Nature, 52 Snapshot Challenge on Fit Dog Friday in the Pet Parade

Here I am!!!

So we're doing a little multi-tasking today.  I, Sera, am in my natural habitat.  As a farm dog, this is as real as it gets.  We're joining the 52 Snapshots of Life Challenge, week 31, Nature!  

On FitDog Friday, we're showing you what we do for exercise everyday.  We're helping Mom feed the chickens and check on the horses and cows for the morning.  We run back and forth, do our own investigation, then run back.  Mom is usually bringing up the rear; the waaaaaaaaaay back.  Here we're waiting for Mom to catch up so we can go to the house!

Please enjoy our FitDog Friday Blog Hop brought to you by SlimDoggy and our co-hosts To Dog with Love and My GBGV Life.   Join the Hop or just enjoy the links below - lots of fun fitness tips and advice!  

This is a Blog Hop!

Today's post has also been brought to you by our Pet Parade Blog Hop! 

Say hello to your host: Rascal And Rocco
And co hosts: Bionic Basil, Barking From The Bayou, Jan's Funny Farm, and Owned by a Husky.

Finally, we're joining the 52 Snapshot Challenge, Week 31 Nature.  This is also a bloghop.

Technical Thursday, Aussie Style

We're letting Mom do her techie stuff again today.  She says it's Technical Thursday for her, so here she goes.

  

I'm practicing with my good camera.  I want to be able to do more than click and shoot, so I'm playing with focus and angle and light, as well as editing.

This one is looking up through the trees.  I wasn't sure if the sun would be too bright for it.  I like how you can see rays of light coming down.  I zoomed in and used auto.

I guess I have a thing for sunflowers, because here they are again.  I like the contrast of the old wood against the blue sky and the flowers against the old wood.  The angle I used seems to make the flowers jump out at you a little.

This one is across one of our hay fields, showing our old shop in the trees.  The zoom seems to have added depth.  The flowers in front are in focus and the building is a little fuzzy.  I wish the sky looked more blue because it really was that day.  Probably a lighting/timing thing.

I tried this one with the action setting.  I was surprised at how clear the shot came out, showing the dirt they kicked up and the ball in mid air.  I almost didn't get the whole thing because in the original, they were at the bottom right corner.  I love editing apps!  Maybe I'll get better at centering the picture.

I'm really enjoying this now that I'm thinking about new ways.  Maybe one of these days I'll take it off auto!

We're joining the Thoughtless Thursday blog hop. Thank you to your hosts, Ruckus the Eskie, Owned by a Husky, and Barking from the Bayou!  Check it out!

REALLY! Wordless Wednesday

Are you REALLY going to take another picture of me?

We are joining the Wordless Wednesday blog hop hosted by BlogPaws.  Check it out!

Love letter to my dogs, #Iheartmydog

Today we are taking part in the #iheartmydog campaign for a great cause.

Merial, the makers of Heartguard as well as Canine Companions For Independence have put together this campaign to raise awareness about heart worm, and to raise money for assistance dogs. 

For every love letter to your dog using the #IHeartMyDog, Merial will donate $1.00 (up to $150,000) to Canine Companions For Independence - this will help provide assistance dogs to people with disabilities. We decided to take part in a worthy cause and hope you take part too! 

Here goes, my love letter to my dogs:

We have five dogs, each with their own personality and quirks.  I love each one of them for what they are and what they mean to me.


To Sera:  I fell in love with you when I first saw you at 3 months old.  I love your kindness.  You love me, Dad, the kids, the grandkids, the other dogs and the cats.  Especially the grandkids.  You have an independent streak and are a bit naughty at times; usually calculated.  That's because you are so smart.  You keep us all in line and I'm glad you're here.




To Gabby: you are such a sweet girl.  You love your quiet but are well named when you feel the need to express yourself.  You love to go for car rides. You are usually a very good girl, but with an occasional rebellious tendency (see Monday Mischief from a couple of weeks ago).  You are a very loyal companion and I don't know what I'd do without you.


To Jack:  you are a very happy boy.  You lived with someone else for a couple of years and coming to us was a hard for you but you've adjusted very well and have become an important part of our pack.  You also love to go on car rides and try to bring a toy or your stuffed bear with us when we go.  You LOVE playing ball.  I love your spirit.


To Reba:  You've been here since the day you were born.  You've grown up into a very sweet girl and you try really hard to be good.  You can be a bit of an overlover at times, but it is only because you are such a loving soul.  When we got to know you, we had to keep you here because we fell in love with you.








To Jessie:  You, like your sister, were born here.  You have such a big personality for such a little girl.  You choose who you love, but when you choose, you love with such a large heart.  I'm so lucky you chose me. Dad and I weren't going to keep both you and Reba because keeping siblings can be difficult.  But we loved you so much that we had to keep you both. What a great decision that was.

