Gable

Welcome to little Gable. And allow me to introduce the newest member of the menagerie here on the farm. I recently tried to "just foster" him and failed miserably, adopting him permanently just one week later. He appears to be the cutest kitten in the world, so there really was no choice, now was there? His name is Gable (as in Clark), which ties in with previous cats (now deceased): Spencer (as in Tracy), Tracy (as in Spencer), Bogart (as in Humphrey) --- and of course the dog (alive and well) Crosby (as in Bing). Gable seems to be fitting in perfectly and is trying hard to make friends with all the dogs and Relay (the other cat). He has a wonderful playful personality, without that crazy streak that makes some kittens hard to manage. Stay tuned for more pictures and stories in the future.
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Sunset on the James River

Been a bit delinquent posting recently and I'm hoping to mend my ways soon. This was the sunset I encountered on my way to and from the grocery store this evening. Wow.

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Mothers Day 2009

Buttercups

Hard to describe the extent to which the buttercups have taken over my fields. Wow. Nothing but yellow as far as you can see --- or at least until the mower starts mowing. And even after mowing, it appears the buttercups start coming back within hours. They are beautiful (and very hardy) weeds for sure.

Spring has Sprung

Flowers flowers everywhere. The weather hasn't decided to stay completely warm yet, but signs of Spring are all over. The fields got mowed last weekend --- and there are many more weeks of that ahead. Here's hoping we can stay slightly ahead of the weeds. :-) According to the dogs, there are some great new smells in the yard too.

Gates and Fences

I seem to have strayed from the original plan for Sarah's Farm Report recently, with pictures of almost everything else but farm improvement. Oops. I will probably continue to do that, but I don't want to forget the original plan either. Slowly (ever so slowly) I have been making progress on a very long list of projects around here, so I want to report on that progress --- and motivate myself toward more. Above are pictures of new gates (two of them), a re-picketed gate and a fancy picketed enclosure for my trash cans. The gates have made life much easier, since I don't scamper over fences as well as I did in the past. :-) And the trash enclosure will be appreciated by my neighbors I'm sure.

Post-It Notes

Stick Around

(the photo that won 2nd place)

One of my favorite web sites is http://www.dpchallenge.com/ and I have been entering their photo challenges for about a year now (http://bit.ly/k9logicdpc). The challenges certainly motivate me to take pictures regularly and are a great way to get feedback on my photography --- and give feedback to others. There are some amazing photographers on this website from all over the world, and I am both impressed and inspired by their work. A highlight of my year was winning second place in the "post-it note" photo contest in February. See above for that photograph, some outtakes, and a wide angle shot that shows you how simple the setup was. There is a new post-it note puzzle now too (see right column). Enjoy. :-)

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Puzzles!!

Look look --- a new feature in the column to the right! I intend to add jigsaw puzzles (generated by Jigzone) using my farm pictures and/or other images that look like they might be fun to pull apart and put back together. Enjoy. And let me know if you have any trouble with this feature.

Springing Forward

Wow. Almost 10 inches of snow and icicles --- and then one week later, the daffodils have arrived. Very odd. It was close to 80 degrees today and gorgeous.

More Snow Pix

The snow was amazing and it was fun watching it all melt very quickly over a two day period. The icicles all along the roofline were quite dramatic (see above) and also quite noisy as they thawed and fell to the ground.

Snow Snow Snow

Daisy

Dusk

Looking West

. Looking South

Crosby --- age 14 (!) on 3/5/09

Flake

Happy Birds

(thank you to J/L/C/J for the gazebo)

Thor --- age 11

Flake and Daisy

Crosby

Crosby

Pilot

Flake

Thor

Gadget

Wow. March came in like a lion and we got almost 10 inches of snow in Varina yesterday and today. Farm was beautiful. The dogs were ecstatic and are sleeping VERY well tonight. And we still have power too. Hooray.

Happy New Year 2009!!

Oh dear, I am WAY behind yet again. Will try to mend my ways and be more diligent in 2009. That will be my blog-resolution.

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Holidays were wonderful --- and mostly spent in California. Pictures here were taken during a lovely trip to the new Chinese Garden at the Huntington Library (http://www.huntington.org/) with my mother. What an amazing place that is!! There was in fact an "Asian" themed photo contest which I had hoped to enter, but (alas) I forgot that pesky three-hour time difference between EST and PST and missed the deadline. Sigh. Live and learn (or at least I will hope so...). It was a great visit nonetheless.

