Last one I promise...

Holy cow... or should I say Holy Great Dane?

I arrived home late tonight to be alerted to the incredible fact that Cosmo the Great Dane (and keeper of an entire corner of my heart) has made the fourth group of Ree's doggie pics.

In some seriously HOT canine company...

She chose this shot - of my lovely late mate watching the very same little fella (just out of frame this time) he was photographed with in the previous selection.

This one was taken on the beach/mudflats at Sandgate (Brisbane, Qld, Australia) in 2004.

*sigh*

He was a great galloping galut and I still miss the big boofhead.

But what an amazing honour - twice.

(All those 'also-ran' efforts in previous assignments will keep me level-headed, I promise!)

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I realise I have been a tad self-indulgent this week.

So tomorrow I will offer you something different.

What would you like to hear about next?

1. What happened to Bay Lulic the one-eyed cow?

2. How to cut up beef (from scratch)? (You heard me), or

3. Magic mushrooms

Flashback: Old (Dane) Gold.

There might be a bit of a pooch-flavoured week this week - blame Pioneer Woman okay?

Just thought I'd share another entry in her Dog Portrait assignment - and to be completely different from yesterday's last-minute shot, this one is quite an old photo.

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This particular image was taken (on film with my old Nikon) in 2003. It was taken when we lived in a tiny little house in a suburb of Brisbane - married just two years and with a sweet little boy who would go on to be called Dash. Dash would have many little challenges in his life (back then) and we would spend much time in the house, rather than rollicking around playgrounds like most little boys and their doting mamas.

Luckily we had our own built-in play centre.

And his name was Cosmo.

Coz adored Dash and was intensely careful around him - things had been quite tense as we realised the extent of Dash's condition and his feeding and medication regime had pretty much grounded us, and this tension had made our bitumen-speckled (Blue Merle) Great Dane quite protective. Not in an aggressive way (he was NEVER aggressive) but he would mostly just park himself nearby and watch our little boy. Dash didn't move a lot, but this giant, steady, loving presence seemed to comfort him just by being there. Occasionally Dash would shuffle over (he never really did crawl) and just hung with Coz. The trust he had in this dog was really something. This confidence with dogs is something that stays with Dash to this day.

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As Dash grew stronger, he would pull himself up onto the dog's back and Coz would sit steady and still. Waiting calmly. Being his plaything. Letting Dash pull ears and lips with a quiet "It's okay... he's right... it doesn't really hurt" look on his face.

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This photo was scanned (with a lot of dust marks) before I lost the original. Using a very basic original version of Photoshop, I had monotoned and lightened the background for a card I made years ago - a card to thank so many people who had helped our son through his challenges. I found the file yesterday and thought I'd clean it up a little and enter it. I ran a sepia action on it (which included a border that I have almost removed) and then left it be.

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You'd think after seven years, the power of this photo on my emotional state would lessen.

You would think after three years of Coz-less living, I would be over it.

But this photo never fails to make me cry.
I'm bawling right now, wiping stupid tears away before Mr Incredible sees me.

It's the look on Dash's face.

The one that says: He's mine.

A lunatic by any other name...

Trying to work out my best entry for this week's Pioneer Woman challenge:

Portrait of a Dog.

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I discovered that I have FAR too many dog photos.

And amongst them, FAR too many crappy dog photos.

(Not, not doggy crap photos...

I would need a wide angle and my mother reads this thing!)

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So what did I do?

I gave up searching the archives and just whacked up the most recent dog photo I have taken. Literally... it's the last shot of our ridiculous Great Dane on the camera, taken yesterday (when I was supposed to be cutting down on the Nikon-sniping).

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I give you Axel (Roseberry the First) adoring Mr Incredible to bits.

Nom, nom, nom... ow!

I love the crazy flappy lips, the fact Mr Incredible is absent-mindedly playing with Axel while talking to someone else (out of frame), and I even love the John Deere mower in the background.

It screams 'ludicrous large pooch trying to be a farm dog' to me...

and ' LET ME BE PART OF IT ALL... PWEEEEESE!!'

And for those wondering how big Axel is now (that he is a whole one year old and getting close to fully grown) he measures approximately 107 cm at the shoulder. Which converts to about 42.125 inches. Which cannot be right or he'd be nudging THIS guy. We need a proper measuring stick methinks!

