Border Collie Creek

Tas (the puppy) and Tay (brilliant border collie) are down visiting. Here's the Flickr photo set.

We took the dogs down into the Santa Clara River dry wash. This is a pretty safe area for Tas: there are lots of obstacles between the wash and any road, plus the river bed is -far- more interesting than stuff up on the road.

I have to say that photographing border collies is almost as hard as herding cats. They are high-energy and always going off in different directions.

One thing the dogs love about the wash is that digging is so easy. While they prefer burrows to dig at, they really don't have any interest in what's down there, just that they Must Dig. I honestly believe that R0ndo, upon finding a gopher, would treat it the same as he'd treat a rock or root: just something to toss out of the way of digging. I like the wash because the dirt/sand just falls off of them and they don't need a hosing off.

I'm not sure what's up with R0ndo's goofy expression: I think he was excited by Eric's directions, but didn't know what Eric was pointing at.


Another nice thing about this hike is that there is a little creek that runs almost year-round. I think it is the run off from a reservoir or something. The water is crystal clear and the bed is sand, so the dogs remain relatively non-dirty.



Watching the puppy, Tas, was wonderful of course. She's at once curious about everything and yet, cautious in a I'm-so-tiny way. Socially interesting: she *luvs* Apache and follows her for the most part. Sometimes R0ndo or Tay, but Tas has apparently figured out that Apache is truly harmless. Tas even nipped at Apache's ruff a number of times. I wish I could re-capture that "everything is new and wonderful" frame of mind.

Just around sunset, the lighting turned into that honey-golden color that filmmakers dub "Golden Hour". This is that half hour before and after sunset where the lighting makes people glow and everything is beautiful. I tried to capture a portrait of our four noble dogs, but remember what I said about herding cats? Oi. This is the best I got. Still, a nice picture (see how the light makes everything look good?)



If the 80's group, Blondie, were border collies, this would be an album cover!

Border Collie Creek

Tas (the puppy) and Tay (brilliant border collie) are down visiting. Here's the Flickr photo set.

We took the dogs down into the Santa Clara River dry wash. This is a pretty safe area for Tas: there are lots of obstacles between the wash and any road, plus the river bed is -far- more interesting than stuff up on the road.

I have to say that photographing border collies is almost as hard as herding cats. They are high-energy and always going off in different directions.

One thing the dogs love about the wash is that digging is so easy. While they prefer burrows to dig at, they really don't have any interest in what's down there, just that they Must Dig. I honestly believe that R0ndo, upon finding a gopher, would treat it the same as he'd treat a rock or root: just something to toss out of the way of digging. I like the wash because the dirt/sand just falls off of them and they don't need a hosing off.

I'm not sure what's up with R0ndo's goofy expression: I think he was excited by Eric's directions, but didn't know what Eric was pointing at.


Another nice thing about this hike is that there is a little creek that runs almost year-round. I think it is the run off from a reservoir or something. The water is crystal clear and the bed is sand, so the dogs remain relatively non-dirty.



Watching the puppy, Tas, was wonderful of course. She's at once curious about everything and yet, cautious in a I'm-so-tiny way. Socially interesting: she *luvs* Apache and follows her for the most part. Sometimes R0ndo or Tay, but Tas has apparently figured out that Apache is truly harmless. Tas even nipped at Apache's ruff a number of times. I wish I could re-capture that "everything is new and wonderful" frame of mind.

Just around sunset, the lighting turned into that honey-golden color that filmmakers dub "Golden Hour". This is that half hour before and after sunset where the lighting makes people glow and everything is beautiful. I tried to capture a portrait of our four noble dogs, but remember what I said about herding cats? Oi. This is the best I got. Still, a nice picture (see how the light makes everything look good?)



If the 80's group, Blondie, were border collies, this would be an album cover!

Border Collie Creek

Tas (the puppy) and Tay (brilliant border collie) are down visiting. Here's the Flickr photo set.

We took the dogs down into the Santa Clara River dry wash. This is a pretty safe area for Tas: there are lots of obstacles between the wash and any road, plus the river bed is -far- more interesting than stuff up on the road.

I have to say that photographing border collies is almost as hard as herding cats. They are high-energy and always going off in different directions.

One thing the dogs love about the wash is that digging is so easy. While they prefer burrows to dig at, they really don't have any interest in what's down there, just that they Must Dig. I honestly believe that R0ndo, upon finding a gopher, would treat it the same as he'd treat a rock or root: just something to toss out of the way of digging. I like the wash because the dirt/sand just falls off of them and they don't need a hosing off.

I'm not sure what's up with R0ndo's goofy expression: I think he was excited by Eric's directions, but didn't know what Eric was pointing at.


Another nice thing about this hike is that there is a little creek that runs almost year-round. I think it is the run off from a reservoir or something. The water is crystal clear and the bed is sand, so the dogs remain relatively non-dirty.



Watching the puppy, Tas, was wonderful of course. She's at once curious about everything and yet, cautious in a I'm-so-tiny way. Socially interesting: she *luvs* Apache and follows her for the most part. Sometimes R0ndo or Tay, but Tas has apparently figured out that Apache is truly harmless. Tas even nipped at Apache's ruff a number of times. I wish I could re-capture that "everything is new and wonderful" frame of mind.

Just around sunset, the lighting turned into that honey-golden color that filmmakers dub "Golden Hour". This is that half hour before and after sunset where the lighting makes people glow and everything is beautiful. I tried to capture a portrait of our four noble dogs, but remember what I said about herding cats? Oi. This is the best I got. Still, a nice picture (see how the light makes everything look good?)



If the 80's group, Blondie, were border collies, this would be an album cover!