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.

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Lucky he's the most lovable thing ever.

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(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!)

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!

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!

Violet and her (furry) boys

This slideshow shows a series of shots taken this week when Violet tried to take our (non) adventurous Great Dane puppy Axel to meet Rob Roy, the (non) enormous equine terrorising our houseyard boundaries!

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Firstly, Axel sat in our 4-year-old's lap as she chatted to him about climbing trees and riding horses and Barbie Dolls. Then the puppy and his human approached the shaggy shetland (who has momentarily halted eating). As you can see Axel was a tad less enthusiastic about the encounter than his bold owner. The second horse is Cherokee, one of Mr Incredibles steeds. He's gorgeous and snorts a lot (the horse, I mean).

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D'ya like the slideshow... please bear with me as I work out this new (for me) application. Sizes still a bit haphazard, but you get the drift.

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Now if you will excuse me, I have to chase Rob Roy and his followers out of the houseyard AGAIN!

Pooch Par-tay

Things have been a little crazy and hectic around here lately

(apologies for slack blog posting, for those who check me regularly)

But as we head towards Australia's biggest bovine convention - Beef Week in Rockhampton

(for the uninitiated is not just an opportunity for country folk gather to complain - well...not officially) - things get a little crazy and hectic at Granite Glen.

My head has been buried in my computer actually working and we have been away a lot with showing cattle. But of course, I have still been snapping away on the Nikon during our everyday stuff too... on things OTHER than cattle occasionally.
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I believe one or two of you have been looking for more snaps of this little tyke...

Hello Axel.What's hanging Dude?
Holy Moly, look at those flying ears!

Axel was off and racing ...

to a little party we had for Dash's seventh birthday.

And let me tell you, the pooch can party!

He took quite a shine to Dash's Bumblebee transformer...

And then had a wrassle with the guest of honour...

(Sponsors note: no one was badly injured in the making of this photo)

And then there was the serious business of party hat mangling to attend to...

Nothing worse than a party hat that hasn't received enough loving attention...

Of course, all too soon the fun was over.

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As Axel curled up under the towel we rubbed on his mum when we brought him home a week ago, we sent our guests on their way and packed up the party hats. There was a whole lotta sleeping to catch up on for one ten-week-old Great Dane puppy... but after an hour-long power nap he stirred and was immediately looking for a little more action!

Trouble was, the party had been packed away.

And this is the look I got ...

This face says: WHERE's THE PARTY??

What does it say to you?

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!

A rose by any other name...

If you have been following my tweets, you might already know that we arrived back last night from being away at a show (again!). We have been away a lot lately, including Beef Week (7 days away). Then, we took the kids with us for the 'life experience' and our 'little' pooch returned to his place of birth for a visit. He got beat up by his sisters but had a ball romping with other danes. They play high. Something that can freak 'normal size' dogs out a little.

This time we left Dash and Violet with assorted friends and rellies and decided to trust Axel to guard Granite Glen. We thought that, as it was only one night and two days we would be gone for, our 14-week-old Great Dane would be OK. Of course, like any Mum, I worried about the three of my children (two human and one canine). The usual questions raced through my mind:
Would they eat properly?
Would they make messes for others to clean up?
Would they be warm enough?
And as I had left my human offspring in the care of wonderful, trustworthy people, it was Axel I worried most about.
Despite my trepidation, and having braced myself for chewed-up mayhem upon our return, he was fine. Of course, our DID leave a lot of little 'land mines' (as Mr I refers to Great Dane-sized doggy deposits) for his human Ma to clean up, but generally he was a good boy. Reports from neighbours who fed him tell me he was also the perfect guard dog - barking from the top step at newcomers. The cheeky brat.

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Which brings me to a question a couple of people have posed:

Why is our dog called Axel?

Well, firstly, that's what his previous owners called him.

Secondly we liked it.

Thirdly, it suits him (kinda blokey, and black like axle grease!)

And fourthly...

...this is something he likes to do...

Chew contentedly on his 'chocolate mousse' (a soft toy which actually does smell like white chocolate and was originally given to Violet - sorry BB's friend Miranda!)... and he likes to dismantle...

...any potpourri bags in the vicinity...

Get it?

Roses. Axl.

(Everybody hum now: "Whoa-oh sweet child o' mine!")

Yuk, yuk.

Of course, there was always his potential alternate name, which comes to mind whenever I see him gallop...

Dumbo.

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!

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Even in a desaturated 70's fishbowl,

Axel is still a blinking great

Wuss for that black Puss.

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!)

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.

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

Hold onto your hats and your sense of humour.

You may need both...

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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.'

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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....'

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Enough of the credits...

PRESS THE

PLAY BUTTON

now!

THE END.

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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.