When Chris called to ask if I did pet portraits, I said "Of course!"
What about a BIG dog?
Now that would pose a challenge, but I'm always up for a challenge. And as it turned out, photographing Cooper with his people was no challenge at all! This big Ridgeback was a delight to capture: he was calm, intelligent, expressive, fun, and a real ham.
I couldn't wait to get back to the studio to see the images, and now I can't wait to share a few with Chris, Craig and all my blog readers!
The Pennsylvania Farm Show just ended, and we managed to catch the last few hours of this ginormous indoor (yes, you read that right -- indoor) agricultural exposition. It's the largest indoor "state fair" in the country, and I can tell you this: You haven't lived until you've smelled the smell of 8000 animals confined to a sprawling series of halls.
Actually, I love wandering around the Farm Show every year. Taking kids is fun, too -- but it cramps my style. They get tired after a few hours of cow watching. I could spend days looking at all the exhibits. It's not just cows, y'know. There are spinning demonstrations, cooking seminars, rodeos, my favorite goats, and so much more!
Then there's the Food Court, always our first stop. Each year, agricultural societies and trade associations offer their best made-in-Pennsylvania foods there. It's impossible to sample it all, even if you visit the Farm Show each of the eight days of its annual run. But we always make it a point to get a PA Dairymen's Association milkshake, then we try something new. This year, it was honey ice cream (OK, and maple sugar candies) -- and honey, was it smooth and delicious!
For a few more looks at the Farm Show (all captured on Saturday; for added realism, imagine two kids whining in the background), check my Flickr pics.
By now, most of the people who celebrate Christmas have taken down the tree.
Not me -- we're having too much fun with it!
But then, we don't have to worry about needles dropping on the carpet. For the second year, we've put our Christmas tree on the patio. Kai still thinks glass ornaments make perfect projectiles, so there's no point in having our traditional Frasier fir loaded with German glass ornaments dominating the living room. But we couldn't forego the tree entirely, so...
We turned our tree into a buffet for the birds and squirrels. We hung strands of cranberries and popcorn, along with pinecones loaded with peanut butter and birdseed. It's been a blast to sit by the patio doors and watch the birds and squirrels enjoy the food and shelter the tree provides.
Last year, the tree lasted into March. As long as the HOA doesn't take up arms, we'll leave it up for a month or two again this year. And enjoy those Christmas lights all winter long.
There was a guy doing a very cool polar bear portrait in chalk outside Water's Edge at the Pittsburgh Zoo. Now I feel completely inadequate for my sidewalk chalk scribblings. I need to start thinking outside the hopscotch box.
Now I've gone and done it. I've committed to writing at least one post each day for the month of November. It's all part of the National Blog Posting Month challenge, which was inspired by National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).
I could say I was inspired by the challenge to improve my writing. But I'd be lying. I was, in fact, drawn in by the LOLcat banner you see here.
Feel free to stop by the blog to see if the quirky cat motivates me to write new and better stuff, and hey -- leave some creative ideas while you're here, would ya? Or just look at the pretty pictures that will take the place of thousands of words (they're easier to post!)
And have a happy, more literate November, everyone!
And that lady was me. Yes, in another life, I had five cats. And three dogs. At the same time.
Now I am living a down-sized condo life, with just a husband, two kids and a single dog (and spending roughly 10x the time and effort on current wild creatures, by the way.) But today, I was thinking about one of my long-ago furry-faced friends. Decker was a stray kitten who locked in his highest yield by gazing mournfully at me from the deck (thus, the name) each night for a week. I started taking a little food outside for him. Then he broke down my defenses and I took him to the vet for a thorough checkup...and he became the new inside cat.
And then he took over. He ruled that household, cats and dogs and humans alike. He demanded attention...and fealty. Decker would not drink from a common water dish -- no, he insisted on drinking from a glass (and often from a glass on the counter, I shudder to tell you.) There was a cat with presence, and the greenest, most menacing eyes I've ever seen.
Someday, I will have another cat, I'm sure. But there will never be another Decker.
Before I had kids, I doted on my dogs. Now I don't have nearly as much time to pay attention to pets, but today I spent a little quality time with Robi and grabbed a few photos.
She always keeps a close eye on Carly and Kai and does her best to keep them out of harm's way. Maybe it's the herding instinct, but she mothers them and protects them.
Robi was once a Seeing Eye pup, a guide dog prospect. She was delivered to us directly from The Seeing Eye when she was eight weeks old, and we spent the next year teaching her some basic manners and socializing her. When Robi returned to Morristown to begin her training, the veterinarians there discovered that she had a serious blood clotting disorder. There's no cure, although episodes of spontaneous bleeding can be sometimes be controlled with a transfusion. It was more than enough reason to disqualify her as a guide dog, so we were given the opportunity to take her back as a family pet. We jumped at the chance, although we knew that her clotting disorder could cause grave problems at any time.
Fast forward to two weeks ago. After six trouble-free years, Robi began bleeding internally and we rushed her to the vet. After I.V fluids, compression and a few days at the doggie hospital, she came home. And thankfully, a week later, she's looking and acting like herself again. But we're trying not to take her for granted so much now, knowing how easily we could lose her. And she's enjoying all the extra skritches and treats!
Defying Gravity
Idina Menzel: Wicked (2003 Original Broadway Cast)
