Fun with dogs

According to urban legend, dogs can't see colors, but I'm not convinced of that. Out and about this morning, Lucky zeroed in on a bright blue Pepsi can lying in a field of weeds. It's possible that he was attracted by something else -- the shininess, maybe -- but it certainly stood out to *me*, a bright and not at all natural blue, and he was definitely going for it visually.

He picked it up and carried it back to the house. In addition to being a fossil-hunting dog, Lucky is also a trash-collecting dog. Cans and bottles are the exact right size and shape to be carried in his retriever jaws, and he's never happier than when he's carrying something. If he finds an appropriately-shaped piece of trash on our walks, he'll cheerfully carry it home for me. It's very cute.

He's also discovered the joys of gourds. Last Christmas I got a bag of gourds for decoration, but never really did anything with them, so Orion appropriated them as shooting targets. There are now gourds, riddled with bullet holes, scattered around the yard. Like Pepsi cans, they're just the right size and shape to be carried in a retriever's mouth, which means that Lucky keeps finding them and bringing them back to the house.

And for a good cause...

If you haven't heard about it, livelongnmarry is a fandom fundraiser auction to raise money for efforts to keep same-sex marriage legal in California. Their userinfo explains their purpose and bidding "rules", and has links to organizations such as Marriage Equality USA where auction winners will be asked to donate their pledge. Of course, you can simply donate without joining in the bidding.

Many people are offering fandom-related services (custom fanfic or icons, for example) in return for a donation, but if fannish stuff isn't your thing, there's a wide variety of other goods and services available. Lots of people are offering jewelry, custom knitting/sewing, original art and other crafts. For something a little more unusual, you could get your manuscript critiqued by SF writer Elizabeth Bear, be killed off in a story written just for you, or have a cameo in a webcomic. A number of pro authors are involved, including Elizabeth Bear, Pamela Dean and Martha Wells.

Bidding opens at 12:01 a.m. (Pacific Time) on July 1, so there's still time to offer a creative service of your own -- or you could come back and bid. (Or simply donate.)