31 posts tagged “photos”
And, in three more days I begin another attempt at 365 (well OK, this year 366) photos. We'll see how that all goes.
Also, the sockeye oil that I have been feeding Marly and Sadie seems to be really doing the trick with their flaky, winter skin. Especially Sadie, who has always had skin issues...even the tips of her ears look to be healing! Tomorrow is doggie bath day - photos to follow.
Anyone have tips on helping Marly get used to me clipping her nails. I do the playing with her feet and toes thing -even going so far as tapping on each nail with various objects. It all goes just fine unless it is with the actual clippers. She has never had a nail cut too low, so it hasn't ever actually hurt her, but she starts screaming and wriggling away like I am trying to murder her. I am not sure where to go from here...
OK really, nap time now.
I wrenched my back late last week and over the weekend it decided to clench up like a vice grip. It is amazing how helpless I have become...just taking the puppy outside to go potty is like some sort of medieval torture. Flying tomorrow is going to be a real joy.
Marly got in big trouble this morning...she is finally hitting her "push it" stage where everything she knows she isn't supposed to do she will now do blatantly and aggressively. For instance, being in the kitchen - she will run through the kitchen just to do it while you are watching. Or getting up on the counters or tables - she completely ignores us now unless we use physical contact to remove her from them. To add to this, she is also tall enough to reach the kitty food on the breakfast nook table, so now I have to find a new place out of doggy reach (I am thinking the guest bathroom counter since that bathroom already belongs to the animals - the litter box is kept in the bathtub there). She got scolded this morning for dumping the kitty food bowl over and getting it all over the place and then again for chewing the (unplugged) plug of the Christmas tree light cord. Since then she has been pouting in her crate and refuses to come out. OK by me...at least I know where she is and that she isn't getting into anything in there.
Of course, Sadie has also been reverting back to some of her naughty puppy ways...mainly, I have caught her in the kitchen, feet up on the counter, scavenging when she thought no one was looking. What am I going to do with these two? I am so blessed that they are both sweethearts with good dispositions and I know once Marly grows up some more she will be a good dog like Sadie usually is. Until then, there will undoubtedly be more distinct moments of wanting to strangle them both!
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Unrelated to my household (t least in any sort of direct way), the neighbors got another dog/puppy. He is absolutely adorable. Scooter. He is a 5 and a half month old Rottweiler and is going to be a gigantic monster of a dog. He is as sweet as can be. Their other recent addition was a Doberman named Dixie. She too is a sweetheart...she arrived just a few weeks before I got Marly and is about the same age as Scooter. Both are rescue dogs. I have been trying to "meet" the pups over there with whichever dog I have out at the time whenever I see them outside so that they are used to me and my animals. Unfortunately, their Great Dane, Molly, is too random in her dislike/aggressiveness towards other people (apparently she is OK with dogs) so we are still steering clear of her. It seems she is overprotective of her family, particularly the daughter who trains her and primarily cares for her. The other plus is that these folks alos have a cat, so all the dogs are used to being around them and though they want to play and chase them, I am not worried about them trying to eat my cats (or anyone else's).
I was speaking with the dad over there this morning (I am terrible...I have NO idea what his name is!) and he was saying that they are going to be building a 6' privacy fence around their yard soon! WOOHOO! This elliminates my need to build one. Granted, I can't leave my pups unsupervised outside ever, but with their dogs blocked off, I no longer have to worry about Sadie taking off to go play with them if she is off-leash. I can't wait!
January 1, is coming up quickly and I am considering another attempt at the 365 photos thing. Now that I am more established in the use of my equipment I think I will be a bit more motivated to keep up withthe photos. And after watching the Flickr group, I have a lot of great ideas to work from if I can't come up with anything on my own on any given day. I am going to see if I can get Neil to do it with me...
That's enough rambling for now. I need to go scrounge up something for lunch and get gifts packed up to be shipped this evening.
Well, okay...I am a week late. So sue me.
Marly hit the three month old mark last Saturday. Today we hauled her into the vet for her monthly check-up and shots along with Bonnie & Clyde for their last Feline Leukemia shots. Marly weighed in at just under 27 pounds. This means that she weighs more than double what she was four weeks ago and is now over half as heavy as Sadie is. Yikes!
Overall vet says she is healthy. We have been having soft stool issues - not to the point of having accidents in the house, so really I am chalking it up to the fact that our kid eats paste (any and everything goes in her mouth and is usually digested unless we can catch it right away). The doc, though, wanted to rule out some tummy bugs that puppies can get so she is on some medicine for a week or so.
And because I have been neglectful of shooting photos of my other critters...here is Clyde 'helping' me while I worked on Friday. He makes a very snuggly paperweight!
I finally got all the bird photos onto my computer so one of these evenings I might actually get through some of them and pick some for you all to see. But, for now, I am headed off to bed...hope everyone's having a good weekend!
