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RIP Minnie
Recently my dog Minnie died at home after a short illness. It’s taken me over a week to begin composing this message because her death has hit me (and my husband Martin) so hard. Minnie lived with us for just over a decade and we thought we had another 2-6 years together. Perhaps people are surprised that I didn’t immediately share the news to social media, but I was too raw to discuss it, and grief for me has a private dimension. Instead I informed close friends and family, and went about all the sad duties that fall upon you when a pet dies – including deciding how to dispose…
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Minnie photobomb
My dog Minnie doesn’t like being photographed. Mainly I take to take images of her when she’s not looking – when she’s occupied sniffing at something in the woods she doesn’t care if I snap some images of her. Otherwise I have to pester her to get a good shot. Yesterday I was delighted to see bluebells in a spot in my local woods where I’ve never seen them grow before. I stopped to take some photos and Minnie sat further up the hill and got into the shot. Minnie gets very impatient when I pause to take photos on our walks together. After all, in her opinion it’s a…
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bayou Coole
One positive side-effect of all the rain this winter is I get to snap an image like this. I took this today at Coole Park while walking the dog. When we have exceptionaly rainy weather the Turlough in the park floods sections of the forest, rendering some of the paths impassable (unless you have wellies – or waders!). The dog was delighted to have the opportunity splash about in the water, and desperately wanted me to throw a stick into it so she had a reason to dive in. She even dragged a huge branch out of the shallows in an attempt to entice me into a game of stick…
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minnie through grass
Taken this evening, during one of our rare sunny periods this summer. Minnie the dog watches the path while I snap pictures through the tall grass.
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minnie triumphant
It’s been a while since I inflicted a picture of Minnie the pooch upon you. I snapped this the other morning, as she stared resolutely away from the camera. She hates the shiny metal box that causes me to pause and point it at objects during her walks, so she shows her disdain towards it at every opportunity. That’s her racoon toy, which is rather adorable. She loves it because it’s very long, so she can grab it in the middle, scamper around the table and whip it about viciously so both ends slap against carpet, chairs, your legs… It has a squeaker in the head and in the end…
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winter morning
For a dog that’s camera-shy – Minnie hates me taking her photo – she’s beginning to creep her way into a lot of my nature shots lately. I don’t mind as it often adds a spot of interest to the image. As you can see it’s cold today with wintery fog. I won’t say anything else about that image because it’s doing all the heavy-lifting. I’ve been churning away at the novel, and it’s over the 30K mark now. I had a couple of missed days for a variety of reasons but I’m in the swing of things now. I need to be because I have WexWorlds this weekend. I…
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making friends
This is a picture of Mr. Barky and Minnie, which I snapped today after they became friends in my local woods. I don’t know the name of the dog, but that’s what I’m calling him, after his method of introduction when he spotted us. Dogs are pretty easy to understand if you take the time to learn to read their body language, and remember that they normally strive for harmony. They want everyone to get on, and preferably to live together in a large, affable, smelly pack and to run about, play, sleep and gnaw the odd bone. This is not to say that they don’t grump at each other…
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the frost dance
Another picture from today where Minnie edged her way into the background. She’s a rather impatient dog and doesn’t like it when I stop to take photos. Sometimes she’ll snuffle around, while other times she’ll plant herself on her arse and wait for me to stop staring at mushrooms through the shiny metal object. There are flaws to this photo that make it less than perfect, but the double subject makes up for it. For those of you who don’t care for dogs, you get a mushroom, and for the dog and mushroom lovers you get nirvana. If neither takes your fancy then I might not be the best blogger…
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a grey day
It’s one of those cold, wet November days where you have to search hard to find a spot of beauty. As you can see from the above photograph, the woods are pretty bare now. I like the mood of this image, however, probably because Minnie’s body language is alert, and the path indicates a journey that has yet to be taken. But, there is a hazy quality to what lies ahead, and even the watchful dog is out of focus. Sometimes, life is uncertain. All you can do is move forward, and keep the hound close.
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Jack O'Leaf
I was pleased to capture this image this morning just using my mobile phone camera. Halloween might be over, but this looks like a Jack O’Leaf to me. It was a frosty, sunny morning in the woods today, which can mean good photos if you can find a subject. There is little foliage left on the trees after the rain and wind over the weekend (not as bad as predicted). The view from my office is of my back garden, and of the three trees I can see there are perhaps half a dozen leaves hanging on grimly to the stark branches. I’ve begun putting out peanuts in feeders for…