Remembering Agramonte

Ten and a  half years ago, Agramonte and I celebrated my birthday in Batavia, Illinois. In his third year of life, the purebred Tibetan Mastiff was such a good friend:

He was our canine Grandson (Nieto). Our human Neitas took part in the celebration (Why are there only 7 1/2 candles on my cake? I think they know why!):

They welcomed Agramonte into their home just before Christmas in 2007:

He knew he was loved:

Agramonte played in the snow. His winter fur was so dense that he could sleep in a snowdrift:

We first met him when we "migrated" back to our second home in April, 2008. Agramonte was 5 months old:

He grew up very rapidly. Here he is at 10 months of age:

When one year old old, he weighed 108 pounds and his mane was growing:

Neighbors sometimes thought our granddaughters had a lion on a leash. He loved the girls and was very protective of them, not in a fierce way but he would stand between them and any possible threat. One day I walked Agramonte with them to a small playground in a nearby park. The girls played on the swings and slides, so I decided to walk Agramonte a little way down the path. However, when we reached a turn where he could no longer see the children, he stopped dead, sat down and absolutely refused to go any further. I tried to make him stand and lead him on until I realized he did not want to lose sight of his treasured little friends:   

Here he is at 10 years of age in 2017, as he watched me barbecue a chicken in the back yard. If he wanted to, he could have overpowered me and inhaled that bird:

Moncada, another Tibetan Mastiff and Agramonte's little "brother," joined the family in 2018.  This is how the mastiffs spend most of their days:

A few days later, Cazador, a black Standard Poodle puppy, made them a doggie threesome:

Agramonte, the alpha, greeted the newest member of the pack:

Agramonte always loved the snow. His mane became huge during winter:

We last visited Illinois and saw Agramonte in early April, 2019. Sad to say, this was my last photo of him, with Cazador, back in September, 2018:

Our Illinois family flew down in April 2019 to join us for a short but memorable vacation on the Florida Keys.  "The sun comes up and the sun goes down. The hands on the clock keep going around..." And then there was the Coronavirus.

Tranquility Bay sunset:

April memories: Sedate Black-necked Stilts in formal garb, reflecting... 

...and a Northern Cardinal. There are old traditions-- “When a red cardinal visits your yard, it’s a visitor from heaven”. . . "The red cardinal bird symbolizes the phases of restoring when going through great difficulties with greater hope in God"... "Seeing a red cardinal after a death can be a message for you from the divine"... “When a cardinal appears, a loved one is near...,”

During our last visit to Illinois in May, 2019, it was clear that Agramonte's health was failing, He retained his sweet disposition despite a loss of energy.

The COVID restrictions have kept us apart since then. 

Despite treatment, his attempts to walk became increasingly painful and impaired. Finally he could not even stand up. For a large breed at 13+ years, his "dog age" calculator says that both he and I are about the same age. 

The veterinarian just made a home visit and helped Agramonte say goodbye.

A little spark of consciousness has been extinguished, and the universe is somehow diminished.

Goodbye, Agramonte, you big friendly, fluffy, furry phlegmatic doormat of a dog.

Sunset in Batavia, Illinois:

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Linking to:

Fences Around the World

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

Camera Critters

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Natasha Musing

Our World Tuesday

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World

Timeless Thursday

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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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Birding Bliss

Sunset over the lake at Jones Meadow, a little "pocket park" near our condo in North Aurora, Illinois:



A bit later, the view of the sky from the adjacent marsh:



Mary Lou and I participated with Kane County (Illinois) Audubon in a Global Big Day bird count on May 5. Our assigned territory was Bliss Woods Forest Preserve in Sugar Grove, Illinois, a favorite place to visit during migration. 

This also provided one of the few opportunities we had to get out, due to other more pressing obligations. During our two hour early morning watch, we only saw 36 species, but there was lots of color!

Yellow Warblers were singing and courting:







Newly-arrived Baltimore Orioles dashed through the treetops:







A Rose-breasted Grosbeak provided a study in black and white...



...and red:

 





Mary Lou found another species which continued to carry out the color scheme--

A pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers:







Maintaining two homes and the associated travel has been stressful. Now that we have acquired "two of everything" it is time to let half of them go. We are busy giving away all the furniture in our second home condo. Here are some of the last items being carted off:




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Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Our World Tuesday by Lady Fi

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue

Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jesh

 Linking to Fences Around the World by Gosia

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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display

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Crops & Clips: Flashback to September, 2013

This post again finds me searching my archives for images which match the themes of critters, fences, skies, flowers, macros and reflections. It is a retrospective view of photos taken three years ago, in September 2013. Poring through all these photos reminds me of creatures and sights I might expect to see again at this time of year. Let's see how far I need to go into the month to find at least one for each meme. If I can get them all I will have won the game twenty-one months in a row since starting in January, 2015. This month I almost failed, as I encountered few fences, none of which was very interesting, and only one found its way into a photo.  

We began the month at our second home in northeastern Illinois. I captured this memorable sunset as storms threatened:



On September 2nd we  were pleased to find a Carolina Wren along the Fox River in Batavia. While not rare, this species is somewhat uncommon here:



At Nelson Lake we saw flocks of stately Cedar Waxwings:



A Cooper's Hawk roosted on a lamp post near our condo:



Among the southbound migrants were many Red-eyed Vireos:



Along the river, a Great Egret reminded us of Florida:



A Red-headed Woodpecker fed its nearly full-grown nestling:

By the middle of the month we were back home in Florida, where it rained almost every day, but we were greeted by favorite butterflies-- a Zebra heliconian sipping Ligustrum nectar...



...a male Julia heliconian...



...and a White Peacock on some yellow flowers:



Prairie Warbles were fairly common. Some breed locally but many more join us to spend the winter here:



Morning Glory bloomed:



The Harvest Moon was setting when we walked out to the wetlands on September 19th:



Northern Waterthrushes were moving through...



...as were Worm-eating Warblers,...



...Ovenbirds,...



...and Northern Parula warblers:



A White-tailed buck was in prime condition:



Searching my archives, I had trouble finding a fence. This wooden post does not suffice, but an Eastern Phoebe found it to his liking:

 

Upon re-reviewing all my photos, I needed a magnifying glass to see this incidental wooden fence. It was erected around an observation deck and shelter under construction at Lippold Park in Kane County, and taken on September 6th. Yes, the fence is really there!



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Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa). 

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

Linking to Today's Flowers Friday by Denise

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display

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