There's No Zoomies Like Snow Zoomies!

While some people *cough*Gary*cough* weren't thrilled to see over a foot of snow in the driveway this morning, there were at least two members of our household who were thrilled to see more snow.

New snow seems to add extra springs to the girls' legs!

Incoming!

Fi is a big fan of full-face frisbee retrieval (she'll bury her face in the snow to get the frisbee, while Abby will just leave the frisbee buried...)

Abby is a big fan of running right up to me...

This would be why I always have a hood on all my lenses!

Fi can be all about the dramatic pose, too.  (I didn't put that frisbee there, BTW - that was all her doing!)

There was some snowball catching, too!

Yep, a good time was had by some members of the family.  (Gary was not too thrilled about spending two hours clearing the driveway....)

Day 328/365.

Snow-Vember!

I like snow. But not enough that I would move to Buffalo.  Ever.   Especially when I can stay home and enjoy it with the beasts.    Unfortunately, my D90 is not weather sealed, so I got a cover for my camera.  It worked very well in keeping the snow off the camera, but the clear plastic around the viewfinder still made the viewfinder a bit blurry, so getting things in focus was a bit of a challenge.    But it was still vastly better than risking getting moisture into the innards of the camera.

And the girls had a grand time in the snow!

Abby looks like she's doing backstroke!

In the afternoon, I took the girls on a walk in the snow.  They had their raincoats on so they didn't come back completely soaked, as it was snowing fairly hard (and it was wet snow) when we went out.  I also used my trusty S8100 pocket camera for the photos - it has been exposed to enough rain and snow that a little more can't hurt it at this point.

Day 327/365.

I Think the Doodle Launcher is Malfunctioning

Or my dogs have springs for legs.  It's hard to tell.  Occam's Razor is no help here.

Really, I have no explanation for this.

Even Fi was not excluded from the Doodle Launcher malfunction (or crazy is contagious - again, no help from Occam's Razor...)

But Abby seemed to get the full brunt of the malfunctioning Doodle Launcher.

But the girls seemed to enjoy themselves, so maybe the Doodle Launcher is working just fine for them...

Day 326/365.

Dogs and Frisbees

Today was a busy day at work and a busy afternoon.  But I was able to spend a little bit of time outside with the beasts and some frisbees.  A good time was had by all.

There were, of course, frisbee zoomies...

And Fi did normal dog-frisbee things.

Abby, on the other hand, did, well, whatever it is Abby does.

Yeah, um, I don't know.  I just don't know!

But normal dog or whackadoodle, they're both pretty!

Day 325/365.

Putting the 'Pet' Back in Pet Photographer

There is a very long story behind the first two photos.  Fi and Abby are transient members of Blogville, a virtual community of pet blogs (much like Margaritaville, Blogville is a state of mind, rather than an actual place), and their two Doodle buddies Murphy and Stanley were recently elected co-Mayors of Blogville.  And before you start wondering if I've been partaking of those *special* brownies recently made legal in Colorado, let me assure you that I have not.  It just means I'm not the only crazy dog person in the world.  In fact, the online pet store Chewy.com sent Murphy and Stanley a real - not virtual - basket of flowers after their election win.  I know, I'm looking more and more normal by the moment, right? Right?!?  *ahem*  Anyway, in Blogville, like in any real community, appointments to the Mayoral Cabinet are all about nepotism, erm, selecting the best possible individuals for the positions.  Because Fi and Abby actually know Murphy and Stanley are highly qualified, they are likely to be appointed to the highly prestigious position of Assistant Undersecretary of Photography for Blogville.

Yes, that is a totally made-up title. Why do you ask?

Anyway, the girls needed 'official' photos for the announcement of their joint appointment.   And this gave me an opportunity to try something different with the soon-to-be Madame Assistant Undersecretaries.

The camera is the old D70, upgraded from its previous job as a door stop (something - I can't remember what - broke and it would have cost more to fix it than to get a refurbished one) to a prop. The lens caps is on the lens because while the lens is a kit lens that I don't really use, I still didn't think the lens' quality would be improved by liver treat crumbs or slobber - or both.

Yeah, so, it's a long way to Tipperary*

Since the girls were already in the studio, I figured I might as well get a few holiday photos, too.

Future Assistant Undersecretary of Photography thinking she is too dignified for these shenanigans.

 Day 324/365.

*Don't ask.  This post has already had far too many incomprehensible explanations.  I'm not going to clutter it with more.

A Couple of Dogs, a Few Frisbees, Some Fun with Lightroom

I think the title pretty much sums it all up.  I actually had hopes of getting some more holiday shots, but after the gym, I didn't really have the energy for Doodle wrangling, so I went with the old 'frisbee cop-out' instead.  And I played around with more presets.  I found a set of 200+ free presets, and while I have a feeling that most of them are worth what I paid for them, there are a few I like - I just have to delete the ones I don't need/want, which is a bit of a process in and of itself.

But putting all my fun with photo-tweaking aside, the girls had a grand time.

And there was much Doodle Launching going on...

I'm not sure this is a Doodle so much as a UFO.  Or a weather balloon....  Or a Russian satellite...  Or something.

There were also many zoomies.  Given the girls' energy, I'm glad I didn't attempt Doodle Wrangling in the studio.

And Abby thought she'd get some dancing in, too...

Care to dance the Frisbee Tango with me?

I'm not quite sure what this move is, but it looks sort of cool.

Day 323/365.