Stay tuned for more posts soon. I promise. :-)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Just enjoyed a WONDERFUL family reunion in Southern California --- where the food was amazing and the company even better. It was a great opportiunity to remember just how many reasons I have to be thankful. Picture can be seen at the link below.

Sarah's Thanksgiving Pictures 2008

Fall Colors

Wow. Fall is officially here, with cold weather and vivid colors everywhere. The farm is gorgeous --- and I will plan to take more pictures this weekend. Stay tuned.

Double Trouble

Aw shucks. Don't they look cute? Amazing how much trouble two adorable dogs can get into, especially when they are working together though. Our move to the front house continues, albeit slowly --- and I have spent at least a few hours patching holes under the new fence created by the oh-so-adorable canines above. Gadget (on the left) is by far the more guilty party, but Pilot (on the right) is a mighty good cheerleader. All of my dogs seem to like the new place though, and I am hopeful that we can get completely moved in before the end of 2008. Wish us luck.

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On a side note, I am thrilled that the second farm camera seems to be working again. See the link at the right --- and let me know if you have any trouble at all. Thanks again to my brother John for setting these cameras up in the first place.

Happy Halloween

Yes, this is an actual spider web, found on a gas pump I was using late at night. Yikes.

Happy Halloween to all.

Northern Cardinals

The Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is the State Bird of Virginia --- and cardinals are always some of my favorite visitors to the bird feeders. These two were especially entertaining as they shared a meal. I had been told to buy sunflower seeds if I wanted lots of cardinals --- and that has proven to be great advice. They really do seem to prefer sunflower seeds to anything else --- and interestingly, they seem to prefer the variety with the shells best of all.

State Fair of Virginia 2008 --- Plant in Shoe

In a moment of possible madness, I decided I had time to enter yet another competition at the State Fair of Virginia 2008. They had a special category this year, called PLANT IN SHOE, which was exactly that. So --- I headed to the Salvation Army, bought an odd-looking pink shoe and planted a matching phaleonopsis orchid inside, surrounded by ivy and spanish moss. And we won the blue ribbon --- plus $8, which covers the cost of the shoe, if not the orchid. Silly but fun.

State Fair of Virginia 2008 --- Photography

A belated update follows of my results in the State Fair of Virginia 2008 photography competition. My pictures did pretty well --- and (as before) I really enjoyed entering and then visiting the photography exhibition area after judging. There were some impressive photographs this year and I am again inspired to keep shooting during the year ahead.


1st Place (and $5 prize money!) --- 5x7 Color Portraits
Mike Goldberg --- meteorologist, musician and my co-host on Pets & People

2nd Place --- 8x10 B/W Portraits --- Kelsey on a Swing

2nd Place --- 5x7 Color Animals --- Carolina Chickadee

2nd Place --- 5x7 Color "A Fair To Remember" --- Ferris Wheel

3rd Place --- 8x10 B/W Children --- Christine by JCB

2nd Place --- 8x10 B/W "A Fair to Remember" --- Soda Stand

3rd Place --- 8x10 Color "A Fair to Remember" --- Fun Factory

Frog on the Blog

This guy was sitting on the cement pad outside my metal building one evening last week. I feel certain my dogs were laughing at me as I lay flat on the ground (still dressed from work) trying to get pictures before the frog hopped away. I have seen a lot of frogs around the farm, but most are smaller than this guy. I love how his legs seem to be attached backwards.

Resolution --- I intend to get back to posting to the blog more regularly. Wish me luck.

Adorable E

Joanne visited this past weekend with her adorable new puppy "E". Hard to imagine a cuter or smarter or better behaved little dog. I am sure she has GREAT future ahead of her in agility --- or whatever else she has an opportunity to try. Welcome little E. Come visit again soon.

Happy Birthday to Sarah's Farm Report

Happy Birthday to my blog. Today represents the one year anniversary of my first blog post. Wow. It sure seems like a lot longer than that --- but it was 9/2/07 when I first created Sarah's Farm Report and started this blogging adventure. As someone who has never kept a diary or journal, I am surprised at how much I have thoroughly enjoyed documenting progress around the farm and (perhaps more importantly) having a reason to notice and photograph the changing flora and fauna throughout the year. I am totally hooked at this point and will likely be blogging for many years to come. :-)

