Overly Average

Yesterday we visited a friend who is fostering two puppies for our area humane society.  She’s had them a whole week and they have settled in to take over her entire house, rightfully so.  I’m a sucker for puppies and these two seemed to sense that, as they put on their very best show to impress me.  Of course I brought the camera and we tumbled outside to take some pictures, to showcase their cuteness.

Lurking in the background was this woman’s kitty, a very large and very affectionate boy.  He is the official keeper of the puppies and watches over them with a quiet, grand presence; their high energy and nipping tactics don’t seem to phase him.  He walks regally amongst them and they make way for his greatness.  This is a very cool cat and his full name is Overly Average, because he is just that. 

Overly Average, age 7’ish

And here is Jingle, a tiny itty bitty Dachshund mix who grabbed my heart for the full hour we spent with him.  Doll baby!  With an attitude.  He’s a little food aggressive and guards his bowl like a lion, using his full weight of two pounds to commandeer the space around his dish.  A lot of bravado there.  Of course that behavior will need to be amended because when he reaches his full weight, it’s not going to possess nearly the cheekiness it does now at his current stature. 

Jingle, age 8 weeks

And his partner in crime, Noel.  Noel is a just-as-tiny Chihuahua cross who is soft on his paws.  He’s a quiet little fellow who apparently has acquiesced to Jingle’s bravado.  Jingle almost always wins their mini tussles which are accompanied by much yapping and puppy growling.  They are a dynamic duo, never far from one another.

Noel, age 8 weeks

Nothing better than an afternoon spent with puppies.

Mini Model Akita

I’ve hung out with many, many different breeds of dogs – mainly because I like them!  Dogs are grand companions and if you take the time to understand the world from their perspective, well then, you’ll have an easier time of it if you happen to be living with one.  One breed that I have not had much opportunity to hang out with is the Akita, let alone an itty bitty one until today!  Meet Ringo.  He’s 8 weeks old and approximately 20 pounds of total confidence.  Not much seems to trip this boy up; you can already get a feel for who he is going to be when he grows up.  He’s going to be one steady and mellow dude. 

He belongs to some good friends, so I toted the camera over to their home today and attempted to capture essence a la Ringo.  When he is fully grown and mature, he’ll likely tip the scales at 150 pounds or so.  Best get on his good side, shouldn’t I?  I met a well-mannered ball of fluff today and took an instant liking to him.  How is it possible not to? 

The family has been loved by an Akita in the past, so they are familiar with the breed’s characteristics.  Plus Dad is an excellent behavior manager of their pack of now three dogs.  This Akita puppy is in very good hands, as it should be.  It will be fun tracking his massive growth surges over the next year.  Right now he’s lap-size and loving all of his animal compadres (cats and dogs) and his human buddies, too.  Taking pictures of puppies is near the top of my favorite things to do.  Great to meet you, Ringo!

Newbies in the Hood

This urban farming thing is BITING MY BUTT!  Woo hoo!  Nothing like spreading a fresh bale of straw out in the chicken run and talking to the girls while I work; of course, they are holed up in the coop, poking their scared little heads out because they are terrified of the big bad bale I just hauled into their yard.  That’s precisely when I tease them and call them a bunch of chickens.  Just when I get it spread in an orderly fashion all around the chicken run, the hens come charging back out to investigate, busily hunker down to scratch it out of the way and mess it all up.  Stinkers, every last one of them.  Their agenda is different than mine :).  But the golden straw in the sun is a brilliant backdrop for the colors of their feathers and I pause to take in the scene, very glad to have these little stinker chickens in our lives.

Our brood in the barn is about to get bigger!  Two baby Nigerian Dwarf goats have lain claim to my little heart, and they will be joining us in the near future.  It’s my pleasure to introduce Chewie here on the blog: 

 

We have not met the other little guy yet, but will this week.  Both babies are bottle feeding, so we’re going to help out with their care until they can come home.  In the meantime we have a pen to build and some reading up to do about goat care!  These guys will be neutered males, so in goat terminology, they are called ‘wethers‘.

