stats (but not the Google Earth tracks—Garmin changed their XML format and I haven't written a converter yet). I discovered, to my surprise, that I got a new personal record on May 27th: 40 km in 1:22:15, which is an average speed of 29.2 km/h. This bested my previous record by 23 seconds. Cool.

Also, today's ride took me up to Cicada Central. Wow. I only had two collisions (and only one cicada fatality), but the sound was worth the trip.

On the other hand, the abysmal heat (33°C) was not.

Happy birthday, Parker!

Parker is officially[1] one year old today.

Then:

Now:

Here's to 15 more. No party, because nothing looks sadder than a dog in a birthday hat, but I will have a special treat for dinner tonight.

[1] The shelter said he was 11 weeks old on 1 September 2006, so 16 June 2006 is my best guess for his birthday. He's not telling how old he really is.

Sad park news

Fred, one of the dogs Parker knew from the morning group in the park, died from cancer last night. Fred was ornery towards other dogs but really sweet towards people. His owner reports Fred would have been 14 today.