Beyond the Dog Dish

A Splash'n Good Time

WEEKLY TOP SHOT

The Most Affectionate Creature In the World Is a Wet Dog ~ Ambrose Bierce

WEEKLY TOP SHOT ~ SECOND CHOICE

Long weekends and swimming go hand in hand and these pooches, do not intend to be left out!

Obsessive is not always a bad thing is it?

Fetch! More Fetch! Please?

Snap! Got it! Be right there!

How are your dog's off leash park manners? This particular park can get a little overwhelming at times. Loads of big dogs, many of which err on the side of being very driven and in some cases a bit reactive. I have seen a few scraps here.

I am personally not a fan of off leash parks and opt to leave my own dogs at home but I do love to visit this one park a few times a year to photograph the action.

Finders Keepers!

Hardly!

Just waiting for the right moment to make my move...
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Adding to my

100 Dog Strangers Series

The Canine version of "100 Strangers".

A photographic record of all the wonderful dogs I meet in my travels.

Began in 2012 and ending... TBD.

Participating in; Weekly Top Shot, Camera Critters and 100 Dog Strangers

Super Moon Magic

So tonight's lesson was... if you opt to go to the lake, after dark, when the grass is wet from rain and the temperature is soaring... do be brilliant enough to pack the BUG SPRAY!

This was taken just as the sun was setting and the moon was rising out of the lake. I used my new *PINK* MeFOTO Tripod. Don't be fooled by the "Red" in the description - I assure you, it's hot pink! I love it because it also doubles up as a Monopod and is super light.

The ice cream on the way back home helped to sooth my bug bitten body. About 2 hours later, the clouds cleared so I took one more shot in the driveway. NO bugs there! This is when a hot pink tripod comes in handy - you can see it in the dark!

Not looking too big here! Thank goodness technology has brought us the zoom lens!

Polo For Heart 2013

Once again this year we took in the Polo for Heart hosted at the Toronto Polo Club. - June 14-16, 2013

Those lucky enough to have a "Power of the Blue" aka Bank of Montreal card to flash, got VIP parking - that meant they got to walk less than I did.

So much rain in the Toronto area during the month of June! The wet fields were a disappointment on Friday.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/misskodee/9078384811/

2013 marks the 34th year of games and this years proceeds are going towards The Heart & Stroke Foundations Stroke Recovery Centre as well as contributing towards a new MRI machine for Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket.

Sadly the weeks heavy rain meant, the players needed to slow down and also use an indoor ball.

Wet and slipper lawns do not make conditions very friendly for galloping horses.

Naturally my eye got a little distracted by the dogs in attendance!

The very few that attended were perfectly behaved. I opted to leave Kodee and Becky at home because I'm pretty sure they would have made spectacles out of themselves barking at the polo horses. At the very least, Becky would think for sure the ball was her's!

International Polo Players traveled far and wide from Argentina, United States, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Canada.

My pick for my Weekly Top Shot!
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Adding to my

100 Dog Strangers Series

The Canine version of "100 Strangers".

A photographic record of all the wonderful dogs I meet in my travels.

Began in 2012 and ending... TBD.

Participating in: Sunday In My City, Camera Critters and 100 Dog Strangers .

Gluten-Free Corn Bread

Has your weather been crazy like ours in Southern Ontario?! So far this spring it goes like this; morning the sun is shining, birds tweeting and the flower buds are just popping out. Mid day the skies suddenly turn an ominous grey, the wind picks up and ice pellets pound to the ground. Old man winter, you need some beauty sleep - off with you to hibernate!

Days like that call for comfort food! Much thanks to my daughter's boyfriend for finding this corn bread recipe! I have not enjoyed corn bread for many years. With 3 out of 4 in our family gluten-free, corn bread is a welcome addition to my recipe box. It is a great side dish to team up with chili on a cold day.

Gluten-Free Corn Bread

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup cornmeal

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 tablespoon honey

2 cups milk

2 tablespoons melted butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease a 8×8″ pan.

2. In a small bowl combine cornmeal, baking powder, and salt and whisk well with a fork.

3. In a medium sized bowl beat eggs and mix in honey, milk, and melted butter.

4. Mix dry ingredients into the wet.

5. Pour into greased pan, and bake 20-25 minutes or until a knife or toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool before cutting. Serve with lots of butter (obviously).

Kodee would like to take this moment to remind everyone this recipe is "dog ingredient" friendly. Plus she says to remember, nothing beats a mid day nap after a hearty meal with your favourite person by your side.
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Joining the Fun at:

Whoa. Little Flying Things

A little bath time fun! Becky is such a poser - she sat in this tub for over 30 min and didn't move! She just loves posing with props. So odd! The bubbles amused her.

"Hey! Rubber Duckie, you'd make bath time lots of fun if you'd quit falling out of the tub dude."

I had this idea floating (pun so intended) in my head for a while. It will be my January photo for my series "Studio 12 Cav". I started in October doing a monthly flash photo and hope to have a a set of 12 photos ready to print in a calendar by next Christmas for family gifts - could be the year after that though, I'm known to procrastinate A LOT! Good thing my family never visits my blog ;)

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I belong to a fun FlickR Group called the "Daily Dog Challenge". Each day they provide a prompt to help us create fun photos. You don't have to participate daily - just join the fun or stop by for a visit when you can!

Birds of Different Feathers Flock Together

Adorning our small, front lawn is a huge Manitoba Maple - yes I know a very large tree to be on a small city lot! I'll explain how that came to be in a moment.

A few weeks ago, when we pulled into our driveway we noticed our tree was swarming with an unusual variety of birds.

There were a few Cedar Waxwings which are a small grey-brown little hooded bird with red wing and yellow tail tips. They are one of a small variety of birds that can survive on fruit alone. You can tell these are adult birds because they have a black mask.

Our tree also had two bright red male Cardinals and a lone Downy Woodpecker.

Now the Robin is a common bird, but it did seem odd to find a dozen or so hanging out with these other birds on cold March day my front lawn - all in my Manitoba Maple.

So about this tree. How does a tree this size wind up on a small city lot? Lets go back 22 years and blame my Dad!

While visiting my parents at their farm, my daughter found a small seedling. Dad decided it would be a good idea to show her how to dig it up, and plant it in a small margarine container so she would bring it home. Don't worry he told me, it will never live.

It thrived and still is 22 years later! For the first few years she refused to let me cut her beloved tree down. Now that she is grown and has long since moved out, I do not have the heart to get rid of this monster tree! Well that and the fact it would cost a fortune to have it removed ;)
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I'm joining in the fun with: Wild Bird Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday

It's A Jungle Out There

Can we say "Procrastination!" These photographs are way overdue getting to my friend. She must have the patience of a saint to put up with me. Hopefully the photos make up for the wait!

I am such a dog person. That is why I was really surprised to learn how much I liked these cats. Everything I have heard about cats was totally wrong,or at least when it came to these two. They were bursting with personality and very adventurous. This guy loved to wrestle and run with her new Cavalier puppy. Watching these two go at it, definitely got me on the road to realizing cats are rather fun.

Ah the hunter of the two. Always on the prowl.

I love editing cat photographs - truly they have amazing eyes with colour and expression. Those who know me, are laughing. Really I'm not a cat person - it's scary to think I just might be a closet cat fancier after all.