Project 365.45: Breakfast Nook - Yesterday I spent most of the day cleaning (vacuuming up animal hair - despite this cold snap, they are all shedding like they are going to go bald!) and rearranging/reusing furniture. I have been looking for a hutch or cabinet to put on this wall in my kitchen for cookbook storage as well as possible china and stemware storage. The problem is that everything that I love is way out of my current price range. Instead, I changed gears. I took the bookcase that was in my office to use in the kitchen for the time being and found a new and bigger bookshelf for the office. Essentially killing two birds with one stone and saving me bunches of money since I needed more book storage in the office too. I will be going to get the new bookshelf for the office tomorrow and then this week painting the wall it will go on so I don't have to move it again once I get it situated.
You might note in the photo here that the kitty dishes are on the breakfast table. This is to keep the dog from chowing down on kitten food. Also, the big blob of paint on the wall is indicative of my loss of steam on the painting project front. Eventually the kitchen will all be that color.
I am personally fascinated with vultures. They may not be the most beautiful of the avian world, but they intrigue me. They are very social birds (wild vultures will come hang out at the vulture aviary at the center) and to watch them fly...well, I have never seen anything more graceful soaring on the thermals in the summer. I am particularly fond of the black vultures - no offense to Sadie here.
Sadie has a condition called leucism that causes her unusual light coloring (she is NOT, as I have learned, albino which is an entirely separate condition). She was a big show-off for the cameras while we were there which made her really fun to shoot!
Chilly, but gorgeous morning...the goldfinches are back in full force today. There was a flock of about ten or so on the feeder and in the tree this morning. Some of them haven't lost all of their grey winter feathers yet (like this guy) and others are in their full, bright yellow glory.
Dudley is the unfortunate example of what happens when people do not respect nature. He is now a resident of the Carolina Raptor Center because he has imprinted on humans and can no longer survive on his own in the wild.
A couple more birds for you!
King Arthur - Golden Eagle: He was found under power lines in 1993. His left wing had to be amputated due to electrocution injury. I must say, his missing wing didn't reduce the magnificence of this bird in the least. He was full of spunk. In particular, he really, really didn't want the tether around his ankle - he was determined that he was going to fly!
Russell - Red Tailed Hawk: Russell was found on the side of the road with a bruised back and eye trauma. Probably the result of a car collision. He is now unable to see well enough to hunt.
Well, stage one of the garden effort has been mostly completed. The veggies I purchased have been planted in their respective pots. Of course, after all the weather checking I did before buying them, now they are predicting below freezing nighttime temps for the next week or so starting on Thursday. Grrr. I will have to cover them (and then uncover them during the day so they don't cook).
I think if I am careful, though, they will be just fine. In another week or two I will look into the cucumber plant and the bush beans. I can't wait to have fresh veggies!!! I also still need a couple hotsas for the front porch.
Last night Sadie and I hung out on the patio and enjoyed the lovely weather. The daytime highs are supposed to dramatically cool off for a bit again too. Mid 50's to 60's...which the Northwesterner in me will like, but at the same time, I was getting pretty used to this 70's and 80's weather! Here's a full view of the patio with the plants and new furniture...
The grill (and house) is just out of the photo to the right. You can also view my beer there on the table. Ha! Good old RedHook IPA...reminds me of back home.
In just four weeks Mom will be out here and the real garden/yard planning will begin. I have some ideas that I want to try to do while she is here, or at least get some hands-on advice for - like laying pavers to extend the patio area. But mostly, we are going to just draw up plans and get stuff mapped out. I am fine with the execution, I just don't know where to start with any of it. Over the next couple years though, my neighbors are going to be shocked - I am determined to surpass a certain neighbor who currently looks down upon me because I haven't jumped right into beautifying my yard. Won't they be sorry! Once I am comfortable on the inside the ouside is scheduled to look just as nice if not nicer. SO there!
#38 - Clyde in a Box:
Clyde was just chillin' in this box - a RedHook beer box to be exact. Then he hear his sister playing in the kitchen and realized it was much easier to get into the box than it was to get back out of the box. Eventually, Bonnie came to see what the commotion was and knocked the box entirely over with her brother in it. Ahhhh sibling love!
#39 - Adler: Adler is a 2 year old bald eagle that was presented at the PhotoWILD! even at the Carolina Raptor Center on Sunday. I have better photos to follow once I get them sorted through and names matched up with birds, but for now, I really liked this one as representative for the day. He is an amazing animal - why anyone would want to hurt ANY animal, let alone our national bird is beyond me. (FYI - bald eagles take up to 5 years to get their white head feathers...because they are fully grown in just six weeks, it is nature's way of separating out those that are ready to mate and those that aren't old enough yet.)
#40 - Happy Dog: Today was another gorgeous day in the South. Eighty degrees and sunny with a lovely breeze. Sadie was loving the evening sun in the backyard while I finally planted the vegetables and then sat and enjoyed the sun with her.
