Bittersweet anniversary

Twelve years ago today (it was December 3rd in 2000) Tal and I drove to Atlanta.  There we met Whitby.  He was a personality from day one.

William, Tal's grandson, had married earlier in the fall and his new mother-in-law raised miniature Schnauzers.  The newly-weds had driven to Ohio to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with Robin's family.  While there William called and announced to his grandfather and me that he was holding our new dog.  Its most striking nine-week-old feature, according to William?  He looked you straight in the eye and held the gaze.  That he did.  Always.


This is Whitby's first portrait made on Monday morning, December 4th.
From that day on he was my favorite subject!

He made the trip from Ohio to Atlanta with Robin and William that Thanksgiving weekend and we went to fetch him the next.  He captivated us from the very start.  Without question, our hearts belonged to him.

Today marks six weeks since Whitby disappeared.  Twelve years minus six weeks.  Wherever he ended up our hearts are following and searching for him still.  Sigh.  But, how we laugh as we reminisce.  With nearly 12 years of memories to draw on we won't run out anytime soon.   

Thanks for everything, buddy.

Oh, and you can come home anytime now ...

Grooming

What follows is an email sent this morning from Whitby to his groomer, Denise.  She's also the founder and director of All God's Creatures, an animal rescue sanctuary here in Edgefield County.  Whitby and Belle generally board there when Tal and I have to be away.

Hi Miss Denise. This is Whitby.

I look like a "splosion" happened to me.   All I did was go down to the pond after breakfast. Somebody -- like that cat from across the pond or a raccoon or an opossum -- had been down there and I had to get my schnauzer nose close to it.   You understand, don't you? Well, the water's really low and the edge is really soft.   When I got back to the house and that Tal opened the door to let me in I had mud all the way up to all four elbows. My belly was a little messy, too.

Janet gave me a bath.   That's where the "splosion" part comes in.   I just knew it was going to be bad when my bud Tal plugged in Miss Janet's hairdryer.   She said it was because she didn't want me to stay wet and get cold.   I'm thinking punishment.   What about you?   Anyway, when that hair dryer and my ungroomed self got together ...   Well, I guess your imagination is telling you everything you really need to know.

I think I'd like to come and see you.   Could you look at your grooming calendar and let me know when I might be able to get cleaned up?   Janet's going to be gone all this week, but how about the 14th, 15th or 16th of next week?   Do you have time? Oh, and my pesky sister could do with a little work herself.   (Don't know what those two see in her, but anyway ...)

Thank you. Love, Whitby

Whitby has heard back from Denise.  The "beautimization" for both our four-legged family members will take place on the 15th.  Photos to follow.   

How could I ever choose?

With the camera in hand late today I went for a long -- and sweaty -- walk.  The dogs, who smartly declined the invitation to go with me, became my subjects while I cooled down back home in the air-conditioning.  They are my favorite subjects.

It had crossed my mind to use one of those photographs as my image of the day.  But, I couldn't choose.  Both dogs possess charming characteristics.  I couldn't bear to play favorites.

So, the image of the day on Flickr is a grainy shot of a sunset which I had viewed from the 13th green at our local golf course during the walk.  It'll just have to do.

Here -- getting equal time -- are Whitby and Belle!

Whenever she gets the chance, Belle "takes" my end of the
sofa.  Then, she watches to see if I've noticed.  This image was
taken from the chair to which I'd been relegated.

Whitby and I had been playing with Foxy,
partially visible in the left portion of this image.
Whitby would toss Foxy on the floor, I'd put
Foxy back on the pillow and then we'd do it
again.  Whitby tired of the game, but kept his
eyes firmly fixed on me.

Some dogs ...

Three days of rain and having to stay inside was more than Whitby could stand.  When this morning dawned clear and cold he and Belle went outside after their breakfast and snooped around the yard for a long, long time.  Tal decided to investigate and this is what he found!

A very dirty, but extremely happy, dog.  His entire body looks like his face.

Our weeks working in the pine grove have revealed numerous deep holes -- left when a pine tree died or was cut and the stump rotted over the years.  Both dogs love finding them and upending themselves in them.  Precisely what Whitby did this morning.  An activity made even more glorious by the recent rain.

I started to give Whitby a bath immediately.  But, since Tal's going to work outside today while I do inside tasks, we decided waiting would be a good thing. 

A bath is not hard; we have a deep utility sink in the laundry room.  The real trick will be keeping Whitby from shaking while still wearing muddy bubbles.  He does that and the entire room -- and I -- will look like he does in the photograph.

