...New Year Idea for 2012

New Year celebrations are great, and to everyone of my friends I wish for you lots of fun, but please make it a safe one.  NO DRINKING AND DRIVING !!

...new year 2012

Ralphy here .........to extend a New Year 2012 greeting to all.  Resolutions are traditions when it comes to celebrating the New Year.  I get it.  We look back on our lives and contemplate some of things we would like to improve.  Things like losing weight or quitting smoking are excellent resolutions and should be attempted so success might be achieved.  What about making a resolution to just be a better person?  Being more patient and kinder to others would also be a resolution worth pursuing.  Showing compassion for those in need, being empathetic to the struggles of others and giving your time to people because they need your time would also be a wonderful endeavor to strive for.  Resolutions involving human emotional commitments are worthy goals.  Of course they are not the easiest goals to achieve, but the personal rewards are golden.  Think about it.  Hey,  I am just a "mutt", but my insight to humans is pretty darned good.  Oh, by the way...animal rights and their protection all depends on you.  I love humans, won't you love me?.................

...Merry Christmas 2011 from the Giordanos

Ralphy here.....wishing you a wonderful Christmas.  If you would like, sing along with me!!

Bow Wow.....................!

...different "stuff"

Sometimes I experiment with certain photos so get a different look that appeals to me.  I would emphasize ME, because I realize one persons "ah cool!" is another persons "yuk".  So if you happen across these 3 pics, hopefully some of you will say..."ah cool!"
See ya...........jimmy

...I Can't Believe I Allowed This !!!

I get the Christmas holidays, but come on!  Who is this red nose guy and what are antlers anyway?   Yikes!!   I'm still cute?   Right?    Help!

...my presents

Ralphy here..............I have been contemplating lately what sort of Christmas present I might want.  I love my chew toy buddies and treats in the shape of little bones really sets me off.  I am a dog of little needs to make me happy.  After further thought, I think just the company and love of my family is what I want most for Christmas.  Frankly they make me the happiest and to me they are my presents.  Maybe you should look to your loved ones the same way.  It would make this a better world to live in.  Peace.................Ralphy

...the simple things

Got up this morning with a variety of photo opportunities....and I took what I could get.  I knew as the day went on, the snow on the ground and clinging to the branches would disappear...after all, it still is early in the winter.  So I went out in the early morning snow and got some interesting images.  Just regular stuff I suppose, but sometimes the simple things can be interesting too.  Hope you like them.  See ya....jim
p.s.........the snow stopped before I came outside, so in some of the pics I made my own snow for an effect...

...little discoveries

It's December and I noticed this particular flower still in bloom.  The weather has not been particularly  cold, but to find this beauty this late in the year is an interesting find.  It shares with the viewer its own special beauty and the struggle it has to thrive and survive.  Nature is so interesting as to what it has to offer and little discoveries like this are ones to be appreciated.  See ya................jim

...ornamental hang out

As a Christmas ornament, I enjoy the fact of others looking at me with the joy and comfort of the holiday season.  This is where I hang out and hopefully you will smile at me when you see me. 

...best Gift of all

The best Christmas gift you can give anyone is yourself. 

...please do not remove this sign

I was bribed big time to do this photo shoot, so I suppose it wasn't so bad.  I noticed the Merry Christmas sign is in a a very interesting area, but I'm just a dog with no shame.  Thankfully my friends knew better and placed the sign in the "strategic" area so I wouldn't be made fun of.  Bow Wow !!  That is the same as Ha Ha !! if you haven't figured that out. 

...as we move along

Christmas is still 25 days away, but this spruce really is dressed up for the big show.  The fragrance a real tree gives off is irreplaceable and really sets the mood for the holidays.  Ornaments are so interesting because it seem that everyone of them tells a story of memories and days gone by.  Memories, especially good ones, are a pleasure to relive and hopefully we are still creating new and better ones as we move along with our lives.

...getting thru the Winter

Some birds just like to hang around even if it is the beginning of winter in Michigan.  The bird house is abandoned until spring, but hopefully this bird knows how to keep warm.  Surviving the winter for people is a lot different than what this fellow has to go thru.  Let's hope he makes it and is able to catch the warm glow of the spring sun.

...more good stuff

pics giojimmy
click on to pic and it will take you to the web album
from there, just click on full screen and it will put you on the slide show

