Category Archives: Dogs

Mugsey mugs for the camera.

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Today is a grey and misty day as the latest warm front has arrived dumping snow, freezing rain and now plain old rain. Mugsey decided he would scratch himself on a tree and he posed nicely for the camera.

Mugsey loves the snow - can you tell?

Mugsey loves the snow – can you tell?

As we were passing by the bridge, a pair of young white-tailed deer moved silently past on the other side and cautiously crossed over the ice into Raymore Park. Even though the zoom on the RX100 is only 3.6, the sheer number of pixels (5472 x 3080) allows for some zooming at home – especially in this medium.

Sorry about the pole in the middle of the picture.

Apologies for the pole in the middle of the picture.

There is lots of feed above the shallow layer of snow to keep them going – we’ve had a pretty easy winter so far with rain and mild temperatures predicted for tomorrow and especially Wednesday (13°C).

Hawk checks out Mugsey

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2013 01 16

Our dog Mugsey weighs about 80lbs. He was being sized up today by (what I believe is) a red-tailed hawk which followed us down the park trail this morning.

I spy some food.

I spy some food.

The hawk made several low passes over Mugsey before deciding that he was a little too heavy for an in-flight snack. I was lucky enough to photograph the last of the food survey missions as it then sailed off to the south, looking no doubt for lighter fare. As they say, the best camera is the one you have with you. This little Sony RX100 is small enough to carry in a pocket yet has a large enough sensor to produce some outstanding images.

Wishful thinking...

Wishful thinking…Mugsey plods on, blissfully unaware.

The light in the park today revealed some textures that were quite interesting – these old branches looked quite artistically placed and have attractive markings.

Nice patterning on the branches.

Nice patterning on the branches.

There is a clump of trees by the Humber in the ‘wild area’ that I like to photograph – in the mornings the sun is in the south behind the trees and in winter reflects off the river which makes for strong backlighting with tons of contrast and tests the latitude of any camera. This corner of the park seem to look great in any season.

Notice the scars from river ice (several years ago).

Notice the scars from river ice (several years ago).

Comparison with mid-May 2010 from a similar angle.

Spring in all its glory.

Spring in all its glory – won’t be long now.

Dog owning dimwit

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Notice the proximity to the garbage can.

Note the proximity to the garbage can.

Most dog owners are fairly conscientious about their animal’s droppings. There is however one idiot who makes a practice of leaving the full bag of crap along the pathways frequented mainly by other dog owners. I have no idea what the motivation is for preserving the excrement in plastic other than bone idleness and lack of consideration. The result of this dimwit’s anti-social behaviour is a series of excrement-filled bags scattered throughout the park. In some places, there is even a pile of the bags; perhaps a favourite spot to desecrate although it’s possibly secluded enough for them to drop the bag with impunity. This idiot gives all dog owners a bad name.

The bags are distinctive; small and white with two handles that form loops.

Dog owners

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My dog.

My dog, Mugsey

I’m a dog owner and I try to be responsible. The park is a wonderful resource for dog owners and many of us use Raymore Park quite a lot (hence my daily photographs). Some are very responsible while others are a pain allowing their little (or not so little) precious to run amok, chasing wildlife and bothering people or attacking dogs on leash. Then there is the delicate matter of dog poo. You know that when someone brings more than one dog to the park and then lets them off leash, there will be no poo pick up. Not that this is necessarily a problem. Poo is part of nature and it acts as a fertilizer if the dog is healthy and the poo has been carefully placed in the right location. When it’s allowed to drop and fester on park pathways, or left where people are in danger of stepping in it, that’s just wrong, not to mention anti-social. There’s another pet peeve while I’m in rant mode. Some mental midget diligently picks up their (large) dog’s droppings, placing it in white plastic bags. These bags are then carelessly left lying around thus preventing the contents from returning to nature, and littering at the same time. What a douche!

I’d love to catch them doing this! Just once!