A mere four degrees

We enjoyed our third day of rain.  Averaging a inch a day.  Late this afternoon we ventured out for a walk on the promenade to find the path along the pond pretty nearly under water. 

In addition to the precipiation the temperature was stuck on fairly miserable, the low over night having been 42 degrees and the high only 46.  Spring seems to be hiding from us.

Whitby, looking back, seems to be saying that it's OK for us to proceed
on the narrowed promenade.

 

Prime lens

It's an autofocus Sigma 30mm 1.4.  A very nice, easy to manage fixed (or prime) lens.  On the advice of a photographer I trust, when I invested in a digital SLR I bought the lens and camera body (a Canon Rebel XT) separately.  My friend's reasoning was that I needed to learn to see and that I needed to learn to gauge where I needed to be, where my person needed to be, in order to see the best.  For the first year that is precisely what I did.

Then, I invested again.  This time in a 24-105mm Canon zoom, image stabilized lens.  Heavier than the Sigma, but awfully fine.  It turned -- instantly -- into my workhorse lens.  I put the Sigma in the camera bag and there it has stayed for years.  Until yesterday. 

While I was in Charlotte, the three photographers I heard speak talked about photographic equipment and stressed finding ways to get the shots one wants with the equipment one has.  There are times to upgrade, to purchase better cameras, longer lenses, but the time is not now, not when you first think about it.  The time might be after you know exactly what every piece of equipment you currently own will do and when you are able to get the best out of it.  Sounded like good advice to me.

So, the Sigma's out of bag and I'm going to try to use it exclusively for the next month or so.  It will mean more exercise!  To zoom in or out I'll have to use my feet instead of the lens.  It will mean my being more mindful of what I am doing.  I'll have to have in mind clearly, and in advance, what I want the end result to be after the shutter is released.  It will mean there will be some things I won't be able to do, but that's part of the point of this exercise.

One big advantage of the Sigma is that it is a fast lens (that 1.4 designation means it has a large aperture), meaning it does well in low light.  I took this photograph of Whitby this afternoon in the kitchen -- handheld with available light. Probably wouldn't have been able to do that without a tripod using the 24-105.  The downside here is that the image had to be cropped.  I was leaning way over the counter and even with those contortions Whitby turned out looking pretty far away.  Why didn't I get closer and try again?  I did.  Whitby, however, came to me when I crouched down with the camera.  He's cute, but a most uncontrollable subject.      

While we were in the doctor's office last Tuesday, I read an article about aerial photography in an issue of AOPA Pilot (Aircraft Owners and Pilot's Association).  One of the three photographers featured, a Mike Collins, offered this thought on not obsessing about equipment:  "A photographer's most important tools are his eyes and his brain."

All righty then. 

One of those days

We had coffee and breakfast, packed, closed the house, dropped Whitby and Belle at All God's Creatures and headed to Pawleys Island this morning.  Our destination, along with my mother, is to points in Florida -- Wesley Chapel, Lakewood Ranch and Punta Gorda, to visit family and friends. 

This morning's routine and our travel route Tal and I (and even the car) know by heart.  So many of the minutes of the day were taken up with immediate chores that there's little in particular to offer as this evening winds to a close.  The getting ready and the getting here required a lot.  The cameras stayed stowed, as did the journal and the book I'm reading.

But, what a sight we did see.  It was an overcast day and very windy.  We approached North SC and were surprised to see a lone C-17 (Globemaster III) airborne.  Touch and go in a cross wind being the lesson of the day, I suppose.  We lost sight of it for a time.  Beyond the airfield Tal slowed to make a left turn and there it was huge and hanging over Bull Swamp in a low, slow turn, landing gear down.

My closing thought as sleep beckons is of Whitby and Belle.  They approached being dropped off with grace.  In fact, I handed Belle's leash to Tara and Belle headed up the steps and into the building.  Cassie took Whitby and he set out on an exploratory walk.  Neither of our dogs looked back.  Well adjusted and secure, I suppose.  But, I sigh a little sadly anyway.  I wonder if they'll miss us.

My world view

This is not going to be a long, serious post about how I sort past experiences, current activities and future possibilities into some workable strategy for coping with life.  I do think about such things, alot actually, but my thoughts at the moment are more local and immediate -- and literal.


Whitby is more and more a lap dog.  So, more and more I view my world with this delightful and demanding furry ear-to-ear frame.  And then, there's Tal -- pretty much the focus of my life.