The Lovely Missus Goes 5-for-5

The Montgomery County Maryland Agricultural Fair finished this past Saturday. I am very pleased to announce that My Lovely Bride won a ribbon in each of the 5 baked goods categories she entered. Yes, yes I am a very lucky guy.



This was the first fair she ever entered anything and is already plotting her strategy for next year.

Mouse on the Sofa, Enjoying the Sunny Spot

Taken by the Lovely Misses with the Canon 20D.
Scaled and touched up with The Gimp.

Around the buddleia

Hummingbird clearwing (Hemaris thysbe)

fl: 82mm (macro); exp.: 1/1000s, f/6, ISO 200; NEF file processed with the Gimp 2.2

This Monarch is a little tattered but still taking care of business...

fl: 82mm (macro); exp.: 1/640s, f/6, ISO 200; NEF image processed with the Gimp 2.2

Tag: photography

Surveilling the domain

fl:70mm; exp: f/4.5, 1/200s, ISO 200; NEF image processed with the Gimp 2.2

Tag: photography

Foo Foo has a snack

fl: 70mm; exp: f/4.5, 1/100s, ISO 200; NEF image processed with the Gimp 2.2

Tag: photography

New living room grouping with Isobell

Our other cat, Isobell, has adopted the center cushion on the new sofa as her own. Go ahead, try to sit there. I dare you.

Update: Now with Contrast!

Mouse One Month Ago and Today

Taken about a month ago. The fur was just starting to cover over where they had shaved her.


Taken today. Her fur is starting to fill in nicely.

Mouse

This is Mouse, our 10-and-a-half year old chocolate mitted ragdoll. She was diagnosed with a sarcoma that developed at the site of her rabies vaccination. We don't know how long she has left, but so far she's been doing pretty well.

(Canon 20D, cropped and scaled with The GIMP)

UPDATE: Well, it's almost 4 months since the initial post, and now just over 2 months since we went through with the surgery to amputate her cancerous right rear leg. It was disarticulated at the hip and she hasn't had any trouble... well if you don't count the 'bed sore' on her OTHER side. That still has about a 0.5 cm x 0.5 cm piece of scab + matted fur that is tenaciously hanging on.

Mouse gets around in fine tripod fashion: front left, front right, hop. Her back left leg is now--more or less--her back center leg, but it works better than it sounds.

The cancer was stage 3, so there is still work for the folks at the VCA Referral Clinic: every 6 months we need to take her in for a chest x-ray to see if anything has spread to her lungs. Thus far her incision line is clean, and that is very good news. At the rate her tumor was growing it would be positively ginormous by now. Similarly, there have been no signs of breathing difficulties.

After a heart-to-heart with her, My Lovely Wife announced that there was an agreement in principle for 10 more years. Let's hope.

just spiffing up a bit

I'm still playing with the font.

Behold the rudbeckias

Exposure: 40mm, f/4.5, 1/50s, ISO 200; NEF file processed with the GIMP

There is a purple coneflower peaking 'round the back. Can you see it?