4/52 Weeks for dogs -- "Stair"

(I admit, the grammar geek in me laughs at the homophone. Okay, I'm really geeky.)

Managed to get enough of a break in the rain yesterday to go shoot some photos for an hour or two. I actually ended up at my old middle school, which is now pretty much boarded up and in dire need of repair throughout. There's a set of stairs that go up to the high school, which has been utterly, completely redone, all brick and glass and huge buildings. I have a mural in there that I'm shocked is still standing after what now... uh, twenty years? Wow, it has been. Oh man, dated myself. ;)

But it was a great place to take shots of the dogs and I'll remember it on the weekend. It's just got a lot of neat spaces to use.

Caleb, on the stairs... sheesh, I've rarely had this problem with a dog. He's hard to keep weight on - the last one I had like that was Ali. Liblet is a picky son of a gun, oddly enough. (Unless it's something I'm eating, in which case he wants it bad. "Yum, lima beans!" )

Simon on the stairs... Ten minutes from the school and we're at Fort Ward. There was this sea lion out in the Sound barking at us and then it swimming closer and closer in fascination trying to figure out what the heck Simon was... and Simon was like, "That is the scariest, ugliest thing ever, wow." We decided the car was the better point of valor when it started to lumber onto the beach, eep! Those things are huge.



And of course, a couple of headshots...

Silly Simon...

"You mean I'm not supposed to be grabbing this out of your hand and running off with it? Oooops."

Such a nutterbutter.



Unfortunately, I really don't like how his toe appears to be healing- which is, it's not. :/ Vet comes back next week to take a peek at it, along with oh, five other animals in the house. I'm just going to hand him my paycheck and call it even. ;)

3/52 - "On the Rocks."

My 52 Weeks for Dogs picture this week of Simon.

I think we might do a local calendar this year of Simon on places on Bainbridge Island. :) We've had some pretty serious interest in folks thinking he might make a good card line as well...

I loved this shot, but didn't use it this week, it was so close to last week's shot in color and tone.





Tired. I will just sum up the weekend with Caleb = total happy idiot git. It was one of those moments when I wanted to throttle his little smiling, whining, barking face. Except at the hotel where he was a good good boy. He's got lovely hotel manners. <3 I'll take what what I can get this weekend.

Cardi Boyz haz won internetz?

see more dog and puppy pictures

One of my friends sent this to me and said -- Hey, wait, aren't these YOUR dogs? XD

I'm like... yes? Wait, is that on... hahahahhahahahah! It's on the LOLdogs (Ihazahotdog) site.

Wow, after all these years, I have finally won the internet today I guess. That and I can't stop laughing at all the captions. Caleb's staring at me like I've lost my marbles. Which is okay, he was staring at Simon like that too!

Simon 2/52 - "Mister Blue Sky"

It's funny... I was talking to my dad the other night. Now, my dad used to be a professional photographer when I was a kid. He's taken some incredible shots, ones that I sort of hold up and tell myself -- "I want to have a shot like this in my gallery some day."

So, we spent a good half an hour talking lenses, cameras, and lighting and him telling me that he was going to digitize his collection of slides (yes please, please!) I don't want to lose those. One of my favorite memories as a kid was to be in the King Tut exhibit before it opened to the public, and he took some absolutely amazing photographs of pieces that I've never seen in any book out there.

That and he taught me ELO was one of the best groups ever. ;) Hahaha. Well, we think so, anyway.

One of the things I started to notice was that I had a lot of shots of my other dogs shooting up at them, be it on the deck or rocks, or what have you, but really none of Simon like that. Two, I don't have a lot of truly posed shots of Simon, where I ask him to sit and wait while I shoot. (He's such a go go getter, haha!) Three, that I haven't gotten a lot of shots of him outside of the yard - I take him everywhere, but my camera, not so much! Four, uh, wow, he's a goof and always has his tongue flopping out because he's always having a great time. XD I failed four, but man, he's just too darn happy. I guess that's an okay one to fail, we'll get it sometime!

So, a break in the pouring weather, the beach down at Fay Bainbridge, and just enough time to grab some shots before the rain banded back and slammed back in.


Photo from the other angle -- you can really see the clouds coming in.



Tricksy, he thinks he is!


I love the grass here.

It's amazing that ...

What blows my mind is this. How come it is I can look at Caleb on a daily basis and he still looks like this goofy, gangly puppy?

Then I shoot a picture like this, just one of those off the cuff, non posed pictures--



Where's my puppy? I swear, who is this strange animal in my lens? That's not my dog. I have to have a camera that teleports, right? It maybe takes future shots? I'm so bringing it to Emerald Downs and shooting the winner of the Longacres Mile. Make myself a mint, right? Ahh, of course I think about using the power for evil, what can I say?

