Our cat, Patch-- I mean, Orion.

Our cat is very sturdy. He has survived the dangers of the desert back home in Tucson. That includes a snake bite and a cholla cactus run in (worst night of my life ever). He has survived years of car dodging (a game that he very much enjoys!).
However, this past year Orion has really gotten beat up by a particular neighborhood cat. He regularly comes home with scratches up and down his body. A while ago, he came home with his ear all torn up. Here's a picture of that all healed up:

And this is what he looked like after a recent Pet Hospital trip:

I have renamed him Patch.

He got a really nasty, infected cat bite. The top bloody mark on his side were the cat's top teeth and the lower mark were where the bottom teeth were. It was pretty nasty. Did I mention how nasty it was? The vet shaved up that area, if you are wondering how on earth a cat bite turned out to look like that. So yeah. Our cat looks pretty weird looking right now.

Sophie's Turn

Yesterday (or was it the day before?) I did Sabrina's pictures. Now here are Sophie's. I think she sat still for me for a total of two minutes-- long enough for me to get a bunch of pictures of her looking away.

 

 

 

New Discovery

Today I had Dave set up the slip and slide so that Sophie would be distracted from today's loss of privilege--the TV. I thought Sabrina might enjoy the water too. Well, she wasn't such a fan. So what do you do when your kid doesn't want to play? You let her eat the grass while you take pictures of her, of course! And that's what we did.
And then I made a discovery. My backyard has perfect photographic lighting in the hot afternoon.
 


Every time I have tried taking pictures in the backyard I have always been disappointed with the lackluster. Our backyard is always covered in shadow at sundown, and I never venture out to exciting places during that sweet golden hour. I'm usually cooking dinner, or eating dinner, or trying to get little people to eat their dinner...


But this afternoon our giant pine tree was filtering the harsh sun and splattering light onto our somewhat green grass. It was a lovely backdrop. Luckily, Sabrina is a willing and (most importantly!) an immobile subject so I was able to get some good bokeh.

Tomorrow, I will ask (aka bribe) Sophie to sit still for me around 3 in the afternoon.

  I know that the one above is slightly out of focus, but her little smile just makes it perfect.

Sick Day

Poor Sophie.
Isn't it terrible when you get sick?
(insert sarcastic smiley face)