Filed under: animals, border collies, food, photography | Tags: border collies, dogs, food, life, photography, tucson, vegan
I’m sorry I’ve been so out of touch. Things have been so busy. It’s amazing how adding a third dog can take away half your time. (ok…I may be exaggerating. ) This is my busy season, so I should have many things to blog about. The question is….Will I have time? I suppose the biggest news is this: Your dear friend Pickles was selected to be the cover dog for the Arizona Border Collie Rescue 2015 calendar! And I got to shoot her photo, as well as her May images, Nike the July dog, and October dogs Saxon and London! The calendar is beautiful. They did a brilliant job assembling cute dogs, talented photographers and the print quality is great. Here is my girl now, in one of the photos that didn’t make the calendar:
Pickles at San Xavier Mission
You can order your calendars here: http://azbordercollierescue.com/calendar_purchase_2015.asp In July Cody Bear turned 10! O….M…G….. Time is going by so fast. Pickles is 6 and Tralee is 1. Pickles and Cody Bear still love each other, but he also enjoys sitting back and watching the two Border Collies play. I love how he smiles at them. And every now and then he will join in the fun. But he is slowing down. And how is he doing with the new, high drive, loony puppy….?
Cody Bear and Tralee Bear
He loves her. And she adores him. He is very protective of his girls and he loves having that role of protector.
Cody Bear and his greying muzzle
In even bigger news! Some of you know I have enjoyed working on my photography portfolio for several years now. Well, I was invited by the i.d.e.a. Museum in Mesa, AZ to participate in their “Jeepers Creepers: BUGS in art” exhibition running from 10/3/14 to 1/25/15! I saw the exhibition last week. I drove to Scottsdale and dragged my parents to the gallery opening. We had a great night and my parents and I were SO impressed with the gallery and the diverse collection!
Purple Hairstreak Butterfly
The i.d.e.a. Museum is geared towards inspiring creativity and education for children and they’ve done a brilliant job keeping a collection of talented artists and making it interactive and fun for kids. Please check it out, it is sooo much fun. Final October news: Goodbear has gone vegan! Today is day thirty. I had a few off days where I couldn’t avoid dairy, but for the most part it was a good thirty days and I’m going to keep at it. I will allow an occasional egg from my friends’ home chickens. I know I won’t be perfect, but I’m going to give it a shot. I decided to do it for health reasons and I could instantly see improvements in that department.
Goodbear goes vegan
Filed under: dogs | Tags: border collies, cacti, cacuts, desert, dogs, flowers, photography, plants
My dad gave me this cactus maybe 5 or 6 years ago as a cutting. It’ hasn’t grown much or done anything. Then recently little pups have popped up and last night I saw a flower bud. I didn’t notice it earlier because it’s kind of out of the way in a non-watering area. Then this morning…..
late bloomer cactus!
So vibrant. So as long as I had the camera out I thought I’d show you the current state of the plants in my back yard:
Here is one of the night bloomers. Second go around this summer. Two blooms opened last night!
cereus
And I don’t know what this is. These were on sale at Home Depot so I took a chance…
cheery flower
And this guy….
bryophyllum daigremontianum
Also known as a “mother of thousands”, this bryophyllum daigremontianum is about 48 inches tall and will have some interesting flowers later in the year.
And the Basil…
Basil
And for lunch I made a fluffy omelet with this basil, sliced grape tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. So good!
spruce cone cactus
I have a few of these but this one is going crazy. He has been growing straight up all year, then last week he appeared to fall on his side. But now he has turned himself back to fast the other direction. Love him!
mexican fencepost cactus
portuclaca
I don’t know what this is. A friend gave me the cuttings a month ago and he’s really doing great.
cactus
And here! a locust exoskeleton on a carrion plant!
carrion plant
And it’s a good thing the yard is big, because in between all these plants we need room for this:
Filed under: animals, dogs, life, pets | Tags: animals, dogs, life, pets, photography
and so cody bear and pickles have found themselves house sitting! they’re keeping their friend hannah company while her dad is out of town.
fun for pickles who has been playing with all hannah’s lovely toys, and relaxing for cody bear who is recoving from an asskicking surgery.
we end up going home for meals, as, between the two of them, there are a great amount of pill bottles involved.
hannah enjoys watching pickle play with her toys, but she’s a little older so she doesn’t join in with the romping.
tomorrow we go home. house cleaning and a photo shoot for me. relaxing and getting snuggled for them. you know….much of the same for them.
moving on to the serious news…we find out sometime after tuesday if cody bear’s tumor was cancer. i’m nervous, i won’t lie. but i will be surprised if it is bad, i mean….this is the healthiest the bear has ever been. it will be quite unfair if, after years of trying to get his health in order and achieving, we find he has cancer. that just won’t be fair. no other way to say it.
aside: the house we’re staying has a couch! we don’t have a couch. and i’m sitting on it. so posh!
my feet are on the coffee table and the baby loves are laying beneath my legs. i’ll wake them up soon…when i’ve had my fill of cable tv. oh livin’ the high life at hannah’s.
Filed under: animals, dogs, life | Tags: animals, dogs, life, pets, photography
why are cody bear and pickles smiling?
i don’t know, really. they’ve had a rough year. perhaps they’re smiling because 2012 is going to be a healthy and happy dog year? sorry i’ve been absent so long. pickles struggled with health all year. we’re still trying to get her feeling better. she is puzzle.
but through it all she keeps smiling and wagging.
as does the bear….who is having a tumor removed next week. the 20th. so please keep him in your thoughts that day.
now….in other news. another reason i’ve been busy: my photography business is off the hook. how did this happen? i just had my first show last month and it was a great success. i’ll get some pics and details up next.
i’m back to blogging. thank god.
