Way Out In Left Field

So yesterday, I had the joy of shooting my first wedding...which means today, I haven't done a darn think except load pictures and edit them. I have come to the realization that we need a new computer, though. Andy's pretty excited.

So here are some of the photos I've been working on. BTW, (in case you haven't already noticed) for some reason, my blog template cuts of a good 1/10 of the right side of all of my lanscape pictures. Drat. So if you want to see the whole picture, clicking directly on the photo should link you to my flickr site.

Meet Lesley.





Her MoH is a former model.



And her BM was a cutie!





The ceremony was beautiful. (The lucky man's name is Ed)



And the bubbles were a blast!



Mmmm. I love cake.



The reception hall was gorgeous...overlooking the Scioto River.



And we went to my alma mater for some fun post-ceremony pictures.



Total, I took over 2500 pictures. I almost used up an entire 8GB memory card.

Don't worry: Stella and Rufus did not feel neglected. Andy stayed home and cuddled with the PS3 controller and (Matt &) Winnie came over to visit Rufus.

Blindsided

Today started off great. I got home and took the doggies to the park...lucky them.

Rufus's good friend, Bentley was there.

Run, Bentley, run!



Commence WWF-Style Smackdown:



Ima gonna slap you!



Did we get him?



Yup, I think we got him.



Hahahaha! MadeYaLook!



There was definitely some Post-Smackdown-Spooning.



Stella was her usual stoic self.



And after a shot like this (note Rufus), I should have known it was coming.



So we went home, la de da. I decided to plant my raspberries and let the dogs play in the back yard. Stella quit after a bit and laid down on the back porch. We went in and ate dinner. Toward the end of dinner (a wonderful stir-fry prepared by my wonderful Andy), I noticed some fluff was coming off of Stella's back/side. So I leaned over to investigate. Rufus had ripped a hole in her skin.

I went to Walmart.



Rufus is lucky that Stella is such a forgiving dog. And I can add another one to the long list of Stella-Injuries. I'm hoping we won't have to take her in for stitches. xxxx :/



I'm also thinking about investing in doggie health insurance. Any recommendations?

***note: I think I should mention that, as a shar pei, Stella is prone to skin problems, so although I was a bit peeved at Rufus for playing too rough with her, I can't really blame him because he doesn't understand English (so I can't really tell him "Sissy has skin problems...no biting!"). Sadly. Any tips on getting a dog not to play bite other dogs, or is that just part of being a dog?

And So It Begins

Today was our first trip to the dog park.

Rufus loved it.

Oh, hai! I'm at the dog park. Kthxbai.



Stella was actually social, but only with people. She usually patrols the perimeter snuffling everything and marking it. But today, she played just a wee bit, and hung out with the humans talking in groups.

R: Whoppeeee!
S: Hmmm...to join or not to join, that is the question


(Note to readers: Check out the slobbery goober above Rufus's eye.)

Catching flies:



I think he got one. Tasty. (Not surprised...Rufus will eat anything)



I was also appalled every time Stella got a nice foamy beard of drool. She would trot right into the middle of a circle of people standing around and shake. Nice, Stella. Real nice.

Pre-shake:


I wasn't sure of the unspoken Doggie Park Rules, so I refrained from taking pictures of other peoples' dogs, with the exception of...

KOALA DOG!



And as a side note, RIP Sweet Potato Porcupine. Rufus loved you to bits.

How Much Is That Dog In the Window?

OoOoOoOo, purdy.



Hey there, hotstuff, watcha lookin' at?



Hey! Mom! There's nothin' out there! What the heck is she lookin' at?



This is boring. Guess I'll just lick myself.

A Walk In the Woods

Just running through a typical walk for the doggies and me.

Rufus always hits the ground running.

Come on, lady, time's a-waistin'!



And Stella gets truckin' as soon as she's peed on the signs by the path.

*Singing: Hum-de-hum*



She also insists on snuffling every leaf, clump of grass and rock along the path...just in case some other dog has peed there first.

Gotta snuffle everything



Snuffle, snuffle



Oops! Almost forgot to snuffle that rock



Hey! I'm not done snuffling!



Rufus likes to find other dogs' brown rocks and eat them. Lucky for you, I spared you the graphic photos and am substituting Rufus eating a stick instead.

I like sticks.



Nom nom nom. Tasty.



You want some? It's reeeealllly good



We usually stop by the railroad tracks for a few photos.

What do you mean "sit"? I don't do "sit" on rocks. I snuffle them.



I like my walksies on the pathies



See? It's right over there



Come on, let's go.



Right across from the railroad tracks is a path to a farmer's field that we kind of hang out in sometimes.

Gotta snuffle the field, too. You know, just in case.



I'm a workin' dog, can't you tell?



(Pshaw! Rufus, you are NOT a working dog. You march to the beat of your own drummer, and that drummer looks nothing like a human)

I can't figure out what Stella's doing in this picture, but Rufus is ready to go!



And I leave you, friends, with the lovely view I get all during walksies. Enjoy!

Randomnesses

So, the weather in oHIo pulled a total fakeout on us oHIoans. It was 60 degrees and sunny for a few days a while back, but lately, it's been cloudy and/or bitter cold. Too cold for this chicken to go outside for more than 20 minutes to take photos.

At least, that is my excuse for this post.

I've been GIMPed. I can now do cool things like this



Granted, it's an old point-and-shoot photograph that is a little underexposed, and the composition isn't the best, but I had fun coloring in apples and my niece Alexis. (Check out the butt-shaped apple in my mom's hand. Totally Rad.) And I would have totally done this with one of my doggy pictures, but my dogs are black (and white) already, so adding color wouldn't make a lick of difference.

GIMP does, however, make these kinds of differences

BEFORE



AFTER



And, in my lone venture outside with the little ruffians, I did manage to get this shot



You can get GIMPed, too, if you are interested in an application that acts a bit like photoshop but is about $400 cheaper (that is, free).