Monday, July 27, 2009

Another beach evening

It was pretty windy most of the day yesterday but it calmed right down in the late afternoon so we herded the Girls into the car and went out to Mowbowra Creek for some beach fishing and playtime. Harry came out to see what we were up to, but we didn't attempt to put him in the car with the dogs! Flash kitty under the car


I did take my Big Girl Camera, of course, but spent the whole time just playing with the Baby Canon A720, don't know why. Guess I just like carrying around 50lbs of gear I don't use LOL. This is my shadow as we walked back to Dave after exploring the "creek" - those lumps on the sides are my ThinkTank camera bags. One day I'll do a little post about those maybe...

It was a very pretty evening to be out. These are the rocks on one side of the creek, such as it is.


Dora was loving some time away from Til. Tilly's attention span was super low yesterday so she'd zoomie off on a mission of her own as Dora and I poked around the bush and walked up the beach. I hope my boots arrive today as it will be nice to be able to wander further afield instead of being limited by my tender barefeetsies!


A flower, nothing special, just me playing around to see what would happen

Our ride & supplies

Dora thinking some of that should be hers

The beach was full of treasures yesterday, some gorgeous shells and misc funky flotsam

and some sad finds - like this tiny baby kangaroo


Don't know why it died and don't think it'd been there too long. Poor bubba.

I have a super busy week filled with photo stuff, dive shop stuff and personal stuff. We're hoping to have some fun news for you all pretty soon, so keep checking back for that.

Dave is off again this weekend - the Boys are going to Gnarloo for surfing, fishing, diving and chillin' and he wants to join them for at least a few days. I think he is going to attempt the 4WD track all the way there so I'm sure he'll have some good stories when he gets back!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

I got out of the office!

Dave and I took the doggies to Bay of Rest night before last to hunt mud crabs and wander around the mangroves at low tide.  It was a perfect evening - nice enough even for me to wear a t-shirt and shorts!  Of course, that also meant that we went through half a can of Bushman's to keep the mozzies and sand flies at bay, but it was a small price to pay. Be warned, there are a lot of photos in this post, so maybe go get a drink while you wait...

The Girls were super eager to be in the "big" car - they know that we're going somewhere good and for a long time when we take it. They weren't overly impressed with all of the pitstops we made before getting out of town but they got over it


Dora and Til both love to run like crazy beasts over the mud - it's impossible how much and how far they flick.

Could Dora be happier?

MatildaLily is pretty happy, too

Sometimes Tilly gets the "crazy eyes" thing happening when she tries to entice Dora to play harder

It's actually pretty nice for me when we head out here. The dogs generally follow Dave around and leave me alone, bar the odd flyby at 7 zillion miles per hour. I tried to buy a pair of boots before heading out but they didn't have my size and so I was barefoot again. I'm almost always barefoot but at the mangroves it really reduces my mobility as there are all manner of spiky things in the mud AND there is the very real danger of stepping on a stonefish. Since where we go is about an hour's drive from town (and the hospital), I do try to be careful. So, next time I'll have my boots and will be able to explore more of the area - which might turn out to be a bad thing if the doglets decide to hang with Da Mama. Dora did grant me a pity cuddle, but she didn't hang out long

That was a long-winded bit of nothing to explain that I busy myself pottering with little stuff while the three of them wander off. One would think I would be a smartie and bring a macro lens, but nooooo, it was my Canon 100-400L and my baby Canon A720. And the batteries, including the spare set I remembered to bring, were essentially flat on the A720. Surprisingly, the 100-400 didn't do a horrendous job on the little mud crawlers I found





Dave found a crab out of his hole and I eeked a couple of shots out of the dead batteries

and I found a fireworm - tres nasty - right by the car. Glad I saw it before I stepped on it

I like that there's no one around. At least there hasn't been the times I'm out there. We let the dogs run and play and do doggie stuff without worrying about them flicking mud on someone or ruining someone else's fishing time. They always find plenty to amuse themselves with...Til has this mud thing

Happily, she also loves to run through the relatively clear water so most of the nasty, sticky, stinky mud washes off

and Dora is very curious, giving things a good sniffing and maybe a lick or two for good measure (blech!)


and there's always the Run With Sharp Objects Event

the Run at Full Speed Towards ______ Event (fill in the blank with whoever is not paying attention to her)

and the I'm Not Annoying, Am I? Event

While the Ridgies do their thing and Dave attempts to fish or find mud crabs, I like to see how badly I can screw up shooting birds in flight.




