Last night we put up our Christmas decorations.  It took careful planning as Rufus is prone to, shall we say, investigating new objects around the house.  However, Rufus was not the problem.  We soon discovered that the remote for the TV wasn’t working.  We tried everything to get it going again. We changed batteries, configured programming keys, tried a complete re-set but nothing would work.  We gave up and went to bed.  This morning Keith informed me that my snowman candle holder had been placed infront of the IR sensor on the TV and was blocking the signal from the remote.  Ooops!

Since the days are short and the weekends are not great for going out and about I havn’t had many opportunities for taking photos and experimenting with my camera so here’s a photo that I took a few months ago.  Although not technically great…

 ….I do love the expression on Rufus’ face

 

 

 

My weekends are usually packed with lots of chores, however, this weekend its a different story.  By noon the chores were done so we headded out to Tolquhon Castle, a couple miles outside Pitmedden.

If  you want to visit Tolquhon Castle it is open from April – September but you can wander around the grounds anytime.

 

The North East of Scotland has lots to do if you enjoy life outside.  Many castles to explore, fabulous forests great for walking the dog and lots of stunning views.  The above shot is of Bennachie, a popular range of hills in Aberdeenshire which has the remains of an Iron Age fort at the summit.

Rufus loves meeting other dogs.  He torments the large dogs like the Alsatian we met whilst walking tonight, and runs with his tail between his legs from the Jack Russell’s in the neighbourhood.  Apart from the local hounds he has many friends from Aberdeen to Inverness and here they are…

 

Purdie is the love of his life and lives just outside Insch, Aberdeenshire

 

Bonnie, once a small cute pup, has grown into a beautiful and strong working lab.  She lives with Purdie and enjoys toy fights…and always wins!

 

Marco lives in Inverness with his owner Wendy, and often comes to stay.  Rufus and Marco chase each other around the garden shed for hours which causes much hilarity

 

Finally, Jasper, who lives in Buckie with my in-laws.  He was feeling a bit under the weather when this photo was taken and was very tolerant of Rufus’ constant pestering!

 

As my little canine buddy is going to feature quite a bit in my blog I feel it is necessary to give you an insight into his mischievous personality. 

Since Rufus was a pup he has managed to make us laugh with his quizzical expressions and manic dashes around the house.  It is impossible to get mad at him, even when we had to re-turf part of the garden due to his persistent digging for a non-existent bone.  His visits to the vets have been numerous and expensive, including an out of hours emergency when he ate a pop sock.  He dislikes baths but loves rolling in unsavoury deposits left by other animals which results in a bath as soon as we return from the walk…..you would think he would learn?

Although we spent a considerable amount of money on a kennel with a massive run (since he was going to be an ‘outside dog’) he now sleeps in the kitchen and enjoys the comfort of our sofa in the evenings! 

I will leave you for now with a few pics of the dog himself and introduce his pals soon including Purdie (his girlfriend).

 

 

This is my first post on my brand new blog so let me introduce myself to you.  I live in Aberdeenshire with my husband, Keith, and our 18 month old working cocker spaniel, Rufus.  I enjoy photography but I’m very much an amateur.  I intend to enrol in a photography course to develop my skills and hopefully produce some good images which I will share with you.  I will let you see the not so good shots too and welcome any feedback or tips! 

Rufus will probably feature regularly on my blog but as he is a very active little pooch many of the shots are more likely to be of his tail.  As well as spending time chasing Rufus for the perfect picture I enjoy taking photos of local scenery and wildlife.  I hope you enjoy following my progress!

Thanks for visiting

Genna