I could go on and on, but this will have to do for now.

Fetch! Monday Mischief with Aussies in Charge

I, Sera, deny these charges.  I am the pack leader and when I decide something, that's the way it is. 

Mom says I steal the ball.  Honestly, she threw it and it should have been for whoever got to it first. 

Never mind that Jack was in his ready position, willing the ball to be thrown.  

Never mind that Mom was saying "Jack, are you ready?"  

Never mind that Jack was running for the ball. I got it so it's mine.

I think I have been wrongly accused!

We're joining the Monday Mischief blog hop today.  Check it out!

Snuggly! Week #30 of the 52 Snapshot Challenge with the Aussies

I, Sera, love my baby.  And my dad.  We're all awake in this picture, but we just wanted to snuggle.

Happy Black and White Sunday.  Snuggles!

Dog Show Saturday with the Aussies

This is Rio, a Belgian Tervuren, or a Terv.  Mom gets to see him several times a year at dog shows.  He loves agility trials and nose work.  He uses our cool coats ALOT.

This is what a Terv looks like without the coat on.  They're usually about German Shepherd or Irish Setter sized, with lots of thick beautiful fur. They are generally fawn to sable in color, with black overlay and mask.

The breed was developed in Belgium in the late 1800s for herding.  They are known for being very active and smart.  If you have a Terv you'd better be ready to exercise them every day and give them something to keep their brains busy!  Rio's Mom does an excellent job of keeping him busy and active.  That's why he's so great at agility.

Belgian Tervs are part of a group of shepherds from Belgium; the Malinois, the Belgian Sheepdog (Groenendael)  The Laekenois and the Terv.  In some countries they are variations of the same breed. They are used for herding, as well as police work, search and rescue work, agility, flyball, lots of active sports.  

They are good guard dogs; very loyal to their family and confident enough to not back down. They aren't recommended for inexperienced dog owners because of their high activity level, but do make excellent family members.

Fit Dog Friday, Aussie Style

8 Photos of Happiness

We were nominated by Lauren Miller of ZoePhee to join this challenge.  Thank you!

The hardest part of this challenge was keeping it to just 8!  

Here are the guidelines for this tag:

1. Thank your nominator(s) and link them to your post.
2. Link to the creator of the tag, Ariel's Little Corner Of The Internet.
3. Post your eight photos of happiness.
4. Pop in a brief description of the photo, why you chose it, or just let the photo do the talking!
5. Spread the happiness and tag up to 10 other bloggers.

I nonimate:

Military Wife and Pug Life

Dakota's Den

My Brown Newfies

My Dog Likes

Keep the Tail Wagging

We're also joining the Fit Dog Friday Blog Hop.  Hosted by SlimDoggy, To Dog With Love, and My GBGV Life.

Technical Thursday, Mom in charge for a change

So, I pulled out that Canon!  First thing I did was charge it since it's been sitting all alone on the shelf for so long.  I decided to go out and snap some shots to see what I got.  I kept it on autofocus but zoomed in.

I really like this one.  Clear in front and blurry in the background.  We have tons of sunflowers and they can really blend in when you see them all the time.

Then I tried it with some alfalfa blossoms.  These came out soooooooo much better than my iPhone pictures.  I hope to graduate to more complicated  photos, maybe using animals and people, in the near future.

I figure it's not bad for just starting out.

I took several other shots but not really worth editing and posting.  I'll keep practicing.

We're joining the Thoughtless Thursday blog hop this week, hosted by Ruckus the Eskie, Barking from the Bayou and Love is Being Owned by a Husky.

Wordless Wednesday, Aussie Style

Throw it, already!

Jack LOVES his tennis balls!

Tongue Out Tuesday, Aussie Style

I, Sera, was being goofy in this picture.  I knew that after I got done modeling this dumb coat, I'd get a goodie so I gave it my best goofy grin. Let's move on to the good stuff! A little gratuitous advertising for Mom here also.  Aussies don;t need coats very often, but Mom pays in treats!

Monday Mischief Aussie Style

I'm Jessie.  I love to give goodbye kisses!

I'm a little dog with a BIG personality.  I know this is Mischief Monday, but this is more quirky than mischievous. I love my people and want to let them know.  Especially when they have to leave me. They need my goodbye kisses!

I start pacing when I see them getting ready to to.  Then I jump in the chair so Mom can pick me up to give a proper kiss "Goodbye".  I make my kisses very gentle and I make sure they are not sloppy like my sister's kisses.

Sometimes Mom forgets and I get really anxious.  My people need my love!

When Mom is the one leaving, the routine has to be different.  Since she is the one leaving, she picks me up to kiss her goodbye.  I get really upset if I don't get to say it.

We're joining the Monday Mischief blog hop.  Check it out!

Black and White Sunday

The Guardian!

This is a place where I can often be found.  I, Sera, consider it my duty to watch out for my family.

