Elly

So you met Maya the other day…this is her family’s pug, Miss Elly.  It was kind of strange photographing someone else’s pug for a change but I soon figured out where her good side was. 

Shameless Begging

This is Petee.  He’s a pug that I adopted from Midwest Pug Rescue back in 2006.  Midwest Pug Rescue is a not-for-profit agency that rescues all pugs that are abandoned at shelters or roadside in the Midwestern United States and they are in a world of hurt for donations right now. 

If you’re like me and you’ve got a dog at your feet who is happy and healthy and who makes your family complete then excuse me for the shameless begging but this agency needs some cold hard cash and they need it now because not every dog gets to lead a dog’s life and they don’t think that’s very fair.

Got an extra $5 or $10 bucks?  They’d gladly take it - and it’s tax deductible if you live in the U.S.  Easiest way to contribute is to run over to Paypal and click on the “Send Money” tab, then enter this email address:

Loveforpugs@aol.com

That should pull up a form  for you to leave a donation.  Petee, Grace and I would be eternally grateful and so would the Midwest Pug Rescue.  If you want to contribute with a check or visa/mastercard, head over to their website and scroll towards the bottom of the home page and they’ll give you some links to click on. 

Dogs give us so much unconditional love.  Let’s return the favor, eh?

More Than One Path To A Peanut

He tried everything to get to one of the piles of peanuts on the deck but nobody was in the mood to share.  Finally, as a last resort, he climbed up the handle of the wheelbarrel and onto the deck like a thief in the night.

He was handsomely rewarded for his ingenuity with not one peanut, but two.

Three Years

Tomorrow will mark the third anniversary of sharing my life with a pug named Grace.  In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I bought her first leash and collar in a brilliant bright green. 

She has certainly been a challenge at times - but so very worth it.  I really can’t imagine my life without her flat nose getting into everything that smells like food.  People tell me that pug stands for “part pig/part slug.”  I’d have to agree.  What they don’t tell you is how much you will grow to love the little creature that sheds on all your furniture and who puts absolutely everything she can find on the floor into her mouth. 

Despite her flaws, she has taught me much about life, a few lessons about God, and a ton about photography (hey, you try to properly expose that black face with that light tan colored body!) 

She’s my girl and I love her.  Happy St. Paddy’s Day / Anniversary, Miss Grace.

Lullabye

The sun streamed into the kitchen this morning and both Grace and Petee took the opportunity to bask in it while they took their morning nap. 

There’s really nothing I love more than watching them sleep…unless it’s me taking a nap of my own.

Dinner Out

Will that be a table for one?

Mallard Conversion

Wow…I’m posting back-to-back black & white prints.  Now that’s a first.

But this one, although beautiful in its original color version, came into its own once I cropped away almost all of it and really dug into the pattern of those beautiful mallard feathers.  It was then that I heard it screaming out, “Convert me!”  

I was only too happy to oblige…

Peggy

Mother nature…she can be a bit of a hard ass.

Meet “Peggy.”

She lost her entire right foot somehow. 

A fight?  Disease?  A trap? 

I have no idea…

But tonight, as the other geese all squirmed in my presence, Peggy and I got better acquainted.  By the end of the afternoon we were BFF.  Tomorrow, I’m going back to this same lake to take her some bread crumbs and dried cereal.

Mother nature might be a hard ass but, lucky for Peggy, I’m not.   

Two By Two

I took my new Canon 70-200mm f/4 L lens for a spin today, trying to see what all it could do. I think I’m going to need a 300mm or 400mm telephoto if I’m going to get really serious about taking bird images in the wild but, considering this lens is lightweight enough that I can handhold it in good light, I’m really not complaining. Besides, look at the pattern of the tree reflection on the water that this baby created.

Be still my beating heart…

Going Squirrely

Being locked up in the house is anything but fun for me.  It got so bad today I started to envy the squirrels…