We had a great time yesterday playing with Rankin and Shona!

We went to a friend's to work on Rankin's running dog walk. Spur did some and then some of our homework. Then they swam in the pond!!! Spur has been too intimidated to swim with the big dogs, but he is getting more comfortable with Rankin. They look like twinsies!! Spur = 13lbs. Rankin = 50lbs. You can sure see the aussie in Spur when next to Rankin!!!

 I guess one closes their eyes when one yells that loud? Like sneezing?

 Mirror image? Rankin is missing the stripe on his head.

 Shaking off the pond cooties!

 Huh, no neck?

 Then I went blueberry picking!!! With a little help from Kathy I got 6lbs in about 20 minutes!!! YUM!!!!

Spur's "homework" away from home. Working on some "pushes". And then is his first time attempting a 6 hit DW. :O Didn't work, but good effort Little Man!!! ........

His name is Nate

Introducing ............ Nate!!! Yep, baby cow born a couple weeks ago. He was over by the barn for a few weeks and it was just not the best photo setting. Muddy, dark, in the trees. So, finally got him in the grass and sun. We actually had a previous calf born the day after the first day of summer.........called her Summer!! She's very pretty, a black cow!!! But, I can't find the photo I took of her. The cows and calves are not allowed in the field, so they are farther from us now, across the stream and thus harder to photograph.

So, why is this calf named Nate? All the others have been more "seasonal". Easter, Sunflower, Beacon ( it was born the Beach to Beacon race weekend), Summer. Why Nate??? Well, ask a toddler what he wants to name the baby and when that toddler has only a few words and one is his favorite person........Nate. Well, the name he chose was.......... Nate. :D

Funny how I talk about these cows as "ours". That is not true. We don't own these cows or care for them or really have anything to do with them. We just look at them. LOL!! Every day, sometimes twice a day, we walk past these cows. So, I say "we" had a cow born. Strange. I guess that sense of community and some how we feel connected because our land connects? I talk that way about our resident rooster. "Our" rooster. I have a couple new photos of him, too, but I haven't loaded them, yet. He is really something. "Our" rooster. Stay tuned.

More pictures!

 Are you getting tired of flower photos, yet? Too bad!

I took these sitting on my patio last weekend having my coffee, ready the paper, enjoying the beautiful setting. I sometimes can't believe I live here!!!! The only thing that would improve my view would be big open fields surrounding the house. Sure, we have the pastures, but not the acres and acres of open I would like.

 Hummingbirds are very hard to photograph. The focus keeps adjusting as the bird's wings flap! I need to try again and get them while they sit on the perch to feed, but I like this shot because it shows a drop of "nectar" on it's beak!!

 A goldfinch stopping at the bird bath!!!

 The dill, framed by the morning shadow of the trees beyond as the sun starts to rise.

 Seriously, these awesome shots were taken from my patio chair. I never even got up!!!

 This is my favorite!!!

 These of the budding Queen Anne's Lace were taken on the path. I love how it starts out pink! And has a curious red dot in the center!

 Can you see the little spider webbing along the outer edge?

These I did alone

 I set up my camera on a tripod, actually my little "gorilla pod" which seems to have broken one link and only two arms grab now but it worked, and then set my timer for 8 seconds to take 8 shots. I got a lot of just empty plank, but managed after a couple tried to capture a few shots!!

I am unable to use my timer for action shots, which I guess makes sense, so these are not set on the action setting, but set to auto. I really, really do want to figure out how to get action shots of a subject and not have the subject blurry. I think I just need practice?

The Little Drummer Boy

 Playing around with the "fish eye" feature on my camera. Huh........

 Spur, of course, camera hog he is had to get into the scene.........

 I think he works hard on that hair, like the kid I saw in the Old Port last week........

 Then Colby decided she wanted to drum...........

 He's TOO cute.......

 Oh yes, and Spur's version of drumming...........

 My pretty old lady............

 I have had trouble with my "sports" feature of my camera. Blurry, blurry, blurry. I read the manual. Just make sure the subject is in the blue frame box. Um......OK. Still blurry.........

Maybe it just takes practice.