Dog Historic Markers, etc.

Joe: Things are hunky dory. Recent outings included a lovely, special dinner at Sparrow Meat Market and Produce (dreamy tiramisu) and another lovely, special dinner at Paesano’s (terrific chestnut puree soup). The Bolognese at Haute Joe’s was a one of several “delicio s” meals this week.

Dog Historic Markers: Dave Barry coined this term in his 1993 article “The Hidden Life of Dogs” http://www.funnytimes.com/samplepages/dogs.pdf The concept, described here, has a lot of resonance for us doggie owners. “... the house contains the most wondrous thing in the world: the kitchen counter. One time a piece of turkey fell off of it. The dogs still regularly visit the spot where it landed, in case it shows up again. There's an invisible Dog Historic Marker there.” Of course it’s invisible, Dave! We’re talking Smell-O-Vision here. Some local favorite Dog Historic Markers include the racoon house at the Summers-Knoll School dumpster and the woodchuck haven recently turned into a facilities building site at County Farm Park. Watch out County Parks and Recreation folks, you may need to “think like a chuck”, as our Antietam ranger friend told us, to prevent wily woodchucks from undermining your foundation. A less frequently visited marker is the Magical Bone Bush in front of a local church. Sniff, sniff, sniff the ground, raise your head and sniff, snatch that slice of cow femur hanging in the bush, trot, trot, trot home proudly. Crunch!

Art News: Parmigianino’s enigmatic Antea in a one painting exhibit at the Frick, “a beauty and a mystery”: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/22/arts/design/22fric.html?ref=design Some of you may recall from Art History 102 that Parmiginanino is not a famous cheesehead, but rather the painter of the weird Mannerist “Madonna of the Long Neck” http://www.artchive.com/artchive/p/parmigianino/long_neck.jpg. I like Antea better.