Even Raptors need to look good for the paparazzi.

Because we are putting the pool up, and it's in the process of being filled, I have to stand beside it so that a certain four legged animal doesn't take a dip every chance he gets. And it's not just him, Sally's in there every chance she gets. It will get better as the pool fills, but for now, I just stand out there with my camera and take pictures of everything.

Today I got some shots of that darn meat eating bird grooming himself. I'm pretty sure that by then end of summer, we won't have any small birds in our neighbourhood. Yesterday, H. our neighbour was having a fit and yelling 'their dinner is still alive' which caused me to look up to find the sound of wings flapping and I got an eyeful of the 2 raptors fighting over their 'dinner', a small, bird still alive. It was terrible.

So, here's some happier pictures to clear the nasty birds out of my mind. Linus has a big stick, it's really a 4 foot 2x4 that he packs around. Kerry throws it for him and then I have to run because when he brings it back, he takes me out by hitting me in the back of the knees. The best is when Kerry throws it and it gets stuck in the tree.

Flash...you can love it or hate it. I hate it used indoors but it can make a huge difference when used outside. I never really understood the whole 'fill flash' idea with my little camera but this weekend while playing with my camera, I had a light bulb moment. This is without the flash, outside, in the shade.The next picture is with the flash, same situation...it really brings out Linus's eyes and his pearly whites. But it's almost too bright.Without the flash, E. features were really dark, the colour wasn't so great either, but with the flash, I got truer(is that a word?) colours in her hoodie and her face is brighter.

Did I mention that I love my camera?

And here is the reason I am not planting any pots, or any other plants in the yard this year. I caught him red handed trying to snack on my parsley. He didn't eat it, just had a nibble and now his breath is very fresh.