Relay

Relay

There was a black cat running around the farm a few weeks back, darting in and out of the woods and then vanishing completely. She looked very thin and sounded (meow meow meow) hungry, so I left out some dog kibble, and she continued to show up periodically for over a week. She acted very feral (i.e., wild), but she would wait until I got within about 4 feet or so before bolting. Not wanting a litter of kittens in my woods, I did trap her and take her to the Richmond SPCA for spaying. Her ear, it turned out, had already been tipped (see above) --- which is the universal sign that a feral cat has been spayed or neutered. We knocked her out to confirm she was spayed (she was) and to give her all of her shots and flea/tick prevention. I brought her home the same day --- and decided to see if a week or two in the well house (small empty building) with twice daily delivered meals might win her over --- and to see if she might be persuaded to use a litter box. Happy to report that she was and I was able to (very cautiously) pet her after about 4 days of hanging out. Two weeks later, she actually seems quite social, if not exactly confident. She hides whenever the door opens, the door shuts, the light comes ON, the lights goes OFF, anything drops or moves, etc --- but seems to be "recovering" more quickly each time. And she will now let me stroke her and pick her up without protest. I have been calling her "Relay" because the day I trapped her was the day of the now famous Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones and Jason Lezak come-from-out-of-nowhere swim relay in Beijing. Somehow the name seemed appropriate.

Cooler Weather

Thor --- 9 lbs lighter and full of energy

Pilot and Daisy (who looks a bit crazy here)


Daisy

Daisy and Flake

Crosby

Flake

Gadget in her Donut

Gadget

Cooler weather is coming to Virginia --- and all of us on the farm (canine and human) are sure ready. The dogs have LOVED running in the fields every day recently --- and especially after a heavy rain, when they could get really really wet and soggy. I'm partial to the dryer days, but I love seeing them so happy. Little Ms. Gadget spends a good portion of her "field trips" intent on escaping --- as she is convinced that all manner of small critters live just outside the field and need to be chased. Unfortunately, the bunnies and other critters do find or make holes in the mesh fencing around the field with some regularity, so I was spending the better part of my time each day chaperoning Gadget and trying to find the holes before she did. Donna Anderson (http://www.petitepetinn.com/ and Richmond SPCA instructor) came up with a brilliant idea, which has worked very well so far. Gadget now wears an inflatable donut around her neck when she is in the field, and can no longer fit through the small holes or under the low deck, try as she might. These donuts are sold as an alternative to Elizabethan collars for dogs post-surgery --- but work great for this alternate purpose too. She looks silly, but at least she is still around. :-)

Moving Forward

Metal building with apartment/deck on the left

(picture taken from yard of the front house)

Yard of the front house with new deck on right

Daisy loves the new yard!

The new deck

Crosby approves of the deck

New fencing for dogs --- and the view across Osborne Turnpike

Now that the fences are installed, the house on the front of the property is ready for me and my menagerie. I am hopeful that we will be officially moved out of the garage apartment and into the front house during the first week or two of September. Have already enjoyed entertaining on the new deck several times --- and of course enjoy the yard daily with all of my dogs. There is a whole lot of moving and packing ahead still, but I am very much looking forward to getting it done. Wish me luck.

Bugs

Black Widow

Yellow Moth

Female Wolf Spider --- with lots of Wolf Spiderlings

There is no shortage of bugs in the country --- although mosquitoes have been thankfully scarce the past two years. When I first bought this property, the mosquitoes were EVERYWHERE and I became quite the expert on mosquito-repelling products. Letting grass grow back in all the spots where there was previously "standing water" is probably the reason for the drastic improvement. Hooray. This week I encountered one HUGE yellow moth inside my apartment. He was gorgeous, probably at least 5" in wingspan, and happy to be escorted outside to a Pokeberry bush where I was sure he would be happier. Also encountered my first black widow spider, who was stationed outside the garage in an unused clay pot. Sad to report that this fella did not get similarly escorted to safety. Eek and yikes.

Follow up to original post--- just saw this scary female Wolf spider on Friday morning. Ick ick ick. All of those bumps on her back are baby spiders (spiderlings) who she will carry around for at least two weeks, making her a great mother I suppose, but also probably the ugliest thing I have ever seen. Wolf spider bites are apparently rare and non-lethal --- and this spider was located a great distance from my apartment. Good thing. She thankfully scrambled away after two pictures, but before the dogs noticed or I had to to anything with her and her kids. May they scurry far away and never be seen again.