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So, tell me: What's your favourite pet photo?

Share a link to it with us in comments. And if you don't have something to share at your own place, was there a favourite shot somewhere in the archives here that you think I should enter in PW's contest later in the week? All nominations gratefully accepted!

Dancing on the inside (Axel-style)

It's someone's birthday today.
He's beside himself with excitement.

Want to sing with me?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

TO

youuuuuu....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

TO youuuuuu....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

dearrrr AXE-ELlllll....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO youuuuuu....

Axel Rose-berry the First (aka 'the great galut') turns ONE today.

For the record he DID enjoy his birthday corned-meat fritters.

And he's freaking right out with delight at his treat.

You just can't tell.

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(To see his progress since arriving here 10 months ago, check out this post, and this one and this one and this one too. Man this dog has GROWN!)

Gimme Gimme Some Lovin'

Letting the pictures do the talking today...

Axel with Mr Incredible.

Proving once and for all that

ANY attention is good attention,

...as far as Danes are concerned.

Oh, and one more thing,

to keep things in perspective:

The End.

A little less conversation, a little more Axel...

So apparently I haven't been sharing enough

of a certain member of the Granite Glen household lately...

someone whose personality is as big as any character list on my sidebar,

and whose growth rate is about ten times any other youngster residing here.

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THIS guy...

Axel Rose(berry) the First.

Our pedigree Great Dane and official Ludicrous Houseyard Decoration.

Hello darling... you happy, crazy, silly dog.

Or as my father might say: That Great Waste of Space.

We are working on the Dad-Axel dynamic.

We've a little way to go yet.

Old Bushies just don't 'get' House Dogs.

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Axel has grown UNBELIEVABLY since arriving here* just seven months ago.

He arrived looking like this!

*If you click on link above you will see how amazingly he has become like his Mama!
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Invariably, people will gasp upon seeing him looming over the

houseyard fence, and announce in dramatic tones:

"MY... oh, my, he's so... BIG!"

and look at us incredulously.

Like we hadn't noticed that little fact previously.

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He is a member of the family now.

Not a replacement for our darling Coz,

but his own special 'person' nonetheless.

A happy, goofy, smiley pooch,

a guard-dog extraordinaire (well, he's loud anyway)

and excellent boot minder.

He'd love to be a swimmer too...

but he's just too scared (he IS a Dane, after all!)

so he is official onlooker and boot protector for the time being.
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To give you a little perspective of his massive size,

here is Axel being a SuperDog,

with Dash the SuperHero.

He weighs over 50kg

and his shoulder reaches my hip.

He is loveable, laughable and huggable.

He'll never be a Rhodes Scholar

and he poops scultpures the size of a small building,

but we love him anyway!

Dane-sized Water Sprite

I use our two bore-fed sprinklers at Granite Glen often, in a valiant attempt to hold the crispy dry browness (over two months of no rainfall will do that to a once-green vista!) at the fenceline. It's a fact of country living that even if the situation in the paddocks is dry and dire and depressing, morale stays reasonably high when workmen and women can come home to a little bit of greenery.

It's good for the soul.

And essential for mental health.

So says Dr BB anyway!

...

The only real drawbacks of this watering activity are:

1. The bore water is pretty dirty - it stains anything light-coloured (fences, house walls etc)

2. I have to remember to turn them on. And off. And move them occasionally.

3. Sometimes the sprinklers play up with all the grit and sediment coming through the hoses.

...

So I was blaming the sediment for suddenly discovering that a sprinkler I had carefully set up with a low, wide spray between the house and carport was suddenly spurting long straight bursts against the creamy house walls and our white car...

Should I let the photos do the talking?

Alrighty then...

Yes I know.

Naughty. Ridiculous. Dog.

*Sigh*

Floor space...

Remember Axel?

The cute little Great Dane puppy?

Uh huh...

THIS is the amount of floor space the great boof-headed pooch takes up now.

Like HALF of our temporary office.

I have deliberately left the laptop, my awful feet and the laptop cord in the shot to give you some perspective. And scale.

Or something.

Yes, I am quite lazy in the housekeeping department...

why do you ask?

Of course there are other even more lovable things about Axel (AKA Axel Rose or Axel Roseberry - a particularly butch name dreamed up by Dash)...

Like his drinking technique.

A close up is called for, methinks!

And don't get me started on the 'messages' he leaves around the yard.

