This week’s theme was fantasy. My brain went DINOSAURS! And a really neat wooded area that has a bit of a primordial feel to it. Alas the weather did not cooperate for the session with Happy & Toby due to a rain delay. Buggers.

A couple days passed, the rainy weather cleared a bit so Bender & I adventured around the lake. We stopped at the carp trap but it wasn’t quite the place to lend towards a fantasy look. We continued around the lake to the regional park. I took a slightly different road and we came across a dirt hill that looked like it could be home to a hobbit. No hobbits or hobbit doors were found.

What was that noise?

Just a passing T. Rex! He gave a growl, but continued on his way. We’re glad he didn’t stop for a longer pause or a mid morning snack! He tromped off and when the sound of him was gone I remembered to breath again! What a sight!

The birds kicked up their chatter, then there were some hearty squawks that were definitely not any birds native to Minnesota. What could they be?

A pair of weanling dragons – one red, one blue! They were small, so I assumed them to be pygmy dragons (standard dragons grow faster and would be about the size of Bender as a flying weanling – this is all based on some very deep mythology I have created for a story…). The red was the better flyer and was happy to give Bender some tips on flying, though I think Bender was thinking that these were the strangest birds he’s ever seen. When Bender and I didn’t seem too interested in the physics of flying, they departed with some shrill squawks into the nearby woods.

Bender and I too departed from the dirt hill and headed to the beach. Oofda that wind coming off the lake was very brisk. It was kicking up waves and some foam. Bender wasn’t thrilled about the waves (he doesn’t like water) and was regarding them with a less than thrilled opinion.

 

He nearly missed the small herd of brachiosauruses wading through the lake in his brooding. We watched them for a bit, then decided to head towards the warmth of home to not risk losing fingers or toes.

Visit Rochelle with Dark Sapphire Pet Photography, Nelson, New Zealand to see how she interpreted Fantasy!
The images:

T-rex: might be from here (but the page doesn’t load for me? – found on a google search)
Dragons: lorddarkwolf
Brachiosaurus : Wonderland Toys

Urban. Meaning: in, relating to, or characteristic of a city or town. To me this means tall buildings of brick, sprawling landscapes with various houses and people arranged in close quarters. Not quite where I call home.

As luck would have it, the Dogs of MSP were planning a meet up at Flat Earth Brewing Company in St. Paul. Dogs of MSP (MSP = Minneapolis/St. Paul) is a group of dog owners who meet up at local dog parks, businesses and breweries as well help each other out with training, treats and food and general dog questions.

And it turns out that it was an EPICALLY perfect location for the theme of urban. The buildings, formerly of Hamm’s Brewery heritage, were tall, imposing brick structures, with boarded up or broken windows, scattered assortment of graffiti, with Flat Earth Brewing Company nestled in behind a pair of large doors in an arched doorway.

 

In common event fashion, I mingled with the dogs inside who were enjoying the company of others while their owners drank and shared stories. One IPA consumed, and my status as “THE” treat lady continued to grow and soon I was I favorite amongst the dogs. The indoor lighting was dark and dingy, so I meandered out of the bustle to photograph a collection of dogs outside in the even, overcast light.

---

Ruger (doberman) & Sophie (border collie) – Ruger, the doberman with impeccable manners rocking a Bad Tag “Cuddle Monster” tag. He wasn’t interested in modeling at first, but when the treats came out his inner super star did too! Sophie was a charmer, well trained and has been working on her sit pretty.

 

 

---

Kira – my friend Katie’s pittie! I’ve photographed Kira before, in fact she was one of the dogs in the Tri County Humane Society’s calendar that featured guys from the rugby team. She’s a pro at modeling and master of drool.

---

Nia – We met and instantly she was giving me kisses! She learned quickly that I had treats and I would dole them out for eye contact and a wiggle of the that little corgi butt!

 

 

---

Winnie (black pug pittie mix)  & Money – Winnie has an adorable almost underbite and some mega impressive ears! Money (who I mistakenly called Cash) was a laid back older gent who enjoyed the treats I was happily doling out.

---

The bulldog boys. These two stocky gents are both two years old with laid back personalities. And they were mega drool factories!

---

Sidney – I adore Sidney! We met a couple years ago at the Twin Cities Pet Expo. Her mom follows me on Instagram, and I follow them in return and get to see the antics of Sidney and her pittie brother George. She totally had my number and knew I was the treat lady. Plus she poses like a pro!

---

Maple – Maple is a mega adorable mini goldendoodle. Her mom has followed me on Instagram and was my introduction to the Dogs of MSP.

Rain (husky pittie mix) – Eeeek! An adorable puppy!

 

Next up see what urban is to Jodie from Pawtrait Purrfection, serving Pets and People in Ipswich, Australia.

---

 

Green…. uh… the heck is that? The lovely landscape of MN has been in transition. From sorta snow to no snow. No snow means golden brown grasses. We came upon on the first day of spring, and those lovely green blades of grass didn’t get the memo. Especially in time for this week’s theme of green.

Hmmmm… let the creative gears start rolling. A meandering walk with Bender to the small baseball fields yielded green from the dugout shelters. For a town who’s school colors are green and white, there really isn’t a lot of either around the schools!

Axle and I waited for a lovely golden hour (golden hour + golden brown grass is stunning but not green!) then adventured out to the little local hockey arena. No greens, but on the backside of the parking lot was a mature pack of pine trees.

 

 

There’s a local John Deere farm machinery sales and service center that Axle and I stopped at. All of the machines are green with yellow accents! A great fit for the theme of green! Also there’s a country song with a line “In John Deere green” (cue the song) that always plays in my head when I think John Deere and green…

And a bonus bit of green (yes it doesn’t have a dog in it…)

Next visit Linda of DogShotz Photography serving Indianapolis Indiana to see how she captured green.