Category: navi
Overgrown, overrun…
It has been a long, cool, rainy spring. We had a little dash of summer weather early on that got our hopes up, then it got dreary again. Of course there’s been a few nice days thrown in here and there, but with my new work schedule I’m mostly limited to working on the yard on the weekends, and many of those have been rainy.
This happens every year – it’s wet and rainy, and we can’t get out and mow the field because it’s a wetland. By the time it’s dry, it’s too tall. And are we ever there this year!
We got a little mowing in, but the rest is too tall to mow now. We’ve already looked into renting a tractor or a walk-behind brush mower to knock it down with. As soon as it stops raining long enough for it to dry out a bit, we’ll go rent one for the weekend.
The waving tall grass is actually kind of pretty, except every time I look at it I just see all the work ahead of us to get it under control.
Here’s Navi playing in the grass behind the water trough. Yeah, it’s that deep.
There she is!
There’s Barclay, prowling through the jungle.
The worst part is the garden. About a month ago I spent a couple hours cleaning it up, and it looked great. Now I haven’t had a chance to visit it for a few weeks, and when I went out there, I just wanted to cry 
Nothing a couple hours of hard labor won’t fix! There’s still more to go, but I didn’t want to hurt myself trying to do it all in one go. I got my exercise for sure today!
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Spring Flowers
The very first sprinkling of color is popping up all over the yard…
Of course I had company while on my photography spree.
Cats! They always seem to have such goofy looks!
Navi had a grand old time in the backyard, hunting mice in the tall grass and digging holes.
Barclay preferred to stay clean with a good game of stickball.
Even Mighty seems disturbed by how filthy Navi got!
I never get tired of taking pictures of her when she’s muddy – I just think it’s so cute! She really puts her all into digging for treasure!
How clean she gets after a quick round with the hose and drying off is simply miraculous!
Watch out for the laser eyes!
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Dog Days
Seems like I only have a chance to take pictures of the dogs on the weekends, since I get home from work so late during the week. Today was a beautiful sunny day, and we got to play outside all day. Barclay was my subject today, between rounds of stickball.
I am still LOVING my 35mm f1.8 lens. I love the soft backgrounds and the sharp focus on the subject.
This is the two year anniversary of our little Alki passing away after a three year battle with cancer. I’ve been so lucky to have Barclay to soften the blow, and then a few months later Navi joined the party. Sometimes Navi looks so much like Alki, or does something that just seems so much like her, I take a double-take. Rest in peace, sweet little Alki, you’ll always have a place in my heart.
Alki
Navi and the bath
Navi had a great afternoon hunting mice in the field
She’s very concentrated when she’s hunting for mice
Digging holes, shoving her nose in them, is a dirty job. So I clean her up before she goes inside with a quick dip in the water trough
I said it was a QUICK dip!
Much better! But that’s no reason to stop playing with the hose..
Barclay has no interest in playing with the hose.
And just like magic, she is all white and clean. After a quick roll in the grass to dry off, she’s ready to come into the house again!
Navi and Car-Sickness
Navi (our little perpetual-running machine) gets car sick. She’s been having this problem since she was a puppy. I think it got to the point where she would get car sick, and then she would anticipate getting car sick, and then she would get sick because she was so nervous anticipating getting car sick.
We’ve tried Dramamine, and jelly beans, and having her ride in a crate, and outside of a crate, and in my lap (puked in my lap that time) and taking her for short rides (but I think I didn’t give it enough time or make it short enough), and forcing her to just buck up and put up with a long ride and nothing has really done the trick. She just runs away when she thinks she’s going to have to go for a ride, and when I do get her into the car she looks miserable, and drools, and eventually throws up.
So two weeks ago I started taking her for a ride every single evening after work. Just up to the mailbox and back, which is about 200 feet. The first trip I had to beg her to come in the garage, and then I had to pick her up and put her in the car. After a week of these super-short rides, she was running out to the garage, and hopping in the car when I said it was time to go for a ride!
Now we’ve expanded the distance, and we’re going to the park entrance, or the firestation – they’re both about a quarter mile. She’s still a little nervous, but I’m going to keep this up until she thinks a quarter mile is just plain boring! Then we’ll go a little farther. I’m going to turn her into a traveling dog yet!
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Snow day 2012
Yay! Snow!
We woke up to an unexpected dusting of snow. It’s funny how sometimes they know the storm is coming, and talk about it all week, and then nothing happens, and other times you don’t hear anything and just wake up to snow!
Barclay knows how to enjoy snow…
Our neighbors have been hard at work tearing down the rusty old barn.
It will be nice to see it go. It’s not a cool old barn, it’s just an eyesore, and I wouldn’t trust it to house a horse without falling in on them.
Handsome Barclay!
I don’t want you to think I only take pictures of Barclay, but Navi just doesn’t hold still. She is constantly orbiting around me. She never stops running…
Running…
Running…
Running.
And when I do try to get a nice picture of her dirty little face after digging a hole, she can’t sit still long enough for that either!
And..she’s out of here!
See ya later, suckers!
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A pack of eskimos!
Our friends took a little trip south to warmer climates this week, and left us with two extra eskimos – what could be more fun?!
Oh the insanity! Crazy eskimos, ravaging each other out in the yard!
Sake, Sitka, and Navi get into it and wrestle and chase a LOT. Barclay is a little stand-off-ish for some reason. He mostly watches. Maybe now that he’s 4 he’s too dignified for these shenanigans.
There, Barclay decided to join in a little.
Ooo, panning shot! Navi & Sitka race around the yard!
Then they take a water break.
Sake
Barclay
Back inside for treats, Navi thought she’d get a leg up on the competition…
Oh Barclay, you’re so patient with your ‘pesky’ little sister!
Good dogs!
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Barclay’s Birthday!
Beautiful Barclay is 4 years old this year (his Birthday was on Christmas Eve, when I took these pictures). To celebrate we went out and played stickball and played with the hose to cool off when we were done. Not that it was hot, it was like 50 degrees out, but the dogs love to play hard, and cool off in the trough!
Stickball is Barclay’s favorite game in the world – basically a ball on a rope on the end of a stick. He’s nuts for it!
The crazy aerobatics are the best part – watch out for flying eskimos!
Navi isn’t quite as insane for the stickball, but she’s getting better at it. She even gets it away from Barclay once in a while, but he’s the champ!
Barclay always gets the ball back in the end.
Barclay never wants to give the ball back, though he knows chasing it is the best part.
Navi took a dip in the pond and then got back in the game
Then it was time to cool off. I love Barclay’s look – that totally says he thinks she should get out of the way and let him have HIS hose!
Bark bark bark – give me MY HOSE!
Finally!
Then Navi gets good and wet…
And gives everyone a shower!
Happy Birthday Barclay!
Steff Does Stuff! 