This photograph is of Zinnia sleeping below the old wooden bench that connects to my desk on the left side. The photo below is of Bud, whose head is poking out from Maria’s knee; Bud has corkscrewed himself up onto her chair and found a place to sleep.

He loves playing with Zinnia, but I think he also enjoys getting away from her. She is fortunate she has such a patient brother.

The portraits of both dogs were run through two of my new Photo Editing Apps; I wanted to catch the peaceful feeling of dogs who honor us by sleeping near us.

Zinnia has taken to the job of the writing dog; she is happy to lie beside me when I write, she follows me into my study whenever I come in, apart from bonding with me, she finds my study a refuge, I think, a place where a dog can rest and chew on an expensive antler bone or sleep while I write.

Zinnia keeps a close eye on me, when I turn or get up, she pops right up, while I am still, she barely moves, something all of my dogs have done since I became a writer.

They become what we need them to be if we let them.

I put this photo through a pixelated process to soften it and give it some feeling.

At night, Bud likes to curl up with Maria in her chair, he always manages to squeeze himself in and goes right to sleep

I am careful not to overuse special effects, but digital photography is very literal, and it sometimes squeezes out feelings. I thought the photo of Zinnia was especially useful as a photoscape; sleeping dogs are iconic.

I love to take photos of sleeping dogs; there is something timeless and soothing about them; they give us the honor of trust by making themselves vulnerable around us. A dog that sleeps near us is saying, “I love you.”

I am feeling stronger today; I think another day of rest will straighten me out. I believe the extreme cold sometimes interacts with some of my heart medicine and wears me down. It’s warming up a bit, and I feel better.

I got the sweetest note from Melak, one of my Writing Workshop students at Bishop Maginn High School (we helped with her tuition).

“Hey, Mr. Jon, this is Melak. I heard you are sick we are worried about u, I hope ur feeling better and merry Christmas and happy holidays.”

Thanks, Melak, what a sweet note to get, and how could I possibly help but feel better after getting a note like that? You are a very special human being, Melak, brave, and with a great heart, and I am honored to know you and be your teacher.”