Photography

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The Cave

The cave has been an integral part of the training curriculum at headquarters. The first photo shows Ms. Zulu when she was still a youngster, about three years old just like I am now.

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Ms. Zulu: 10-10-2008

I had to dig deep in the archives to find this old photo of myself when I was about 2 months old.

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Moi: 11-21-2015

The third photo shows Sky in his first week at headquarters, when he had just discovered the cave.

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Sky: 10-13-2019

The cave is very old; it dates back to many years B.Z. (Before Zulu). It looks like it’s part of a Stonehenge circle which could be true or not. The cave has been explored extensively by all four-legged beings, young and old, who resided at headquarters at some point in time.  Over the years each of us has put our own paw-stamp on it so it means a lot to all of us including the two-legged ones.

Benji

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A New Seed

Well, apparently new seeds were growing last year.  I would like to introduce my new little brother Luke Skywalker de Louisiana a.k.a. SKY. I gave him the Codename 0012.img_9999b

Ain’t he something else?! His shelter name was Luke, we added Skywalker. SKY was moved from an overcrowded Louisiana shelter that was not suited for puppies to North Florida. Hence his last name. He is roughly 5 months old and our vet said that he was probably a mix between a Border Collie and Springer Spaniel.  SKY has aspirations to become a Jedi Master. When my former agility trainer saw his photo she said, “The Force is strong in this one”. So maybe he’s on his way.

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To be honest, I am hoping he can join me on my super-secret missions sometime in the future. With a name like SKY, he should be able to fly, don’t you think? That should come in handy on our Mission Impossibles.

SKY started his tactical training last Friday at headquarters. He has to wait at least a couple of months before he can start any offsite agility training but for now, he can start with the basics at headquarters. It’s a lot of chewing on a bone and sometimes there is a bone of contention but I’ve shown that it can be done. Anyhowls, in the meantime, SKY can prepare for his S.T.A.R. exam. More on all this prep work at a later time. For now, this puppy needs some rest.

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Signing off,

Dg. B, a.k.a. 0011
Commander in Chief
Headquarters

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A New Chapter

IMG_2093b.JPGIt’s the last day of the year; time to reminisce. The woods are a good place for it, especially on a foggy morning. There were some good parts but also tough parts this year especially towards the end with Ms. Zulu going to the rainbow bridge. IMG_2081b.JPGNew seeds are bound to sprout from that which no longer is. We hope that the new year will bring lots of happy new beginnings for all beings small and tall, young and old. Be kind towards one another as well as yourself.

B & A

 

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Majestic

Yesterday we had a visit from a very stately creature, a Monarch! This was a first this year for us. The Monarch was all by itself, no entourage, no slaves. There was not even a carriage drawn by horses to be found.  The VIP was surrounded by Monarch wannabees, the Fritillaries, distant cousins of the Monarchs which are not bees either. All very pretty, but pretty confusing to me. I took a big nap afterward to digest it all without having eaten one bit.

Look!
A Monarch!
Where are the others?

Dreaming of yummies in my tummy,

Benji

 

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Shrinking

Help, my big sister has shrunk! I think we need to give her some power bars. I could do with one or two myself as well, you know as an athlete and such. It should do wonders in combination with a long power nap.

December 2015
September 2018

Happy lazy weekend!

Benji

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Reversible

Love to show you our new bandana. Well, actually this one is Ms. Zulu’s. Mine will have to wait until we get some fabric with my favorite colors.  It’s reversible so we can wear it on many occasions. Thank you Tails Around the Ranch for inspiring us to make one!

Benji

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Almost 3

Big drumroll pul-ease: Next week, September 18, I will be 3 years old! I expect lots of yummy treats and an extra toy or two or three or plenty. Anyhowls, my big birthday seems to be a reason to dwell on my puppy photos and has led to my own Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/dogtor_benji/. I hope the humans know that there is only one account that really counts: it’s my treat account!

Benji

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Up-Close

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As a real pro, action photos were taken of my agility runs by a real photographer (T&C Pet Photography). Apparently, that is the thing to do, so we bought some. Next time we hope to get them for free, like a real pro.

DC5_5043cWe like the first one the best. It almost looks like I’m stepping into another dimension. Which photo do you like the most?DC5_2831c.jpg

Benji

 

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Hi!

Yep, we’re still alive. Although sometimes I wonder as my tummy always seems to be in need of more yummies. This time of the year is busier than ever with lots of trips and whatnot. Yesterday we went sailing again on the sailing Follower. The humans went too. They come in handy. After all, V.I.D.s shouldn’t have to lift a paw. I’m still waiting for the helicopter to haul us doggies on board. Even a lift-boy would do. I heard that’s what they do with the big V.I.P. sailors. Not sure why that hasn’t happened yet for us special agents.

On the water again
Testing the trampoline
Yup, the pillows can stay
Ms. Zulu practicing Zuluism
Ms. Zulu in action
The sail needs to be trimmed
Look who are here!
The sun was setting and I was still awake!
Almost at the dock

Benji a.k.a. Mr. B or 0011

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You’ve Got Mail: 4

As a real retriever, I got the mail yesterday.  Ms. Zulu helped me as she herded me to the mailbox like a true herding dog. We forgot to empty the mailbox on Saturday. When we finally got around it on Sunday, we found this beautiful card from Kosmo and his mom in faraway Finland! If we would have known what was in the mailbox, we would have run with Mach 2+ speed.

