Cat on a golden rug
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Cat on a golden rug: Wordless Wednesday
Pets
Please vote for my pets!
Our local Bend newspaper, The Source Weekly, is having a pet photo contest. Please vote for my pets! Click on the link above each photo to vote for the pictures I entered. There are 15 categories in the contest this year so check out the others while you’re there.
This one features Shelby after she played fetch on a rainy day. She doesn’t care what the weather is like, she just wants to fetch balls. She is showing me her best puppy eyes in this picture as if she’s asking if she’s a good girl, even when she is this dirty.
This photo is in the Best Puppy Eyes category.
The next one shows my dog, Tesla, and my cat, Kitty, sleeping on the same bed. Kitty can be quite demanding when she wants attention, but Tesla is always patient with her.
This photo is in the Best Buds category.
The last one is of Tesla warming the soil in one of our gardens. Did you notice she’s sticking her tongue out at you?
This photo is in the Goofiest category.
I’ve never entered photos of my pets in this contest before. However, 20 years ago, I entered one in a Life magazine contest. I won an honorable mention with this picture of our dog, Leto, in a costume we made.
Voting for the Central Oregon Pets Contest is open from February 24 to March 10. Please vote for my pets! THANK YOU. 😀
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Our pets: LAPC
Our pets know when we need to laugh
Or when we need to have a good cry
Pets show us when to dig in
Or when it’s time to hit the road
Animals learn how to fit into our lives
Or share a space when it’s needed
Pets help us weather hard times
Or find a soft place to land
Our pets know when it’s time to take a break
Or go on an adventure with a friend
Pets learn how to expand the possibilities
Or make the best of a tight situation
Animals know how to find excitement in every new day
Or show us how old age is not an excuse to slow down
And when our pets are no longer a presence in front of our eyes,
they will always hold a place in our hearts
This post includes pictures of every cat and dog I’ve owned since leaving home at age 17.
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge (LAPC) – Cats & Dogs
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Some howliday cheer: TTT
Are you in need of some howliday cheer? The holidays can be full of joy, but they can also be stressful. My talented dog, Tesla, would like to bring a smile to your face with some of her beautiful singing.
Here she is standing right in front me singing a short song. Note the wagging tail.
I have never owned a dog who has been quite so vocal before. Here’s Tesla accompanying random notes on a harmonica in a more complex song. She especially loves music with harmonica in it–any type of music. My other dog, Shelby, is her backup dancer in this clip.
Here she is singing in a more relaxed position. If you feel the urge to sing, you have to go for it no matter where you are, right?
Winter officially begins in one week. Try to stay warm and comfortable. Tesla is a pro at that. 😉
Hope this dose of some howliday cheer brightened your day!
Three Things Challenge (TTT) – Vocal
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Using their nose to bury things: WPWC
Here’s a short video of my dog, Tesla, burying a log. Some dogs like using their nose to bury things. A few days after I filmed this, Tesla dug up the log, played with it for a while by herself, and then buried it again.
I’ve had a longtime fascination with this behavior, so I finally looked it up. I learned that wolves and other canids often cache food by burying it for another day. After they’ve put what they’re caching into a shallow hole, they cover it with loose soil by using their nose. Here’s a video of a wolf using its nose to bury food.
You can easily tell when dogs and their wild relatives have been using their nose to bury things. Their snout will be covered in dirt. Yeah, it looks pretty funny!
I’ve seen my dog bury bones and sticks, but she also buries toys. Her one-time favorite duckie plush toy is buried somewhere on our property. Perhaps she thought if she planted it, more duckies would grow. 😉
Cat’s eye up close: Macro Monday
Here is a photo of my cat’s eye up close. She likes to sit on my lap every time I sit down so I thought I might as well take her picture.
As cat’s age, the color of their irises changes and they may have a “lacy” pattern. The edge of the black pupil can also become less sharp and distinct. My Pixie-Bob cat is fourteen and a half.
Cat seeking comfort poem: Haiku Challenge
cat seeking comfort
tolerant dog shares her bed
warmth on a fall day
Bunny & Kitty FaceTime: LAPC
A couple of days ago, Bunny & Kitty had a little FaceTime meeting. I wonder what kinds of stories they shared. Hmm…
Cooling her jets after fetch: WW
Peace and joy dog: Ragtag Daily Prompt
There are two things that bring peace and joy to my dog, Shelby.