Summer Harvest

Pears

Blackberries

Green Apples

Myers Lemons

Patio Tomatoes

"Big Boy" Tomatoes

Cherry Tomatoes

"Champion VFNT" Tomatoes

"Mr. Stripey" Tomatoes

Eggplants

Red Peppers

Cucumbers

Despite all the rain and heat (or perhaps because if it) there are plenty of things growing at the farm these days. Just discovered the HUGE cucumbers today (very exciting) and have been eating lots of tomatoes in recent days. Blackberries continue to be plentiful and now it appears that I will have red peppers, eggplants, apples and pears ready for picking soon. The tiny lemon tree arrived via an internet company in April and it hasn't done too much. The tiny lemons were already in place when it got here and they haven't grown much in three months, so I don't expect they will. New leaves started popping out in the past three weeks though, so maybe there is reason for hope. Fingers crossed. All of this "harvesting" is of course done on a very small scale, but is fun (and tasty) nonetheless. Apples are the one exception (they are definitely not my thing), so anyone local who would like to come pick apples should definitely plan a visit. :-)

Blackberries (with new pictures)

The blackberries are here. The blackberries are here. Very exciting indeed --- and there seem to be LOTS of them growing on two sides of my agility field and down toward the pond. The vines seem to be producing even more (delicious) fruit than they did last year, although I see several spots where the honeysuckle and Virginia Creeper have taken over and blackberries are no longer visible at all. I may have to start pulling down the non-berry vines before next summer if I want to keep picking blackberries --- and I certainly do.

Player Piano

This is only indirectly related to the farm itself, but exciting nonetheless. I have always loved player pianos and the old QRS player piano music roll system. Was surfing craigslist.com recently and found an Aeolian Sting II Player Piano in need of a new home, and promptly "adopted" it. It arrived at the farm yesterday and appears to works perfectly. Michael the piano tuner will come on Friday, so it may sound even better after that. Thank you Dan for making this transaction so easy and straughtforward. I promise to take good care of your mother's piano and enjoy it for many years to come.

Click > below to hear a little Scott Joplin. :-)

Down By the River

I often forget how cool it is to live close to water --- and probably don't fully appreciate the James River, which is practically in my backyard. The shot above was one of those pull-over-the-car-because-the-sun-is-fading-NOW shots. I really wish I had pulled over a few minutes earlier, as all of the buildings were bright orange. As the crow flies, my farm is probably about 1/2 mile from the river, but I get to drive next to this spot both coming and going. My resolution will be to find time to do more stuff on or near the water this summer --- be it photography or maybe even a boat ride. I will certainly keep you posted.

Sunflowers

What may be the first of many sunflowers appeared today along the fenceline where the bird feeders live. Hmmm. Lots of sunflower seeds for the cardinals may translate into lots of sunflowers too. What a fun and colorful surprise.

Coming Attractions

One of my favorite parts of farm life is picking wild blackberries along the fencelines through most of July. Just noticed that the tiny blackberries are starting to appear. Very exciting.

Small green tomatoes are starting to appear as well. There are at least five varieties planted this year (Big Boy, Champion VNFT, Patio, Cherry, and Mr. Stripey), so there will be no shortage of tomatoes this summer. I can hardly wait. Will start looking for my Tomato Pie recipe soon.

Hay

Summer heat has arrived and it has been over 100 degrees the past few days. Yuck. I am happy to have lots of projects indoors in the AC. Did sneak out this evening to let the dogs run in the field for awhile --- and then allowed them to flop around in the baby pool afterwards, which they love. The field next to mine was being mowed completely yesterday and today was being baled for hay. Really fun to watch the super BIG equipment at work --- although I'm sure the operator was very warm by the time he got done.

Ladybugs

One of my favorite parts of life in the country is finding splashes of color amidst all the green --- and usually when I least expect it. The ladybugs always surprise me with their rich deep red color and perfect polka dots. This little gal was quite the acrobat too. I had vertigo just watching her climb.

Turtles

Eastern Box Turtle

..Eastern Slider

The farm appears to also be great place for turtles. I often see the Eastern Sliders basking on logs in the pond --- and after all of the recent rain, there appear to be even more of them. It may be that the pond is just bigger these days and so are the turtles, so they are easier to see. The Eastern Box Turtle at the top was "galloping" across my field toward the woods (moving at a very rapid turtle pace), but froze like a supermodel when I arrived with my camera. I love all the polka dots on his legs.

