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Category Archives: Pets
A 21 Day Challenge
2 years ago I completed a 365 day photo challenge. That one was tough. This year a group I belong to issued a 21 day challenge on the theory that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. So here goes…Day 1. Rocky enjoying the sunlamp he got for Christmas (yes he’s spoiled)
A Year in Review
2013…a clean slate. But how did 2012 measure up?
Blogging: If the amount of spam is a measure of success then I’ve made it into the bigtime. My blog has been a victim of an amazing amount of spam. I just seemed to get it under control and then WordPress changed something in their format. Not only is creating an entry much harder and more time-consuming now but the spam has started all over again. It’s very discouraging.
The other way I measure the success of the blog is with stats. 2011 was the first year I used WordPress and in that year I was “Freshly Pressed ” twice. In 2012 not at all.
In 2011 15,802 folks visited my blog but in 2012 it dropped to 14,019. That may have been because I reduced my blogging schedule but I don’t know. I hope I haven’t become “boring”.
Photo/ Card business: This was the first year of Dusty Roads Photos actually being in business. It’s been slow, slow , slow. I’m not sure if it’s because of marketing (or lack of), the sluggish economy or my skill level. In today’s world everybody has a digital camera and everybody (it seems) wants to be a professional photographer. I’m still trying to find my way.
My accomplishments were that I have expanded the number of cards available, tried the imprinted cards, picked up some portrait work and had some photos accepted as “stock”.The Cape Cod Crafters Kiosk has been a disappointment so far but I am committed to trying it for a year. It is advertising if nothing else.
www.dustyroadsphotos.etsy.com
www.dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com
Travel: 2012 was a busy year for travel. I went to Orlando in January, Maine twice, and New York for the Adirondack Balloon Festival in the Fall.
It felt like I spent a lot of time on the road.
2013 looks like it will also be a busy travel year with 2 cruises and possibly one additional trip. More on that in later posts.
Health and Fitness: Well I didn’t do so well in this area. That weight just loves to sneak back on when you aren’t looking. Especially when you love to cook and like to eat what you cook!
With the holidays behind me (again) I’ll give it another try. Never give up.
Friends and Family: Some family members and some friends had some health scares and issues in 2011 but so far it looks like everyone came through ok. Here I need to include my furry family. Smokey is doing well. Followers will remember that he was diagnosed with early renal dysfunction but he seems to be in remission. Rocky, our furry editor in chief , is on a break from the blog due to stress. I’m not sure what set him off but he began over grooming, usually a cats’ attempt to comfort themselves. This started last summer. After ruling out fleas and other pests I added soothing pheromones in other words “kitty aromotherapy”. Although he seems calmer it will take 2 – 3 more months to see if he lets his hair grow back. Fingers crossed.
Well I’d say that about sums up 2012. Life is an adventure so let the adventure continue in 2013 with places to go and people to see and things to do.
A teeny tiny “Farm-ette”
Boy have I been slacking! Statement not question. I always get lazy when the weather gets cold. Each year it gets harder and harder to motivate myself to brave the weather. Seems like I get cold easier and warm up harder. Winter hasn’t even “officially” begun and I’m trying to go into hibernation.
In the midst of this seasonal malaise I got an invitation from one of my co-workers. He knew I have an interest in photographing “critters’ as he refers to them and his pygmy goats had just had babies. He wondered if I’d like to come down to see his little “farm-ette” and take some pictures. He warned me to wear boots because it might be muddy. I assured him that wasn’t a problem as I had grown up on the same kind of “farm-ette” (I love that word)
Our definition of a “farm-ette” is a little land on which a few animals are raised for fun and maybe a little profit. Whatever combination of animals you like. This includes the old-fashioned “family farm” as long as it isn’t too big. The homeowner has another job that pays the bills and for the animal hobby. I grew up on a “family farm”. At various times we had chickens, pigs, cows, sheep, goats and horses but my Dad worked at his business every day as well as the farming.
My friend has a similar situation. He raises Silky chickens, Alpacas and pygmy goats and a couple of horses along with the family pets like cats and birds. Although I didn’t get to see them I believe he said he had a couple of parrots.
We started our tour in the chicken coop. These aren’t the regular run-of-the-mill chickens. These are called silky chickens and they are cute as can be. The hens have a Pom-Pom on the top of their heads and male and female are really fluffy. They are just the cutest things. There were some chicks and I went about trying to catch them in pictures…boy are they fast!
After my only partly successful attempt to photograph those feisty birds we walked through the alpaca paddock heading to the pygmy goats. The Alpacas were a bit more willing to stand still and “pose” but still kind of wary of a stranger.
Then we reached the goats. Pygmy goats aren’t even as tall as a big dog. I think the adults only came to about my knees and they were very friendly.
The little “kids” were bouncing all over, climbing on feed sacks, opening and closing the barn door, just getting into everything.
Here the light was very dim so it was once again a photographic challenge but I can tell you these are really cute babies.
I’m glad my friend thought to invite me over and take the time to show me around. Like “Charlie” of Charlie’s Angels my friend wished to remain in the background so all we’ll see of him are his hands . 🙂
I just love the animals. It was a great afternoon and the “shot-in-the-arm” I needed.