Here are some shots from our exursion

Sorghum

Burs look less threatening when coated in a bit of ice

One of my favorites

Of course I couldn’t resist turning the camera on the 4-leggers while waiting for the Mr.

I love both of these shots, I am really finding this 50mm to be right up my style alley.  More photos of the pups on Luna’s blog shortly.

Possum Honey Bread

And a favorite around here, Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie. Do you have a favorite cookie?

Looks like I will be adding popovers to my kitchen tomorrow as we are finally fixing to get some snow… I will believe it when I see it though.

Now off to have a piece of bread… because I can.

I am still learning this camera, and a couple of these were taken with the 50mm which was probably not the best lens but I did not want to risk missing it to change the lens.

These photos are pretty much straight out of camera, little to no editing. It sometimes is so hard to remember what the true color of these sky fire moments were so I am glad the camera seemed to handle it well.

I don’t have many clear views of the sky without zooming in, so it can be a bit tricky to compose the shots.

I LOVE this last shot.  Sunrises/sets like these are one of the highlights of the winters here… and it makes me thankful that I get to be somewhat back in the country for them… not having to drive in a car and pass these moments by without being able to capture and share them.  If this was a sign for what this year has to bring, bring it on… sooo looking forward to this year if it continues to be like the first week’s skies.

Anyone else get to see skies like these??

Here you have most what I have been shooting with for the past 4+ years minus an upgrade or two, a camera bag, tripod, and some additional cards… why was that not pictured here too?  Because I was not selling that stuff.  Yep you heard me right I sold all of  it.

I said goodbye to my wonderful Canon 7D, in front of a Target Superstore with Luna as backup,  several days before Christmas.  So there will be no wonderful Christmas shots from me this year (has there ever been?) because I was DSLR-less.  You never know how much you will miss your DSLR until all you are left with is a seriously outdated P&S and your outdated phone.  But in anycase it was all for a good reason…

This arrived on the porch shortly before new years.  Now before you Canon lovers make me walk the plank hear me out.  I had been debating about switching to Nikon for several years, and upon the brink of investing my bonus money into a much coveted prime lens, I decided if I was going to do it I better do it now before I invest more into Canon.  I have 2 main reasons for switching…

#1 my shooting partner/best friend shoots with Nikon so in essence if we are kind enough we can share equipment as well as provide backups for each other during weddings etc (she actually has the exact same Nikon body).

#2 my brother up in Canada is a professional photographer of many many years and has all kinds of know-how and gear within the Nikon brand… so he would be a huge asset as well as a virtual stockroom for me.  He was the one who came up with the package you see above, he was not going to let me make this switch without having backups for just about everything.  As he says “you can’t be a pro if you’re shooting with one body,”  I know that won’t sit well with some but we won’t go there.   What you can’t see beyond the 2 bodies are the lenses in those boxes… and the 2 flashes that are on the way.   I can’t say enough about how wonderful he is for getting this together for me and making it affordable.  It’s kinda something he loves to do…create the perfect setup/gear bag for people based on what they shoot.

So in the end I could not pass this chance up, and I am so thankful I was able to even do this.  I have nothing against Canon, and my heart still lies with them as it has not been as easy a switch as I thought. I figured once you know one DSLR (and have gone through 2-3 different bodies) you can pretty much figure out any.  Boy was I wrong.  Switching brands has changed the entire game, they have different menus, buttons, dials, and different abbreviations for things.  And physical things are backwards like which way to turn the lens to mount it as well as focus it.  It will take some time for my muscles to create new memories so I don’t have to think so much while shooting.  But I am up for the challenge, it’s like I have started all over again with basics, let’s hope it does not take me as long to learn them this time around.

Any big changes for you in 2012??

Here is a parting shot from a little session with Luna and my new 50mm prime lens, more to come of these photos on her blog soon.

Hope everyone has had a great start to 2012

Here is a hint… check out Luna’s blog for more details.

I tried two new recipes this week… first I started with a Lemon Curd recipe. Check out the link for some great photos and the recipe…  Boy oh Boy is this stuff wooonderful.  Seriously, they were not kidding when they warned you that you will end up eating it with a spoon directly out of the jar.  I did this several times before I ended up placing it in the fridge to chill.  If  you like real lemon flavor, and have never tried it before you should. It really is not hard, and does not require any complicated ingredients. I did not use Meyers Lemons (that I know of) and it still turned out lovely.

Now that I had a jar of Lemon Curd, I had to find something to do with it.  With a quick search of “Lemon Curd” over at my favorite baking site, King Arthur, I came upon Braided Lemon Bread.

This is how mine turned out, well one of them… pretty fancy huh? It’s actually not that difficult, very much like a fishtail braid only with bread.

Some close ups, because I can.  I LOVE how this dough turned out, it just mixed up really well this time for some reason.  And for a sweet bread it was light but had great flavor. I think I am going to try this same dough for cinnamon buns and see how it turns out.

This bread has got to be one of the better breads I have made, hands down the prettiest, it is not often that a bread tastes as good as it looks. I will be making this bread again, even though I ate almost an entire loaf myself.  In fact I will be making it tomorrow to bring to my family, kinda breaking tradition but I don’t think they will mind.   To go along with it I am also making Mac n Cheese from scratch, and most likely pumpkin whoopie pies… And for the other half of the family’s celebration on Friday I will also be making Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheesecake and another batch of Mac N Cheese.  Lots to cook tomorrow so I better try and get to sleep.

