Category: Pets

Once More Into the Hatch

Our dog Bear looks out from the open hatch of my 2020 Lexus UX250h hatchback in the Brown's Ranch parking lot in Scottsdale, Arizona on October 22, 2023. Original: _Z724790.NEF

A few years ago I traded my beloved Crosstrek for a Lexus hatchback as I wanted something better suited to my commute and it’s worked a treat, I’m almost embarrassed by how much I love the little UX. I didn’t know then we’d be adopting this giant goof years later, the hatch is a little small and with a high entrance but thankfully it didn’t take Bear long to figure out how to jump in and get comfy. To watch him sprint to the back of the car when we’re getting ready to go for a hike is to see joy made manifest, pure and unbridled. Here we’re getting ready to leave my favorite trailhead, Brown’s Ranch, after one of our many hikes there. A few weeks back one of the stewards called us over and gave him a couple of treats and ever since he’s on the lookout when we pass through.

📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-70 f/4
Date: October 22, 2023

Back on the Trails

Our dog Bear with his tongue out and saguaros and Cholla Mountain in the background at The Amphitheater on the Cholla Mountain Loop Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on October 22, 2023. Original: _Z724697

One of the best parts of my leave of absence is I get to take Bear hiking on weekdays as well as weekends. He’s had a few health issues that have kept me from taking him every day but I’ve enjoyed getting him back into hiking shape after the summer layoff. I started him on shorter trails since he was tiring quickly when it was warmer, and then choosing trails that let me easily extend the hike by half a mile or so based on how he was doing. Pretty quickly he was back to hiking our regular trails, even if he still tires a bit by the end, here he’s enjoying the view at The Amphitheater (real name, not one I made up) with saguaros and Cholla Mountain as the backdrop.

📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-70 f/4
Date: October 22, 2023

Charm & Challenge

Our dog Ellie lies on the hardwood floor of our dining room in our house in Portland on September 8, 2013. Original: _MG_7169.CR2

Ellie in 2013 in the dining room of our house in Portland. Old homes are equal parts charm and challenge, it was built in the 1920’s so would be almost a century old now. We were there for 16 years, a pretty special time in our lives, one of the many families it sheltered over the years.

📷: Canon M | Canon 22mm
Date: September 8, 2013

Not Angry

Our cat Trixie looks at me as she's stretched out on my legs on January 26, 2023. Original: _ZFC4684.NEF

Trixie seems a little angry in this picture but she wasn’t. It’s normal for her to be stretched down the length of my legs but usually her head is pointed towards my toes so I was thankful I had a camera at hand in January she was turned the other way round.

📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon DX 16-50
Date: January 26, 2023

The Rise of Boo

Our cat Boo as a kitten looking down from the cat tree in my office on August 18, 2013. Original: _MG_5208.CR2

Since it’s Halloween how can I not post pictures of a cat named Boo? This was about six weeks after we adopted him in 2013, playing in my office atop the cat tree. The slow introduction paid off, the terrified kitten transformed when he knew he was safe, knew he was loved, knew he was home.

📷: Canon M | Canon 18-55mm
Date: August 18, 2013

To The M

Our cat Boo as a kitten with one of the cat toys on a blanket on July 8, 2013. Original: _IMG_0533.CR2

In 2013 we adopted Boo, described as “a shy sweetie who’s feeling overwhelmed at the shelter and very much hopes to be part of a warm, loving home once again … the transition to the unfamiliarity of shelter life has been emotionally rough … he will require a period of transition in his new home if he is to blossom into his former self”. He shook in fear when we met him and I knew I’d need a quiet and unobtrusive camera to avoid further stressing the little fellow. I picked up the Canon M as they were having a fire sale, practically giving away the camera with their delightful pancake lens.

I read Canon recently discontinued the M mount, the M was my last Canon but I will always have a soft spot for it. As for Boo, his introduction was our longest at about a month as we slowly integrated him into the family and we worked on building up his confidence and getting Emma to accept him. I have lots of photographs along the way thanks to the little M. He’s been curled up tight beside me all day, as he often is, I’m so thankful we were able to give the terrified fellow a happy home.

📷: Canon M | Canon 22mm
Date: July 8, 2013

Pull For Service

A black-and-white image of the black tail of our cat Boo on August 18, 2013. Original: _MG_5232.CR2

One of the rare pictures I prefer in black-and-white, the black tail of our black-and-white cat Boo. Taken in 2013 but never edited, I’m a little confused by the shot. The background looks like the painted wallpaper in my old office but it looks white in the original file and not blue. The ceiling was white but since Boo and I are both wingless that wouldn’t have been an option. Plus I’m not sure where he would have been that his tail would have been flush with the wall. Perhaps we lost gravity for a short while a decade ago and my brain is blocking it out.

📷: Canon M | Canon 18-55
Date: August 18, 2013