Flowers

In a burst of enthusiasm, I finished planting flowers in all of my containers yesterday. Most of the pots were here last summer --- and lots of the foundation plants (ivy, vinca, pansies, Dusty Miller, etc) were still going strong even after the winter months. Some were not doing well though and the pots needed attention badly. Weeded, dead-headed, trimmed and filled in with new flowers as needed. Everything looks colorful and healthy for now --- and my fingers are crossed that they stay that way. The bees were out in great numbers, so they are certainly going to do their part to keep everything blooming.

Very Happy Vegetables

Romaine

Arugula

Basil

Herbs

Parsley

Thyme

Lettuce and Spinach

Wow. What a difference a few weeks makes. As you can see, my lettuce has gone crazy --- and tomatoes and herbs look very happy too. Lost two small basil plants (probably due to lots of rain), but everything else looks great. I think there are a lot of salads in my future. :-)

Vegetables

The Earthboxes are back. This year I have planted even more vegetables than last year --- and have great plans to enjoy lots of fresh lettuce and spinach soon. The tomatoes will take a bit longer, but they did SO well last year that I am willing to wait. Planted everything on two recent weekends and (alas) did so in very cold and rainy conditions. The little plants all looked a bit forlorn after the transplant process, so I am hoping for some warmer/sunnier weather soon to help them perk back up. Stay tuned for updates.

Here is what I planted:

• Spinach
• Romaine lettuce
• Head lettuce
• Boston lettuce
• Arugula
• Basil --- two varieties
• Tomatoes --- four varieties
• Kentucky Mint
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Sage
• Chives
• Italian oregano

Earthboxes are nifty containers that allow the plants to use just as much water as they need. I love them and had GREAT success using them last year. They are available from amazon.com and elsewhere --- but you can check the www.earthbox.com web site for more information.

Rabbits

To say that there are rabbits at my farm would be an understatement indeed. There are zillions of them --- and they are visible every morning and evening, munching away on grass and other delicacies in all of the fields. In the spirit of the holidays, I left a large pile of carrots for them before Christmas --- and ALL of those carrots were still there when I returned after New Year's Day. Very odd. Either rabbits don't eat carrots as happily as Bugs Bunny would have had us believe --- or my particular rabbits are very finicky. In any case, they seem to be thriving on something around here --- and love to torment my dogs by eating grass just 20 feet beyond the apartment yard fence. It is apparent from the last photograph just why they are called "cotton tails". .

P.S. Interestingly, I have only seen one squirrel in the four years I have been here. I'm guessing maybe all the bunnies scared them off.

Sarah's Bird Report

I have become a bit obsessed with all of the birds at my feeder and decided they merited a blog of their own. This should make it easier for me to add new varieties as I see and identify them --- and to add better photographs as I take them. Enjoy.

http://sarahsbirdreport.blogspot.com/

Apple Tree

Before Cleanup
(note brambles twisted high into the top of the tree)

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After Cleanup

.Two Weeks Later --- In Full Bloom

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Two weeks back, I decided to make an attempt to clean up the fruit trees on the farm before spring really got rolling --- and well before the arrival of leaves, buds, blooms, and fruit. As anyone who knows me can tell you, apples (yuck) are not my thing, but I was hopeful that I could make the tree look healthier at least. I do love how it looks when all the branches are colorful --- and I think I have friends who will take and enjoy most of the apples. Tray (who works on the farm most Saturdays) did the lion's share of the work, removing a full pickup truck bed's worth of brush and bramble from around the base and up into the middle of the tree. Thank you Tray! I have pounded in a few tree fertilizer stakes as well, so with any luck this tree will be better in 2008 than ever before. So far, it looks like that will indeed be the case. There is also a pear tree nearby, so I am optimistic that there will be an abundance of fruit this year. And I do like pears. :-) Fingers crossed.

Bird Watching

Bluejay

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Mourning Dove

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Common Grackle

. Female Cardinal

..Male Cardinal

. Red-Bellied Woodpecker

. American Robin

.European Starling

.Eastern Bluebird

Spring has arrived and the birds are visiting my bird feeders in record numbers. I continue to be amazed at the variety of birds that come --- and only wish I had more time to photograph. For now I will enjoy their vivid colors and remarkable range of sounds. There is one who sounds exactly like "sweet sweet sweet" (over and over and over), which I gather is the sound of a Yellow Warbler. I have yet to see one at my feeder though. Stay tuned. I will add new birds as I meet them.