What are your thanksgiving traditions?  Are you cooking anything?

Have a wonderful thanksgiving all

For those that don’t like hunting… well you can skip the photos I guess.  Thanks for visiting.

For the rest of you, I bring you a recent day in the field…

Is this a happy dog or what???

Wyatt had enough of sitting next to dad, he thought he could keep a better eye on those birds and gun by looking from the other side. Pretty cute.

And there you have it, just a glimpse into two very happy boys in the field.  I am quite happy with how these shots turned out.  Now if I could figure out how to get similar shots of me and my girl.

Hope you all are having a great weekend, I’m trying to rest up before our kennels get packed for the holiday.  And have a Happy Thanksgiving if I don’t make it back here before then.

We will start with Pinkie who actually found a home on Friday… so my hopes of showing her first are simply to have her cuteness shadowed by others later on?? (doubtful)…. that and she was a favorite of mine.  I was happy to see her go with a friend though as maybe we will see her again. And she will get to do some hunting! Yay!

The puppies are 7 weeks in these images, they are now 10 weeks old. I will have to get out and take more updated photos as they have started to really grow and get some legs on them.

Case in point Teal is starting to learn how to use hers.. Had to share this pic simply because it’s SOOO much like her daddy Dover.

Lime Green Girl

Did you hear?  Her ears have super powers…

Dark green’s feisty little self is still here.  It’s hilarious to watch her boss her littermates but yet she is still quite soft with people. I think she has tried to fill in Purple’s role as the ring leader.  She will take a chew into the dog house and nobody else is allowed in to chew on it with her. Black boy and teal were the only 2 that dared venture in, but often just ended up barking out their frustrations. Pretty darn hilarious to watch such small puppies have such attitude.  They are already learning pack order.

Red girl has now taken the size lead, and has become quite the looker.  Despite her being the biggest she is a sweetie, happy to go with the flow.

If you know anyone in the MD Northern VA area that is possibly looking for a German Shorthaired  Pointer Puppy send them our way.

Contact can be made to Dan over at Braveheart Kennels

Hope you all are having a great weekend

Theeeeeey’re back… So we will start with a mildly cute photo.  They LOVE LOVE LOVE their food.  As you can see red is a bit of a pig and is climbing over the others to reach better food (grass is greener mentality at 6 weeks?) In the end they all seem to be getting enough food as I find them all to be slightly chunky at the moment.  But that’s a good thing when there are 8 mouths to feed. Next up some photos from their first “bird” introduction.

This is what happens when you drop a bird wing on a string in front of the puppies

Hunting genes kick in.  Teal puppy is one of my favorites, I admit it was largely due to her markings, or lack of really.  But her temperament thus far has been very fun too.  But they are all pretty darn even as far as good looks, temp, and hunt goes.  So let’s move on to the rest

Pretty darn cute huh? I LOVE seeing dogs on point, doing what they were born to do, even if these puppies hardly know what they are doing.

Pinky might be small, but she has major spunk.  And she has the sweetest face, and LOVES people, it will be hard to let this one go, she is a piece of work.

It was no surprise that purple would throw moves at us like this.  She rocked it as she does everything.  She is a busy body, but also is a sweetheart… just today she showered me with kisses when I picked her up, which makes it all the easier to hold her when she is a pitching a fit and can’t sit still. Tooooo cute

Not to be outdone, the boys have style too.

Now for you non hunters/bird dog owners… more cuteness headed your way

How could you say no to this face? She takes after her daddy

Dark Green girl has quite the face eh?

Love these last two like L-O-V-E. How could you not? The last one is lime green girl btw.  I don’t think I have any other photos this cute, and I am not usually a sucker for cute, but c’mon

I hope you all have had a great week, and now as my work week is not over till tomorrow night… I will have to leave you to fend for yourself among this cuteness, it’s time for sleep. Hopefully the puppies sleep well, and leave their nightly presents for me outside.

PS. quite a few puppies left in case you know anyone looking. They may have hunt in their background, and as much as we love to see them hunt, they have great house dog temperaments for active families/couples.  Both the mom and dad can be quite the cuddlers… For a while I was pushing the Mr. to get one of these, but the lab litter worked better in timing and purpose.  And honestly I think it’s a perfect match for the Mr. Soooo that leaves us with roughly 8 puppies to find homes for.

Nearly 7 weeks ago one of the resident German Shorthair Pointers had her puppies.

Meet the Aspen/Dover puppies, 8 of them. 6 Girls and 2 Boys

Seen here during one of their early outings… not quite sure what to make of the grass. (yeah we might be missing one.. hard to tell)

Aspen loves her babies, she took to them right away, and has been a great calm, happy mom.  And she keeps them clean too, not much more you can ask for. Now for some puppy cuteness overload. Look away if you can’t handle it

Cuteness of this level can be difficult to tolerate…

Without clapping hands and squealing

Don’t hold it back… it’s normal…

Let it go! Be happy!!

I will leave you with those for tonight. I have more though, so be sure to keep an eye out for the next batch.  Yesterday, we introduced them to a wing and string to evaluate hunt a bit. And I LOVE some of the images I got of these ladies (mostly) on point. These photos were of them around 5-6 weeks probably, the next batch they will be 6.5 weeks old, quite awesome to see them show so much style so young. Anyway, stay tuned.

If you are in the Northern VA/MD area and know anyone interested, comment or message for more info.

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