At the Window

Bandit in Black & White

Black and white border collie in Black & White

Wordless Wednesday - Profiles

Dog Beds

We bought dog beds for both dogs for Christmas.  Zoey would rather sleep on the regular bed or the floor.  Bandit loves his dog bed.  He is a strange dog in that he will contort himself into any spot even if it seems like he won't fit.  He regularly curls up into a ball and now he can do that in this bed.  He does stretch out and flatten the bed or he moves around.   Since Zoey doesn't like hers, Bandit has one bed upstairs and one next to the couch in the spot where he likes to sleep.

Sunday Stills - Pets

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge is Pets.  This was a perfect challenge for me since I had just taken some new pics of Zoey and Bandit, inside while playing around with flash photography.

Zoey - She's so easy to take pics of.  She doesn't mind the flash at all.

Wil E Coyote, Super Genius aka Bandit

View other challenge participants here

First Snow of the Season

We had a snow shower on Thanksgiving Day.  It didn't last long and it really didn't stick but it was pretty.  Bandit and Zoey certainly enjoyed it.

Frisbee Dogs

Every morning I play frisbee with Bandit and Zoey.  Being Border Collies, they can be pretty obsessive about toys and there is a definite routine that requires two frisbees.  The first frisbee gets thrown for Zoey who chases it.  As soon as that frisbee is thrown, the second frisbee is thrown for Bandit.  Once Bandit catches it, Zoey drops hers and chases him with the frisbee.  And on and on it goes until they get tired.  If you mess up the sequence, nothing works right.  Bandit will let the frisbee hit him in the head if you throw his frisbee before Zoey's.  I wonder who has who trained....

Waiting for the frisbee

Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius

Not a care in the world

The orange frisbee is actually Bandit's, Zoey's is pink

T took these pics while I manned the frisbees

Scratching an Itch

Wordless Wednesday - Early Morning Sun

Wordless Wednesday - Faithful Companion

Sunday Stills - Black and White

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge is Black and White.  I have to say that I'm not a huge fan of black and white (I love color) but some photos really lend themselves to it.  Here are my choices for this week:

Black and white dog (Bandit) in the grass

Original

Japanese Red Maple in my garden

Original

Birdhouse in my garden.  Chickadees are making a nest in it.

Original

Ok, so I cheated a little on this one. 

I boosted the fade up just a little bit to get a smidgeon of color in the leaves. 

I like it so much better than full black and white.

Original

You can view other Sunday Stills participants here

Happy Dog

Bandit loves to be toweled off. 
For him, there's nothing like a good rub down when you're wet.

Click to biggify

"A little to the left..."

 

"That's the spot"

 

"Perfect!"

These Dogs are Thirsty!

Life is never boring with two Border Collies!

Checking out the Scenery

Bandit and Zoey gazing out the front door.

They love to sit and watch what's going on.

Notice how Zoey's ear is starting to stand up - they are like book ends

Test Shots with the new Camera

I get to cross off an item from my Photography Bucket List - I upgraded to a digital SLR camera!  It's my "Mothers Day-Birthday-Anniversary-Christmas-all other holidays" gift.  Craig and I did some shopping online and we ordered an Olympus E520 that came with the standard 14-42 mm f3.5-5.6 lenses plus a 40-150 mm f4.0-5.6 lens.  It's the smallest and lightest DSLR in its class (awesome for me and very comfortable to hold) and is the only one in my price range where you could take pics using the LCD screen or the viewfinder.  We also ordered some accessories that have yet to arrive (extra lens cap, larger memory card, UV filters, a soft lens hood) but the camera arrived Tuesday afternoon.  Craig plugged in the battery for me so it would be charged when I got home from work.  Figuring out all the bells and whistles, lenses and settings is a bit overwhelming but I'll get the hang of it eventually.  I didn't have a lot of time to really play around with it but I'm really looking forward to getting outside and just wandering around taking pics.  I took quite a few test pics of the dogs using the flash.  These are the best ones.

Bandit reminds me of Wil-E Coyote

Zoey isn't bothered by the flash like Bandit is

The focal point is off on this one but I thought I did pretty good since I was laying on the floor

I was really hoping she wouldn't lick the lense

Sunday Stills - the Letter "B"

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge is the Letter "B" - only nouns, no adjectives.

Bandit, 3 year old Border Collie (that should count for 2)

I very rarely get pictures of him as he usually turns away from the camera.

Covered Bridge over part of the pond and small stream at the farm. 

My horses are currently in this pasture and use the bridge for shelter (it's bigger than it looks)

Bling on a Bridle with a Bit (hey, that's 3)

Kali waiting for her classes at the last show

Blue Merle Border Collie (that's 2 again)

Zoey dozing (she's got some Aussie shepherd in her too)

You can view other contributors to Sunday Stills here.

Almost the Same Size

I haven't been able to get many pictures of Zoey and Bandit lately, mostly because Zoey doesn't stand still long enough and she requires all of your undivided attention with her boundless energy.  She's grown so much and is now almost the same size as Bandit.

A rare moment, sitting still waiting for a cookie

Snow Dogs

Bandit usually likes the snow but this was a bit much, even for him.  Zoey, on the other hand, takes it all in stride and climbs the snow piles like a mounain goat.  I'm pretty sick of snow right now and we are supposed to get more accumulating snow on Monday.  We've had more snow than Alaska!

Burrowing through the snow

Looks like he's swimming

Chasing after a frisbee and kicking up snow

Stalking Bandit

Taking a break

Blazing their own trail

Skywatch Friday - Season 4, Episode 31

Last weekend, we had a snow storm blow through that dumped about 14 inches of snow.  We got everything dug out and with some sunny skies, it started to melt a little bit.  Tuesday night it started to snow and it didn't really stop until Wednesday night.  This storm brought 23+ inches of snow bringing the total on the ground to about 3 feet.  Thursday dawned bright and brought some much needed sun.  Bandit and Zoey enjoyed playing frisbee as the snow started to pack.  T has had 3 snow days this week including Friday and they are off on Monday so she got a nice long break.

View skies from around the world at Skywatch

Snow is a Four Letter Word...

No Sunday Stills or Macro Monday for me this week as we have been completely preoccupied by the snow storm that dumped over a foot of snow on Saturday (Philadelphia got almost two feet).  The snow started Friday evening and it snowed all night.  All the four legged critters are just fine - the two legged ones are tired from all of the shoveling.

Lots of snow to clear off the Jeep and the truck

From my kitchen window

Zoey and Bandit supervised from the house

The weather forecasters are calling for another foot of snow on Wednesday.  

How many days until spring????