Portland – Page 32

I’m Ever So Happy, Really I Am

I’ve photographed Ellie many times over the years but most of my pictures don’t show her goofy and sweet personality very well. The problem is that the moment I stop playing with her so that I can take her picture, she pauses and waits for me to start playing again, and if her mouth isn’t open she just looks sad or even, as she does here, a little bit angry. Her eyes aren’t as wide open as they normally would be to help protect them from the falling snow.

But all of that snow on her snout is from rooting through the snow to get her ball, I assure you we were having a great time.

Snow Day

We got hit with a bit of snow the past few days and, since the city is not well-equipped to deal with it (our winters are generally pretty mild), we were sent home from work early on Thursday and told to stay home on Friday. Since Ellie loves the snow, I hoped to get some shots of her playing as the snow fell, but unfortunately much of the snow came late in the day on Thursday and Friday, and Saturday we were out during the day.

But I did get some pictures on Friday even if most of them are not action shots like this one, as its rather hard to both throw the ball and take the pictures. For this shot I think she was coming to get a treat as the ball is in the snow behind her. It’s a bit back-focused, the autofocus on the little EOS M is not at all quick, but to be fair even my SLR has trouble tracking her black fur.

Simon says “Stand on three legs with a stick in your mouth”!

Play Simon Says with Ellie and you will not win. She’s good, oh but she’s good.

Wet Feathers

A female flicker is thoroughly soaked on a rainy December afternoon. Her family were frequent visitors to the suet feeders in our backyard and I was thankful for it, I have a soft spot for woodpeckers.

An Oregon Duck

Portland has an assortment of animal statues scattered about downtown and this past Christmas season many were decked out in Christmas sweaters. Even the little duck statues got in on the action, I suspect whoever knitted this outfit is as much a fan of the Oregon Ducks as Oregon’s ducks.

Home & Away

I’ve thought about photographing this sign many times while walking Ellie past the baseball field to the dog park, but never have. I was struck by how lovely the park looked on a foggy winter night but the camera was at home, so after we finished our walk Ellie settled in on the couch while I grabbed my camera and headed back out.

Female Flicker

A female northern flicker visits our suet feeder, part of a family that was visiting in December 2012. You can see the semi-circular arm of the feeder (and our house) reflected in her eye.

Rear Window

One of the northern flickers that visit our suet feeders, in this case a male of the red-shafted variety that are the norm here in Oregon. I removed the screen from my office window and shot from inside with my telephoto lens sticking out of the open window, all while making sure that none of the cats made a bold escape while I was preoccupied watching birds.

Snow Day

I had some time off coming in December but took one of the days a bit earlier than expected when I woke to snow coming down. I sent a quick email to work to let them know I wasn’t coming in as I wanted to take Ellie out in however much snow we got. I always enjoy seeing Ellie in the snow, as it reminds me of the day I started thinking about getting a dog while playing with sweet Porter from next door.

The snow stopped falling right after I decided not to go to work, so there wasn’t much on the ground when we went on our walk to the dog park in Irving Park, but we had a good time nevertheless. I brought my camera (the little EOS M, just stuck it in my coat pocket) and took a few snaps of Ellie enjoying one of her favorite activities, snapping sticks in half with her jaws.

Chomp chomp!

The Occasional No

Last fall I experimented with taking pictures out of my office window of the birds that visit the backyard, such as this female flicker at the suet feeder. At first I tried shooting through the glass but the pictures were far too soft, so I opened the window just enough for the big telephoto to fit through.

The smells and sounds of the outdoors brought the cats over to investigate, one by one, but I shooed them away so I wouldn’t have to worry about them jumping through the opening to freedom, sweet freedom. Scout grunted when I pushed her back, looking puzzled. We were so rarely at cross purposes that she had to be sure I hadn’t mistaken her for one of the other cats. She tried for the window again and I gently pushed her back, then again, and again, before she finally wheeled about and walked out of the room with her tail raised high.

She asked for so little, but what she wanted, she wanted. Usually what she wanted I was happy to give her, but even I sometimes had to tell my beloved Scout, “no”.

As soon as I closed the window and returned to the couch, having forgiven my insolence, she jumped onto my chest and purred.

She was the best.