Cornell West and Richard Wolff talk about Capitalism and White Supremacy » « Bigotry, language, and apologies: building solidarity across social divides

Common daisies and a common mutt make for an uncommonly pretty picture

Image shows Raksha lying on red cedar mulch, looking intently to the left of the frame. She's a medium-sized dog, about 50lbs, mostly black, with white on her legs, cheeks, and the sides of her muzzle. Her eyes have a little black under and around them, merging with a black stripe down the center of her long nose, and she has white eyebrows that give her a very expressive face. Her ears are large, triangular, and erect, black on the backs, with white fur inside them. They are also focused off to the left. I think there was someone approaching down the sidewalk when I took the picture.

Raksha in Somerville, enjoying the sun, and eagerly awaiting the latest in the stream of people who passed by for the sole purpose of making her day better, and for no other reason.

The last place I lived, back in Somerville, our landlord decided that rather than bother with maintaining grass in the tiny yard in front of our house, he’d cover it over with black plastic fabric and red cedar mulch. There were ways in which it was pleasant, and I enjoyed sitting out there to read and write with Raksha keeping me company and greeting the passers-by. The social activity was a big plus, but the mulch was not her favorite.

These days we have access to a very pleasant courtyard with grass, gravel, and a great deal more room for things like chasing sticks. There are fewer people, and I think that makes her sad – especially now that we don’t have the regular visitors she has come to expect, but on the whole, I think she likes having the grass for running, lounging, and rolling, and might even enjoy the occasional company we get from one of the local magpies. All in all, it’s an upgrade, and the lawns on this side of the pond are quite pretty this time of year with all the daisies popping up through the grass.

 

The picture shows Raksha approaching the camera, carrying a stick. The portion of the lawn she's on is shaded, but she's a few steps away from the sunlit portion. The grass has little white daisies speckling it, and there's a hedge around the edges of the lawn. She's a medium-sized dog, about 50lbs, mostly black, with white on her legs, cheeks, and the sides of her muzzle. Her eyes have a little black under and around them, merging with a black stripe down the center of her long nose, and she has white eyebrows that give her a very expressive face. Her ears are large, triangular, and erect, black on the backs, with white fur inside them

The Beast Approaches…

 

The picture shows Raksha carrying a stick. She's in the sunny part of the lawn now, and the light is making her black fur look thick and soft. She's mid-trot, and looking cheerful. The grass has little white daisies speckling it, and there's a hedge around the edges of the lawn. She's a medium-sized dog, about 50lbs, mostly black, with white on her legs, cheeks, and the sides of her muzzle. Her eyes have a little black under and around them, merging with a black stripe down the center of her long nose, and she has white eyebrows that give her a very expressive face. Her ears are large, triangular, and erect, black on the backs, with white fur inside them

She steps into the sun, absorbing its power.

 

The picture shows Raksha approaching the camera, from the other side of the lawn, still carrying a stick. The portion of the lawn she's on is shaded, but her nose is just poking into the sunlit portion. The grass taller in this area, and growing unevenly. Some patches are at about heel/ankle height for her, so maybe six inches long. This part also has little white daisies speckling it, and there's a hedge around the edges of the lawn. She's a medium-sized dog, about 50lbs, mostly black, with white on her legs, cheeks, and the sides of her muzzle. Her eyes have a little black under and around them, merging with a black stripe down the center of her long nose, and she has white eyebrows that give her a very expressive face. Her ears are large, triangular, and erect, black on the backs, with white fur inside them

Coming from the other direction now. Clearly she has learned how to teleport into the shade. It must be a superpower inherited from the Husky side of her family, evolved to avoid overheating.

 

The picture shows Raksha approaching the camera, from the other side of the lawn, still carrying a stick, and looking for a good spot to lie down. The grass has little white daisies speckling it, and there's along the left side of the picture, with a gravel circle beyond the lawn, and an apartment building behind that. . She's a medium-sized dog, about 50lbs, mostly black, with white on her legs, cheeks, and the sides of her muzzle. Her eyes have a little black under and around them, merging with a black stripe down the center of her long nose, and she has white eyebrows that give her a very expressive face. Her ears are large, triangular, and erect, black on the backs, with white fur inside them

Having exhausted her powers by teleporting into the shade, she now looks to lie in the sun and recharge.

 

The picture shows Raksha lounging on the grass, propped up on her elbows. She's a medium-sized dog, about 50lbs, mostly black, with white on her legs, cheeks, and the sides of her muzzle. Her eyes have a little black under and around them, merging with a black stripe down the center of her long nose, and she has white eyebrows that give her a very expressive face. Her ears are large, triangular, and erect, black on the backs, with white fur inside them

Recharging is good, but one must always remain alert. The eyes look one way, the ears two others, and the nose is always seeking signs of the next person who might approach.

 

The picture shows Raksha on her side on the grass, rubbing her snout against the ground. She's a medium-sized dog, about 50lbs, mostly black, with white on her legs, cheeks, and the sides of her muzzle. Her eyes have a little black under and around them, merging with a black stripe down the center of her long nose, and she has white eyebrows that give her a very expressive face. Her ears are large, triangular, and erect, black on the backs, with white fur inside them

Her location chosen, she begins the meticulous and careful process of cleaning off her face by rubbing it vigorously in the grass. This is accompanied by a thrashing of the tail, and very dignified snuffling and snorting sounds.

