My Super Star

So Jack won a photo contest yesterday with his peeking around the shower curtain picture.  We won money and a camera and everything!  It is very exciting.  I haven't broken the news to him yet, hence his lack of enthusiasm.  He is too busy staring at snowflakes to care anyway.  But I'm thrilled!

Hunting

We went out hunting for wildlife today.  It took some patience but we found it.

Marlin spotted this guy from a LONG way off.  Fortunately they don't really move...

This little guy actually led us to the owl - I was stalking him when I startled the owl into flight.

I always find the owls in this park very skittish.  You can't get close at all.

It was driving me nuts that I couldn't see his eyes. It wasn't until I got home and looked his pictures closely on the computer that I realized he was sleeping.  Good to know we weren't disturbing him!  Check out those claws!

At Long Last

The ground squirrels have come out of hibernation and Lacey couldn't be more thrilled.  She couldn't believe her ears when she heard the first little chirp but then it finally dawned on her that her favourite rodents were back.

Can you believe that the dog that hates to be first (and who's favourite spot is tucked right in behind me) is sprinting with all her might down the path?  She's going so fast, she's kicking up dust. That's what squirrels do to a girl!

After rolling in an icy puddle (it's hot work chasing squirrels).

Doing her cute little bunny sproing in an effort to see the critters better.

Dr.'s Visit

I took Coulee to a vet that specializes in rehab medicine and pain management.  I had seen her once before to see if she had some options for Coulee's feet but what motivated me to visit her this time was Coulee pulling up lame 3 times in the past month.  It kept happening out of the blue in different circumstances and would fix itself in less than 20 minutes.  But it was still weird and obviously painful at the time for her.

Turns out she thinks it was a problem with her neck not her foot or ankle like I had thought.  She gave her some chiropractic adjustments in her neck so she thinks we'll have no problems in the future and gave us some super easy strength and stretching exercises to work on.  I like the super easy and fast part.  I'm not that good with homework.  :)

She also had some ideas to try when Coulee's feet start to go bad.  So we'll see how that goes as well.  I'm not a big "natural medicine" person - I like things to be scientifically proven - but at this point, there is no harm in trying.

She did suggest doing laser therapy on her feet for pain management but said that it would have to be done daily (which obviously isn't practical, even if she was in Lethbridge and not Calgary) so I might try and figure out if there is a way I can do it myself.  I've researched it a bit online though and it doesn't sound very scientifically proven, which if you know me at all, drives me nuts.  :)

TGIF - 53/365

It's 6:00 on Friday night.  The dogs have all gone home, and the hooks are all empty.

Freestyle - 52/365

Today's word was Freestyle - which I interpreted to mean "anything goes". Which for me means shooting from the hip. I love shooting from the hip. I get lots of crap, but I also get some gems that I'd never be able to get if I stopped, positioned myself and then tried to get the shot.

With dogs, so much of what they do is dependant on what you are doing - every action, creates a reaction. So every photo I took today was without looking through the camera - I just pointed it in the direction I wanted and clicked.  Most of them needed at least a little straightening.  ;)

I chose this one (above) as my official image of the day

This was my runner up image (above)

Project Life - Week 7 +

OK.  So I'm falling behind - in both my photos and my blogging. So I'm going to start blogging each photo instead of doing a weekly cap-up.  There may be more than one photo and lots of description or there may just be the one.  I didn't post Sunday because I haven't done Saturday's word yet.  I know what I want, but the world hasn't cooperated so I haven't taken it yet.  Now these last two days have been very uninspired and include pictures that I'm not in love with and would never have posted if it wasn't for the project, but I just need to keep going and get over the hump.  Two people that I know and/or have been following have dropped out of the project in the last 2 days so it isn't just me that is feeling the pressure.  Must keep swimming.  Must keep swimming.

Today will be a catch-up post, and then after this you can expect single days at a time.  :)

Day 41 - Lucky

She's lucky Coulee ran the wrong way.  It is the only way she can beat her to the toy.

Day 42 - Tasty

I asked her to get up on a picnic table so she was anticipating something tasty as a reward.

Dehydrated lamb lungs were on the "dessert menu" today.  And yup, they are as disgusting as they sound.  I didn't buy them.  The dogs love them though.

Day 43 - Good Times

When plans A and B fail and I start working towards plan C, this project no longer seems like a good time.

So then I tell myself to just forget it for now and do whatever I want… and that's when it all falls into place.  The good times are when I relax and photograph the world around me, not the world I try and create.

Day 44 - Steps

For just about 2 years now I have been obsessed with almost every step Coulee takes.  Her feet have a weird mystery disease that comes and goes.  Every cycle last for a different amount of time - sometimes we have breaks between them, and sometimes just as they are starting to improve, they start to get worse again.

We've tried everything the dermatologist can think of and are currently trying allergy shots (even though no one thinks that is actually the problem, it is better than doing nothing at all) and I can't really tell if they are helping, but they definitely aren't making things worse. Her last two cycles have been shorter than average and we've had at least 2 weeks of "goodness" in between so it is possible that it is helping, or it could just be coincidence.  Only time will tell.

She is just cycling into a good period (haven't seen any pain in 2 or 3 weeks and her pads are almost looking normal) so we've been slowly increasing her activities and this past week we've been walking almost every day.  The pain will show up before her pads show signs of illness, so I still need to be watchful.

Anyway, this isn't meant to be a pity party.  This is the best I've felt about her feet in a long time.  These past 6 months have been the least painful since this whole mess started so I'm actually feeling hopeful about the future.

Day 45 - Romance

Romance is all about the art of seduction.  Jack has that part down pat.

Note: Just me and the fur kids here!  Not much romance going on today so you've got to work with what you've got.  LOL

Day 46 - Reward

When you stop to think of it, there are rewards (and consequences) for every.single.decision you make.  Think about it...

The reward for getting up early is getting more stuff done.
The reward for sleeping in is feeling more refreshed when you get up.
The reward for walking the dogs is tired, happy dogs.
The reward for not walking the dogs is more time to do other things.
The reward for eating chocolate is yummy goodness in your mouth.
The reward for eating an apple is better health.
Etc., etc.

This morning I watched a video on understanding the difference that a focal length can make.  It reminded me how much I LOVE the look of a long focal length.  So I popped on the extender and went out to get some dreamy background shots.

The reward for watching that video are photos I never would have taken today if I hadn't watched it.  I'll try not to think of the consequences - the photos I would have had if I'd chosen to do something different.  :)

Day 48 - Shared Space

The only shared bed in our house is ours.  You can almost never have it to yourself.

Day 50 - Best Dressed

Neither Marlin or I are what I consider well dressed people.  Clothes are not our thing. Dressing up is not our thing. Shoes are not our thing.  I'm pretty sure Coulee owns the most expensive pair in the house.  :)

Day 51- More

I made the mistake of temporarily putting my clean laundry on the bed.  Apparently it is even more comfortable to Lu then.  To me, it just means that I have even more fur on my clothes than usual.

Day 52 - In My Bag

Copped out and did a super easy, unoriginal photo for today's pic.  I have a small purse for a reason - I don't like to carry a lot of stuff with me.  Just the bare essentials, random receipts and a few dog toys.  It made me laugh that I had a "good" and "bad" cuz in there you never know when you are going to need one.