The other day a catalog arrived in the mail. On its cover was the 2014 Orvis Cover Dog, a golden retriever named Hunni. Though we see only a profile, the look on her face is the unmistakable mien of Goldens: happiness rising to delighted contentment. The picture prompted me to dig out two photos of my own dog Jesse, from nine years ago.
.
.
.
.
(I think I see in Jesse’s eye a silhouette of the head of the photographer, me.)
.
.
Glover Park at dusk, Washington, DC, December 21, 2013, at 5:11 pm.
.
.
.
.
I snapped this photo on June 16, 2013, at 8:48:22 pm, standing in the open field near the entrance to Glover Park at 39th and W Streets, NW, in Washington, DC. This was the view facing due north.
.
.
.
Sunday, April 14, 2013, was a fine Spring day in Washington’s Glover Park. There, in a stretch of fields bordered by Foundry Creek and a north/south hiking trail, I found these views.
.
.
.
.
Two Octobers ago, while walking the dog, I came across an eruption of tree mushroom fungi at the base of an old oak (photos). Recently the weathered tree succumbed to old age and city contractors came to chain-saw and remove its above-ground bulk. A stump remains, but it too will soon be ground up and disposed of. And so this October the fungi reappeared to take a colorful final bow.
. 
.
Photos of a “reserved” parking spot on my street in Washington, DC, February 13, 2010. It’s nice to see the tradition of using two metal lawn chairs as space savers is being upheld, well into the 21st century.
.
.
.
.
So here’s the difference between Philadelphia (where I grew up) and Washington, DC (where I live): In Philadelphia it is understood that if you take the time to clear a parking space in front of your house after a snow storm, you then have a valid claim to its exclusive use. Sweat equity confers upon you that right and interest. Digging out gives you dibs. No questions asked.
But in Washington, questions are asked, ethics are examined, situational nuances are parsed. Commentators turn to Locke and Hobbes for guidance. See, for example, the lively discussion engendered by the article: “Can Shovelers “Reserve” Parking Spots They Clear?” in the Washington Post, here; additional views here and here. BTW, WaPo’s online poll, which has received 5000+ votes so far, finds 76% answering “Yes”. The reaction is more even-handed (but less even-tempered) in the dozens of comments posted by readers.
—————
UPDATE, December 11, 2016: The Oxford University Faculty of Law requested permission to reproduce the third photo to illustrate its announcement of an April 2017 event, “From Collective Legal Consciousness to Legal Consciousness of Collective Dissent.” https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/events/collective-legal-consciousness-legal-consciousness-collective-dissent
This afternoon at 4:00pm:
.
.
A couple of years ago, in a short review of a slim book of poetry, Eric McHenry made this observation:
“American poetry — according to one of the many competing caricatures — is dominated by English professors and the minor epiphanies they have while walking their dogs.”
Walking my dog this evening I came across a “growth” attached to the base of a 70-year-old oak tree. Its peach color made my golden retriever look dull in comparison (sorry, Jesse) and its hue intensified as blue evening descended. An example of the power of complementary colors, this was a minor epiphany to my non-professorial American eyes.
.
.
. 