Category: Photography

Then we were four!

Or what a difference a day makes.

There I was celebrating Donald’s exquisite photograph, published on Friday, and today we are bemoaning the loss of Sheena. As in:

Sheena has a one-way journey to Lincoln Road vet.

Jean had been putting it off because she knew the likelihood of the outcome. But yesterday with Sheena heavily breathing, but not in pain, Jean decided it was time to take our girl to Lincoln Road Vet.

Later in the morning Dr. Carolyn called us; Sheena was not at all well, she had fluid inside her, she had a growth in her lungs, and more. Jean decided while Sheena was not in pain it was best to have her put down. Dr. Carolyn said that if Sheena was her dog then that is what she would do. Simply because when Sheena goes downhill she will deteriorate very quickly.

Here are the photos I presented when we took her in back in June, 2020.

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All things comes to pass but that doesn’t stop the deep sadness that is felt in the Handover household!

As I said at the outset, what a difference a day makes!

Picture Parade Four Hundred and Forty-Four

A complete change of photos but I guarantee you will love these!

My son, Alex, and his partner, Lisa, recently returned from a vacation on the Isle of Mull. This is a Scottish island lying off the west coast of the mainland. (Home for Alex and Lisa is just outside Bristol in the south-west of England.) Between them they took many photographs.

For the next two Sundays I want to share the photos that Alex took of the otters, eight today and seven next Sunday.

Here is the introduction that Alex wrote on Facebook.

Was very lucky to spot this Otter Family whilst on a guiding trip with Brian Boyes and Lisa Williams on the Isle of Mull, the Mum fed the young pups three fish, we watched from the road and then later using Brian’s advice, quietly settled into the rocks and watched the Mum come right past us, a fantastic encounter and these are only a few of the photos I got.

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These are absolutely gorgeous and that’s an understatement!

Picture Parade Four Hundred and Forty-Three

A surprise!

I subscribe to the photographic forum Ugly Hedgehog. Recently there was an item from ‘SWFeral’ entitled Portraits from a dog class. In it he said:

I am still dogless after more than two years (some of you remember Ted) but I have started attending a dog training class with a friend to fill the gap. Of course I can’t just sit there, so I asked permission to bring my camera and zoom lens. I’m no pro at dog portrait photography, but I had fun getting these shots of some good-looking subjects. You can see they are all concentrating very hard.

I asked for permission to share the photographs with you and it was promptly given.

Here they are.

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They are lovely photographs and they are a tribute to the dogs and the photographer alike.

Thank you, ‘SW Feral’, for granting me permission to publish them.

Picture Parade Four Hundred and Forty-One

More dogs courtesy of Unsplash.

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Again, just wonderful. Where in the world would we be without our dear dogs!

Picture Parade Four Hundred and Thirty-Nine

Another set of photographs from Gary.

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Always gorgeous!

Thank you, Gary.

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A footnote.

Last Friday, Jean and I were musing about the mice that had appeared in the house and the idea came up that we might return to having a cat. Our online research found a place in Medford, Committed Alliance to Strays or C.A.T.S., a place devoted to rescuing cats. We made an appointment for 2pm.

We came home with two Siamese. They are twins, both male, born on 15th March, 2017. Their names are Hogan and Skippy but we are thinking of renaming them.

Friday afternoon when we came home. Jean put them in a spare room and closed the door.

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Saturday morning and they are in the main living room for a while.

One is more confident than the other but all the dogs, save Sheena, have had cats in their lives when we had our cats before.

The previous owner left a note on their cage at C.A.T.S. It read:

This is Skippy and Hogan! They were my cats and unfortunately my living situation changed drastically and I couldn’t keep them. 😦 They are very sweet, just a bit shy and timid. If you consider adopting them just know that they deserve the world. All I can hope is that they go to a good home!! They need to stay together; they are very attached.

It is early days but we have a hunch that this was a good move!

Picture Parade Four Hundred and Thirty-Seven

We wanted to recognise the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

So I thought that I would find some photos of the Queen’s corgis that I could share with you. Unfortunately all the photographs were copyrighted.

It is a well-known fact that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is a dog lover and has been all her long life. There is a delightful story about the Queen and her corgis on the BBC at this moment and you may like to read it. Meanwhile today’s picture parade is all Corgis!

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That’s it folks for another week.

I will close by thanking Her Majesty for all that she done over the years. Her Majesty gave her promise when she was 21 to devote her life to the Crown and all that flows from that commitment. Whatever her private thoughts have been over the years she has remained loyal to the Nation and the Commonwealth and it is an unparalleled record that will never be surpassed!

A final photograph of Queen Elizabeth II that is attributed to the author, see below, and I hope it is alright to show it.

By Original: Joel Rouse/ Ministry of Defence