My hubby is interested in bringing home a milking doe so we can learn to make cheese, soaps and lotion.  Whoa there, Cowboy – I’m still adjusting to bringing home two new babies!  I actually tasted goat cheese today at an art fair for the very first time, so maybe this is some sort of goat-cheese-karma-fate thing.  That seems to be how my life ticks – like my eyes become open to something I never saw before and it is the coolest thing.  So many adventures to embark upon!

Now we’re tossing around names and planning for their arrival.  Little Nigie number two needs a name, but we’ll meet him first.  It’s best to have two goats so that they keep each other company; a lone goat is just that – lonely.  My grandpa was a farmer in Minnesota.  So many vivid memories of the animals he cared for, guess it won’t let go.  I am happy to share time and space with all sorts of animals, goats being the newest addition.  Who knows where stuff like this leads, but for now we’re enjoying the scenic view!

Canyon Keeper

Just outside Taos, New Mexico a tree grows and watches over the canyon behind it.  It’s a noticeable tree primarily because it stands alone along a curve of the road, just as the vastness of Taos is revealed around that bend.  Every time we drive that curve, I look to this tree – kind of as a marker of groundedness.  It has become a favorite.  Much life passes by it at 70 miles an hour; it’s good to stop once in a while to survey the tree at closer range.

Canyon Keeper

16×20 inch print on Etsy

All rights reserved

I think I want to mark this print as a limited edition, but need to learn more about this process.  As I’m finding out, there is SO much more to photography than just pushing the shutter button.  I rather like the journey, though, the curves in the road, the learning and the growing. 

I will have had this particular digital camera for two years come this Christmas (thanks to my husband who gave it to me as a gift); much has transpired since I decided to see what I could do with that new tool.  Prior to enjoying the feel of a camera resting comfortably in my hands, I was interested in drawing, in writing (even some poetry!), in playing with paint, and in working with wood.  I even had a small business where I designed and made primitive items out of wood and other objects.  I’ve quilted, crocheted, knitted, cross-stitched, sewed………..but nothing quite feels like holding the camera and looking at the world through its viewfinder.  I see many wonderful things there, in that little window.  Like the tree, outside Taos, watching over a canyon.  Sorry to wax poetic, but somehow in all of the other ways I have used my hands and creativity, I have not found whatever it is that I have found while using the camera.  It has made me stop and pay attention to the canyon keepers in this world.  Maybe that’s what it’s all about.  Stopping and looking.  Not whizzing by at 70 mph.

Beauty is a Prickly Thing

On safari in the desert.  Trekking through the desert?  Walkabout in the desert.  How about meandering through the Desert  Botanical Gardens in Phoenix, Arizona yesterday to take a gander at all of the cacti varieties?  That sounds less adventurous, but alas, more like the truth.  Can I proclaim to the world that I have fallen in love with a Saguaro?  He’s tall, handsome, and……prickly.  Kind of hard to get close to.  These are awesome beasts of the desert landscape and provide quite a service to the resident birds and animals who inhabit this dry, dry land.  I have several pictures of the king of cacti that I plan to do something with.

Below is a version of a Prickly Pear Cactus, taken yesterday, artified today.  Purple is a hot color in my world – I especially like it mixed with lime green or a very soft blue-green.  The double doors to our home are purple, two walls inside our home are purple, and I just scored on a muted grayish purple scarf the other day, which I’ve worn three times hence.  I don’t ever tire of a color, really, but it must change with the time and grow along with me. 

Being surrounded by area cacti, they’ve become common subjects for me to photograph and work with.  I’ve learned to never touch them, even though some of them look so soft and fuzzy!  Classic bait and switch maneuver and I refuse to fall victim.  I fell backwards on a very large prickly pear cactus some ten years ago; thank goodness the human brain assimilates such information and categorizes it into a “DANGER, Will Rogers” compartment.  Yowza.  That took months and months to recover from and may it never happen again!  

