The Never Ending Battle With The National Specialty Photos!

OK, OK!  I get it!

I know that there are many of you just chomping at the bit waiting for me to get the 2010 Newf National Specialty photos up on my site chadperry.smugmug.com.  What has been taking me so long to get this done, is all of the extracurricular activities I have been involved in and all of the rest of the exciting changes that have been going on in our lives.

For the photos that have been posted, I have post-processed (enhanced) each one, individually, so that they are much more pleasing to look at.  This process takes a lot of my time - many hours!  THEREFORE ....... I will be uploading all of the photos now that will be untouched.  The good photos and the bad ones will all be displayed in order to get them all up on the site.

If you happen to see a photo that you would like to have removed, please, please let me know!  My email address is on the site.

Enjoy!

Chad

 

Mental Nourishment

Didn't have much to write about today.  Was sifting through my pictures and came across this one.  Sparked my interest so I thought that I would share.  Due to our lives being so busy, isn't it interesting that many of us need this to start the day?  Or do we?  For some this may be one of those, "Make you feel good" foods, knowing that you just got the best branded coffee in the world and that might make you feel important.  For others, going to order and seeing the Starbucks staff start preparing your drink even before you ask for it, makes you feel like you matter.  It's a social thing!  Regardless of what your reason may be, the bottom line is that it makes your day start a little brighter because it just makes you feel good.  Thank you, Starbucks for providing us with a sense of joy and a lot of empty calories to sip on every morning!

Fun February

 

Winter Wonder

February 2010 hailed to be the largest amount of sonwfall in the Dallas/ Fort Worth area in 1 day.  The snow totaled over 12 inches and it made for some great pictures as well as great fun for the dogs.  This picture was taken at the break of dawn after the snow fell all day prior and through the night.  The scene out our back door was quite a sight.

 

Majestic Blackjack

One of our photogenic trees called a Blackjack Oak - distinctive by the shape of its leaf and native to Texas.

Nature's Snowman

Adirondack

Play?

This is our boy Forest on the left and our little girl Mia on the right.  It seemed that Forest didn't care so much about the camera as Mia did.

Forest's Fun

Are You Looking At Me?

This is our girl Isabelle (Forest's brother), taking time out to pose for the camera.

 

Run, Run, Run!

After Cara decided to run, the dogs decided to follow suit. 

Adoration

Isabelle, again, listening what Cara has to say.  These two have a very special bond.

Beautiful

Cara taking time out for a photoshoot.

 

Playtime

Snowballs

After the play in the snow, the dogs collect these massive snowballs in the feathers of their legs.  The play is fun, but trying to get these things out of their hair is very difficult.  30 minutes of play = 30 minutes of tryin to get these snow balls detached.  In the picture of Isabelle with Cara, you can see them as well.

TCU Day

 

Go Frogs!

This post is from earlier this fall and thought that I would show some of these pics.  TCU was a huge thing this past year due to the great success of our football team.  The above is about an hour after the ceremony in which the river was supposedly turned purple.  This photograph didn't quite catch that.  However, I thought that the "GO FROGS" logo was a great addition to the bank letting them know that Fort Worth is behind them.

Purple?

(I Don't See It!)

What Is It?

While taking pics, I stumbled along this tanker truck that was spitting this blue liquid in this area of the grass along the bank.  At first, I thought that it might be fertilizer, but it was only spraying in one area.  So, is it all of the melted blue Icees in Fort Worth that they dispose of at the end of the day?  I have no idea!  Any guesses?

 

What Is It Again?!

Big birdbath? Maypole?

 

Old

Walking through Trinity Park, you are able to see some very interesting trees, but this one caught my eye.  It stands alone apart from the others as if to say that it has the wisdom and the prowess over the other trees, yet it seems fragile and possibly close to the end of its time.  

Mark Twain

This life size portrayal of Mark Twain sitting on a bench was right off of the running path next to the river.  This was dedicated to all of the folks who have the desire and passion to read the novels that have shaped the history of America and the World.  I think I'll go read the books that I have started but not yet finished now!

