Lota and the Meteor Shower

10 August - Lota and I went on a 5-hour walk today up to Spaulding Meadows and then a long ways on the trail to the John Muir cabin. He seemed pretty tuckered out by the time we got back to the truck. He immediately ducked under the vehicle to lay down in the cool shade and would only be lured out with his blue rubber bone.

I ran some errands, including Lota’s first visit to Petco. As soon as we got home, he collapsed on the floor and immediately fell asleep. I just woke him up to go outside to pee and now he’s happily chewing on a newly purchased red kong. The Kong company has quite a racket on us humans - $12.50 for a small chew toy made of thick rubber. I haven’t stuffed it with peanut butter yet. It’s too close to his dinnertime to do that.

Two days ago, his favorite toy was a small green rubber ball with a bell inside. But he quickly tired of it, not retrieving it when it was thrown across the room, and now it’s missing.

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11 August - I’ve become one of those people who take excessive photos of their pets and want to show other people them. I’m that person. I try to resist it, but it’s so hard. A large portion of my life is now devoted to walking with Lota, rubbing his belly, and making sure I know where he as at all times. I spent a good hour early this morning cuddling with him on the couch. It’s hard not to project that. And here I am writing about him. Is getting a puppy a form of addiction or obsession?

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Last night, Sara and I drove out to the North Douglas boat launch. I pulled in so that the vehicle was facing the ocean and the big open sky. I didn’t know when we arrived, but another group was below us on the beach with chairs and a campfire. It was past 11 pm and dark enough to see all seven stars of the big dipper. That’s what Rosemary Walling said – the local astronomy professor I spoke to about the Perseid meteor shower – if you can those stars, you’ve set yourself up well to see meteors. Besides the big dipper, there were thousands of other stars as well. Lota was restless on the leash. We were off the road so I didn’t want to take any chances. He was curious about the noise coming from below us on the beach; he wants to greet everyone.

I assumed everyone knew about the meteor shower, but Sara didn’t realize that’s what we were looking for. Her interest lies in seeing the northern lights – after 2+ years in Alaska, she has yet to see them. I told her to focus on just one area and look out for what shooting star-like occurrences. After less than 10 minutes of concentrated staring, I saw my first one flash by. Rosemary has said that over the phone – just look for the flashes of light. It took Sara a little longer to see one – she spent a little time looking at constellations with the help of an iPhone app, which emitted a sound as if we were in a planetarium instead of underneath the big open night sky. After half an hour or so, our necks started to ache. I had seen about four and it was lovely.

When I got ready to go to sleep, I realized that I could get a good view of the night sky right from the bedside window. So I turned off the lamp, placed my pillow as close to the window as I could, and laid my body horizontally across the bed. Within five minutes, I feel asleep with my glasses on. I groggily took them off and put them on the windowsill, promising myself I would get up later to take a look. When Lota stirred around 3:20 am, I peeked outside the window and realized it was already too bright to make out most of the stars.

Tonight I will try again.