Of course, the next picture brings it all back into perspective.


Caleb: "Bro? Tic-Tac."

Simon 1/52

Manymuddypaws put out a feeler for new folks to join the 52 Weeks of dogs project on Flickr...

I've loved all the photos she did last year -- in fact, before I even started my blog, I had been sticking up photos of my dogs over there, saw Pixel and was like, "Wow, that's the cutest Cardi ever!" (Hey now, I'm a sucker for a gorgeous merle, I am, shh.) If you haven't been to her blog or seen her photography - you need to! Beautiful stuff!

I love photography. I love dogs. Combine the two and I'm happy... as you no doubt can tell from my blog.

The dog who I picked officially to do the project this year was Simon. I plan on doing Caleb as well, but just for myself, haha. :)

I wanted my first photo to be something -- well, Simon. I mean, what are the things that make Simon "Simon?" For me, it's his smile, his goofy good-nature, his drive, and of course, his love for his ever faithful Wubba toy.



The thing that makes me always smile about the Wubba is this...



He totally wanted to be just like Gabe, I guess. ;) Aw.

The- Amazing-Self-Washing-Caleb!

Okay... we do our normal routine here in the mornings. I get up, let dogs out run a bath, get coffee, let dogs in, check email, shut bath off, quick finish up the email, and take a bath. This is what we pretty much do every morning here unless I'm in a hurry and grab a quick shower.

Now let me preface this by saying Caleb does not like baths. Simon doesn't mind baths. Riley loves baths. Piper is just Piper and I don't think she realizes that there's a bath going on the entire time you're washing her. (Now mind you, Caleb loves the fishpond, the ocean, the blue kiddy pool, the muddiest puddle known to mankind, but heck no, he does not want to take a bath!)

When I start washing dogs Caleb goes and hides in another room. Or he hides behind dad and I have to go pick him up while he turns into this wiggling, squirming pool noodle. You put him in the tub and he flattens his ears, squishes himself down, tail low. He looks terribly pathetic as you use the nice hose and scrub him down and up, and sometimes for good measure, he throws in a very fake-over-the-top-acting shiver.

If there was a "Most Pathetic Dog in A Tub," Oscar award, my mantle would be very shiny.

So, this morning, normal routine. Run bath. Turn off bath. Answer the email I have half done before I ran the bath. Peppermint coffee is wonderful, yum. Dogs are in the living room playing with an antler-chew, keeping them busy. It's awfully quiet while I'm drinking my coffee, aw, well, the chew must be keeping them busy!

I come out and head for the bathroom. The Pems are sitting in the hall, looking in the bathroom. Okay, well, the Cardis must have dragged the antler chew in on the bathroom rug...

Walk in the bathroom.

Stare. (The cats and Simon are also staring, so I'm in good company.)

Walk out of bathroom. Get Blackberry, which is on the bench. Walk back in.

Take picture.

(Yes, I've apparently hit the digital age, when on seeing something that shocks you, you whip out your cell phone and take pictures.)



Caleb is in the bathtub. In the full bathtub. He is as happy as a lark, swimming around like some sort of odd little freaky otter, paddling around in the water. In MY water. My nice clean bath is now full of yard dirt and dog hair, and Caleb stops long enough to stand up and say hi, and then hops back down and is paddling around in circles in the tub.

You know, I really did think about the fact that he was probably going to hop out and take off down the hall, absolutely soaked to the bone. I did think that. But then I just scootched down the hall again and grabbed the Nikon that I had charging on the TV stand. Listen with one ear for sound of dog leaping from tub; nope -- paddle, paddle, paddle, paddle, sploosh, sploosh!

Go back in. Don't have the camera set. Other animals are staring at him like he's nuts. I am too.

Splish-Splash, I'm takin' a bathhhhhh...


They call this move the Cardi-Paddle.


Was this YOUR tub? *Yawn* (And no, that wasn't a stress yawn, hahah. That was a lazy, my hind legs are drifting in your nice clean tub yawn. He was just drifting along)


Still yawning. Nice relaxing spa day, apparently. For him!


Ahhhhh... so relaxed. Mmm. Why didn't you tell me about this hot tub? Oh, because it was your bathwater? Well, not anymore, we're compromising! :D


I guess it's time to come out. I feel totally refreshed though, wow! You might want to do something about the dirt in here... oh, and the hair. Grab a heated towel, will you?


Of course, I grab him out. Then, I had to text my employees on why I was going to be a bit late for work. They thought this was hilarious. I spent fifteen minutes drying the dog, argh!

I'm ashamed to say I stared at the tub and said, "Fine, whatever." Darned if he was going to get to use all my hot water, the rotter!

Note to self -- shut bathroom door from now on. ;)

Porch dog.

I love Caleb's smile. Aw.