Here’s a new take on the Prickly Pear Cactus, and it’s titled Beauty is a Prickly Thing.  Soon to be listed on Etsy.

Better Late for a Date

Nothing like waiting until the last minute.  I work best like this, under a little pressure, as it were.  Just now finished assembling a 2011 calendar with some of my 5×5 images for a test run.  They are uploading to my online printer as I type this and I’ll pick them up next week.  Guess what the fam is getting for Christmas this year??  You got it – a set of twelve 5×7 calendar prints containing some of my abstract images.  These are neat because you can place them in a 5×7 desktop frame and change them out month by month (something I would totally forget to do unless I wrote it down in my daytimer on the first of each month – gah!)  Then, when you are done, you can trim off the bottom calendar portion and frame the 5×5 print for the wall if you like!

Next year I’d like to market these under different themes.  It’s a little late in the season for a big marketing push now because I don’t have a stellar marketing department waiting at my beck and call…….that entire department would consist of me and at the moment, ‘marketing me’ will be preoccupied with ‘traveling me’ and ‘homeschooling me’, some ‘holiday-making me’ and some ‘chicken-coop-winterizing me’ over the next few weeks.  As any small business owner knows, there’s sometimes only one small business owner to take care of the small business.  And the house.  And the food.  And the laundry.  And the yard.  And the animals.  Really, I’m not complaining!!  It’s my current reality and it’s a good one.

Above is an example of one of the calendar pages – neat, huh?  A different image for each month.  I’m looking forward to packaging these up for Christmas gifts and sending them off.  I hope everyone likes abstract images.  I know my mom will like them because she gave birth to me, but I’m unsure of the rest of my clan……….I can only hope!

Sweet Spots and Sweethearts

Generally, I don’t find people all that interesting to photograph, or at least I don’t feel a need to pull out the camera when people are around.  Perhaps seniors and their faces etched with years I’d feel differently about; at least there is inherent character, something I look for in people.  And then, of course, on the opposite end of that spectrum, are the babes under a year old.  Even certain toddlers will make me pause in my tracks to look a little closer – some toddlers possess an undeniable and delightful charm that I’m sure would transfer readily in an image.  It’s exactly that kind of nature that I look for.  Like color, I can usually spot it a ways out.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of photographing a four month old little guy for Halloween.  He was dressed up as a pig in a blanket with a pink pig hat and a yellow blanket.  I took 134 pictures, working with several areas about their home and yard, trying to hit upon that one photo that succeeded in capturing his little magic.  I knew instantly that this was the one that would seal the day, right as I pushed the shutter button.  It’s a feel kind of thing and I felt it.  It’s akin to hitting a softball with a bat in the sweet spot, where the motion seems effortless, without resistance, and the ball feels as if it’s been sliced in half.  Kind of waxing poetic, but this sort of thing does happen when I’m pushing the shutter button.  Sometimes I just know and I’m learning to trust that instinct.

Here’s the best shot of the day, Mr. Pig in a Blanket:

The Rabbit Knows

I suppose all creatures have wiseness buried deep within them, rabbits being no exception.  They know how to survive in the wild against some stacked odds, being card-carrying members of the bottom of the food chain and all.  I’ve had a fondness for rabbits because they are peaceful animals (except when they get in a royal tiff amongst themselves.  The does can be quite territorial and will give a buck a run for his money.)  I enjoy being around them.

We recently acquired two retired does and released them in the chicken run so that they can go about their business doing rabbit stuff.  The first day was comical.  The chickens completely wigged out and clamored for safety, loudly clucking their disapproval of the unseemly creatures that were mucking about their digs.  What were these ghastly things and how long were they going to stay??  The chickens have since decided to bear no grudges and seem to have accepted the larger mammals that hop about; in fact, it looks like the rabbits have commandeered the run and galavant as they wish, knowing the chickens will just move out of the way (mostly out of fear).  Don’t move quickly around a chicken – she won’t hang around long to see what’s going to happen next.

