birds

At the other house, I would spend many summer evenings 'stalking' the hummingbirds.  I never put up a regular bird feeder as I knew my dogs would just scare them away.  At this house, I have a big wooded front yard perfect for bird feeders.  And plenty of windows for stalking.
So now, I stalk year round.
I even had to get a bird identifying app on my phone so I could determine what I had visiting my feeder.
At first, the Cardinals only wanted the berries on the tree. But they eventually starting working on the seed.

 This is a Downy Woodpecker.  I think a female...new to this bird identification thing.

 The Tufted Titmouse stalks me right back..

 But gets her seed and flies away.

 I thought the squirrels would be more of an issue. I have squirrel proof feeders and scatter seed for them on the ground. So far, I haven't had any issues.  But they may be biding their time..

Lizzie tries to catch

Sometimes..i catch a series that makes me laugh. This was one of them. The photos aren't all the best but it was worth including them all.
I toss Lizzie the toy

 She goes for it

 realizes she made a miscalculation..likely due to not taking Physics

 Realizes it is just not going to happen

 Then..it occurs to her that the toy..is going to touch her.

 Another miscalculation...physics

 turns on the gas

 it's a near miss

 And she's almost off frame before it touches the ground

She's a funny one.

playing

Finally got out with my camera on a beautiful day to let the dogs play.
I post others later (no dogs were hurt in the filming of this sequence..though Roxi did make an audible "oof" when she hit the ground)

 we love the fall AND the new yard!

GRTB bound

 We are headed to Greyhounds Reach The Beach in Dewey Beach, DE this weekend.  If any greyhound blogger friends will be there, you can find us in the vendor tent!!!  We will be 'working' this event so no dogs. 
With the new house, I have places for bird feeders away from the dogs so the birds have uninterupted feeding time.  the birds have finally found my little feeder and now they empty it quickly. So I will be buying bigger ones soon.
AND I will  hopefully be honing my bird photography skills.
And of course, the trick is always attracting these..

but not these...

My feeder is 'anti squirrel' and so far it's working.  But not to worry, there are plenty of seeds on the ground for the furry creatures.

Beach bound 2016

It's been too long.  I want to get back to posting photos. Moving, buying, selling, remodeling, fixing, building...it has all been all encompassing lately.  But now I'm back to my camera and I hope to get back in to it.
For the 8th year in a row, Kristen and I packed up and went to Beach Bound Hounds in Myrtle Beach, SC. This year we took four dogs that have never been to the beach before..we haven't done that since year 1! 
I took Lizzie and Cora and she took Beatrice and Jenny so it was a true girls trip.
Enough talking..here are some photos.

 Lizzie and Bea loved the ocean.  Lizzie wanted to walk to Europe and didn't understand why she couldn't.  Cora had little to do with it and curled in to a small ball in protest.  Jenny was there..just at 14 years old she didn't participate in the long walks or water jaunts. 
I have photos from other things and will hopefully start posting more..

Extended absence

It's been a while.  But I have a good reason.  Jason and I decided to move ..we've always wanted some land and no neighbors.  He lost his job last September so we had to delay that dream.  Once he got a new job, we put it in high gear! 
So after a few failed attempts, a VERY stressful closing and a very hot move..we have a new home.

The backyard is larger and flat. We added the fence but still have some work to do.  The brown spots used to be trees. That was first line of business.

 It was a flip so the inside is new. We are doing some remodeling/minor renovations first so I will post inside photos once we have everything back in order.  But Kristen and Gyeong kept my dogs for a week while we moved/unpacked.
I'm happy to have them back and so far they love the new yard and screened in porch! But it's so hot for now, they are enjoying the larger great room.

I'll pull my real camera out at some point and get some running photos in the back yard.  It's 95F here now so outdoor time is very limited.

Summer routine

We've been doing a lot of what we do best lately:
Stalking hummingbirds (and I'm fairly sure he's giving me side eye)

playing with friends

Lounging at wineries with dogs

And this happened..those who follow my blog know how cool this is..

 So all is well in our greyhound world.

Ice Cream Sunday

We had our James River Greyhounds picnic yesterday and we had vanilla cups for the dogs.  I had Cora and Lizzie who loved their cups so I took a few home for everyone else.  So instead of Bully Stick Sunday..it was Ice Cream Sunday.
We have Vesta visiting for the weekend, so she got to enjoy too.
Cody has a very long tongue and used it wisely.

 Cora (who I will admit tried to eat the cup a few times and eventually I just put the ice cream on the ground..)

 Vesta was neat and dainty and licked her cup clean

 Lizzie had learned from the picnic and hooked her nose over the edge for more leverage.

 Roxi downed hers in minutes..she carried it in to the yard and ripped the cup to pieces (never eating the cup) to get every morsel..

They all four enjoyed the sunny day with ice cream

 

The rain has stopped..but I think just temporarily.  It's definitely been an odd spring.

A few parting shots of Cody. He sometimes gets the short end of the photo stick on FB and my Instagram account.