Firle Beacon

We tested out another new place for walks today: Firle Beacon. Looked like a fabulous area with great views, but sadly it was so foggy/misty that we could hardly see the view at all. Another problem was that there were quite a few sheep around, so we had to be very careful where we walked with the springer puppy on the loose. (I am going to take the 'recall' practise very seriously starting from tomorrow - can't risk Z running around worrying sheep!) So, I ended up mostly taking photos of barbed wire...


















Somehow black and white seemed appropriate.

Zebedee explores the garden

Zebedee likes to explore the garden, even though there is not much to it, being a very small garden. He got really excited the first time I took him out, and ran around and sprung amongst the tall grasses. Naturally, like any baby of any species (well, at least humans and dogs!), everything new goes straight into the mouth. First, it was plain old grasses and other plants.



...but soon Zeb developed a penchant for these:



He has them sashimi style, of course (i.e. uncooked), garnished with these lovely magenta petals that he also loves.



Must be delicious. (Ugh. Yuk.) There are plenty of slugs in my garden, but we'll see how long till they all escape from this slug monster to the neighbouring gardens! Until then, in they go into the giant doggy's tummy, unless I see them first! Today I heard Zeb eating something crunchy and when I turned around to see what it was, I saw pieces of snail shell on the floor under his nose. So he likes escargot, aussi!

I was expecting Zeb to throw up after the first snail, but he didn't show any sign of malfunction as a consequence of eating this rather disgusting delicacy. I did a little research into the matter today and found out that snails and slugs may carry lungworm and possibly heartworm larvae as parasites. Awful! They can also be dangerous for a dog if they have been in touch with certain kind of slug killer substances. Well, Zeb hasn't shown any sign of poisoning symptoms, so I think he's OK, but I will check with the vet tomorrow whether I should give Zeb a doze of wormer just in case. He is due worming at nine weeks of age (next Monday), but I'll worm him earlier, if the vet recommends it.

Doesn't look like Zeb is concerned, though.



It's all just a big, exciting, fun adventure.



Ooo, that was pretty distorted. What a big nose you have!

Zebedee can also look the shy, bashful type if he wants.



Let's have another look at those charmer eyes.



Zeb has the longest eyelashes I have ever seen on a dog. One day I will try and get a close-up of them. Today (using the SLR for the first time, rather than the pocket camera) I found that, when shooting close up, it is easier to get photos of Zeb by not looking through the viewfinder but by holding the camera lower down so that he can see my face and doesn't get upset by the weird device in front of it. Not all photos come out in focus that way, but they wouldn't do anyway - Zebedee doesn't pose motionless for the camera after all...

Fisheye Lens II

Man, this lens is so much fun. It's brilliant. Here are some shots from last night on the way back from another Brighton Festival event. I didn't have a tripod with me, so these were taken hand-held with the largest aperture (f/3.5) and ISO (1600).



Love the distortions! But with the 180° view, you have to be really careful not to get your own feet in the frame...



This below is a normal right angle (90°) street corner, but through this lens looks like a hairpin bend. (Couldn't help the shadows.)



Powis Square.





This shot reminded me of some Finnish designer kitchenware. I will see if I can find them on the web.



Later today I'm going to take photos of this gorgeous little thing.