Mid-week Snooter Shots

I know it will come as a great surprise to you, that our Mom has been taking Yet More Pictures of us.  She's also trying to learn Adobe Lightroom, so we can assure you that our pictures will continue to be plastered all over the interwebs.

Abby is thrilled about it.

Granny and Grandpa, Mom says you should recognize this look - tilted head, narrowed eyes, and if Abby had hands to put on her hips, she would.  I have No Idea what Mom is talking about, but apparently she thinks you will! 

 You will notice no squinty eyes and surly looks from me!

My snooter is not abnormally large - it is just the perspective.  Really!

Just to show you that Abby isn't ALWAYS surly (although she would really prefer Mom spend more time throwing the frisbees and less time getting portraits)...

Not surly, just not quite engaged enough to actually make eye-contact!  Heehee!

Me, I know Mom wants a 3/4 profile shot, so I happily comply!

Don't worry - we've been getting lots of frisbee time; you'll see the photos this weekend!

*kissey face*

-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

The Tale of a Doodle Trebuchet and a Test Doodle

Okay, very little of this post has to do with the Doodle Trebuchet, but Mom was at a loss for a title.   And it caught your attention, didn't it?

First, as you may know, there have been some issues getting the Doodle Launcher 'calibrated' as of late.

This launch may have been Test Dummy error.  Or Frisbee Thrower error.  Or something.

Not being a fan of 'big air', I can assure you that all is not well with the Doodle Launcher.

Yep, Doodle Launcher still a little "off".

Too much vertical.

Definitely not enough vertical.

Anyway, you get the point.  The Doodle Launcher needed to be attended to by our resident engineer (who, inexplicably, keeps muttering "Dammit, Jim, I'm a doctor not an engineer" - which makes me think our resident Doodle Launcher calibrator may be losing her marbles, as there is no one named 'Jim' in this house...).  While Mom was working on calibrating the Doodle Launcher, she thought a Doodle Trebuchet might solve Abby's Need For Big Air.

Since Mom once watched a show on PBS about building your own trebuchet, she felt certain she was up to the task (despite not being an engineer; apparently being a former medieval historian makes her qualified to build siege weapons...).   Abby the Test Dummy, er, Test Pilot donned absolutely no safety gear and tested out the Doodle Trebuchet.

Yeah, so that worked out well, huh?

While Mom was rather thrilled with the initial results of the Doodle Trebuchet, she was a tad concerned Abby might end up in the living room of the neighbors down the hill and across the street (not that Abby would have minded - she seemed to LOVE being flung through the air).  So, Mom is going to watch more PBS to 'refine' the Doodle Trebuchet, and in the mean time, has slapped more duct tape on the Doodle Launcher...

Still too much vertical, but at least Abby isn't in the next county.

Either Abby really IS that long, or somehow the Doodle Launcher has the ability to manipulate the space-time continuum.

It looks like the Doodle Launcher was set on 'low' here.

Wow!  It looks like the duct tape is working!

I even braved the Doodle Launcher, after ascertaining that it really WAS set to 'low amplitude'.

Mom was a little worried that the duct tape might give out, so we just amused ourselves with some old-fashioned frisbee chasing.  Abby, of course, had to add facial expressions.

"Gotcha!"

Hmmm.  I seem to have employed the 'Zombie Catch' maneuver this time.

Nice ear flappage, Abs!

Is it me, or is Abby trying to scare the frisbee into her mouth?

"Ahhh!  It's Dogzilla!  Now that Mothra has met its doom, there is No Hope for Tokyo!"

More manipulation of the space-time continuum.  Or Abby is made of rubber.  Which would explain a lot.

Heehee.  I can't let Abby be the only Dogzilla in the yard!

Biggify this picture.  Go on.  I dare you.  Talk about Jaws of Doom!

Bad hair day or refined frisbee technique?  You be the judge.

I've got ear flappage, too!

"Mom, I brought this frisbee back just for you.  You know, so you'll throw it again!"

Abby the Frisbee Hound.

Clearly she is rehearsing for Doodle Lake and not paying too much attention to the frisbee.

Frisbee zoomies!

My sister the flying Goofadoodle.

Me?  While I enjoy frisbee almost as much as my sister, for some reason, Mom has a lot of pictures of my back...

Thanks, Mom.  If I kick you in the head at 3am while I'm getting into a more comfortable sleeping position, don't take it personally!  Just kidding, Mom!

However, unlike my sister, I love posing for portraits.

Yes, I really am strikingly pretty.

My serious look.

Of course, I have been known to get a tad distracted.

Such as when treats are involved.

"Hold on!  I've got a little something on my nose!"

Or when something interrupts my photo shoots.

"Squirrel?!?  Where?"

Heehee. 

Mom usually has to catch Abby unware...

"I know she's going to throw that frisbee!"

"I am communicating with the Mother Ship.  Don't interrupt me."

Heehee.

But just to let you know we are not wild and crazy All The Time (no matter what Mom says), here are a few photos of us in repose.  (In truth, Mom is still playing around with ISO and aperture settings, but hey, you can never have too many pictures of us.)

