Megan Coughlin

Look, I love how WNBA fans cheer for former team members and players who went to college or high school in the area, but why is this Seattle Storm crowd cheering so much for freakin’ Sophie Cunningham?!?

Chihuly stork-like installation at the St. Louis Botanical Garden. Glass pieces in shades of orange have graceful curves that evoke wading birds, standing on one support in a pond covered in water plants.

Art. This is a set of blue lucite boxes in the middle of a gallery with a large multi-color canvas piece at one end, which is reflected in the bottom, top, and sides of the lucite boxes.

A man in a green shirt (my friend) is sitting on the floor to take a floor-level photo of the blue lucite installation. You can see the multi-colored canvas piece on the back wall and reflected inside the lucite piece.

A golden gargoyle on a roof as seen through a very high, arched window in a gallery.

I had a wonderful few days with college friends in St Louis and with friend Bob and family at Warm Beach, and I barely took any photos. St. Louis was an exercise in thinking of air conditioned spaces to visit (both meanings of the word) and escape the 100-plus “feels-like” temps.

Do they, with their big Harvard brains, not know that telling your blackmailer your top price sets that price? “Up to,” indeed.

I wonder how I get Bertie Woofster signed up for these. He would tear around, but no guarantee he’d actually run to me.

If I could offer Dominique one piece of advice, it would be to wear more subtle shoes so the refs aren’t tempted to call a traveling violation!

Gabby really just picked Sky up under one arm, the way I take my cat to his crate. Delightful.

Her recall of the classics is without peer

A black, white, and brindle cardigan welsh corgi puppy with a freckled snoot is lying on a dining room chair. He is looking up at the camera with a somewhat accusatory expression.

This chair isn’t really big enough to lounge next to the human, and that is the human’s fault.

Layshia has said that they are comfortable with all pronouns (she/they/he).

A cardigan welsh corgi puppy with brindle markings and freckles sits on the first level of a 3-level cat tree. He is looking very alertly at the camera with a bit of a head-tilt.

I guess it is pretty confusing to be a puppy raised by cats.

@stephaniepericich.bsky.social the crows aren’t treating their picnic table very well!

So is this Flappy Bird and mate with a pair of fledglings this year? Or Arrow and Flappy with two fledglings? And if the latter, are the fledglings siblings or niblings? If Flappy’s mate can tolerate me m, they may need a name. Arrow’s mate has never done more than sit on a wire and yell at me.

A fledgling crow on a wooden fence that has seen better days has its mouth wide open and is begging for food from either of two adult crows flanking it. You can tell it’s a fledgling by the pink mouth and by its monotone caw, which it mostly uses to beg for food.

I have a bit of a crow family mystery this year. Arrow and 5 yo offspring Flappy Bird are the only ones willing to come get food while I am on the porch. Their mates want nothing to do with me. There are 2 fledglings this year, and both were nearby and begging from these 2 crows (more in comment).

A black & white cardigan welsh corgi puppy with brindle markings and freckles wearing the dreaded cone. His ears are being pushed sideways and forward like the Flying Nun, and he is mid-bark.

Since the cone mostly operates as a megaphone, cat-catcher, and shin-bruiser, the black & white cardigan welsh corgi with brindle markings and freckles is now wearing a soft, grey, donut-like collar to prevent him from being able to lick his stitches.

Bertie Woofster didn’t seem to appreciate going through this rite of passage, but he’s doing well now and can probably be free of the cone (or donut) soon.

A black & white cardigan welsh corgi is perched on a white couch with gray cushions, next to a woman dressed in black & gray. The puppy is peering down at two pembroke welsh corgis standing below him. One is a tri-color (black, white, and tan) with a tail; the other is your classic, tail-less reddish corgi wearing a black harness.

A black & white cardigan welsh corgi puppy with brindle markings and freckles is in the middle of a fun corgi-fight with his new best friend Twig, a tri-color pembroke welsh corgi with a tail. They are mutually gnawing on each other’s necks.

A black & white cardigan welsh corgi puppy with brindle markings is snuggling upside down into gray couch cushions. He’s taking a little break from the corgi shenanigans.

