Back to the Action

Who cares if it is out of focus. Goofball and Simon romp.

The wind today is 30 mph from the Nnw. I think we are staying home and taking the opportunity to look back at our extensive catalog of photos.

Goofball and Simon are the two most energetic dogs I have met, so this was a good matchup. Goofy is such a  sweet cute little dog, it is surprising his unrelenting energy and determination. He is never intimidated by size or aggressiveness, he stands his ground. Simon of course is in a league by himself.

They seemed to very much enjoy one anothers company. They were fun to photograph and watch.

Snow Break Over - Spring Resumes

We met this group of six a couple of days ago. I include the humans, Karen and Sharon, in that count. We have Karen's Jessie at the top, and that is Max that Blanca is checking out. Nearest to camera is Carson and Trouble. Don't know which is which. We all stood about at the Owl Spot for awhile discussing how lucky we are to have such an Owl display going on right here on our favorite Island. Max had the idea that we were simply talking too long, may as well take a break.

Okay, I am going to step out on a limb with the Owl here and say this is Trouble. I think he was the more forward of the two and I think this is him, he was curious about me, or my BIG EYE I kept pointing at him.

This would be Carson then, if I have the names correct. Notice the small shoots of grass in the foreground, a sure sign spring is finally here.

This is Max. When I was a kid everybody ( well, close ) had a dog like this, except usually brown. You do not see them so much anymore. My childhood friend Terry still has two. Collies. Max is an older gentleman, and was enjoying his outing this day.

This is a pleasant photograph of Jessie. Taking it easy in the shade. Looking at these two photos I am amazed at the similarity between the Collies and Chocolate, except for the long nose. They both have lots of feathers, big manes, too much hair behind the ear ( from a maintainance point of view ) and similar markings. On Spanish Shepherds the white is not supposed to be above the mid-point.  Of course Nina Blanca misses out on all this. Collies are much bigger. These guys probably weigh 70-80 pounds, Chocolate is at 50.  Thanks dogs, it was fun.

A Break From Spring

This flock of Pelicans has been here for a couple of days now. This is the best I can get. Mike and Diego were out with their long lens, so maybe they got closer. I am sure they did. Consider this a "context' photograph.

Mikes jacket was the only spot of color we saw today. It was very grey and when we were at the Island it was snowing. I must remind everyone that today is April 19, and I took these pictures today.

Guest Photographer Michael Garcia

Mike sent me these two great photos he took. Above I have a photo of him at work while he was capturing these great Pelican photos. Thanks for sharing these Mike.

Back to our regular programing, your weblog hosts pictures . . . .

 Of course, the kids absolutely loved it. They love the snow and the cold. They play much harder when there is snow. Everyday we stop at this spot in the middle of a field and they play chase around a pile of dead tree limbs. It is good because they tire themselves out a little as soon as we get to the Island.

Blanca is showing off the booboo she has on her right paw here. It is doing okay, she cut it somehow.

 Probably cannot see this very well, but this is their favorite pile of trees. They go under them over them and around them. They love this spot. Almost cannot see Nina Blanca.

Made New Friends Today

Kona, An Akbash, An Ancient Breed from Western Turkey

We met Kona walking with her friends Bailey and Sarah.  I have never met, or seen, an Akbash before. Kona was great. Yesterday when I originally posted this I spelled the breed name wrong, I looked up Kabash, which is an Anatolian Shepherd Dog.  Kona is not an Anatolian Shepherd.  I had it all wrong. Jeez. The name Akbash comes form the Turkish word "akbas" meaning "white head." The Akbash comes from western Turkey and was developed over 3000 years ago.  Kona is three years old. I apologize to Kona and Sarah for getting the name wrong. Dyslexia rears it's ugly head.

Chocolate and Blanca liked Kona and they all played circle chase for awhile. Which is Very Good.

This is Kona's friend Bailey. Bailey is a Chow Boxer mix, and was a rescued from Hurricane Katrina, apparently one of many many dogs that were saved by rescue groups nation wide.  Lucky Dog.

 I really like this. Two Wet White Dogs.  I tried to get them to stand together, but "hey we are having fun" was the response. Priorities. This is close. Kona is bigger relative to Blanca, Blanca is standing much closer to me.  Kona has  a little peach color, like on her ears. Blanca is just a white genetic failure.  You do not see white Spanish Shepherds often. Does not matter, she is great. She is beautiful. I love Blanca.

Despite having the breed wrong, the time I spent reading and looking at pictures of this turkish guard dogs was not totally wasted. Kona has many traits of the Turkish Kangal dog, which is the National Dog of Turkey, a Turkish National Treasure. His curly tail is a trait of the Kangal, which does not appear on the Anatolian Shepherd.  The two breeds have apparently been interbred and probably have shared traits.  He also looks alot like a Hungarian Kuvasz, a related breed which is always white, but does not have the curly tail either. But Sarah has informed me that I have it all wrong and Kona is an Akbash. Cool dog. Thanks Kona. Again apologies for mangling the breed info. Akbash.

Ticks Are Here

The Ticks have arrived.  Looking on the web this morning for additional information about how to deal with ticks, I found this great website with about all the information one could want about ticks.
I have put a link to the right. Great resource.

Cannot Forget My Blanca

Blanca, Penny and Holly. I cannot let a day go by without a picture of my Niña Blanca being posted.

I thought I might try some off topic photographs today, all dogs might make Ken a dull photographer.
*Alert* Technical Talk. I have been unhappy with the color rendition I get sometimes so I spent several hours, I think it was Sunday, researching the topic.  I am a follower of Thom Hogan, and have his eBook guides for my cameras. Very informative. ( www.bythom.com ) So anyway, as he suggests, I downloaded some new Picture Controls from the Nikon website and installed them on my camera and I am much happier with the way my colors look now. I am using the color space from the Nikon D2. Interesting. The reds are less saturated, more neutral, which is to my taste. I never liked Fuji Velvia. I was a Vericolor kinda guy.  I did some experimenting today, and while I was at it, I took these two photos which I like.

That yellow bush really jumped out at me.  Maybe Velvia would have worked in this case. No.

Penny, Holly and Ms Mel

Beautiful Holly. That is her friend Harley in the background. Holly is a greyhound mix, and she has a very regal self possessed way about her. Very gentle feeling. Nice dog.  Holly and Harley regularly walk at Norm's Island with their best friend Shannon.

Today I got another great picture of my friend Penny. I like penny, she is very soft.  She has become friendly to me, which is very nice.  Penny walks everyday with her friends Cathy and Ms. Mel.

Today was the first day I have been able to get a good picture of Ms Mel.  She holds back.  She has had a difficult life, living in a puppy mill most of her life making puppies.  She has a good life now.  About six months ago she was hit by a speeding car and was hurt very badly. Her friend Cathy held nothing back in making Ms Mel be whole again. She is doing well now. Makes us happy.

Penny Loves Holly.  Penny is usually very reserved, showing little emotion. But when she saw Holly she came alive. I have never seen Penny this animated. It was great to see. Holly has a very gentle way about her, I am sure that Penny likes this.  My softy boy Chocolate was also liking Holly, and he does not show affection to a lot of dogs.  I love all youse dogs (gals)

Rizzo + Some Wildlife

Today we walked with Rizzo and her friend Betty.  Rizzo ( yes the character in Grease ) is a three year old Golden Retriever, and a beauty she is.  She was very nice and ChocoBlanca and I liked walking with her.

Rizzo has not been out in the woods off leash before, but she did great. She was obviously a very happy girl. She behaved excellently, coming when called.  Today was an "official" photo session, and Rizzo came so well that it was a problem. Every time I sat down to take her picture she would come running to me. I like you too Rizzo.

We encountered a couple kind of wildlife today at the Island.  I got my very own good photograph of Mr. Owl.  He was sitting very low on this horizontal limb. I felt that I almost could reach up and touch him. He looked at me for a long time with just one barely open eye, then just as I was giving up he opened both eyes.  I do believe he wanted me to go away.

We also encountered two specimens of the very rare Two Legged Long Lens Humanoid.  These two are named Mike (in the rear) and Rick. They are pointing their long lenses at the mother owl, who we do believe is sitting on little owls. Fledglings? What's the word for baby owls? My second most favorite beautiful girl Marne is keeping them contained here.

 Rizzo and Blanca watch dogs and people pass us by on the main path.  Chocolate has run off to see them, but the girls are keeping close. Good girls. I appreciate it.

Niña Blanca Makes a New Friend

We were all standing about at the Sandy Place when this happy boy came along. Unfortunately we did not get any names, maybe next time. He and Blanca really took to one another.  UPDATE: we found out today, April 20, that this is Scout, and he has no greyhound in him at all. But he sure is happy and he sure can run. Today he ran huge circles around us with Choco and Blanca in pursuit. Fun.

We did get that he may be part Grey Hound. He is very thin and he can really run. Fast. He seemed to be very young.

All the dogs just love the Sandy Place. It is soft to run, and there is a beach to take refreshments. What else could a happy dog want. Playmates, Sand, and a Beach. There are usually some treats too.

Look at those beautiful feet go. He and Blanca ran and ran huge circles, ignoring everybody else.

Thanks for the great show guys.  Hopefully next weekend we will get your name.

It's True, I Really Like Beautiful Marne

Beautiful Marne.  She is a four year old Weimaraner. She is like a living sculpture. Marne walks with her friends Rick, Maggie and Spice Girl.

She is very soft and sweet. A wonderful dog. Nice job raising her Rick and ( I think Ricks wife is ) Bonnie.

Rick told Marne to pose, and this is what she did. What a natural. She knows she is beautiful.

It's pretty unfair to Maggie and Spice Girl that I obsess over Marne. Maggie and Spice Girl are beautiful too, but Maggie is a black lab, she keeps moving, doubly difficult to photograph. Spice, well, sorry Spice, but your turn will come.  Thanks Marne

Someone New

This beautiful Black Labrador has a distinct worried look on it's face.  No need, this is a very friendly crowd.  We did not get any names, and we are wondering if this beautiful dog is an English Lab?  Chocolate seems awfully interested.  Simon and Blanca are hanging together.  They are old friends, Simon and Blanca have played since she was a wee pup.

Blanca demonstrates her ability to fly, which is a necessary skill when playing with Simon.  I knocked down the saturation on this so you could see Blanca.  I seem to have an uncanny knack for having difficult to photograph dogs. Half the time you cannot see Blanca, she blends in, or fades away. My friend Boo was black and was a black hole for all light falling near her, so she was almost impossible to photograph unless I made her a gray dog.

I must say this.  As nice as it would be to have dog parks in Billings, and there should be at least one, most major cities have at least one dog park, dogs do not play like this in dog parks. Most of the dogs that play at Norms are there often enough to feel some freedom to express themselves, which is a beautiful thing to see. Being at Norms is like being in a wild place. It lifts the spirit. Wonderful.

Simon

This is Simon, in a rare moment of stillness.  Simon is one energetic boy.  You thought your dog was full of energy?  Ha, he probably is a couch potato compared to this boy Simon. Simon is a Blue Healer Brittany Spaniel mix, and he got the high energy of both breeds.  Simon walks at Norm's with his best friend Pat.

Simon is the boy at the top of the weblog holding the redball. My poster boy. Today was the first time I have ever photographed him outside, and I got a bunch of really good shots of him. I will put them up as the week goes on. 

 

 We had a great time at Norm's today.  We met several happy dogs and Chocolate and Blanca and Simon got in a tremendous amount of play.  ChocoBlanca are two pooped pups right now, but I think Simon is probably asking where we going next?

It was really cold at Norm's today, the wind was biting.  I did not wear enough layers, so it was good we met up with Simon so my kids could wear themselves out with just one time around the island.

 Go Simon