It's a Dog's Life...

On the days that I trudge down to the basement to walk a mile and a half to nowhere Blue likes to join me. And I don't mean he likes to join me in the workout...as I puff along, sweating, cramping, waiting for the commercials to go away so I can watch something half-way interesting...this is what he does:










Oh the life of a spoiled dog...

Meet Poe

This is Poe. He sits beside me on my desk and keeps me company on the evenings and weekends while I work. He's my left-hand man, my stress relief, and sometimes my distraction. He's much happier now that he's out of his 1 cup of water from the pet store and into a gallon and a half bowl. He's a handsome fella.

Shot Me an 8-Point Buck!

Shot with my Nikon, that is. ;) You all know I could never kill an animal! This guy was a beauty. We were hanging with some friends and he walked through with four of his lady friends. He was kind enough to stop and pose for a few minutes before resuming his evening stroll.

(Please ignore the graininess of this photo - it was getting dark and this was the best I could do!)

I <3 Hummingbirds

Today I was finally able to capture hummingbird photos without them being on the feeder - something I've been trying to accomplish for quite some time. When Ike came through Kentucky last weekend our screen got torn off the side of the deck where the feeder usually hangs. Without the screen there the hummingbirds kept getting caught inside the porch. For fear of them not finding their way out, being hit by a ceiling fan or eaten by a dog we decided it would be best to move the feeder to the evergreen tree in the backyard until we get the screen fixed. Had I known that was all it would take I'd have tried this a year ago! Now when the hummingbirds decide to take a rest from eating or want to check things out before they approach the feeder they perch in the branches of the evergreen - perfect photo op!

(Click for a larger view)

Pure Luck - Hummingbird Moth

Yesterday as Jason was casually looking out the front door he started all of a sudden flipping out yelling, "Camera! Quick! Hummingbird Moth! Hummingbird Moth!". After realizing what he was saying I snatched up my camera and ran to the front porch where we have a small barrel of flowers in full bloom. Sure enough, hovering over the flowers was a hummingbird moth! I've seen photos of these before but have never seen on in person and it was so cool! It was much smaller than I expected it to be. In the haste to get a good photo I switched the camera to auto mode, and glad I did because I only got four shots before it flew away. This is the only shot that turned out worth a darn. Jason has some more on his Flickr page.

Clearwing Hummingbird Moth

July Flickr Mixer

Yesterday we had a local Flickr Mixer outing and headed down to Waterfront Park to take portrait photos. It was very humid, but we all had a great time. My photos from the shoot are here. After the shoot some of us headed back to the house to hang out on the porch and chit chat more about photography and new places to shoot. Jason and I will be going on a Safari workshop in September and I can't wait! John and Jenn may be coming with us as well. Hopefully we can get a whole group to join us!

Nikon D80 - First shots

Over the weekend I sold my Nikon D50 and upgraded to a Nikon D80. Here are a couple of my favorite shots from my first outing with the new camera body. These were taken at the pond on the grounds of Louisville Memorial Gardens East.

Momma duck and her almost grown brood:

Dragonfly at rest:

Cicada City!

Apparently it is the time of year for cicadas to hatch, or whatever it is they do.  We have 3 trees in the back yard filled with moulted cicada shells.   It really is quite an eerie site when standing under the trees and looking up (see photo below).  All of the lower branches look like this from the underside of the leaves.  And the ground around the trees is littered with shells as well.  We are now starting to hear them sing when sitting outside...summer is here!

Though not all of the cicadas are singing their song.  It turns out that dogs seem to have a craving for cicadas...and what we have is a free-for-all cicada buffet.  Blue doesn't care for them too much, but I'd be willing to bet that Lois Lane and Hardy have eaten three days worth of meals in cicadas alone.  It's a miracle there are any left to sing between them and the squirrels munching away.  *gag*    So if the cicadas go extinct this year, I'm pretty sure I know why.  

One of the survivors:

View from under the tree:

The ground around the trees:

Clean Dog Smell

Today all three dogs went to the groomers. Hardy got a bath and his summer cut and Blue and Lois Lane each got a bath. Since Hardy is going on 15 years old he is more grey than black now. But he has a nice black stripe down the center of his back when he is shaved, which we call his racing stripe. Blue and Lois Lane are so soft with their shiny and clean coats. All of them smell so good!

Hardy

Blue

Lois Lane

Property Photos

Jason and I went out to the property to look around now that the trees have started to get their leaves and everything is starting to bloom - wow what a difference just 3 weeks makes from when we first went out to look at it!  We also wanted to figure out exactly where we would clear for our camper and general living area as well as find the best place to put in a circular drive to easily get the camper and vehicles in and out.  I took a few photos while we were there, of course it's mostly just trees!  Also added an arial view from Google maps showing our tract.  :)

Photos are here!