Sit. Stay. Smile. Photography & Art

There is a local bumper sticker that says “Virginia Has No Waves” ( a take on the state slogan “Virginia is for Lovers”) but this past weekend that was not the case. Hurricane Bill out in the Atlantic sent some nice waves our way and the local surfers were out in full force to take advantage of the rare summer event. I know most of you will look at these waves and think “that’s Big?” but usually we we only get decent surf in the winter months when a Nor’ Easter is blowing though and the water is 30 degrees…not as much fun. The other nice thing about this swell was that is wasn’t all chop and white water…it was actually pretty flat in between sets.  

Here are some shots from the weekend…I was shooting on 60th street at the north end of the beach with my 70-200mm lens….My daughter Caroline and two family friends had a great time getting knocked down by the big waves as well…they could not go out far because of the rip currents but they had a blast anyway…Happy end of the Summer everyone! I will be sad to see it go…

One of my favorite photo spots, Stoney’s, has a new mascot on board and her name is Merriweather. She is a little Pygmy goat that has imprinted on Lynn (one of the owners) and follows her around everywhere…Lynn has taken her to school and to the nail salon to get her hooves “done” . She is spoiled rotten by everyone and apparently likes to eat dollar bills which I think could become an expensive habit…Here are a few photos of Merriweather and Lynn that I shot while waiting for a client a few weeks ago…

I love dachshunds…Anyone who has one (or two or three) knows what I am talking about. They are so comical and entertaining and it was pure joy for me to photograph these guys…Emily is the black and tan doxie and Coco is the red. I was amazed at how well trained these two were….because they are dachshunds. They can be stubborn little dogs and they usually think the world revolves around them. Emily and Coco loved treats and were more than willing to show off for food. They sat up and begged and Coco would drop to the ground and roll on her back when she was told to “Break Dance”….too cute. Here are some of my favorites:

I have had a few emails asking for the recipe for the pizza featured in my real life party animals post…Tina Batty was kind enough to share it with me so here it is:

Puppy Pizza

Crust

3  cups Whole Wheat Flour
1  cup oats, uncooked
1  cup Parmesan, Mozarella or Romano cheese, grated
2  Tab. margarine or shortening
1  egg, beaten
2/3  cup canned tomato sauce
1/3  cup water

Combine flour, oats, and cheese and cut in shortening. Add beaten egg, tomato sauce and water. Mix well. Knead lightly to mix (you may want to refrigerate it for awhile if it is too sticky to roll.)
Form a ball and place on a pizza pan or stone. With a rolling pin, smooth and flatten until the dough reaches the edge of the pan. Make a little lip around the edge of the dough. Bake about 20 – 25
minutes or until it becomes hard and slightly browned. Remove from oven.

Toppings: All are optional, be creative!

Tomato sauce
2/3  cup cooked brown rice
Hot Dog slices (slice up hot dog and stick the slices in the microwave for a few seconds)
Cooked shredded chicken
Parsley
Snausages?

I put the toppings on and then refrigerated the pizza until the next day. I put the pizza in the oven to warm it through on about 200 degrees for about 30 minutes before serving. This probably isn’t necessary, since everything is pre-cooked, but I thought the dogs would like it better warm. Bone Appetit!