Jun 19, 2012

Twenty Week Scan

Yesterday we went along to use the wonders of modern technology to peer inside the burgeoning gravid baby-tank and observe the progress of the latest progeny.

The little bugger was wriggling around all over the place, sucking thumbs, turning over, very active. With the Ultrasoundette we counted bones, looked at the hemispheres of the brain, the lenses of the eyes, listened to the heartbeat and generally observed the correctness of every detail.

Nicole is doing well, showing now and slowly swelling into her maternity clothes. Tired as soon as the sun goes down and vomiting from time to time, but looking well.

Jun 11, 2012

Dog Days

Dog Days It's been the Queen's Birthday this weekend, officially, as no doubt you'll be aware. The Australians of course always have a public holiday monday for the Queen's Birthday, unlike the Brits, ironically.

This weekend has been quite busy. I was asked at the last minute to do some photography for the Queensland Championship dog show, for the Rhodesian Ridgebacks ring, and quite an experience it was for Eloise and me.

Eloise is of course an animals person and she was very much in her element. She had to be because I was spending my whole time snapping away as one round after another happened in a rapid-fire procession of processions.

The show itself was at Durack, in South-West Brisbane so it was a bit of a worry getting there on time but is it happened, even after finding the showground we got lost trying to find the Rhodesians. Even after we did, not very far from where we parked, we were a bit early and lent a hand helping out with the setting up.

The dogs, with very serious owners - it's a serious business this - were camped out around the ring, the dogs in cages, the owners on camping chairs, underneath those pergola pavilion thingies. Everyone was dressed up in their Sunday Best... apart from us... and then The Judge turned up, one Mr Parquette from Canada.

He held court on his ring with authority and an insouciant wave of the hand here and there as smartly dressed man and women jogged skirts and suits in their slipstream around the ring at his beck and call with dogs trotting along beside them. Then, when at a standstill, the dogs assumed the Stack stance, legs outstretched, shanks vertical, chests out, heads up, as they were poked and prodded and teeth checked and proportions assessed. What a life!

Things eventually built to a crescendo and it became pretty clear who the contenders were, by looking at the owners really rather than the dogs, fine beasts tough they were.

Just for fun, they trotted out the old dogs in a "Veteran's Parade." Eloise was asked to take out Matani, who proceeded to pull her in any direction apart from the correct one. Eloise thought it the high point of her day.

The day had started cloudy but the sun crept out in the afternoon and without us really noticing was beating down with a bit of bite by the time the game was up.

We slunk home with headaches and fell asleep on the sofa.