Category: canines

Daily Image — 29 October 2023

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One of my favorite places along the Carson River — Mexican Ditch Trail on the Silver Saddle Ranch. Shot with the Fujifilm X100V at f/8 with the Portra film simulation. #SOOC

For the last number of weeks, my daily walks have mostly been on the job site in El Dorado National Forest. By the end of the day, I was pretty much done and getting in a half-hour walk for The Girl was about all I had left in me. I sometimes carried a camera, but the creative juice just was not there.

Now that I am recovering from that slog, I have time and energy to play a little radio, work a little in my house, and do something with a camera. I am also walking an hour or so for both The Girl and I. We love those times together.

Today was a treat for a couple of reasons. First was the image above. An irrigation structure on the Mexican Ditch often returns flow to the Carson River at this location. The flow crosses the road and I love the sound and sight that it makes. With the colder temperatures of the last few nights, the cottonwoods are dropping their leaves as the color leaves them. The sight this morning made me pause for a couple of captures. I like this one.

On the way back to the rig, I was keeping an eye out for other walkers/dogs and heard a whistle behind me. For a moment I thought of the Mockingjay whistle from The Hunger Games movies. That caused me to pause and I looked behind us.

Sera came to attention. When Timber and Lisa started calling her I said “Go! See you peeps!”

She blasted off, of course and I heard Lisa call “Watch your knees!” as she blew in to greet them. Sera was all wiggles and soft looks as she interacted with some of her favorite people.

I walked back to greet them and retrieve The Girl and we walked back to my rig. We paused to visit for a few minutes. I so enjoy them and it was good to spend a few minutes catching up.

The capture was made with my Fujifilm X100V and its lovely 23mm f/2 lens. The capture was made at f/8 using the Portra-400 film simulation. I am running a light diffusion filter on the camera, which provides a more filmic look.

It was a good day. Life is good.

Daily Doggo — 28 October 2023

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While walking a morning or two ago, Sera posed for me on overwatch. Shot with the Fuji X100V 23mm f/2 at f/8 using the Portra film simulation.

It has been a minute or two. After six weeks in the field overseeing a construction project, I am no longer leaving the house at 0-dark-early and returning at 1700h. That was a string of long days and a lot of physical activity.

I am recovering and resting. The last couple of days were spent catching up with things left undone. I still have a lot to do. There is also a slug of analytical work to get done and that will take a few weeks.

It is good, though. The work is good. Then I might catch a break before the next batch of projects start up. Or it might be that work slows for awhile as the consulting business has an ebb and flow.

Anyway, The Girl and I are enjoying the cooler weather. With the cool weather the risk of snakes is much reduced. Soon they will all be in their winter dens and will be of no concern until the weather warms in the spring.

I am carrying a camera again. I have a few images that need review and processing. I have a couple of new lenses to try. I want to get out and do some radio as well.

Life is good.

Daily Doggo

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The Girl staring out the rainy window of the 4Runner. Shot with the Fuji X100V at f/8 with the Tri-X 400 film simulation.

After a long week working in the field, we drove up to our favorite place near Spooner Summit to walk this afternoon. Then we drove up to Reno to the Apple Store. It is time to upgrade my aging MacBook Pro (2015 model) after nearly eight years of service.

We came home with a new computer about mid-afternoon. I was hungry, so we stopped at the Black Bear Diner for me to get some food. The Girl waited for me in the rig because I did not know how busy the restaurant might be. It turns out she could have come with me in her training vest and would have been fine on the floor next to me.

Nonetheless, she got my leftover turkey and mashed potatoes and will not need much supper. Neither will I.

I thought the rain provided a nice effect with her looking through the glass. It might be cliche, but I like it anyway.

The new MacBook Pro is transferring files from my old unit. It should be done in another hour and then I will go through the remainder of the setup process.

Daily Image — 02 September 2023

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Lately I have been shooting normal(ish) lenses during my daily walkies with The Girl. Yesterday I carried an old Hanimex 135mm f/2.8 along and shat a few frames with it. This one I like, captured with the Sony A7Sii with in-camera black and white conversion at f/8. I did post-process a bit in Iridient Developer, made some contrast adjustments and added a bit of sharpening.

Over the last month or so, with the exception of two outings, my images were captured with normalish lenses. The two exceptions were some captures with the Nikkor 85mm f/2 and the Zuiko 85mm f/2. On a full-frame camera, like the Sony A7Sii (which I carry a lot), 85mm is a short telephoto focal length. It is most commonly used for portraits.

