Super Friends

My Australian Shepherd Sophie has a great life. She winters in Naples, summers in Canada and in between lives the privileged life of a Sewickley dog. We also take her on family road trips to  Baltimore and New York City. All of this jet setting is only possible because Sophie is a quiet, playful, and adaptable dog.

Sophie is brushing up on her doggie manners this month while she hangs out with her canine mentor Freddie. She is bonding with our dear friends Louise and Doug again, swimming and chasing squirrels to her heart’s content and hoping for some quality time with Ian and his friends on the weekends.

Sophie and Freddie are ready for happy hour on the dock. Canada is cool!

Charlie and I are off to Hawaii tomorrow for some paradise time, God and Hurricane Lester permitting, and I will stay a bit longer for a photography workshop on Maui. Stay tuned to this blog for some new photography from Hawaii and Maui in the coming weeks. And Sophie…be a good girl!

Make new friends, but keep the old

Can you sing it? “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other, gold.” Making new friends and keeping up with the old ones is a BIG source of happiness for me.

I met some great new friends at the dog parks last year. Meet Steve Austin, a PhD geologist who owns little Maggie (left), the Australian Shepherd. Steve and his wife Kelly recently moved to Sewickley. My puppy Sophie (right) who looks like Maggie’s  big sister has become Maggie’s new best friend.

Making friends at the dog park

Or April Eilers, another dedicated dog owner who is also a photographer. She loves animals and wildlife photography. She has rescued dogs and also an injured pelican. We met in Naples, Florida and are now Facebook friends. We have both benefitted from our new friendship.  I was able to advise April on underwater photography for her upcoming trip to Grand Cayman.

My friend April, dog lover and wildlife photographer (not my photo)

Old friends? We spent a week in Sardinia, Italy with the Sangregorio family, dear friends of our family since 1964. That’s when my parents met Alberto and Graciella. They were both crossing the Atlantic on the Christoforo Colombo cruise ship. Now the friendship lives on to the second and third generations. Very special!

Antonio (son) and Paola (granddaughter) of Alberto and Graciella