Filed under: animals, dogs, food, insects, life | Tags: animals, border collies, dogs, food, insects, life, mutts, photography
so life has been happening. lots and lots of life. good and bad; mostly good.
but i’m back. i will say…there has been alot of eating, visits to the vet and frantic life happening in the last few months.
the best breakfast ever was discovered:
hash browns on green chili sauce with a chili relleno breakfast burrito. (i could only eat half)
insects are still being found:
and while cody bear had a bit of roughness in the past year, he’s back and better than ever:
ever playful, ever loving.
and his faithful sidekick is still doing great and making us all happy:
what a sweet baby pickles!
Filed under: gardening, life, nature, photography, travel | Tags: gardening, japanese garden, life, photography, portland, travel, vacation
so i haven’t blogged in a while. i was on vacation in portland. when i got home i SHOULD have popped some pictures up right away, but i have to admit….i was sort of bummed. i loved portland. my hosts were so much fun and we squeezed so many great things in. when i got home i was bored. bored and cranky and contemplative. “why the hell am i living here?” i’ve been talking about moving for years. oh yeah: i have no money to move. so i’m stuck here.
now, that i got THAT out of the way i will say that i’m much cheerier this week. it’s been a great three day weekend and i have spent some time setting some goals, which i will share later. but for now i will show you some photos of one of my favorite places in portland, the japanese garden!
definitely worth the admission, which i think was 5 dollars. i’m pretty certain if i lived in that town i would go all the time. once we got away from the group with the loud toddlers it was so quiet and peaceful and ….healing.
i wish this was my back yard! but moss just doesn’t like it here.
Filed under: beer, friends, life | Tags: beer, friends, life, photography, pool, random
dear friends, please remember, you can’t startle easily if you go out drinking with goodbear. that’s your warning.
why?
because at any minute, while you’re casually lifting your glass to take a sip of beer, she might hiss, “don’t move” while she reaches for her bag.
…and pulls out a camera and makes you hold your glass up to the pretty lights.
oooh. ahhhh.
yes, i did go out for beers on a work night. and yes, i am freakin exhausted today.
but it was worth it. it was fun, plus i needed to be reminded about how much i suck at pool. like every other american female my pool skills increase with each beer. the number of balls sank per game is directly proportional to the amount of beers you’ve drank. also, there is an exponential element.
first beer = you still suck
second beer = most of your efforts are still humiliating, but maybe 2 or 3 shots will elicit a charitable high five from opponents.
third beer = you’re infallible. at least….that’s what you remember.
fourth beer = you still act like you CAN’T BELIEVE you made that shot, but in your tipsy head you’re thinking….”i’m a phenom!”
for the record, i only had 3 guinness last night, so i never hit “phenom” status. also, i know i wasn’t infallible.
anyway, fun times.
now get back to work!
Filed under: bees, hiking, insects, nature, photography | Tags: animals, bees, damselflies, hiking, insects, nature, photography, toads, wildlife
sunday afternoon the sky started getting moody and i started feeling desperate. “i need more bug photos for my upcoming show.”
braving the elements, (rain and thunder….not too frightening) i headed east to my favorite dragonfly hotbed.
first of all, it must be said, my new hiking boots are totally comfy and i’m so glad i didn’t let anyone talk me into returning them.
and yes, my feet ARE totally adorable when they’re…in shoes. moving on….
’twas a brilliant day. the light was diffused with clouds and the roll of thunder kept going on and on and on. (like a moody blues tune, only you actually like that it’s not stopping)
big surprise of the day? tiny toadkins. these little toads were hopping all over when i climbed down to the pond bed. and also, these little toadkins are why i smelled like dead fish for a wee bit.
but, how cute? they were worth it.
you’re wondering,….”how tiny IS that tiny toad?” well, he’s about the size of watch battery. maybe smaller. maybe the size of a micro sd card?
now, regarding the upper body strength….
damselflies.
they have some staggering upper body strength. …no?
sadly, the last visitor reminds me about how i’ve lost my bee friends.
agapostemon.
i miss my agapostemons.
eh. nice critters out there.
afterwards i hopped back in the honda. listened to van morrison, ray lamontagne, and…what?…mazzy star. ’twas a good day.
Filed under: animals, insects, life, nature, photography | Tags: animals, beers, cicada, insects, life, meteor shower, nature, photography
thursdays are good nights to sneak beers into a movie, grab a burrito afterwards, then head out of town to find a dark patch to view a meteor shower. don’t you think thursdays are good for that?
fridays are good for catching up on work before the weekend, then sneaking out to take photos of cicada leave offs. their sheddings are stuck to our building and trees.
these cicadas will not shut up. it only bothers me on the really hot days.
every now and then a thrasher will catch one and fly around with it in it’s beak. they sound REALLY pissed off when that happens. the birds love it and seem to fly laps around the property.
tomorrow is saturday. saturdays are good days to sleep in late, cuddling with dogs and do whatever….
Filed under: animals, beetles, insects, nature, photography, wildlife | Tags: animals, beetles, insects, long horned cactus beetles mating, nature, photography, wildlife
so, yeah, i like photographing insects. you all know that. but those who know me very well know i like …um….catching them in the act!
and it just turns out that my yard is a hot bed for insect sex.
you can’t turn around without seeing long horned cactus beetles hooking up. they make rabbits look like prudes.
in this photo, the one on the bottom is EATING during copulation! (oh no she dih-unt!? oh yes she did!) aren’t you guys glad i didn’t use a macro lens???? can’t you just HEAR john mayer singing his creepy song “your body is a wonderland?” (ew….i just grossed myself out. creepy guy. creepy song.)
here you have a lonely beetle.
don’t worry little one…stick around long enough, someone is bound to find you.
for more photos i have taken of insects in flagrante, visit here and here.
cody bear's friends 