20/52 - 21/52, and a pretty houseguest! ;)

I know, I know, I'm so backlogged on journals right now. I'm also backlogged on riding my horses, ugh. My back is still having issues -- thank goodness for Dayl a) let us all crash at her house for the show, and who showed Caleb for me last weekend and got another point on him! (Hooray!) :/ I couldn't even pick him up on the table, and he's a skinny little dude! I took a ton of photos while I was there of puppies, puppies, and more puppies. It's addicting!

20/52 -- "Free Range!" Ahhh, for the days when Cardis roamed the earth in giant packs of slavering doom, taking down the mighty dinosaurs! ;)

21/52 "Counterbalance"

(See, that's what that tongue is used for! I knew it!)

Corgis on a Porch! It's like Snakes on a Plane, except if you trip and fall when you step out the door they simply devour you, starting at the ankles. (I'm feeling guilty since the Pems have gotten no journal time lately - see, there's Riley's fuzzy bum, right there!)

Our houseguest for a few weeks is the beautiful Bella, belonging to Yolanda, over on the Dune Blog. :) She's just visiting and going to the store and meeting and greeting a ton of new people and dogs. :) She's been a joy to have over -- talk about a perfect, polite lady who fits right in with the crew.

(Cue Jaws Theme, here...) Isn't she beautiful? :) I just like taking photos of her, she's a pretty model!
I probably shouldn't tell her mom that she's totally asleep on the sofa, squished between Simon and Caleb and snoring away. That's not very ladylike to admit, but I'm sure Simon will take the blame for it. He's a gentleman. ;)

18/52, 19/52 photos (and owchies!)

Not for a dog, thank goodness. The owch is for me. Last Wed. I was happily unloading freight. Now, I do this all the time, I lift bags of dog food, etc... never had a problem with my back, ever. Bent down to pick up (beat this) a five pound bag of cat food and put it onto a shelf. My back said, "I don't think you should do this."

I, being the doof I am, went, "Oh hush," and rolled an eye. Thus, by Wed night I was flat on my back, and I can say wow, I feel incredibly for those folks with hurt backs. You can't do anything -- move, stand, sit, lay, sleep, etc... without it hurting like heck. Thus I missed out on conformation class (argh!) I have something in my car for Nancy, for dragging my photo stuff from the last dog show, and I forgot to thank her in the last entry. Bad dog me! :(

However, I had obligations to be at the local rescue group's walk and charity fundraiser. So, I limped out of the house on Sunday and thought I'd do my photos there at the park and hope I got something -- it's a beautiful park, for sure! The boys had a great time; they are so well behaved people comment on it, which is really nice. I realize how much I appreciate them for not screaming and barking which a lot of the other dogs were doing.

So, here's last week's photo and this week's photo, haha, and then just some random shots of the boys doing Cardi things. ;) Man, this week I really did wish they had taller legs though, glad I didn't have to shoot too much sitting down this time. ;)

18/52 "Splish Splash" - Simon loves the pool, that's for sure. We've had gorgeous weather for the last couple of weeks.


19/52 "A casual Cardigan..."
Simon was taking it easy, watching the geese in the Gazebo. Darn geese were as big as my Cardis, wow!


At the park... I love the greens in this.


Caleb looks like a tapestry in this to me. If I stuck a horn on him, he'd be a *drumroll* "Unicorgi!"


Caleb again. I had someone on a message board ask me if this was his real color. Yep, he really is fire-engine red-orange, I swear! *laughs*


And for those of you like me who have a collar addiction? Look at this collar, wow. I bought this at the dog walk, but I've got to go and get one for Simon, too; they just didn't have the one I wanted there at the Dog Walk. These are hand made collars by Lodi and Lewi and this one's an absolutely stunning pattern.

Whoa (and not a horse one for once!)

Actually, it's about the CWCCA photo contest at Nationals! Not my mare, but she's doing way better at the trainer I've got her with now. I do like the word whoa though, we sure use it a lot.

I'm sort of in that daze point still... I just finally today got the full scoop as to how I placed, and so I just have to share, since I'm all like "eeee!"

I've never entered a photography contest before, and to enter my first one at Nationals and do so well just has me trotting on air. Good air too, not the other kind, that some dog in this household is sharing with me right now. I better get onto the photos, huh, because I reveal much more and you'll all be like I am, looking to open a window and run.

To be honest, I thought I hadn't placed at all when I saw everyone's blogs go up with the other winners...

So I was shocked when folks told me I'd won some and everyone then started asking what it was and I'm like "I... don't know?" It really was funny, you could have knocked me over with a feather, and my friends got a good laugh at me! So, thank you, guys, for letting me know! It made my whole day, so I have to share for everyone who asked!

First place in Portrait: Caleb down at the beach.

This is one of those shots that looks simple, but wasn't. Those of you who know Caleb know that the longest time Caleb sits in place is about one second. I think I took a hundred pictures of him that day and most of them were him whizzing by; I had an ear, a blurry eye, a tail... this one, he was finally tired out for half a minute, and apparently his crack ran out. ;) (Inside joke, Kim and Yo will understand!)




First Place in Action: Simon catching a ball! *grins* Go figure, Simon with a toy in his mouth? Who would have thought? ;)



Second in General: (One of my favorite shots ever. I admit it. This is the only one right now I have on my wall in the hallway, and people keep asking if it's a painting.)



And third in Portrait:

(See, that garbage can really did come in handy... ;) )



So there you have it! Now I know, so now you know! *grin*

I just want to say a thank you to everyone who comes to this little corner of the internet, too. Honestly, all of your comments and encouragement and enjoyment and laughs make my days, and I love sharing my photos and silly dogs with you all. I wouldn't have had the courage to send my shots into the contest before. Cardi people are the best people... well, dog people. ;) I better not be Cardi-Centric, even though well, darn, I love this breed.

Also, go check out Taryn's first place photo! It's gorgeous! I love the light on this photo, with the towers and the shadows. :D

PS: Simon's full brother placed second in his class at Nationals. Wow. Way to go, Target! :D

City Sniffer...

Well, my mom's been out visiting for the last two weeks, so it's been a lot of fun. :) We took her back to the airport today, and since we were on the city side, I begged to stop and get some photos using some different backdrops other than my yard or the woods, hahaha. ;) Actually, being in the city makes me really appreciate the boys more and more -- both of them handled themselves wonderfully with kids running and people wanting to pet and hug them. Of course, everyone has to ask me what mix they are and when they find out they're not a mix, there's a fifteen minute discussion about both breeds of Corgi, haha. I really need to grab a handful of the brochures from the club one of these days. Or photocopy mine - be way easier to hand out, but I guess not as personable...

Caleb wouldn't be happy though if I did that; everyone pets him for those fifteen minutes. ;) He likes that way too much.

So, without further ado, pictures.

Simon at the International Fountain... have to appreciate a dog who minds his own business while everything's going on around him.




The boys on the stairs...



Apparently, carnivals have a bias agaist Corgis. Simon protests. :(


Simon on the stage over in the center...


Caleb in front of the flowers.


Been a good week -- man, though, wish I could have gone to Nationals. I lived vicariously through the blogs. ;) Maybe next year!