Finding My Voice

What do I want the focus of this blog to be about?

I started blogging in December, 2014 with the intention of creating a dog-blog about my pup, Kona, and his amusing interactions with his two feline brothers. It started off as “Mr Baloney Head” because one of Kona’s many nicknames was Kona-Balona-Baloney-Head. I wrote from the dog’s point of view, with random appearances from the cats. I had a blast creating a world from what I imagined was my pet’s hilarious perspective.

After writing in this fashion for a while, I realized that I wanted to talk about my other passions, from my perspective, so I changed the name to “Tails by the Sea.” It wouldn’t make sense to have a dog talking about sports photography, because, well, he’s not into sports. Except chasing cats. I tried saying “from the desk of…” to clarify whose voice was speaking, but it just got too complicated.

What if I want to write about food? What if I want to write and post pictures of surfing, sports, flowers or architecture? Would I be breaking the rules of blogging to write about interests other than my pets?

As this blog evolves, I remind myself that I can make this blog whatever I choose to make it. (It’s my blog and I can write what I want to, write what I want to… to the tune of It’s my party and I can cry if I want to).

I’ve had other blogs along with this one. I gave that up because I simply don’t have time to maintain multiple blogs about my many different interests.

So, I’ve concluded, at least for now, that I am going to follow my many passions in one blog, and write about whatever I feel like writing about. Fortunately, my #1 passion, aside from photography, is my fur family. They are a huge part of my life, and I will continue to write about them and post pictures.

You might also see photos of food, and my attempts to cook, as well as whatever I might be working on in photography school.

Anywhoo, thanks for listening to my conundrum. Do any of you ever feel like changing up your blog? What do you think about having different voices in your writing? I’d love to hear about your blogging-philosophies!

SaveSave

Thanks!

We made it to 100!

Thank you to everyone who follows this blog and especially to the folks who take the time to comment on the adventures Kona, Pumpkin and Scout.

There are plenty of blogs out there with thousands of followers, but reaching 100 is pretty darn special to me.  Wags, woofs and purrs to all of our furry friends out there in blogger land!

 

 

What’s Your Favorite Dog Toy?

Happy Labor Day!

Maybe every Monday should declared a holiday, what do you think? We’ll make it a world-wide day off to include everyone outside of the U.S. as well.

The Mister is working on his boat today, so Kona and I decided to do some dog-shopping. I’ve been promising Kona a new toy for a while now, since his favorite old squeaky bone has seen better days.

Squeaky bone and I share many happy memories

This old bone is special because Kona got to pick it out. It was once covered with bright yellow tennis ball felt, but he tore the skin off and ate it.

We made our way to the local pet supply store, and as soon as we walked in, the man at the counter handed Kona a snack. Instant friends.

There were so many toys! Kona headed straight over to the Kong toys, and sniffed out his favorite giant squeaky bone. We moved over to the snack area next, where he licked some of the tasty treats on my way down the aisle.

This is MY toy. I will bring it to you and growl when you try to grab it from me. Growl = grab bone and throw so I can fetch.

For now, until he drops it into something disgusting, this Kona’s inside toy.

What kind of dog toys do your pups like to play with? Do you have a favorite that you keep going back to again and again?

The Wait

One of our favorite camping spots is in Julian, California. We woke up very early on this cold February morning and quietly spied on a group of wild turkeys hanging out near our motorhome. Kona was mesmerized.
Did you know that turkeys fly up into the trees at night to sleep? I didn’t know these big birds could fly until we heard them above us, gobbling to each other as the morning light crept in.

As they flew down and started strutting through our campground, Kona was itching to get out and chase them, but I wasn’t going to take a chance with those sharp beaks and massive talons. 

This turned out to be a special trip. Sharing space so close to the turkeys gave me a new appreciation of their intelligence and social skills. Listening to them calling back and forth to each other in the darkness of the trees was pretty special. I’m sure kona experienced his own kind of appreciation for these large birds.