I start to see the telephoto effect (compression of distance, shallow depth of field) at a focal length of about 105mm. Yesterday I carried a Hanimex 135mm f/2.8 in the bag. The Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm f/2.8 Tessar was on the camera (Sony A7Sii) during most of our walk. Near the end of walkies, I decided to mount the Hanimex and see what that gave me.

The Hanimex was reviewed and recommended by Nigel (Zenography channel). It is not an expensive lens. They are quite common (East German Cold War era). But, they are also quite sharp, good quality, and have good contrast. I picked one up off fleaBay a few weeks ago for not much money.

Nigel is right — the lens is quite sharp, even wide open. It has good image quality. And I quite like the telephoto look of this shot of River Road from the Silver Saddle Ranch gate staging area.

The Girl and I had a good walk. The weather is cool, very much fall-like. We have had some rain and I am hopeful that keeps the wildfires away. My thought for today is that maybe we will drive up to our current favorite portable operation site this morning. We can walk some and I might set up a station and see if the bands are better (yesterday they were poor). I think I will take makings for coffee or tea.

Whatever we do, it will be good. I am grateful The Girl is strong and healthy. I do not mind that she is a bossy-bitch. Life is good.

My Sick Girl

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My poor girl is quite sick. She has a urinary tract infection and is being a little slow to respond to antibiotics. This on top of a rattlesnake bite a little over a week ago is a lot for her system to handle. Shot with the Sony A7Sii and a 50mm f/1.7 Zenit-M lens at f/1.7. Post-processed with Iridient Developer.

The Girl has had a tough run of luck lately. Last week she was bitten by a rattlesnake. That caused a trip to the clinic and an overnight stay. The treatment mitigated the worst of the bite. After a couple of days of recovery, she was pretty much her usual self.

Still, I limited her crazy activity for a few days. Tuesday and Wednesday we were out in the field where I directed collection of some additional topographic data for one of our projects. She seemed her normal self, and had a blast chasing the multitude of chipmunks that inhabit the area.

Thursday evening I noticed some swelling of her muzzle. I called the vet and we traveled back to Gardnerville for another check. Her blood work was good, but the vet identified a urinary tract infection. I asked that she give an injection of antibiotic to jumpstart the process and then I would administer the remainder of the round orally.

She was not a bit good yesterday. I was able to coax her to eat a couple of scrambled eggs I made for her. That got the antibiotic in. Last night I had some leftover hamburger steak and mashed potatoes, so I was able to get the next does of antibiotic in her.

She did drink some water and ask to go out to eliminate a couple of times. So we are making progress.

This morning as I readied myself to go out, she looked at me but did not leave her spot on the sofa. I drove down to Red Hut and had some food. I brought her French toast (my leftovers) and that got another dose of antibiotic in her. She also drank some water, which is good.

Then she laid her head back down to rest. She is showing little interest when I start moving around. Normally she would be a pesty-bitch and follow me everywhere in the house, underfoot, asking to go with.

Not today… she is firmly established on the sofa.

I will leave her there and pray she is better this evening. I always hated it when my kids were sick, especially when they were small and did not understand. I feel the same for my fur-children. They know they are sick and do what comes natural to them to recover. They do not understand medical treatment, but permit us to treat them. They know we love them and are caring for them.

So, I will hope for better this evening. In the meantime, I have other things to keep me busy.

1Yes, I know that my term of endearment, fur-child, is completely inaccurate. She is not human. However, we share a bond and relationship that is as strong as I have with most humans. Do not try to tell me she does not love me — I know that she does. So, leave me alone!

Daily Image — 18 August 2023

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This is the first of several captures made Thursday afternoon, 17 August 2023. I was on my way back from a trip to the vet in Gardnerville, Nevada for Sera. The capture was made with a Sony A7Sii and a lovely little Pentax-M 50mm f/2 at f/8.

Sera has a urinary tract infection. I know this because I took her to the vet yesterday evening. I noticed a bit of swelling on her muzzle and thought that there might be some residual impact from the rattlesnake bite.

I called and decided to take her down to Gardnerville to see a vet. The swelling on her muzzle was not the issue. She tested positive for a UTI. She got an injection of antibiotic and was sent home with a round of oral antibiotic.

On the way home it started raining. The light was looking good with the sun just over the Sierra Nevada. I stopped along U.S. 395 to make a few images.

I hope Sera heals quickly. She is not good at the moment.

Archive Image — Ki

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This image was captured 02 July 2016 while we were out hiking. She’d lived with me for about five years at this time. I still miss her.