Our last dane's droppings were fondly known a Coz Bombs.

This one: Axel atoms. (Or Axel Atom Bombs!)

You can say 'thankyou' anytime for me NOT posting pictures.

Not pretty at all.

...

Lucky he's the most lovable thing ever.

...

(Hoping he is being lovable with at sister Jeanie's place tonight, as he spends his weekend first sleepover in Paradise while his Mama photographs a wedding!)

Visit to the Vet

I stumbled on this group of photos tonight... they were taken in April, when Axel (our ludicrous Great Dane puppy) was getting his vaccination shots at the local vet.

Yes, I DO understand that I am supposed to blog-as-it-happens but I got busy. And disorganised. And this is too cute to miss, so pretend it's four months ago, OK?

This series was taken as Axel arrived (all bumble-footed and puppy-like) at the surgery and was confronted by the little terrier puppy (a similar age I think) who owned the place. He scampered under the Prado and had to be coaxed out. Tail between legs initially, as the terrier yipped at him to play, Axel was all:

"Oh, sorry, you live here?

Sorry, you want me to leave?

Oh? You want me to play?

Oh, you sure? Don't beat me up, OK??

Note the paw reference halfway through the set, as I coax them into the waiting area and they finally make friends, as only dogs (and young men) do...

I also should preface this slideshow by also saying that our vet is in love with our Great Dane puppy. He was in love with our previous Great Dane goofball and I suspect he would fall in love with ANY Dane that entered his premises.
I mean, who wouldn't, right?
(Dad, don't answer that please!)


Oh, and lastly, please understant that this was taken a long time in dog years ago. Axel is now about three times this size.

Unfortunately, he has no idea of the transformation he has undergone and continues to cower at anything that stares him down. Like the horses, the cat and the weaner bulls. I was considering showing him a mirror, to try and get through that he is almost the size of a small pony (if not quite as round!) but am afraid he might have a coronary.

A 'real' farm dog, he ain't!

Path to happiness...

Can mere bricks and mortar make a girl happy?

(Or even a close-to-middle-aged battling-to-stay-brunette female?)

I pose this question today, because over the weekend,

my ever-lovin' Hubby of the Year undertook a mission

which indeed brings me enormous joy.

Remember these pavers?

Of the 'Oh my God, she nearly lost them' variety?

Yar.

Well Mr Incredible put me out of my misery on Saturday

(the lop-sided load in the trailer parked right outside the front gate

was a painful reminder of my perilous trip home from Big Town last week!)

...

So he got to work...

He had some help of course... here Violet does what Violet does best:

Supervise.

"I fink you need more sand Daddy!"

Dash was busily doing his best to actually help but failing to follow instructions completely (as most seven-year-old boys are wont to do) and pour extra water into the wheelbarrow instead of the cement mixer.

Oops.

Mr Incredible did recover, but that first load was mighty sloppy!

...

And our other family member?

Well he sulked a lot after being chained up near the action

- Great Dane puppies and wet cement -

not a combo we were willing to try!

...

Here is the second load of wet cement being poured into the pathway already dug out by my energetic hubby.

Hey... I carried some of the pavers.

(And I have the sore abs and arm muscles to prove it!)

It was totally a team effort!

I liked the look of the tool and the cement...

OK, I was possibly not being particularly useful at this exact moment!

Let's not get picky...

This path originally had several large pavers that Mum had bought 'temporarily' placed like stepping stones between our patio and the gate - over about 7 metres.
Couch grass used to grow between them but with so much foot traffic (dog and young human mostly) it had become very bare and dust (or muddy) and a bit of a nightmare for anyone contemplating cleaning floors in our house. (And I do occasionally contemplate such activity. Sometimes I even do it!)

So it was with great excitement that I anticipated a non-dirt walkway for my house-bound traffic. Mr I would pour a couple of loads of cement and then carefully lay the pavers on top.

This is a clever scheme to simultaneously prevent the pavers from moving AND stopping weeds erupting from the path...

Dash and Violet were particularly helpful off-siders.

Dash even managed not to step in the wet concrete...

And while I carted armfuls of the bricks back and forth, I admired the precision of my paving man... here he demonstates the herringbone pattern.

As they say in the classics: I LOVE HARD WORK...

I could watch it all day long!

And that's pretty much how long it took.

As you can see from the shadows, this was taken at about 4pm.

