Petaluma is Dogtown. There's no denying it. Head out for a walk and you're going to meet a dog or three. Here are a few furry friends that Maddie's met lately...

Occasionally, graffiti transcends the form...

Yesterday morning, Napa poet Jenifer Forseth and her precocious son Oliver dropped by our house for a visit...

"It's summer again," said Maddie, rolling in the grass in front of my feet. She kicked her legs in the air, stretching and yawning as she did so. "Hurrah for summertime."

For Christmas last year, Jennifer's mother Jill gave me a gift subscription to Weird Tales, the current incarnation of one of the original genre magazines, the very magazine that launched the careers of H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, C.L. Moore, Ray Bradbury, and countless others. Needless to say, I was thrilled by this thoughtful present, particularly since I couldn't find Weird Tales at any of my local booksellers, and I hoped, by reading the magazine once touted as "the Unique Magazine," to gain a grasp on the sort of fiction they currently publish, and perhaps even submit a few stories, hopefully getting my professional writing career moving in a positive direction...

"Where have you been?" demanded Maddie, stomping along behind me as I carried my pack back to the office and dropped it on the floor. "I've been waiting for hours!"