Happy Snow Dogs

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I probably now have enough pictures of my adorable dogs playing in the snow to last for ALL of 2010 and maybe longer. Couldn't resist posting a few more though. :-)

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Snow Days in January

Pilot retreated to the front porch quite quickly while the other dogs played. In his defense, his 5" legs were no match for the 10" of snow.

I will add though that Gadget has the same 5" legs as Pilot, and she didn't seem to care one bit. She LOVED the snow, even when she seemed to be almost buried. :-)

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There really has been some nice weather since the last time I posted, but you wouldn't know it from my blog. Once again, I will resolve to post more often during the year ahead. The snow is back in Virginia though and most of my dogs are thrilled. Yesterday the world was white, white, white --- and today the sun is shining and it really is gorgeous out there. Haven't tried to navigate my driveway yet, but I think I will wait until tomorrow for that. Fingers crossed. Note that both of my web cams (above right) are working perfectly --- so anyone who is interested can get a live view of the front driveway and agility field during daylight hours. Username is GUEST and password is WELCOME. Enjoy.

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Note for observant visitors: the pictures on this post were accidentally loaded as thumbnail images this morning, so the quality was very bad. I have reposted with full-size images now, so they should be clearer.

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Happy Dogs!

Snow Days

Snow hit Virginia last week in a big way --- and (most of ) my dogs loved it. Poor little Pilot loved it a little (like for a few minutes each time we went outside), but when his feet got cold and wet, he seemed to tire of it quickly and scurried back in to bury himself under a comforter.

Eights Dogs in a Pickup

Nick

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Thor (and Ted)

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Vegas

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Thor, Pilot, Lucy, Nick, and Gadget

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Thor

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Lucy, Nick, Thor and Pilot

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Lucy

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If you text "Ted" to 67336, Dominion Chevrolet will make a donation to the Richmond SPCA. Thank you Ted Linhart for the creative idea and for your generosity!! And, from the animals of the Richmond SPCA, thank you to anyone who finds time to participate. You can visit mydominion.com for complete details and/or click below to view the TV commercial, which is now playing ALL THE TIME in the Richmond area. It features 8 of the cutest dogs I know, which means all 5 of mine (Thor, Flake, Gadget, Pilot and Daisy), 2 dogs that belong to my good friend Mike (Nick and Lucy) and 1 dog who belongs to my good friend Marie (Vegas) --- plus kittens too. The kittens were all available from the Richmond SPCA at the time of filming, although I think they have since been adopted. It was a really fun (and challenging) photo shoot because of all the moving parts (i.e., animals) --- and Ted was the best sport EVER.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzohuhvYZpg

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Pilot is a Lucky Dog

Okay --- this news may be a bit late, but is exciting nonetheless. Pilot was one the big winners in the Virginia Lottery Lucky Dog II photo contest this past summer! There were over 10,000 entries (including a few of his "siblings") and only 20 dogs selected, so he is feeling very proud indeed. Since September, the picture above has appeared on Virginia Lottery scratcher tickets sold statewide. I was told that it was his enormous ears and adorable "grin" that clinched the prize.
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The picture below gives you some idea of how Pilot felt about the lengthy photo shoot on my back deck. :-)

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Rain Rain Rain

Rain rain rain. Nothing but rain here in Virginia for the past week or so. You would think that meant that I could get caught up on all indoor activities, but (alas) that has not been the case. Lots of puddles remain around the farm, but otherwise no serious problems or leaks. Adorable Ms. Gadget (above) managed to eat a bunch of bad/old/wet/moldy bird seed and got to spend a few hours at the Veterinary Emergency Center on Wednesday night. Scary at the time, but she seems to be feeling much better now. And (hooray) the sun seems to be back too. :-)

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State Fair of Virginia 2009 --- Photography

"Rudbeckia"

First Place --- Color Floral

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"Cambria"

3rd Place --- Black & White Scenic/Architectural

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"Hi Roller"

2nd Place --- Color "A Fair to Remember"

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"Gable"

3rd Place --- Black & White Animals

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Oh dear. It has been way too long since I posted to my blog, so I will try to make up for lost time during the weeks ahead. I have been plenty busy and there is much to report, but I need to slow down long enough to report it. Wish me luck.

The State Fair of Virginia moved from downtown Richmond to rural Doswell this year, to a site that was originally Meadow Farm and the early home of Secretariat. The new facilities were nice and the fair had a more "country" feel to it, which I liked. Despite some rainy weather during the week and some plumbing/power issues, I think attendance was good and most people liked the new venue. Once again I managed to enter several of the state fair competitions at the very very very last minute. Imagine that. :-) Happy to report that several of my photographs and plants and one antique milk bottle managed to win a total of seven ribbons and $8 in prize money. Woo hoo. Very exciting indeed. The photographic winners are above --- and I will post pictures of the plants and bottle soon. Stay tuned.
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