I always feel a little bad coz I have no idea what any of these birds are called, but I find that feeling passes before I can work up the energy to surf the net to find an ID.

Dave has a special little holder-dealio for his fishing rod, so he gets to leave the rod to its own devices as he wanders off doing something else

Sometimes he has a helper

and sometimes he's all alone

and sometimes he's with me!

We stayed until the sun sank from the sky,


then drove home and ate leftovers. It was a great adventure!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Busy busy...I'm a buzzing bee (hash-up from Shrek III)

Seems like the days start with a pretty impressive dual-digit To Do List, progress with satisfying scribbling out of those tasks and then end with a drooling snooze on the couch before crawling in to bed...only to be followed by getting out of bed the next morning to find that the To Do Fairies have been and magically renovated said To Do List with more stuff.  Doesn't seem fair, really.

So I haven't been finding time to do anything super note or news worthy or even get the cameras out. Tomorrow. I have high hopes for tomorrow.

In the meantime, I have gotten through more than half of Saturday's wedding images and hope to have the rest done by the weekend. You can check out a selection on Kristin Anderson Photography blog ... let me know what you think!

Dave has been a prolific, if brief, blogger about his recent holiday away fishing and camping so make sure to click here and go check out his photos and stories!

We have a couple of people up from Perth for the week and were able to pop out for a couple of early evening drinks at the Novotel with them yesterday. They're out on the boat diving today and will probably dive most days they are here. Dave and I are trying to get things organized enough to join them at least one of the days, but who knows if that will really happen! Just so you don't think I've forgotten how to dive, here's a couple of shots from my dives earlier this month...and I'll pop more up in a dive post soon, I just seem to keep forgetting!


And for those of you who need something to do and who appreciate blogs with brains, check out one of my favourite blogs - I'd Rather Be a Smartass. She's quirky, funny, witty, sarcastic and insightful - I'll let you decide which is which in her posts!

And if you love doggie photos, want excellent shots of your own dog or are looking for cool doggie wear, check out my bud Ruth's new blog - she rocks it!

More awesome doggie wear and starring Roc & Ralph, the best canine buds ever, check out Rocstar - it's HOT!

Monday, July 20, 2009

another week whizzes by

Boy, has my life been dull lately!  I still have no news to report. Other than shooting the wedding on Saturday, I don't even have any new photos to share right now. I am going to try to get my rear in gear this week so don't abandon me just yet!

Dave got home last night and the whole household tumbled into the entryway to greet him enthusiastically. Except me. I stayed on the couch until the Girls calmed down enough to where I thought I could escape bodily harm if I gave Dave a welcome home hug! Even then it was a bit of a group project with them halfway on top of us and head butting us for more attention. It was very sweet, if a little dangerous.

My wedding on Saturday went well. The bride and groom are completely awesome people and the whole bridal party had a great time. I'll be starting to work on the photos probably tomorrow, but I've popped a sneak peek up to get things started. Here it is for those who don't want to clickety-click


My friends Luke & Michelle had some happy news to share - their first child was born Saturday! He's a cutie, go check him out -> Baby Arms

Monday, July 13, 2009

Hey, look, no news!

Well, about the most exciting thing that we've done is go for a walk on the beach early Sunday morning.  It was gorgeous out. Pinks & lavendars, then ominous grey, crazy red-orange, pre-storm steel grey then magically cleared up and was happy sunshiney. We even had a beautiful full bow rainbow...too bad I'd decided to leave my wide angle lens at home coz my baby cam wasn't wide enough to get both ends in!









I worked at the dive shop for a lot of the day and waded through a bunch of accounts stuff since I've taken that job over from Dave now. It's not my most favouritist task, but it has to be done and I think I'm getting a handle on it pretty quickly. Of course, that could be wishful thinking LOL

Dave's been having a good time on his trip. His internet connection kinda sucks but he is posting little snippets on his blog - click and check it out.