Don't bother me.  I'm napping.

Holy Hipposnooterus, Batman!  Mom wasn't even using any distortions or adapters for this photo!

And now it's time for a nap!  Have a great week!

Zzzzzz.

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Of Frisbees and Stolen Hair and LOTS of Photos (surprise, surprise...)

Seriously, if there is a post that has less than 87 pictures in it, assume our Mom has been abducted by aliens and has been replaced by a pod person.

Anyhoo...  This has been a busy week; I had a vet appointment in which they took pictures of my insides (I'm fine - and Mom was really tempted to take pictures of the person taking pictures of my insides but she was a little worried that they might actually find something so she was a wee bit distracted and thus no pictures - but again, I'm fine), Mom has been busy at work, and then Mom thought she had something wrong with her car and she spent Friday afternoon test-driving cars (no, really, she did - it was a slow day at the car dealership) while the dealership determined that there was nothing wrong with her car.

In spite of all that excitement, Mom has managed to find time to take "a few" pictures of us.

"Why yes, this late afternoon winter sun IS rather flattering.  Thank you!"

The duct tape that Mom used to fix the Doodle Launcher last week may not be holding...  Luckily, Abby is always the test pilot.

Does anyone see a *splat* coming?

Definite Doodle Launcher malfunction!

Here it appears the Doodle Launcher has blown a gasket...

Mom is now deciding if she should repair the Doodle Launcher, or if she should take Dennis the Vizsla's suggestion and build a Doodle-pult, or a Doodle-Trebuchet.  Of course, we think any suggestion from Dennis should be considered carefully, as Dennis is known for zany antics that usually end up with him being busted out of jail by Bugs Bunny and/or Ninja Hedgehogs wild adventures that don't always work out exactly as he intended.

So while Mom is considering repairs on the Doodle Launcher, we've managed to still have Fun With Frisbees!

"Coming through!"

Zoom-zoom!

Got it!

Got it again!

Mom's first successful attempt at getting a picture of me running with a frisbee.

Crazy puppy!

Mom was rather pleased with the 'running with frisbee' shots (she's still learning her camera) so she got a few more.

And Abby continues her rehearsals for that famous ballet, Doodle Lake.

While we were having fun, Mom somehow got the idea that we should get baths.  (The weather has been quite warm for us for this time of year - in the lower 40s during the day - which isn't doing much for our snow, incidentally...)  Baths are fine.  But unfortunately after Mom brushes us out after our baths, there are times that she decides we are 'wooly', and even 'shaggy'.  This was one of those times...

Who ya calling wooly?!?

Okay, Abby is a little shaggy.  I'll grant you that.

Me?  Shaggy?  Naw!  I'm just going for that bohemian look.

"She can't be talking about us.  She must be talking about some OTHER shaggy dogs."  "Totally."

Yeah, well, once Mom gets an idea in her head, it's hard to get her to drop it.  So today (Monday) she decided to take advantage of the three-day weekend (and the fact that neither Mom nor Dad wants to venture out of the house while the Sundance Film Festival is in swing because the traffic is quite bad - something about former mining towns generally only having one or at most two ways in and out, and a zillion people coming in for all the festivities and the skiing) to Steal Our Hair!  

After our morning walkies, Mom put on her extremely flattering *cough* grooming attire (which is about 10 sizes too big - she bought them in a medium, but apparently a medium in groomer's clothes is like a 3XL in normal people clothes - Mom does not understand why that is, but since it keeps most of our hair from getting on her, she's sticking with them), put on the music and broke out the clippers.

Me, I'm okay with the grooming thing.  It's not as fun as frisbees and walkies, but I can live with it.  

You can just hear Abby: "Dad?  Can you save me from this?  Please?!?"

Abby is not quite as tolerant of the whole grooming process as I am; she tends to move around alot, doesn't like having her feet touched and is (and I quote Mom here), "a bit of a challenge".

Note Mom's look of stern concentration, her death-grip on Abby's face, and Abby's complete lack of enthusiasm (and Mom's highly attractive ginormous grooming top decorated with well-behaved poodles).

But when it was all said and done, we were decidedly less shaggy, and yet not so nekkid as to be cold, if cold weather ever comes out way again.

Abby, looking almost like a respectable doggie.

My ears are really not as choppy as this photo makes them look - I had just finished a vigorous frisbee session.

Mom, of course, also tried to get some shots from different angles, including her odd position where she gets down on the ground and looks up at us.

"Hey, Mom?  Whatcha doing down there?"

"Fi, don't tell Mom, but I think she dropped her treat bag.  I've got my sights on it!"

Heehee.

Of course, all the excitement of baths and haircuts and whatnot has left us sleepy...

Zzzzzz... (Yes, this was a pre-haircut photo, but Mom rather likes it.)

Anyhoo, we look forward to being more aerodynamic in our frisbee escapades!  Have a great week!

*kissey face*

-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus