A heavenly puppy!

Those that remember our 1st Toto, the first image below of Maryland reminds me of him!  Maryland is 6 months old in these images and she probably won't grow much bigger.

Charlie and Maryland are having a blast playing outside and I've included my favorites from their playful session!  I love how the wind has caused Maryland's ears to stand up in a couple of these images!  The last image is of Maryland looking up into the sky as though she is looking up towards heaven, thus I named this post, a heavenly puppy!   Enjoy!

Frolicking in the snow...

Maryland loves playing in the snow!  If it wasn't for Maryland, Charlie wouldn't venture out in the snow as he doesn't care to stay outside even in nice weather!  Since the wind wasn't blowing making it really cold, I ventured out with the dogs to capture them frolicking in the snow.  It was fun to watch!  My favorites from this snowy adventure are shown below.  Enjoy! 

Two playful critters!

During a nice unusually warm January day, I took the opportunity to photograph Maryland as she happily played outside with Charlie.  These two critters move fast so it was a challenge to capture them!  Unlike her first outside photo session after she first arrived and was unsure of her surroundings, she is quite at home now and fits very nicely into the Smith family!  Even though she is still a puppy, she can pretty much keep up with Charlie when it comes to playing!  Evidence is in the images below.  Enjoy!

Maryland's first studio portraits

Maryland didn't appreciate being photographed in the studio.  I had to move quickly from one prop to another while she whimpered for me to stop!  Though she doesn't look her happiest in these images she still is such a cute little puppy!  Lord willing, she'll be more cooperative in future sessions! :)

A puppy named Maryland

Meet Maryland, our new Rat Terrier puppy.  She was just over 6 weeks old in these portraits taken when we arrived home with our new baby girl!  In deciding on a name, I wanted to name her a state since she is an American dog breed, and what more fitting than the state that I was born in!  Charlie our other Rat Terrier didn't know what to think on her arrival; but he has adjusted very well.  Mind you she is a little scared in these images since she is in a new environment, but she is a pure bundle of joy!  Hope you enjoy puppy photos because I'm afraid I'll get obsessed in capturing her in this cute puppy stage!

I shot a buck and a doe...

...and I shot them within seconds of each other!  Maybe not with a gun but with my camera. 😆

When I looked out my kitchen window a couple days ago, I saw something different in the pasture.  After I saw it move, I realized it was a deer.  I readied our Canon 5D Mark II camera with our 400mm lens and was hoping I could capture the deer on my way out of our driveway.  To my surprise, I discovered she wasn't alone; there was a buck too.  From the warmth of my car😁, I shot my first buck since we have been living in the country since 2009.  Here are the best shots of the buck and doe!  Enjoy!

Goodbye wildflowers... catch you in the Spring!

It's been a busy summer and I didn't photograph as many wildflower images as I had hoped.  I did, however, take advantage of a nice evening last month to capture some late blooming wildflowers in our yard to include a cute image of a yellow and black bug on a red rose from our knockout rose bush.  I love our knockout bushes; we get to enjoy the roses all summer long!

Not all of these are wildflowers but weeds, but pretty weeds they are!  Our Geary County Extension Agent just had an article in the newspaper about these plants with the red berries.  He warned about getting rid of them as they will take over and choke out undergrowth!  Also, the red sumac leaves are gorgeous when backlit and are another plant that will take over a pasture!  Nonetheless they are pretty and I have included them here for you to enjoy!