I was listening to NPR yesterday and heard a speaker suggest that the terminally ill don't think in terms of dying. They are living and then they die, but the in between dying is really something that others experience. Not sure how true that is, but I'm wondering now whether animals know they're dying. My dog Rusty is dying and that breaks my heart.

Rusty is the closest I've known to my dear departed Corgi-Shelti mix Katy who passed on New Years eve 2005. Just as I was becoming enthralled...

This is the last full day of my week at the Lake James cottage. The rental lady informed us that we could stay an extra day for free as the renters who were supposed to take over the cottage today never sent the balance due for their rental. Guess the economy is taking it's toll on vacation spending. I'm told this particular cottage has been vacant about 1/2 the summer and it's typically rented 100% of the time and well in advance. Oh well, good for us as this turned into an 8-day week.
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Am sitting on the back deck of a nice little cottage that I'm renting for the 4th year running overlooking beautiful Lake James in N.E. Indiana. Across the 1st basin I see the Potawatomi Inn through the haze that has been the norm today. When it hasn't rained it's been overcast and hazy with the sun making very few appearances. It's too cool for boating or swimming so am 'borrowing' a neighbor's wireless connection and checking in with ChipTalk as well as the down stock market on my laptop.
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