Tasha Dog

Today has been a sad day for my family.  Our beautiful Tasha Dog left us after 11 and a half years.  We thought she was the best dog ever, very loyal, obedient and loving.  She loved camping and would sleep under the campervan no matter how cold it was.  We put her in the car to sleep one particularly cold night and she did not appreciate this at all.  We picked Tasha out of a litter of 12 pups.  When she was a pup the vet told us not to play tug of war with her as it can loosen the teeth.  We had a young male come to stay and we passed this information onto him but he played tug of war.  A short time later Tasha got tetanus from dirt getting into one of the teeth.  Tasha loved her food ball.  We would fill it up for her in the morning and she could push it around the lawn until she got every little bit of food out of it.  Max was a good trainer and the disciplinarian when Tash was young.  This paid of well as Tash was very obedient and we could take her anywhere.  When my mum moved into a nursing home I was able to take Tash in to visit her which helped cheer mum up.  Tash was a snorer and already we are missing her snoring.  In the last couple of weeks we allowed her to come into the lounge room.  She never came onto the carpet unless invited.  She was a real labrador who loved to eat and would do so quite happily.  Every night from about 5.30 she would start reminding us it was nearly her meal time.  She would pace around the kitchen area and not settle until we fed her which was 6 o'clock.  If given a bone it seemed she became very secretive.  (She would give us the bone back if we asked her to.) She would take the bone and give it a lick and have a look to see if we were still watching her and if so she would move so we couldn't see her.  I can't think of one person who didn't love or like Tasha.  She was friendly but would leave you alone if you wasn't a dog person.  She loved people, pats, baths, food, camping, walking, sitting in the laundry looking over her domain and just being with us wherever we were.  Each month she had a bath with Whiffy dog.  She loved these bath dates and would happily jump up in the trailer to be washed.  Tasha now rests in our backyard in the spot where she loved to lie in the sun.  As Max was putting the rubbish out tonight he looked up into the sky and saw what appeared to be three stars lined up.  I went out to look at them and have named it Tashas Tiara.  That was the first thing that came into my mind when I saw them.  Below you can read that they are actually Spica, Mars and Saturn all lined up.  (Thankyou to the website I found this information on, I appreciate it).  To me they will always be Tashas Tiara and I in my mind will continue to think this is a sign from Tasha that she is happy, out of pain and doing good.  Tasha will never be forgotten.

Mars, Saturn and Spica Conjunction

What? In August 2012, Mars and Saturn will be easily visible close together in the evening twilight sky to the unaided eye. Mid-month, Mars will change position relative to Saturn as it, and the planet Earth (on which we are living) move at different speeds in their respective orbits. Saturn is also moving in its orbit but its much greater distance from the Earth means that it doesn’t move noticeably over this time period. Spica (the brightest star in the ancient Greek constellation Virgo ‘The Virgin’) acts as a fixed reference point to compare the movement of both planets to. A flip book showing how the Mars, Saturn and Spica conjunction will appear can be downloaded here: Spica_Mars_Saturn_Flipbook_August_2012

Where do I look? Look low above the Western horizon at the end of evening twilight.

When? 10 – 20 August 2012

Equipment requirements? None. However, a pair of binoculars will provide a better view of the event. Note that a small telescope will show Saturn’s rings, and Titan (Saturn’s largest moon).

Mars, Spica and Saturn will be easy to see with the unaided eye.