I was on my way to the subway this morning to meet a friend for lunch, and I saw this – a Far Side just begging to be written:

It then reminded me that a few weeks ago I’d seen this – all the traditional Japanese Autumn symbols set up for some portraits at a local dog boutique (jugo-ya full moon, tsukimi dango, pampas grass or could be bush clover – both are traditional Autumn symbols and I can’t tell from the photo but would guess the former):

The former surprised me a lot less than the latter. I suppose it’s because when I first came to Japan, it was not very usual to see a dog that was not a “traditional” Japanese dog (Shiba or Akita, etc.); and the dogs you did see were usually chained up outside the family house on a chain or rope that always seemed just a little bit too short. Now, of course, only several years later, you can barely go for a walk without tripping over a pack of long-haired dachshunds or several chihuahuas and you are then at the other extreme with scenes like this (and, in case you are wondering, there is no baby):