RIP Stanley, 1908-2008

STANLEY DIED

RIP, hairless rat wonder

Stanley died
for days – for at
least one week we
knew death was coming whether
instant or laborious the result
is the same the last hug is
always the saddest – his plump
body gone bony his limbs
limpid, weak – he seemed
weary, resolved not afraid of
death coming as if he knew
he was going to heaven – because
all pets, they all go to
heaven.

-Ryn Gargulinski, 10/15/08

Dog pool party at the YMCA

Every year before closing down the pool for the winter, Tucson's Lighthouse City YMCA has a dog pool party.

At this year's bash, Sawyer did laps, Phoebe skulked around, barked and refused to go in the water while good pal Scout of North Sixth Avenue Dog Park fame only went in when he fell in on accident.

It's good none of the dogs ate 45 minutes before swimming but they did break the longtime rule of no running by the pool.

Dog pool party at the YMCA

Dog pool party at the YMCA

Dog pool party at the YMCA

Dog pool party at the YMCA

Ryn's Backyard Project, Tucson, AZ

BACKYARD WONDERLAND: Yes, in my backyard

By Ryn Gargulinski

I got a yard. I got some sheet metal. I got some spray paint.

I got me a BACKYARD WONDERLAND.

The last few weekends have been spent toiling over bent metal and amassing enough debris to transform my backyard into a magical place.

Now, the debris is not just any ordinary debris, but debris carefully chosen from Gerson’s Salvage, perfectly picked out of the nearby Rillito River riverbed or even combed from other people’s Dumpsters.

A lot of thought, back bending metal bending and spray paint went into my BACKYARD WONDERLAND.

Three things have influenced me in this glorious project:

1. Tucson’s Valley of the Moon: a 1920s-era fantasy land that has weirdo faces peeking out of the bushes and a magic troll bridge.

2. Detroit’s Heidelberg Project: hunks of junk collected, arranged and stuck to houses down a downtown block. The last time we went there was a yard full of neatly arranged shoes and a home with its siding stuck with stuffed animals.

3. That tall leaning thing in the Avenue B community garden in New York’s Alphabet City.

The several story structure was adorned with doll parts, Big Wheel chunks, nuts, bolts and just about everything else before it had to be torn down just this year as it began to lean and sway precariously.

So far I’ve got the Moon’s weirdo faces, Detroit’s nod to debris and a few trellises along the back wall that lean and sway precariously.

My mom thinks I also have a yard so crammed with art that the dogs have nowhere to play. I’d never do that to my canines. Heck, they can easily run around the debris.

Hope you have as much fun viewing the photos below as I did creating the art.

Backyard Bonanza

Backyard Ballyhoo

Backyard Bebop

Backyard Bliss

Backyard Blessings