 

The picture shows Raksha rolling on her back on the grass, her feet up in the air. She's a medium-sized dog, about 50lbs, mostly black, with white on her legs, cheeks, and the sides of her muzzle. Her eyes have a little black under and around them, merging with a black stripe down the center of her long nose, and she has white eyebrows that give her a very expressive face. Her ears are large, triangular, and erect, black on the backs, with white fur inside them

During this phase of recharging, she wriggles ferociously ensuring that the light reaches all portions of the charging surface. More snuffling.

 

The picture shows Raksha rolling on her back on the grass, her feet up in the air. She's a medium-sized dog, about 50lbs, mostly black, with white on her legs, cheeks, and the sides of her muzzle. Her eyes have a little black under and around them, merging with a black stripe down the center of her long nose, and she has white eyebrows that give her a very expressive face. Her ears are large, triangular, and erect, black on the backs, with white fur inside them

The snuffling also includes some terrifying grunts and growls.

 

The picture shows Raksha rolling on her back on the grass, her feet up in the air. She's a medium-sized dog, about 50lbs, mostly black, with white on her legs, cheeks, and the sides of her muzzle. Her eyes have a little black under and around them, merging with a black stripe down the center of her long nose, and she has white eyebrows that give her a very expressive face. Her ears are large, triangular, and erect, black on the backs, with white fur inside them

Unfortunately this is the last picture of the process I can divulge. The rest is simply too terrifying for the world to see.

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Cornell West and Richard Wolff talk about Capitalism and White Supremacy » « Bigotry, language, and apologies: building solidarity across social divides

Comments

  1. says

    Awww, give her love from me.
    In Germany the new “low maintenance” front yards fashion is gravel. Some communities have already banned them because they are really taking away wildlife habitats and increase waste water (it may not seem much, but if every house has an additional 20 square metres where the water cannot just seep into the ground but goes into the drains, that adds up).
    Just from a very personal point of view they’re ugly as fuck, they heat up your house in summer and of course, the first ones are now showing that maybe they’re not that low maintenance as moss settles on the gravel.
    My front yard has been overrun by wild strawberries ever since we bought the house. I do have flowers and shrubs and tons of tulips and stuff in spring. I weed some stuff that would overrun the space as well. I absolutely refuse to weed dandelion.
    The backyard is similar, though I do pick a fight with the stinging nettles every year.

  2. Jazzlet says

    Aww Raksha, good to see you’ve been enjoying the sun and the shade we’ve been getting. My boy’s all black and has been finding the sun too much on some days; mind if he was just basking he’d probably be ok, it’s the insistence on running after sticks that does him in when it’s hot.

    We have some grass front and back, but definitely not a lawn, way too unkempt to be called lawns. In a lot of the UK peole now park on what used to be their front gardens, and have chnged the surfacing accordingly, which does cause problems with over loading the drains etc in heavy rrain. There has been talk of legislation but I’ve not heard that it’s been passed, though a Local Authority may have bye-laws about on the subject..

  3. StevoR says

    Awww! (Making it a hattrick of Awws here FWIW. 😉 )

    Beautiful dog and reminds me a lot of my own eleven year old kelpie in looks and behaviour here.

  4. fledanow says

    Thank you for this lovely photo essay. What a way to lift a person’s heart!

  5. says

    @Giliel – Somerville is still suffering from a blacktop fad it had at some point – a huge number of yards were simply paved over, mostly with tarmac. Mulch seems to be the new favorite alternative to that, so it’s a bit of an upgrade, but it was nicer when the yard had grass.

    @Jazzlet – One of the best things about Scotland is the mildness of the weather. When we moved here, it was around 90F/32.2C in the Boston area, and in the 60s and low 70s in Glasgow. The low temperature makes the sun much more bearable for Raksha. She’s not just black, she also has an incredibly thick under-coat, inherited from the Husky side of her family, so overheating happens fast. I think it was around 60/15 here yesterday, so very pleasant. My one regret is the lack of a real winter. The dog and I both miss snow.

    Honestly, we got incredibly lucky with this flat, compared to the garret were were in in Somerville. The hot water from the taps doesn’t work (the management company insists that the barely-there trickle of warm water is sufficient to meet the legal requirements), but it’s separate from the heating for the shower, and other than that it’s a great place to live, for all it’s a huge, ugly apartment building. The courtyard the pictures were taken in is really very nice 🙂

  6. says

    @StevoR – Raksha is 13 now. She developed severe arthritis a couple years ago, and we thought she wasn’t going to last even another year, but getting meds for her made a HUGE difference, and she went from being barely able to walk, to being able to run again.

    And honestly her health has only gotten better since we got here. I know I’ll have to part with her, some day, but that doesn’t seem likely to come as quickly as I had feared.

    @fledanow – I’m glad to help. With everything that’s going on, it means a lot to think I’m able to help anyone in any way.

  7. StevoR says

    @ ^ Abe Drayton : Thanks. yeah Chokko (my dog) is on anti-inflammatory medicine which is helping her and I take it pretty easy with her now. She still loves some good walks, runs and swims but after a while really runs out of stamina and struggles especially in the heat. Hoping I can keep her going okay for a few more years at least and obviously making sure she has as good a life as possible whilst I’m lucky enough to have her.

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