...being thankful

Not exactly sure what I am sniffing for, but if you read enough about dogs, you will realize this is one of my most favorite things to do.  I am curious about my world just as humans are about theirs.  Oh, by the way, it happens to be the same world.  Yeah, I'm  like a dog scientist, probing and searching for solutions and questions relating to who I am.  Now for the person who lacks imagination, this sounds kind of ridiculous, but for the open-minded, outside of the box kind of person...it doesn't.  A lot of human studies comparing intelligence of humans vs dogs or any other animal species is sort of a "rigged" deal.  The comparisons are done between what human beings know about themselves vs what they really don't know about dogs for instance.  If you really understood me,  you would find me highly intelligent for being what I am ....a dog.  I bark in a variety of ways and you don't get what I am trying to say, yet when you say "come here" or "do you want to go outside" and many many more phrases you toss my way, I do understand.   Hmmm...what do you think about that?  Look, I won't ever invent anything or write a novel, or do any of the sort of things human beings do, but frankly that is not what being a dog is all about.  Just don't underestimate me or my fellow canines.  We belong on this planet and it is up to the human race to believe and protect my race.  Adopting my brothers and sisters into a loving home is a first step, especially because their lives depend on it....their LIVES!!  So to all who can hear me, have a very special Happy Thanksgiving!  I am grateful for you...please be grateful for me.
See ya.............
                       Ralphy  2011

...Super Book to Read

One Good Dog authored by Susan Wilson is an extraordinary and wonderfully put together story of  a man Adam March and his pit bull Chance.  If you you are looking for a story of redemption and love and if you have a dog of your own, you will be hard pressed to put this book down.  I cannot imagine my life without Ralphy and by reading One Good Dog, it reassured me I wasn't alone in my love for a dog.  The story certainly goes much further than just a guy-dog tale, because it is a story of living one life, losing it and the attempt to rebuild what is left.  Both Adam and Chance face the same challenge, because ironically their life paths are very similar.  This is a book I like to call, "I am grateful I stumbled upon this book...book." 

 

...early Christmas Greeting

The thing about life, is you only go around once and Christmas is a holiday celebrating the goodness and charity of human beings...and it comes around once a year.  So why wait to the last week or so to engulf yourself into the holiday spirit.  Now I don't mean going crazy at the retail stores.  What would be nice is for us to embrace the gentle kindness, the easy smiles and the wonder of our lives and pass it on to others.  What generation will ever truly find the right formula to realize the true meaning of our lives?  It is not about the gifts...it is about us.  Have a Merry Christmas holiday season.  I will be sending more of these greetings and I hope you will enjoy them.  See ya....jimmy

...time to share

There is something about the autumn season, with the magical transformations of the multitude of trees.  They are getting ready to hibernate for the winter and as a last gesture of celebration, the leaves just turn plain beautiful.  It is not just the colors.  The leaves seem to show off a character of endurance, a shout out to the world saying they will be back in the spring to recreate the magic all over again.  It is there time to share with us and for us to graciously accept their gift of wonder.  I know Ralphy enjoys the crackling and crumpling of leaves under his paws and if he could tell us, he would tell you to behold the beauty of autumn because it truly is a special time.

...fly the friendly skies

Photo taken Saturday morning, 11.12.2011

...berry nice

...the Heart of Autumn

...november wind

November in Michigan offers a lot of cool views....just got to find them.  See ya.   jimmy

...autumn on the Rouge

The Rouge River winds its way thru the metro Detroit area and does not have the reputation as clean.  Over the past 20 years or so there has been a lot of environmental groups working to fix the problem of the Rouge and dividends are starting to pay off.  It will never be the pristine river it probably once once a few hundred years ago, but it is improving and hopefully this photo will give you a sense of the beauty it does have.  One step at a time.

Ralphy...here again !  There are just so many cool photos and I have got to share them with you.  My squirrel buddy can really ham it up and show off his high wire act.  Hope you enjoy your day...I sure will.  Bow Wow...............!

...high wire act

Ralphy and I love watching the squirrels tease us as they safely look down on us from the cable wires in our backyard.  I love this photo so I definitely wanted to share it with whoever stumbles upon this blogspot.  See ya.............jim

...don't miss the show !!

Ralphy here.  Just because I'm a dog doesn't mean I don't enjoy the idea of autumn and all the cools stuff that comes with it.  First, the air right now is crisp and cool and it brings out the most wonderful aromas from the different kinds of leaves falling and lying on the ground.  Look it up, to dogs,  smelling is more important than our sight.  Everything I breath in, I analyze and remember what it is I am smelling.  It sounds too scientific, so to be honest, I just love all of the smells, the crackling of the leaves beneath my paws and the wisp of the air currents as they play games with me.  It is a great time to be alive.  So anyway, Jim took some photos of a few of my favorite things.  You might notice the top pic is a ginkgo tree with the dogwood in the background.  The ginkgo clearly is not giving it up yet because eventually the leaves will be a brilliant yellow and will  amazingly  fall off  the tree at about the same time.  It is pretty cool.  One day a bunch of yellow leaves on the tree,  the next day almost all on the ground in an autumn circle of yellow.  Ginkgo leaves are really interesting to look at.  They are unique.  The other photos are just wonderful,  displaying the simple beauty that only nature can create.  If you are going about town this time of year and don't look about you, you will truly miss a show that only comes around once a year.  Don't pass it by.....watch and revel in the wonder.  I am Ralphy and I am a dog.
See ya............ruff woof ruff

..."a furry tail".........

....trick or treat coming to a neighborhood near you !!!