We spread a bale of barley straw about the run yesterday and it sure is sweet smelling at the moment.  It looks fresh, crisp and fall-like down there.  I took the camera down this morning and lay about the run, snapping pictures of our new friends.  Here’s Boo, a Flemish Giant doe of about three years of age.  Flemish are the largest breed of rabbits and have delightful dispositions.  They are much like dogs in their demeanors and can become quite tame.

The Rabbit Knows

Taken October 30, 2010

And here’s a shot of Georgia our Australorp hen.  I was laying in the straw looking up at her (which is something I won’t do beyond today due to the freshly deposited chicken manure which is building up this very moment!)  I chose to render this picture in black and white because it was more pleasing in my eye.  Georgia is a very tame bird.  The chicks are seventeen weeks now and soon we can start to expect some eggs! 

Georgia

This chicken experiment has been quite satisfying.  I highly recommend it as a way of adding some life and personality to your backyard!  Check your city ordinances and see if chickens might be a viable and fun option for you and your family. 

 

BOGO Sale Now Through Christmas!

I’m running a “buy-one-get-one-free” sale on my Etsy shop for print sizes 11×14 and under through Christmas, 2010.  If you would like delivery by Christmas in the U.S., please purchase your print(s) by December 10th; that will allow enough time for printing, signing and sending!  I’ll do my best to get them to you in time.

BOGO sale does not apply to my large-format prints. 

Lively Dahlia 

5×5 inch print on Etsy

Taken in Eugene, Oregon at Lively Organic Farm

All Rights Reserved 

Pacific Blue Day

Pacific Blue Day

available on Etsy

We are just back from a 17-day hiatus in Oregon and Texas.  The week in Oregon was intended as an exploration of a place we’d never been.  I relish taking time away from daily living to refresh and remind me what’s important in life.  Time away helps me to have a bird’s-eye view of how I am living so I can reflect and make changes as needed.  The trip to Oregon opened my eyes to several ways of being, some that we’ve adopted since we’ve been home.  Well, put more accurately, I’ve adopted the changes and my family is going along for the ride.

We stayed in a quiet little cottage on a working organic farm in Oregon and spent some blissed-out days eating fresh produce from the farm, reading, pouring through magazines for inspiration, eating locally, riding tandem bikes along the river, bird watching, perfecting our badminton game, and the coolest of all, wave watching on the coast.  Our kiddo honed his skills at a new sport called ‘dune rolling’ and frolicked with glee and abandon in the surf.  I meandered through the orchards, the veggie patches and flower gardens with my camera; there are many, many pictures to process and play with over the winter months.  We relished the laid back attitude of the community we stayed in and the hippie life style that people have reconnected with. 

I was also inspired by the woman in whose cottage we were staying.  She is an artist, too, so time spent touring her studio was fun for me.  I have vowed to create a space in my home that is mine, a place where I can hang up all of the pictures and words of inspiration that I’ve found along the way.  I’m very excited to begin on that project and make it a reality.

Since we’ve been back I’ve been focusing on preparing simple foods, local foods, and on clearing our home of unneccessary stuff.  Funny how growth and change happens, how we reinvent ourselves over and over.  I was already on this path in that we built some raised beds, grew a garden over the summer and acquired some chickens.  This whole urban/sustainability/living green/grow some of your own food thing has entered my mind in a big way, so I’m continuing to explore it.  Not to be trendy.  Just because I think it’s right and a good place to invest energy.  Oh – I also want an alpaca and a goat.  We’ll have to move if that’s the case because we’re not zoned for that currently.  Not that we’ll be moving anytime soon………maybe I can sneak an alpaca back there; they’re quiet, right?  Goats are noisy little critters, so he’ll have to wait.

Time to get back outside and finish painting the chicken barn while the weather is still lovely.  These crisp fall days are made for being outside!  It’s Balloon Fiesta here in Albuquerque so each morning the sky to the west is dotted with hundreds of brightly-colored balloons.