Animal Olympics

   Taylor gold medalled in inverted stiff-legged couch surfing:

   Kismet is thinking of becoming a diver. Maybe. Maybe not. But perhaps. She's not sure really. Definitely curious though.

   For sure she's top of the podium for beauty and sweetness, in her extra-long winter-fur finery:

   Aki keeps bringing me the little plush moose that Sawako brought. It's her favorite.

   When I take it away and tease her, she makes it known that she is tops in the "awful demon face" race!

   Who will win the gold for maximum hibernation? It's going to be a close race... perhaps a four-way tie between us!

Hot dog + Hot lemonade

   Sawako came over last night. She brought presents for the dogs & kitty, homemade croissants for us, and a giant cup of homemade Japanese hot lemonade for me! YUM!
   While we were sitting at the dining room table, eating and talking, all of a sudden Sawako felt something on her leg. She looked down to see this: The Hungriest Dog in the World strikes again!

"PSST! SAWAKO! Don't tell Jen, but I'm very hungry.
Please pass some food down to me."

   Sawako was kind enough to overlook Taylor's rudeness, and even kinder to share her recipe with me—in two languages!

ginger from Target; lemon juice from Whole Paycheck Foods

Blue Springs Buffalo

MAD BUFFALO? Uh-oh...

   Fleming Park, in Blue Springs, MO is apparently home to a breeding program for buffalo (aka bison). How I have lived in the area for 14 years and not known that is beyond me! The animals are so used to being fed apples, pears, corn, and carrots that they are docile and approach the fence when people arrive. It was tough to get good photos with them so close to the fence, and with the fence's shadows on them, but it was easy to appreciate what beautiful animals they are.

Sawako holds the pups so I can get some pics

Ready for my close-ups:

Sawako makes some new friends... and so does Aki & Taylor

   Indeed, everything was going great until Aki decided that she wanted to take on this very large bison (and why not? She's only 700-2,000 lbs. to Aki's 25 lbs.!) I think "Shiba Inu" translates to "knucklehead". To be fair, though, they were bred to hunt bear, and these big furry bison kinda look like bear. With hooves and horns. Film at 11.

An Accidental Hike

   Today's plan for Sawako and the pups and I to attend Dogtoberfest at Fleming Park in Blue Springs, MO changed. In short, I screwed up. It wasn't today: it's tomorrow! So when we arrived at the location and all the tables and tents were empty and no one was there, I started to figure it out. D'oh!
   Undaunted by my stupidity, we found a trailhead and started a beautiful hike on this gorgeous, warm and breezy fall day.

Aki finds an exploded bird (maybe a hawk?):

We kept seeing a tall chain-link fence, and wondering who lived in it. Hmm...

Aki, Taylor and Sawako:

Any food up here for me???

One of the park's lakes:

All done with the adventure! Or are we...?

Sawako's Photos

   These are the photos that my yoga buddy, Sawako, took on our hike and visit with the bison: