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

Guest Photographer Michael E Garcia

Mike discovered this Big Bird today at the Island. There were two but the second one flew away before he could get a picture. I have a picture I took from a distance that I will post later.

Mike caught this photo of my kids and me. I am looking for the turkey in the trees across the channel. I like it. Mike named the photo "Can You Ask for Anything More"?  I think he pegged it.  Thanks Mike.

Beautiful Patches

What a beautiful girl.  I posted a picture of Patches a week ago or so without having her name. Patches is an English Spaniel. She walks with her friend Nona, and I have been seeing them most days lately. I hope to get more pictures of her, since she is such a beautiful girl and I have not captured that here.

Bookends

Daisy and Chocolate.  It would have been ideal of course if Daisy were looking at me, but c’est la vie.

Successful Clean Up Day for Norm's Island!

Early Bird Gets The uh, uh, uh . . .

 

I arrived at Norm's at 9am, and Rick with his dogs Maggie and Marne were already diligently at work cleaning up the winters accumulation of doggy doo. (poop).  The day was highly successful with over 40 ID tags being pinned to volunteers.  I see Rick does not have one on. That makes at least 41.

Marcia Clausing brought two garbage cans and placed them along the trail in both directions so there no longer is the excuse that there is no place to put the poop after you pick it up.  Please dog people, let's be responsible dog owners and pick up after our friends so Norms can continue to be the wonderful place it is for all users. 

It was just so great to see so many people pitching in to clean up our favorite walking place. It warmed the heart and stimulated the mind. 

I took a lot of pictures today, so they will be slowly added today and tomorrow.

Understandable Contemplation

It seems that Shelley and Mike are contemplating the enormity of the undertaking.

I Found One. Hey, this is Fun

Marcia our Hero for organizing this great event, enjoys her dog doody with her husband Harry, who probably would rather be in his shop working on the Impala or the Coronet, but here he is helping Marcia, and he looks to be having fun. Thanks guys. You will notice my Chocolate and Blanca in almost every picture. They have learned to stay the direction I am pointing the camera.

"Hey, I found something much more interesting over here."  This beautiful boy is Marcia's Teak.

Help Out, Use the Scooper

Doing their part, and then some, we have Karlee Royal, and left is CJ's mom. Sorry I did not get her name.

 Or a shovel. Bella, Bandit, John, and Scout scour the south side for poop.  Hey! where's the rest of Bandit?

Tucker Is More Than Ready To Help

Tell me what to do people, I am all ready to help

New Friends

Blanca met a new friend today, Daisy.  They seemed to really like each other, and were a great match size wise and seemingly temperment wise.  They played great. Fun to watch.

Blanca likes Daisy, then I like Daisy. Would like a photo of her clean. Beautiful girl.

 

While Blanca and Daisy were running about I was also keeping an eye on this regal boy, Teak. He is a beautiful alert boy.  I wonder what kind of a breed he is. Great picture, if I must say so myself.

This is Tipsy, who we met just as we were about to leave for the day. Two years old with lots of energy and a great look.  She is lucky to have found her friend Diane.

A wet Tipsy. I wish I had a watermellon no no, I mean a picture with Choco or Blanca so Tipsy's size would be apparent. She is small. Bigger than a Chihuahua, smaller than a Spaniel. Nice dog. Nice to see you Diane.

Big Beautiful Spring Snow

This morning Norm's Island was the most beautiful place in the world.  It was absolutely breathtaking. My kids found it to be quite exhilarating. Is this not the best dog picture I have ever taken, I keep asking myself. So much happiness, I need to send it to the Dali Lama. 

Come On Over 

Diego

Diego with a big stick. Diego and Chocolate have a common interest, sticks, which of course is not always good.  But it works out. Diego is one beautiful boy.

Fergus

 Hi Fergus.  All this before we even get across the bridge, and there is more to come.

Some of The Human "Island Regulars"

Mike and Diego.  Sorry about that tripod leg Mike.

Kelley, who is at the Island everyday in her role as K9 Playtime. Somedays she is with just her own dogs.

Kelley and her Troup? her Pack?  The boy with the green ball is going tomorrow for knee surgery. Kelley had I think five dogs today, I caught only two.  Sorry the picture is so narrow Kelley, I think they allow only so many square units, so the height counts. Square pictures are bigger.

John with Bandit, Bella, and Scout.

That is Bandit in the foreground.  He is very friendly to me, always stands up to see what I am doing.  I have been trying to get a picture of Scout and Bella for a long time, but Scout is old and needs to keep moving, so I never get a chance. John is the one in the red cap, the red cap that made me take the picture. Thanks John.  John has three dogs. The others are Kelley's. Someday I will get a picture of the Dalmatians on a good green or amber field.  It is coming.

 But in the meantime, whoa, look what I found. Bella is focused on Blanca. 

Penny

Penny walks at Norms everyday, everyday, with her friends Cathy and Ms Mel. This is my best photo of her yet. She is very shy, and looks at me very suspiciously, which does not make for a good photo. She has good attention here. Penny is a beautiful girl, a Rhodesian Ridgeback, who was very lucky to find her friend Cathy. Penny was painfully shy when Cathy first got her. 

And Finally, The Setting

  Busy Day Today ;-)

Spring!!??

Ha! Blanca is soaking wet.  It was snowing very hard when we were at the Island this morning, but it felt very warm. It was very pleasant., but we still only stayed for a little over an hour.  When we got to the parking lot ours was the only car there.  No sense to get out of the rain!  We enjoyed it.

Multitudes of Dogs

We met this beautiful dog walking down the path.  Unfortunately we did not get either breed or name, though he is obviously a spaniel of some sort.  Very nice dog.  In the background we have Millie, Chocolate and Lily.  We had a nice dog convention going for awhile.

I am a bit behind in my posting.  We had a very photogenic weekend, so many pictures that I am having a hard time with editing.  I will get them up maybe today, since it is snowing.

Buddy 

 Another Happy boy. This is Buddy. Another buddy. Buddies everywhere, but it is true. I call my Chocolate buddy too. This little guy is six months old, and he was pretty happy to play with Choco-Blanca.  He will grow to be a perfect size, I would say.

Lucky 

 Lucky.  She is a beautiful girl and I have been trying for a long time to get a picture of her.  I am for now going to have to settle for this.  She is shy, and looks away when I point the camera at her, which is common with many dogs.  The big eye. But, this is a great profile shot.  I will keep trying, as I think Lucky is beautiful.

Goofball

Goofy is the coolest dog. He is a Cocker Spaniel.  He is a bundle of erratic energy. He walks quite regularly at Norm's with his friend Debbie.  He is a joy to watch play, even if he does not get along with Blanca so especially well.  I think he wiggles too much for her.

"Whatta ya mean it's too big?"

Here Goof is defending his new best friend the Schnauzer from the evil Big White Thing. Unfortunately we did not get the Schnauzer's name.

Hank

Love this picture. I know I use the word beautiful too often, but Hank is it. He walks the Island with his friend Bill (I did not write that down, so hope it is correct) He is a gorgeous red Golden Retriever. Great personality.

 "Why exactly is it that I am having to sit here, Mr.?"

"Free, alright"

And of Course, Niña Blanca