Happy Birthday Crosby

Twelve years ago this month a stray dog wandered up to my house on Church Hill. He became my “rehoming project” and then (pretty quickly) a member of my small 3-horse, 2-cat family. I did not own a dog at that time and hadn’t had one in many years. Short version of a long story is that “Crosby” changed most everything about my life and most of the things I have done since then have involved him in some way or another: dog training student, agility student, agility competitor, agility instructor, graduate student in animal behavior, graduate of the SF SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers, director of Education & Training at the Richmond SPCA, farm owner, etc. I can’t even begin to count all the people I have met as a result of this one stray dog and if you are reading this, you may be among them. Anyway, as you can see, Crosby is alive and well and enjoying life. Since he was about 1 year old when I found him, he celebrated his 13th birthday on 3/5/08 with an extra long romp in the field and some really good marrow bones. Keep your eyes out for the animal that will change your life forever. You never know when you he or she might come along.

Daisy

Little Miss Daisy is just shy of 10 months old now and doing great. In case I failed to mention it earlier, she is officially staying and has quickly made herself part of the family. All of you who predicted I would keep her (when I suggested she was only temporary) were of course right, and she has grown into a lovely dog, both in structure and temperament. She runs like the wind when we get out in the field, but seems to have found an "off switch" for at least some of her indoor time. I am thankful for this quality, as off switches do not come standard on border collies. She knows SIT and DOWN and has started to learn RIGHT and LEFT, which will help with future agility courses. If you see me, ask how her training is going. I fear I need a bit of a push to make time for puppy training amidst everything else. Daisy learns everything oh-so-very-quickly --- so I really do owe it to her to make sure she is learning the right stuff. Wish me luck.

Birds in Flight

Big entertainment for my dogs this week has been racing toward the enormous flocks of birds that seem to have adopted my front field in the early evening. Of course the birds don't seem that concerned and simply take off into the sky in huge numbers, moving in perfect synchronization. Beautiful to watch as they swoop and drop with the changing wind currents and them head on toward somewhere else. Haven't been able to get close enough to identify the specific type of bird yet, but I plan to do a little research and see what I can find.

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Okay --- google saves the day. Looks like these birds are probably crows, who apparently gather this time of year to spend the night in very large communal roosts containing hundreds or even thousands of birds. An hour or so before dusk, the crows head back toward these roosts, stopping along the way in "staging areas" like my field. One web site suggested that staging areas are usually cemetaries or other open areas surrounded by lots of trees, which of course makes my field nearly perfect. Who knew? Well I guess the crows did. :-)

Famous Dogs

Unrelated to the farm, but very related to my dogs, I should point out that my mutts are nationally famous this month. Click on the links below to read all about The Bark magazine cover dog contest, see Amanda Jones' wonderful pictures of my dogs on the Jan-Feb 2008 cover, and check out a related article in the Richmond Times Dispatch about the contest. And yes --- all the fame has gone right to their heads and my dogs are demanding high rates of biscuits and cheese to compensate them for their extreme patience in front of the camera. I am happy to oblige.

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Richmond Times Dispatch

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/search.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-01-14-0002.html

The Bark

http://www.thebark.com/ezine/features_specialFeatures/Cover_Dog_Winners.html

Winter Dogs

Trying hard to get back into the rhythm of posting weekly, despite the fact that farm projects have not gotten much attention lately. The only recent farm pictures are of my happy dogs playing in the fields and generally enjoying the cold weather. The grass in the agility field is largely brown now, but still provides a great cushion for running and jumping and chasing and fetch. Thor found that the brown grass clippings also stick like velcro if you roll in them --- and that has become his favorite game most days. See if you can find him, carefully camouflaged in the picture above. :-)

Happy New Year

Okay --- the end of 2007 got crazy busy and didn't go well in terms of blog posting, but I have high hopes for the New Year. Cross your fingers and wish me luck. Also crashed my hard drive last week (alas) --- so spent most of the weekend trying to get a new laptop up and running and communicating again. If you are reading this post, I have been at least somewhat successful. Today was a beautiful snow day in Virginia --- so at least the dogs had fun running around and getting really cold and soggy. :-)

Happy New Year to all.

Happy Thanksgiving

Coming soon: pictures from the last day of the Virginia State Fair and then much more. I have (alas) fallen a bit behind on blog posting and vow to get caught up very soon. Stay tuned.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Virginia State Fair By Night

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I made it to the Virginia State Fair on the very last weekend for some night photography. Long exposures are especially fun for me, especially when you have so much color and movement to capture and you never know quite what you are going to "get". My favorite is the merry-go-round photograph, which involved a 30-second exposure with one forced flash midway through the shot. Looks like an alien spaceship landing or something.