The Light

Wood Wick

The after Christmas Day Sale afforded me to come across this interesting find.  As a product called "Wood Wick," the wick of this candle is actually made of wood about a half an inch wide.  When you light this, the wood crackles non-stop as it melts the surrounding wax.  I thought that the wood would burn quickly and then the flame would go out - wasn't the case.  Apparently, this candle can stay lit for over 100 hours!

Burning The Wood

Flameless

This Christmas present from my mom ends up making this wick made of wood useless.  Instead, this device is a heat lamp that heats the wax from the top down.  I have used the traditional warmers that heat from the base of the candle up, but this method makes the scent much more apparent.  Interesting configuration!  You know, I have to always as myself, "Why did I not think of this?"  It is too simple of an idea!

Side View

The Guardians

These guys have been with me since I was a kid.  Now they reside at our house keeping watch over us at Christmas time.  With these new candles we got, they make sure that the house doesn't burn down!.  The one on the right is the oldest and is a true Nutcracker from Germany.

Christmas Snow!

 Christmas Sunrise  

 

Tracks

 

 Morning Leaf Homage

 

 Snow Stamp

 

 

Stepped out this morning to a wonderful, snow dusted Christmas Day.  I find it interesting that when it snows, everything seems more peaceful.  Outside, not a sound could be heard from civilization.  No car noise, trains, sirens, chatter and all the other local hustle and bustle noises that you normally hear on a regular day.  The sunrise this morning was extra special so I thought that I would try my best to capture it and I think it turned out well.

As my quest for photos went on, I noticed that there were many lonely leaves that stuck their heads up out of the snow.  I captured a few but the one above sparked my interest.  The sun seemed to shine just on this one leaf as to say, "Good Morning and Merry Christmas!"

The little, or quite large, Newf tracks did not go unnoticed as they trailed throughout the yard making their paths.  It was almost as if you knew what they were thinking by tracing their steps.  The perfect paw print was then found stamped onto the back patio letting us know who's territory it really was!

Merry Christmas To All! (and more to come!)

Puppy Zac!

Aren't I Cute?

The little guy is finally named Zac!  I have to say that this little one is hard to photograph.  The following photos are when he said, "OK Enough!  Here is a pose!"  Thought I would share a few.

Concentration

Leafy

Aflame

I was just hanging out when I took this photo and didn't realize how much impact there was until after I shot it.  It's out of focus character makes it look intriguing.  The Newf in the photo that deserves the credit is Gretchen (now Zac's sister.) 

New Addition!

The New Boy!

Well, this is what we were waiting for!  Nan and Steve brought their new boy home this evening.  No name yet.  Just haven't found that perfect match, but should have one decided upon soon.  

Cute
 I was the Green Boy. 

Dinner Time
29.2 lbs. at 11 weeks

The Follower  

After the long ride from Illinois to Texas (home), he still had enough energy to go into the evening

Party Time!

The Horny Frog

(TCU)

At our office party for TDC, 8.0s had this drink called "The Horny Frog."  I ordered since I am a TCU loyalist and this is what it turned out to be.  A vodka martini that had a hint of purple, if you used your imagination!  The waitress said that when the room gets darker, it looks a lot more purple.  Well, I downed one - tasted like watered down NyQuil and didn't wait till it got darker to order another.  Made for a pleasant picture though!  Can you make out the purple?

Colorful!

Didn't realize the beers in the background.  Nice touch.

 

 

Fort Worth Christmas

 

8.0s

Haven't been here in a while.  Don't remember it being this nice.  I know that the photo above is out of focus but I liked it for the richness of the color.

Anticipation!

What's Up?

Starting the weekend off with the anticipation of an interesting addition to the family that will be coming soon.  I think I can wait, but we are on the edge of our seat for this.  Come Sunday evening it will be a much different environment at the perry household.  Stay tuned for the news!  (And the pic!)  For now, this guy seems a little interested, don't ya think!?

My First Entry

Hi

This is just a test for me to see if I am able to get this up and running.  For now, this will be very, very scaled down and rough.  Bear with me and time will tell whether or not I will be able to keep this going. 

It's after 12:00 am now and my eyes are shutting down on me even though I want to keep going.  Oh well, there is always tomorrow! 

Thanks for the support and I will get back here soon!

Thanks - Chad