I was browsing my image archive this morning, cleaning up some culls and organizing the directories. I stumbled across this capture of Ki I made seven-years ago. She was on overwatch as I climbed up towards her and she looks so happy. We had so many good times together. She was a great dog, not perfect but neither am I.

I still miss her. We will see each other again and have a big-ol’ play along with all the others.

Life is good.

Home and Mending

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The Girl is home from hospital after her nope-rope encounter. It’s good to have her home. Shot with a Fuji X-E4 and the Fujinon 27mm f/2.8 at f/4, with the Acros film simulation.

The vet called yesterday morning about 0745h. The Girl was doing well, her numbers were fine, and she was ready to be released. I was expecting a must-sign-for delivery via FeDeX, so I had to stick around the house. I knew that as soon as I left, the delivery person would show up and I would have to go find the parcel.

So I continued to work while waiting. I heard the truck about 1330h and walked to the front door then stepped out. I signed and took delivery, dropped the carton on the kitchen table, and headed for Gardnerville. It took a half hour to get there and only a few minutes of waiting (after I paid my bill, of course). The Girl was quite happy to see me and ready to head out the door.

I received her recovery directions and pain medication and we left.

I stopped at McDonald’s because I know she like fries and I was a little hungry. She ate part of my hamburger, too.

She settled onto the bed in her normal place. Later she moved to the sofa where I sat watching videos about the Fuji X-E4, their smallest interchangeable lens camera. I have a rented unit because I want to know what all the fuss is about it.

I already have the perfect set of lenses for it, Fujinon’s wonderful compact lens series. It would make an excellent travel camera for those times I want more than a point-and-shoot1. It is inexpensive to rent, so I am doing to testing over the next week and change.

But, the focus is on The Girl. She will need a few days of rest to recover from her close encounter of the Jacob-No-Shoulders’ kind. She will get rest and lots of love. I will also be very careful with her when we are out where there can be snakes. I do not want a repeat action.

1Ha! The Fuji X100V is not just a point-and-shoot camera. It is a very competent fixed lens camera that can do a lot if the focal length is right for the subject.

Daily Image — South End of a North-Bound Dog

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The south end of a north-bound dog.

I have laughed, many times, over the fact that no matter which way I point the camera (or face for that matter), there is The Girl, looking in the same direction. I think I could write a book entitled The South End of a North-Bound Dog. It would include a lot of dog stories, of course.

Once again, while looking at a piece of scrap metal left behind years ago, I pointed the camera. Before I could make the capture, there was The Girl, with the South End pointed at me.

Nevertheless, life is good.

Edit: On our morning hike, a large coyote crossed the access road behind us. Unlike they usually do, this one stood there, staring at us. Of course, this set off The Girl, who wanted to engage.

Well, that is not going to happen. But this raised her energy level so much that she was hyperactive as we started our walk.

About a mile in, I saw her jumping on a bush. That in itself is not unusual, but she was very agitated and clearly on something. I walked over and heard the buzz when I got about ten feet away. I called her off and she had blood on her nose and tongue.

It was a rattler, definitely. I figured she was bit, although I could not find it. I called the vet and we headed back to the rig.

They found one bite site on the side of her muzzle. She is in hospital while they infuse her with antivenin and monitor her blood and kidneys function. She should be fine in a couple of days. I doubt she will be any wiser.

Damned coyote…

And, nonetheless, life is still good!

The Girl Poses

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She would rather be hunting. But she needed a break because she was overheating. Shot with Fuji X-T5 and the Fujinon 33mm f/1.4 at f/4.
While I work through my first morning coffee, I decided to post a capture of my lovely Girl. She will pose for me if I ask. Well, maybe sometimes I have to tell. [Heh]

We have been spending some time every weekend in the national forest at an elevation of about 7,000 feet. It is much cooler there and the pines provide shade and that soothing shooshing sound when the breeze blows through the needles. The lagniappe is that I can play radio a little, hike as much as I want, and enjoy being away from the sounds of Carson City.

I already have enough backlog of photographs to post for weeks. Those are just the captures from the last couple of weekends up there near Spooner Summit. I have many more from our walks at Silver Saddle Ranch.

I am already looking forward to the weekend. I plan on going back to this place. Although, as I think on it, my friend Greg mentioned Hermit Valley out south of us. It is also at elevation and is a new place to explore. I will have a look this week to see if there is a park or a summit to activate. Then I might plan a day trip out there to explore.