A red & white pembroke welsh corgi and a black & white cardigan welsh corgi with freckles on his nose drink out of a blue splash pool with cartoon characters as water droplets shimmer all about them.

Bertie Woofster went to his first corgi meet-up yesterday at Dog Yard Bar. Sometimes it was a little intimidating — he was the youngest there, and the only Cardigan — but he ended up having fun times and making a new best friend named Twig.

A black & white corgi puppy in an awkward position on a front porch. His butt is in the air. His head down on the porch, twisted so he’s lying on his left shoulder. His right front paw is stretched back toward his tail.

Another break in the ongoing battle with his tail. It’s not so easy being a Bertie Woofster.

Yes! This one ended up all over and in the crevices of the sofa.

A black & white cardigan welsh corgi puppy with freckles on his snoot and feet looks back at his leash-holder. He is carrying a large pinecone in his mouth, and looks quite pleased.

Bertie Woofster found a wonderful toy on our walk this morning. (It’s a pinecone.) He proudly showed it to other dogs out on their morning walks.

A black & white corgi puppy sprawls on his back in the middle of a wood floor. His mouth is agape and his teeth are showing. It’s exhausting being a puppy whose tail attacks you without mercy.

The problem with being a Cardigan Welsh Corgi is that your tail attacks you out of nowhere! Sometimes you have to take a little break mid-fight.

A black & white corgi puppy with brindle markings and freckled nose and feet sits on the lower level of a two-level cat lounger. He seems unrepentant and unperturbed.

Does Bertie Woofster think he’s a cat, or does he think the cats are dogs? He thinks he can get the cats to chase him and tries to share his toys with them. But he also goes where they go, including the back of the couch, the porch bench, and now this cat lounger.

A black & white cardigan welsh corgi puppy with freckles is lying on a sage-colored blanket draped over the back of a sofa. Behind him are windows that look out to the street, though he is taking a break from his observations to look at the camera with no remorse for stealing the cats’ spot.

Like many corgis before him, Bertie Woofster has discovered the joys of watching the neighborhood from the back of the couch. In this case, he is also hogging the cats’ heating pad.

Sue Bird just started Bird’s Eye View for deep dives.

A black & white cardigan welsh corgi puppy with freckles on his snoot and foot is lying on a blue bed spread. He is mid-bark and very excited about finding this new surface in his house.

Somebody found the guest room bed. Which is mostly orange cat All Ball’s bed, to be honest.

A black & white cardigans welsh corgi puppy lies atop a mound of chewed-up toilet paper on a patterned red rug. Who can say who removed the roll from the bathroom? It truly is a mystery for the ages.

When you find the culprit, please send them over here to apologize for this frame-up.

My first corgi had bunnies. That’s why I got a herding breed vs one with more hunting instincts!

A black & white cardigan welsh corgi puppy with brindle points and freckles is biting a sandal attached to my foot. He is side-eyeing me with a mischievous look.

Something I didn’t realize when getting a puppy this time around: Bertie Woofster has no one but me to chew on. Pokey Jones focused most of his chewing energy on Shrimpy. Got to satisfy those herding/droving instincts somehow!

A crow with his wings akimbo is taking a bath in a terra cotta bird bath on a black metal patio table.

A crow is splashing about in a terra cotta birdbath on a black metal patio table.

Arrow Crow and his offspring from about 4 years ago, Flappy Bird, have been coming around quite a bit to load up on cat kibble when they’re not on nest duty. I can’t really ID them, but they are the only two crows willing to come this close when I’m on the porch. Also, Flappy has a unique call.

An orange cat stands on a camouflage moving pad on which rests a gate framed in black metal with horizontal silver bars. He is standing on the pad with his feet between the bars, much like an athlete doing an agility drill. Only slower.

NoNo Buddy is walking through the slats of this gate-to-be like a ladder drill. Though more slowly.

The Seattle Freeze, right? …RIGHT?!

A black & white cardigan welsh corgi with brindle points (markings) and freckles is lying in a crate atop a large stuffed Lambchop toy. He has just finished yawning and his tongue is licking his nose.

I woke him up at midnight when I got home from the opera and sent him back to bed at one. He wasn’t ready to get up again at 8. This is the first time ever that I have had to wake him up in the morning.