Charlie Brown definitely had it right. Somehow puppies make everything right with the world.

Here are some video clips of their first two magical days with us. "Happiness is", indeed.

Mickey and Joey - first two days

Also some pics here

A few puppy pics

The slide show is here - http://www.tonymindling.phanfare.com/5718149

As always, click on Start Slideshow and the full screen icon for the full experience, which in this case includes some nice jazz by Davit Benoit.

The video is here -
http://player.vimeo.com/video/48145897 with some nice acoustice guitar by Phil Keaggy

Looking forward to Seb's pics!

We had to let Tanner go early last week. It had become clear that he wasn't going to get better, he'd been going downhill for a couple of weeks, and had stopped eating. As Hilda and I looked at photos of Tanner over the years, we realized that he had been ill for at least a couple of years with Cushing's Disease. His weight gain, appearance, and loss of energy are all symptoms of the early part of the disease, which are easy to misinterpret, as we did, as aging signs. It wasn't until about April of this year that we knew something was really wrong, and the vet visits began. One of the first things we heard from the vet was that it could be Cushings, and that they don't usually recommend treatment because of the side effects. Not wanting to subject Tanner to that, we crossed our fingers and began a suggested treatment for another possible issue, an immune system disorder, which was treated with steroids. And for a while he really looked like he was improving, but it was not to be.

Oh boy. It blindsides one at the oddest times. Like while pressing the coffee this morning. Perhaps because that would be a time when he and I would be alone in the quiet for a while.

Martin Mindling has shared a couple more photos from the Mindling heartland in Ohio

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Hi Tony,

Here are a couple of pictures for the family website.

The house in Watertown is from 1892. My aunt, Lucy Weihl Wolcott (sister of Phoebe Mindling) lived in this house for many years. It was built by the local general store owner, James T. Dunbar.

We have painted it in six Victorian colors per an original palette. There is a lot of beadboard decoration on the house and also herringbone (angled) beadboard under the windows.

Ian and Eric used to get furious with me when I'd slow down hikes while leaning over flowers with my camera. At least this afternoon I restricted my vice to the garden as I took a break from my dayjob, compelled outdoors by bits of sun between clouds of a waning storm.

A cool thing about becoming fairly aged is the span of time one's experiences cover, reaching back into environments and cultures that no longer exist. Another cool thing are the memory clips that bubble up seemingly out of nowhere like little treasures

What fun it was to see everyone and get caught up on what's up. Thank you Dana and Sebastian, Rich and Meaghan for the wonderful gathering. Here's a sneak preview - the rest of the pics are here