Facts: What happened the week of January 16, 2017?

Significant? Yes and no. — Horrific? Yes. — Positive? We will see … Monday, January 16: Martin Luther King day Ariadne, the European Cold Wave of 2017, makes life unbearable for refugees in Greece, Serbia, and many other locations. The National Observatory of Athens now names extreme weather events because of their increased frequency, similar to the U.S. National Hurricane Center’s convention of naming tropical cyclones. Eugene Cernan, the last of the dozen moonwalkers (all male) to leave footprints in the lunar dust,… Read More

The Hell at the Gateway to Heaven

Photograph © 2001 Mignon Naegeli You expected a life not to be this way. You met your knight in shining armor, and he turned out to be an angry dreamer. He made you doubt your talent, and you gave up, regradless of rave newspaper reviews! He gave you a child you didn’t really want. You saved his life. You loved him despite his irresponsible political views. He stayed with you, depended on you, until… Read More

Black November

Copyright © 2016 Mignon Naegeli Not a great beginning of my favorite season! A severe drought has been plaguing the beautiful trees around our log home. Their leaves shriveled and transformed our yard and dusty driveway into a parched, crumpled, grey-brown landscape, as if they wanted to pay tribute to our last troubadour Leonard Cohen‘s You Want it Darker. I could feel my Female’s recent mood swings, and so did my sisters. We four… Read More

Solveig

Edvard Grieg (photographer unknown) Solveig … from an old Norse name, which was derived from the elements sól (sun) and veig (strength). This is the name of the heroine in Henrik Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt (1876).   The first time the Female discovered the name, she was barely 17. The Youth Theater Society, a sponsor of the Lucerne Theater, was offering unsold tickets to teens for a fraction of their ordinary price, and… Read More

Clapton

The Naegelis, August 1983 – Photograph by Evelyn König Somehow my Female came across Eric’s autobiography. She downloaded the free pages, read them, and bought the book for $1.99. His honest and open live story, published in 2007, triggered an impulse to tell me her own story about the men in her live. Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2016 Mignon and Wolf NaegeliAll Rights ReservedOriginal content here is published under these license terms: X License Type:Read OnlyLicense Abstract:You may view and read the original content in… Read More

To Barklay

Dear Barklay, Please thank your human partner, Charlie Rose, for his interesting broadcasts. My Female was sucked into downloading the free sample of Simon de Pury’s The Auctioneer (as she frequently does with books mentioned on her favorite PBS program). Reading the first pages, she noticed that de Pury flaunts with some of the same words and phrases he hyped on Charlie’s show! The Female grew up in Switzerland and is familiar with the art scene of Basel and with Art Basel. Yes,… Read More

In the Foothills. Meet Willie!

Annebäbi and Willie – Photograph copyright @ 2016 Mignon Naegeli This is a doggie story as hardened as they come. And it includes observations of an old canine campground regular. It’s almost May. The weather in East Tennessee is unlike most of the country’s: mild, sunny, and the humidity as low as it gets around here. Exactly what my humans covet for a few days at a different location. Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2016 Mignon and Wolf NaegeliAcknowledgements: Three photographs by Dean UpsonAll Rights ReservedOriginal content… Read More

Elsa

Elsa – Photograph copyright @ 2016 Mignon Naegeli I promised you recently that I would tell you about another Elsa, not the Adamson’s lioness, but a gentle huge lady I met a few months ago. I really like our new neighbors and their critters. The woman calls me Basquiat Bear, it makes me feel grand! Like those great beasts who hunt for salmon up in the Northwest on the Copper River. Then, we have those… Read More

The ‘Bird’ that Treated Tennessee’s Art ‘Well’

Robert Birdwell – Photograph copyright @ 1992 Mignon Naegeli When the Wolfman was offered employment upon finishing his PhD, my humans eagerly grabbed the chance to remain in the country of their choice, despite already having booked a cabin, pet kennels, (they even had a London lamp post on the dog run) and cargo space for their old Volvo on the QE2 to return to Europe. The Cancellation was graciously accepted by… Read More

Africa 1975 – First Leg

My Female (aka Ms Rüttimann) – Copyright © 1972 Donat Schaad They met in June 1974, after my Female had learned from a journalist that World Wildlife Fund Switzerland was looking for an editorial researcher to join the team. Back then, the organization was managed by three executive directors. The one in charge of the publishing group and of conservation and education projects, who interviewed the skinny girl from Lucerne, turned out to… Read More

My Female’s Brush with the K-9

Selfie with my Female – Photograph Copyright © 2015 Mignon Naegeli It was a beautiful day. Sunny, with decent temperatures for January, especially since the nasty cold weather had prevented us from traveling in our RV, which cannot handle subzero temperatures; meaning, no water! Bad thing for the Female, especially because of her health-related issues. The Wolfman was attending green meetings and had left early. After the Female finished her grooming session she decided… Read More

A Cousin’s Life

Natascha, Marcel, and my Female’s mother, 2001 – Photograph copyright © 2001 Mignon Naegeli It is the time to reminisce, gathering with family and friends. Often distances, whatever and wherever they may be, make closeness difficult—but not entirely impossible, thanks to electronics and inventions of our time. Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2016 Mignon and Wolf NaegeliAcknowledgements: Portrait of Anna by unknown photographerAll Rights ReservedOriginal content here is published under these license terms: X License Type:Read OnlyLicense Abstract:You may view and read the original… Read More