We got mail!
Let’s see what they write
I wanna dream about faraway Finland

Kosmo and mom wrote that the photo on the postcard is from their area. Isn’t that something? Can you imagine living in such a beautiful place? Kosmo and his mom are very lucky. If you want to read more about life in Finland, follow the blog Photofinland by Rantasalot.  Kosmo’s mom writes it and it’s wagnificent.

P.S. I hope to report tomorrow on what we saw when we admired the postcard. You won’t believe us.

Happy Tails,

Benji

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Cool Hot Summer Fun: 5

You thought all the wet stuff was behind us, right? Well, so did I. Apparently, we forgot about the beach. The beach is actually fun as long as you don’t get saturated with the wet stuff. We go to the beach a lot in the winter and fall, but we hardly go in the summer. It’s Florida you know. If we go in the summer, we go at night when the sand is cool and still a bit wet. I love to play in the sand and look at sunsets.

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I have been going to the beach since I was a youngster (12-17-15). Click on the photo to watch my video

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The sand is fun (1-1-16)

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I like to just sit and enjoy the scenery (11-23-16)

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And reminisce about the day (2-5-17)

Phew, I made it through the wet stuff alright; onwards to the dry matter,

Benji

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Cool Hot Summer Fun: 4

I thought it was best to get all the wet stuff behind me, so here is the inevitable POOL note. If you ever do decide to go to the pool and in the sun, you can now take doggie sunscreen with you. Isn’t that something? And yes, we can get a sunburn too. I get one much more easily than Ms. Zulu with her thick undercoat. Be careful of the chlorine too, see Pet MD.

I don’t have a problem ingesting too much of the pool chemicals. As I’ve said before and I do want to reiterate this: I don’t like to swim! There you have it black on white. Let’s hope this will be remembered by those who need to be in the know.

pools4Do you remember this photo from October last year? There was a reason that I was not in the photo. 

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No, still not in the water, even with a tennis ball, just saying

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And nope, a small pool doesn’t change anything

Higher authorities finally gave up and our doggie pool now sits in Adonis’ yard. That’s a much better place, don’t you think?

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Ms. Zulu found a more natural pool; still looks too wet to me

Better be safe than sorry and keep your fur away from the wet stuff, 

Benji 

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You’ve Got Mail: 2

We were very busy this morning writing a postcard to Doug, Andy, and Dougy. It’s not an easy affair. Once we figured out what we would write, we wrote the card and put a stamp on it. Unfortunately, we didn’t have to lick the stamp. And since we didn’t have to put the card in an envelope either, there was no licking at all. I can tell you that the usefulness of our long tongues is often overlooked.

What shall we write?
All done!
Did I put it in there correctly?
Yep, and the red flag is up.

Next, we walked to the mailbox and made sure that all was in order for the mail(wo)man to pick it up and deliver it to the boys up north. What we wrote and sent? I’m sure you will find out as soon as the boys get our postcard.

Patience is a virtue that will eventually lead to rewards,

Benji 

 

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The Forbidden Fruit

The forbidden fruit is oh so tempting. This is the first year our apple tree is producing apples. The name of the apples is promising: Joy Apples. Last year I was too small to help myself to the Fuyu Persimmons; believe me, I tried.  The apple tree will be so much easier as I have grown and the apple tree is still a youngin. Supposedly the apples will even get bigger. I am not sure if I want to wait to see that theory come to fruition. I can wait a little bit but hey where is the joy in waiting much longer?

Have a great weekend, and may the rewards be big for those who wait,

Benji

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Happy Sunny Day

Here are some flowers to brighten your Easter Day. Next week will be busy so we are taking it easy today. Tuesday is MI-6 day and we are finalizing two big interviews with Bacon over at hotel Thompson for Spotlight Thursday.  Stay tuned for an update later this week. Wishing you a lazy and happy Sunny Day.

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Hmmm, not so sure what to think of them. Can you play with them or better yet, eat them?

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A close-up

The ZAB team

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Helping Out

Ms. Zulu and I are helping M out as much as we can in and around the house. The kitchen chores are our favourites but we like gardening too. Especially the digging part but we are completely happy to supervise too. Friday’s shopping spree resulted in garden items so yesterday was a yard day.

The garden supplies are supposed to beautify the garden. Not sure how though. If you ask me it looks like agility equipment. I tested it and it seemed to work well to practice jumping and balancing.

Giant Swallowtail
Flaming Azalea
Us and agility equipment

We hope you got to see our gardening collaboration with Resa for kid’s month too. It was fun to show all the healthy snacks you can dig up in a garden.

After all our hard work, we are ready to take a nap. Naps are always good before, after, during, and in between work.

Sleep tight,

Benji

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Then and Now: 5

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After the prescribed burn I went back to my favorite tree stump to see if it was still standing. I am happy to report that it did! There is always a new find on top of the stump. Lucky me, this time I found a pine cone!

Look what I found!
A pine cone 🙂

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Happy Finds,

B

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Happy Valentine’s Day

It’s Valentine’s Day! A big hug and lick smack in the middle for you from us bachelors. From left to right Capone (CCI in training), me (ES & CTD), and Fuse (CCI).

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XOX, Benji.