This is a blog hop hosted by Nola the Dachshund and Sugar. Check it out!

Showdog Saturday with Aussies in Charge

Mom always shows us pictures of the dogs she sees when she is away from home.  She says this is a Rhodesian Ridgeback.  Isn't this a cool looking dog?

Here is one without the clothes on.  Isn't he handsome?  Also known as the African Lion Hound, they were developed in Zimbabwe in South Africa to help hunt lions. They are athletic dogs.  One source we found says that they can keep us with a horse at the gallop for 30 miles.  Wow!

Rhodies are known for the ridge of hair on their backs, which grows toward the front along their spines.  They are usually varying shades of red/tan and often have black markings on their faces.

This is a painting depicting a lion hunt using Rhodies.  Those dogs must be very brave. They were described as the Navy Seals of the dog world.

They are said to be affectionate dogs, good with kids but a bit reserved with people they don't know, and very dignified.  Mom says that the ones she has met are very dignified and sweet.

We'd love to meet a Rhodesian Ridgeback.  But we're  going to be friendly and calm because it sounds like they're pretty tough.

Fit Dog Friday from Aussies in Charge

This is Rio, a Belgian Tervuren.  He doesn't live with us, but calls a friend of ours "Mom". We thought we'd talk about Rio and his love for agility since it is Fit Dog Friday and all.  Rio doesn't usually practice or run agility in his cool coat, but his Mom was taking pictures for us to show how well the coat fit when he was moving.  The dogs usually run naked!

Note:  We'd LOVE to do agility but Mom just doesn't seem to get us involved in it.  She says she is too busy making dog clothes.  Oh well, maybe one of these days.

Rio's mom, Angie, has this set up in her BACK YARD!  He gets to go out and do this stuff whenever they want. His mom makes sure he is healthy and warm/cool and fed right.  She makes sure he is in good shape so they can have a fun time. Rio is very lucky to have such a caring Mom. 

Agility competition involves obstacles and a set pattern that each dog has to go through to have a complete run.  They are timed as well to find the winner. There are lots of other rules and criteria, but we don't know them very well.  

What we DO know is that the dogs all look like they are having a blast!  And they and their parents seem to be really happy spending time with each other.  Seems like a win/win to us!

Aussies in Charge is joining the Fit Dog Friday Blog Hop hosted by Slim Doggy and To Dog With Love.  Check it out!

Technical Thursday - Letting Mom be in charge for a while

We let Mom take over this one since we couldn't care less about photography.  Here's Mom!

So, I have recently been working at expanding my skills in photography.  It seems that when you 

1) have a website

2) have a blog

3) have alot of family and animals

4) have stuff you want to save for later

photos are a great way to make those look good.  Once upon a time, back when the cameras took film and you had to pay to have it processed to see if anything was any good, I took snapshots.  Never anything fancy or technical and usually pretty bad. I guess I got tired of paying for red eyed or blurry pictures and just forgot about it.

A few years ago, when I started my business (I make dog clothes), I found out that it works a whole lot better if you can show people what you offer.  And good pictures make a huge difference.  The dogs have been my models and very patient with me for the most part.

I've been slowly working on my technique.  You know, lighting, angle, actually taking a shot that shows what you DO want to show and not what you DON'T want to show.  Still not very technical, but using a digital camera or my iPhone, they have been ok.

Lately, I'm learning that the iPhone and Instagram have alot of cool editing tools.  Then there are the apps like Picasa and PicMonkey that do more cool editing stuff.  I've been trying to up my game. 

I took this one last night at sunset with my iPhone.  Could be alot more clear, but I could crop, alter lighting and add effects.  Getting better.

In the blogging world, pictures are a central part of most of the posts.  And some of you people have some really fantastic, professional looking stuff.  It gives me something to aspire for.

This is one of our hay fields with sunflowers blooming.  It's  not bad, but it looked so much more stunning when I was actually there!  Still with the iPhone.

This one is up close and personal with the alfalfa in bloom.  Pretty, but you can't quite smell the aroma of the blossoms.  I think I need to use a good camera and really learn about all the ins and outs of good photography.

I actually bought a Canon Rebel XTi a while back, but stuck it on a shelf and forgot about it.  I always have my phone with me, but it takes conscious effort to have the camera with me.  

I think I should challenge myself to learn and use the Canon.  The more I take photos, not just pictures, but photos, the more I see the possibilities. 

I am officially challenging myself to pull out that camera and snap at least 10 pictures a week.  Who knows, I might find out just how fun it can be to use a fancy camera and take fantastic shots like the pros. Watch for further progress!

We're joining the Thoughtless Thursday Blog Hop hosted by Ruckus the Eskie and Owned by a Husky.  Check it out!

Wordless Wednesday Aussie Style

Best buds!!!!!  Sera loves her girl!

We're joining the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop by Blog Paws today.

Check it out!