 

A Back Bay Kind of Day

Yesterday Kona and I ventured out to the Back Bay in Newport Beach. The weather was perfect in the morning with just enough cloud cover to keep it cool, and plenty of new scents for Kona to investigate.

We shared the road with joggers, walkers, and cyclists. Luckily, there are three lanes for each activity, so we didn’t bump into anybody. Next visit, to avoid the crowds, we’ll arrive earlier in the morning or come during the week.

Unfortunately, I forgot dog treats, so getting Kona to look at me is going to take some doing. Kona’s rule: no treats, no lookie into camera.

The Back Bay is officially the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve and Ecological Reserve, and is a home for thousands of birds, many endangered. We saw some ducks, but strongly advised Kona against chasing them out of the water.

There were many little wild flowers. I especially loved these white ones.

Beautiful homes overlook the bluffs. This would be a perfect place to observe wildlife while the sun is rising or setting.

We headed back to the car just as the sun started to shine through the clouds.

Overall, I’d say this was a very successful new adventure. I wouldn’t hesitate to make a return visit.

Cheers to a fabulous Sunday evening, friends!

~ Woofs and wags, Lori & Kona

Making Contact

I’m going to let you in on a dog photography trade secret. Kona’s been trying to teach me this for a while, and after many frustrating photo sessions with him refusing to look directly into the camera, I think I’ve finally gotten the hint.

Are you ready for the big secret?

TREATS

TREATS

NO TREATS

Yep. Dogs are a simple bunch. Eat, play, poop, pee, sniff. If you want them to look into your camera, show them the FOOD!

I finally remembered to bring some cut up cheese on our last adventure and it was a SUCCESS! An all around win-win. I got eye contact, and Kona got a delicious treat. 🙂

Saturday Shopping at Pacific City

Saturday morning is made for window-shopping at Pacific City.

Though not all the stores are open yet, there are some really great restaurants and a wide variety of shops.

One of my favorite stores.

Kona’s favorite store. Well, not the bath part of it.

This place smells great! Let’s go in! Hey, who’s that looking at me? She’s kinda cute…

Just a little lick. They’ll never know.

Which way is the beach? Are we going swimming now?

The view from the restaurants isn’t too shabby.

There’s plenty of outdoor seating available, and a few glass-fire pits for chillier evenings.

Okay, okay I’ll look at the camera. Sheesh!

Most of the stores were still closed so we got to peer in and snap lots of pics without disturbing anybody.

Have a superb Saturday, friends!

 

Dog Day Afternoon, Ocean Style

On this fine Saturday morning Kona and I started off to Dog Beach. As we were cursing along Coast Highway, the traffic became thick with brake lights and people were swarming the are. Oh crap. I finally realized it was the final weekend of the US Surf Open.

Luckily, we got through downtown without a glitch and found great parking. This guy found great parking too.

Good ol’ Ruby’s Diner. Back when I was a kid it was The End Cafe, before it was destroyed by huge waves in 1983.

No, bub, I’m not following you into the water just yet.

Harbor Patrol keeping it safe.

Remember what happened last time you drank salt water? Highly undesirable after-effects.

Rottie-love.

C’mon already! It’s time to get wet!

Pretty houses on the way back to the car.

More pretty houses. Some were empty! Do people actually live here?

 Cheers to a fabulous weekend!

Dogs in the ‘hood

We are fortunate to live in a neighborhood of dog enthusiasts. Our house is across the street from an elementary school with a large fenced-in grass area, which turns into an unofficial dog park in the evenings and weekends.

Reading my pee-mail

Since I tend to be somewhat introverted, Kona plays a key role in helping me get to know the neighbors. It’s really a win-win situation, because the dogs get to build their social skills as well.

Getting to know my neighbors and their dogs continues to be a rewarding experience. I have come to appreciate dog folks – they really are a special breed!

SaveSave

SaveSave