Still a few more pavers to cut for the odd-shaped holes in the path,

and a heap more landscaping to do around it,

but my path is basically built.

Viola!

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Of course, not everyone understands my excitement at such things....

Axel appeared to take up 'stick-smoking' to break the boredom.

Fishbowl, a Feline and a Flamin' Ridiculous Dawg

I got a new lens hood a couple of weeks ago...

unlike my old hard plastic hood, this one is a fold-back rubber kinda hood.

(For those not photo-obsessed, a hood attaches to the end of a lens and assists when the sun is shining hard towards the lens, blocking the glare and allowing the photographer to shoot almost into the light... trust me, it's groovy!).

It allows me to shoot nice backlit images like this one...

Oh dear, this one makes me well up.

(This is why.)

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Anyway, it's a great tool. No more pesky glare spots. The only trouble is, it doesn't completely 'fit' with my beloved 18-200mm zoom lens - and let's face it, that is the ONLY lens I actually use. This means basically, that when the lens is pulled back to it's most panoramic limit, THIS happens.

No, not freaky black horse and human figures.

Those black 'corners' on the image, caused by my hood hovering a little too far out from the lens... something most 'real' photographers would shy away from.
After all it wasn't a deliberate effect.

But you know me...

I decided I kinda liked it...

It's kind of like looking through binoculars (or monocle?)

or maybe even a fishbowl...

Hello General... how you going dude?

Hello Jill... sorry, I haven't any hay darlin'.

She's very forgiving and poses anyway...
And then, the other day while doing these photos, with this guy...

Hello Axel Rose, you crazy Great Dane adolescent...

My usual zoomed-out lens field (like that used in the above shot) worked initially,

but when the action came closer to me I went to 18mm and

got that had a similar groovy look...

(Warning: I have messed with the colour too... don't adjust your monitors!)

Guess what?

Axel wants to play! With Middy.

Will he NEVER learn?

A tail position is worth a thousand words!
Aw Mid... c'mon, c'mon, c'mon!!!
Yarrrrrr....
Muuuummmmmyyyyyy!

...

Even in a desaturated 70's fishbowl,

Axel is still a blinking great

Wuss for that black Puss.

The Dope versus The Panther

I must apologise for many, many things in the following post...
Firstly, I apologise to all those who believe dogs are better than cats.

I am actually one of you, deep down.

It's a fact, or as Dash would protest "I am TRUE".

But this post will not bear witness to my deep and abiding love of pooches. Especially my pooch. The daft dawg.

Secondly, I apologise to all those who take blogging in the slightest bit seriously.

I cannot. It's a problem I have. I will be attempting a Dr Doolittle angle here, and you should be warned about that up front. You have time to escape. Read on at your peril.

And thirdly, I apologise to all 'real photographers' out there reading this.

I have no real excuse for the quality of the following images. Other than the fact I was laughing so damned hard I lost all control of focus. And framing.

I am hopeless. But you already knew that.

Enough grovelling.

...

Time for the action that almost sent me for my Depends.

Hold onto your hats and your sense of humour.

You may need both...

...

THE PLAYERS

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MIDDY

AKA 'Midnight'

AKA 'The Black Panther of Granite Glen'

'I am not actually a common domestic feline,

I am, in fact, The Black Panther...

Oh, you may smile dismissively, my friends, at my grand claim.

Those who doubt my powers do so at their own peril.

Be warned. Purrrrrrrr.'

...

AXEL ROSE
AKA 'Ackssssssssssellllllllllllllll Roooosse'

AKA 'Boofhead'

'Whaddya mean 'boofhead'?

I ain't no boofhead... watch me move, baby!

I am big, I am lithe, I am agile,

I am GREAT DANE!

What?

What was that sound... who goes there?

Mum?

Was that you?

Aaaarrrooooooo....'

...
Enough of the credits...

PRESS THE

PLAY BUTTON

now!

THE END.

...

Well it would be the end, except this pair repeated the scene OVER and OVER and OVER again in our backyard until I could not see for tears of hysterical laughter.

Axel just DOESN't get it.

WHY won't she play with him?

Danes are gorgeous but seriously, seriously dumb.

And they have REALLY flappy lips.

Man I ♥ that dog.

And that cat?
She still just ♥'s me when she wants food.
And the world is as it should be.

THE REAL END.