When she’s feeling stressed or trying to get to sleep, she sucks on her blankie. She never bites holes in it. As you can see in the video, this nooking activity brings her peace.
The thing that brings her joy, is her ball. I do a “fetch walk” with her every morning. She also likes to play fetch down a hallway, in a garage, or anywhere else she can.
As a new year begins, I hope you too find things that bring you peace and joy. 🕊
Halloween greetings from my cat
Just wanted to share some Halloween greetings from my cat, Motor. He was one of our favorite pets. Small in size but big in personality!
Clean dog to a dirty dog: LAPC & FF
How can your canine companions go so quickly from being a clean dog to a dirty dog?
I walked my dog recently along this trail bordered with flowers in the Old Mill district of Bend.
I often play fetch with her after we get home. The second picture shows what she looks like after she catches her ball a few times when we’ve had a little rain.
What a pretty girl! Can she sit on your lap? 😉
Two tuckered out: Wordless Wednesday
Focus on the eyes: LAPC
When you focus on the eyes of your subject, you make a connection with them to share with others.
The intense golden stare of an alert Great Horned Owl.
The ghostly ice-blue eyes of a dog with ancestry from frozen lands.
The chestnut brown gaze of an immense grizzly bear in motion.
My fetch crazy dog: Wordless Wednesday
What our pets teach us: Sunday Stills
We don’t always pay attention to what our pets teach us. Here are a few things my pets have taught me.
Sometimes you need to pause and smell the flowers.
It’s nice to share what you have with those you care about.
Our pets teach us it’s okay to explore strange new worlds.
Household treasures from a different angle: LAPC
I am sharing photos of some of my household treasures taken from different angles. I used a tabletop studio to take these pictures. The Lens-Artists Photo Challenge this week is Everyday Objects.
The first two pictures are of a cricket cage I’ve had since I was about eight years old. I distinctly remember taking it in for Show and Tell. The crickets were chirping in the darkness within my school desk.
This is an antique egg beater I purchased at an antique show in Portland, Oregon. I’m not sure if the parts were meant to go together but that’s how I bought it. I use it regularly and it works great!
From different perspectives: LAPC
I am trying to take a look at things at home from different perspectives.
The western juniper trees are always ready to be photographed from a distance or close up.
My juniper muse from the ground up.
Ripples and layers.
Mellow fellow, Calypso Blue: LAPC
I dug through my archives to find pictures of this mellow fellow we once had as a pet. Calypso Blue was a miniature horse and he measured 32 inches at his withers. He was one of the mellowest horses I ever met. His companion, Scooby, pictured here, was a lot more feisty.
I’m posting these because I noticed that one of the Icelandic horses in Leya’s post on the Precious Pets photo challenge looked a lot like Calypso Blue.
I think I took these photos on the day we bought him. It took a LONG time to brush out that mane and tail.
It’s hard to tell in these photos, but underneath all that mane he had piercing blue eyes. We sold him when we moved. This mellow fellow went to a home with a little girl who showered him with affection.
Peaceful pets at rest: LAPC
This post shows peaceful pets at rest in our home. Yes, they can be very active, but these pictures focus on their time asleep.
Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.
Anatole France
Taking a little cat nap
Our cat, Motor, was very happy to see I bought a new dog bed. He was the first to try it out.
Cat in the shadows: Monochrome Monday
This cat in the shadows is my cat, Motor. He turned 17 this month and he keeps healthy by getting plenty of beauty sleep.
Monochrome Monday
My Mini Mini Aussie Pocket Dog
This mini mini Aussie I painted onto a rock is one of my favorites. I’ve always wanted a mini Australian shepherd and this pocket pet is very low maintenance. 😀
Motor’s brakes: My broken cat
Sorry, that’s the brakes
My cat, Motor, has to put the brakes on for a while. He was outside a few days ago and when he came in, something was not quite right with one of his front legs. The vet x-rayed him and we were told he had a broken leg.
We don’t know how he did it, but he is not a happy cat right now. Dogs sometimes get to wear the “cone of shame” for a while but cats just have to learn to deal with it.
Can I help?: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday