Obedience - When he feels like it!

This is me in at a training session with Brac last Thursday. He looks wonderful, bless his cotton socks. We had our first obedience show of the season yesterday but what he produced in the ring bore no relation to this. He will work like this outside the ring at the venue which is usually a sports field, but in the ring, Brac has his own agenda and paying attention to me isn't listed very high on it.

Spring

More snow

It's Spring. It's April. Friday I was walking Brac in a T shirt in glorious sun shine and thinking I should perhaps have put some lotion on. This morning it snowed, and snowed, and snowed. We ended up with 2-3" but it would have easily been twice that if it had been cold enough for it not to melt. It looked pretty for a while but once the snow started to abate it melted very quickly. The sun has just appeared but it is about to set anyway. There is now just a small amount of snow left on the rooftops but apart from that it appears to be returning to normal...what ever that is. Crazy weather.

Just being a dog!

Brac takes time out after all his hard work.

Brac's second day on the job

Today was Brac's second and final day on the photo shoot. This time he was being walked by a different model and in a park. What he really wanted to do was what dogs normally do in park but instead he had to be content being walked back and forth while more photos were taken. It wasn't all boring though. A little later on he was to get involved in a group frisbee game in the park which, as it had been raining lots lately, was extremely muddy. Brac, who had only been bathed yesterday in preparation for this photo shoot, ended up plastered but at least he had fun.

Brac's a Star...but we knew that anyway.

Brac was used in a photo shoot for an advert today. This is the second time he has been used in advertising. Last time was for worming pills and today was healthcare. He assignment was to walk on the lead with the model so nothing too taxing. What amazes me about this kind of set-up is just how many people it takes to take a photograph.
Brac is required back again tomorrow for some different shots. I'm not sure yet what they will require but what ever it is he will be only too happy to be in the centre of attention.

New Neighbours

A male blue tit has been very busy these last few days sorting out this nest box and trying to make it acceptable to his female. I think they have now finally settled but for several days it was touch and go as to whether she would accept it of not. He was hedging his bets though as there are at least three other tit boxes in the garden and he had been preparing all four but this was the one he had been displaying outside so clearly this was his first choice. It's good for me as it's right opposite my office window.

This is just an Easter wish for you all. Enjoy the holiday and don't get too sick on chocolate. As for me, today is a day for staying in by the fire as it's freezing cold and snowing!

Silly sheep... ...dog!

These sheep are engrossed. The have wandered across the field to try and understand the spectacle that is revealing itself before them. Believe it or not, it's Brac they are interested in and far from being concerned about his presence they seem completely mystified by him.
So why is Brac commanding so much attention? Because bored with me stopping to take photos of sheep he has wandered off through a scraggy hedge to my right and into a small coppice. There is a lot of growling and grunting going on with a few barks through in for good measure. I decide to take a look and see for myself what he is up to and the rest I thought worth photographing...
Scroll drown to the images below.



As I turned around I saw the tip of Brac's tail slowly emerging from the hedge. By the time I get the camera focused he is half way out. He is clearly trying to retrieve something that he does not want to give up on and the frustration is very apparent.


Suddenly it all happens and he springs backwards with his spoils. It's one of the recently coppiced canes.


Having dog-handled it through the hedge he now feels his has won the right to parade with it up and down the path while the sheep still gaze at him in wonder.

Back at Agility

This morning I was able to take Brac to agility training for the first time since just before Christmas. You can imagine how excited he was when he got there. There was no training for a month over the Christmas period and then when it started up again it was cancelled for the first two weeks due to bad weather. Since then there have been a couple of training days cancelled because the organisers have been away and of those that were available either we were away or Brac had a cut paw. Next week there won't be any agility training as Crufts is on and most of the trainers and some of the trainees will be there.
Despite Brac not having been for so long he hadn't forgotten any of it and was far more 'on the ball' than me. I was still trying to fathom out my lefts from rights when he was half way around the course. I swear he is probably better off without me barking commands at him all the way around especially when half the time they are wrong and he ignores me anyway. I think I need to go round with Gaffa tape over my mouth :-)

My Garden Stalker

Although not native, pheasants are '10 a penny' in the UK and a quintessential part of the British countryside. I don't , however, live in the country, so you can imagine my surprise at seeing this beauty in my back garden. Ok, I've only got to go a few miles down the road to find some and It's true I do back onto farmland, but it's arable so at this time of year especially there is no ground cover. Being on the edge of a town means these fields are regularly patrolled by endless dog walkers and there is a clay pigeon shoot the next field over. All this generally keeps these birds well away so maybe this one had got lost and thought my garden a place of safety? He clearly hadn't spotted Brac watching from the French doors. He's gone now but not until he had spent a good few hours searching between every blade of grass in a general leisurely way for some morsel to eat. I wonder if I'll see him again?

Happy Birthday To Us

Today is OUR birthday. Mine, Paul's and Brac's. Well OK, officially it was Brac's yesterday but he's not going to know. In effect today is like a second mini Christmas as we all open our presis together, which means waiting until Paul comes home from work :-( You can tell which are Brac's. They are the ones wrapped in Christmas paper. He's not fussy.

Adobe Photoshop Tutorials

So what have I been up to recently? Well I guess it's all a bit sad really because it's not been anything wildly exciting that has kept me away from blogging like a wonderful holiday or moving house. No I've been here all along but I've been working on my web site in my spare time and by the time I'm finished I've just had enough of typing. Why, well I'm adding a series of tutorials to my web site on Adobe Photoshop. I use it as the main tool after my camera, for creating my pet portraits and as such I've built up quite a lot of working knowledge about it. Many people keep asking me how I do this or how I do that when they see my work so instead of simply repeating myself over and over I've started to write it all down. It will take me years to finish, if I ever do, but that's OK, I'll just keep adding more tutorials as I get around to it. If you are interested in knowing how to use the most comprehensive images editing software available then do check out my web site. If you don't find what you are looking for today, try again in a few days time, or, alternatively, ask me what it is you would like to know and I'll add it to my list and discuss it in a tutorial as soon as I can.
Similarly, if you have any trouble using the site do let me know so I can fix it.

The First Emperor

Sorry for not Blogging for a while. Been a bit busy on other things but more about that later.
I went to see the First Emperor exhibition with Paul last night at the British Museum. There were about a couple of dozen or so statues from China's Terracotta Army including horses and chariots. Although there were only a few statues at the exhibition you were able to get right up close to them which apparently you can't do in china. It was all pretty amazing but even more so when you consider that there are over 4,000 of these in place around the Emperor's tomb. Each one is different. It wasn't just men and horses either. He had bronzes made of all the bird life too. It really is an exhibition worth seeing if you get the chance but we were extra lucky because Paul is currently working for the sponsors of the Exhibition and so we were able to go to a special members viewing for free and without the queue.

Snowball the dancing Cockatoo

This is one blog all you animal lovers have got to see. It a video of a bird that just loves to dance. Click here to be transferred.

Dreary or what?

With Christmas is well and truly over and all the deccies taken down, I packed them away today. I really hate that part. I don't mind taking them down and leaving them in a pile on the floor but actually packing them away in their boxes and bags and stowing them in the loft is the bit I really hate. I don't even mind the bare look to the rooms, that's almost refreshing, but packing away is the pits. Still it's all done now for another year. Life can get back to normal and so too can our eating habits!

Side Tracked

First let me apologise for neglecting all my blogger friends lately. Partly this was because I was either very busy entertaining over Christmas or I was away visiting between then and New Year. The other reason has been my Christmas Present. 'Santa' in the form of my wonderful husband, was very generous this year and bought me a Nikon D300 complete with a 18/200mm Nikor zoom lens. As I have been strictly a point and shoot photographer up to now converting to a top of the range professional DSLR is a bit learning curve that I'll continue to climb for some while yet. As my first photoshoot of the year is set for this morning I needed to get up to speed with it or content myself with using my old camera today. I'll take my old Nikon 8800 with me just in case but I feel fairly confident I can get my new toy to perform adequately. Let's hope I'm not speaking too soon!

Up Date
The photoshoot when like a dream thanks to my new toy. I got a little carried away and took over 120 frames but this was not because they were no good. It was simply because it was like picking cherries. I simply didn't know when to stop. Only a handful were not fully focused. I'm now spoilt for choice as to which image to use for the portrait. This image is just a detail from a full face and neck shot. I think I'm going to really enjoy this camera. :-)

Brac counts down the hours

Brac is present mad. He cottoned on very quickly and seems to think that all presents should be his. Since I put the presents under the tree a few days ago he has been keeping watch. He wants them but knows he has to wait until they are given to him. So he sits facing the tree looking longingly at the presents, waiting. Every now and then he gets a little impatient and gives a little woof just to remind us he is still waiting... and waiting, and waiting. I wonder what thoughts are going through his head? I wonder if he hopes for anything particular to be in them? He can certainly smell which ones have come from a pet shop and which contain food but even those meant for us with cosmetics or some other non dog attractive contents are still watched longingly, while he waits. It's a hard life for a dog.

Merry Christmas

I've been a bit distracted lately with getting ready for Christmas so I've not been doing much blogging. In case I don't get the chance to blog again before hand I would just like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Christmas.

Turning bad energy into good

OK enough of the sulks! I attacked my study last night, it's still work in progress but as I was not in any mood to take prisoners the results are really quite evident. I am now staring at a blank wall where once my drawing board, A1 folio, cutting boards and Mount card were all stacked. My desk top will be next followed probably by files cabinet. The extra space is helping me feel better as is the sense of achievement. As I no longer do any garden design work I have finally decided that anything to do with that business can either be stored in the loft or chucked out completely. The only stuff allowed in my study now must relate to pet portraits, photography or computing. Even my genealogy stuff is under threat as most of it is on my PC so why do I need so much paper?
Turning depression into meanness brings a certain sadistic pleasure which is OK provided I focus it on inanimate objects. Oh and BTW, one of the big factors in yesterdays mood was that I am/was premenstrual but didn't realise it, the penny dropped this morning when I saw the calendar. Now all I need is some hapless telesales person to ring my by chance. Come on...I dare you!