Goodbye my sweet Prince

Turns out that Prince stopped in our lives just for one night and is now on to the next phase of his increasingly happy life. I took these shots - including one vaguely illustrating his "flippy walk" and another showing off his serpentine tail - just before he joined his new family.

Prince...

We have the opportunity to help another rescue dog named Prince! He has definitely had a very tough run but is getting along well with Brandy and is drinking up the attention.

Dancing Bears...

I seem to have a crush on our dog. Yes our dog - we're in the process of moving from fostering Brandy to adopting her. She is a wonderful addition to the household!

Roxy...

This little girl in need joined us last Friday night. Roxy is a terribly sweet girl and a good playmate for our Brandy.

The oeufes of color...

We were lucky enough to get this batch of fresh eggs recently. They were the most colorful non-Easter dozen of eggs I've ever seen.

Can't wait to eat them...

First balloon of the season...

... rolled past our place this morning. It was a new design (to us) with a single passenger. Opportunities like this always make me pine for a longer, better lens...

The Best Part ...

... of the trip to Gent was stopping in Antwerp to see our good friend Ewa. After picking me up at the amazing Antwerp train station...

She took me for a delicious beer at Elfde Gebod (The Eleventh Commandment) 

and then amazing mussels and frites at Stadscafé. 

Having such a good friend so far from home is a special thing indeed. Thanks Ewa!

Snow in Ghent

 On the last day in Ghent, it snowed. This happens infrequently - perhaps once a year - so the city is not particularly prepared for it. Things slow down and get a bit quieter; there are snowball fights and at least one little fellow getting towed down Zebrastraat on a sled.

Zebrastraat...

Is that a giant nail?

Arrival...

Ghent's Festival of Lights!

Ghent at night...

Here are a couple shots of Ghent's beautiful downtown area at night.


The Belfry of Ghent...

Here is Graslei Harbor...

Saint Nicholas's Church as a car drives by...

Dinner!

I don't know why I like this picture of our partially completed Beef Bourguignon so much...

But I do.

Sunrise...

The sun made a show of coming out on this dark and cloudy morning...

Snow...

Neighborhood street sign during a recent snow storm...

Brandy

Our foster dog Brandy continues to amaze and delight...

Snowy Morning...

After a recent snowfall, the morning sun caught the very clingy snow coating absolutely everything. 

Moonshot

I woke up this morning hoping to see the eclipse. Got the camera out and on the tripod and went out to watch. The clouds actually parted for a while during which time I got this shot but just as the eclipse was scheduled to start, WHAM! the clouds completely obscured everything - and in fact it started to snow.


So it goes.

Dog Inverted

Brandy's new bed

We are still fostering Brandy. No commitments have been made. We have not adopted her. Really.

We did get her a dog bed though. She clearly understood that it was for her and even "helped" in the assembly process.

Once assembled, she knew exactly what to do with it.

Though we have not received the final report, initial indications are quite positive.

Good Dog...

Morning Sun

Gorgeous clouds over East Thetford this morning. Unfortunately I missed photographing them. They were truly impressionistic but of course the dog has to be fed and these things are fleeting! The morning did give us this slice of sunlight however and for that I'm grateful.

Snow...

Scary ole Jacks...

Beaming...

Happy Dog...

Jack? You home?

First Snow Panorama

Streaming Sunlight...

Streaming sunlight from this morning's walk with Brandy...

Fall in Vermont...

The simple joys of fall in New England lie all around us these days...

Fall Dahlia

Our dahlia is continuing to grow and change even as the summer comes to an end. I pulled him out of his immediate environment with this image taken on a rainy October day.

By a nose...

Brandy enjoying smells at Dog Mountain.

Brandy at Dog Mountain

Brandy got to visit Dog Mountain yesterday and I practiced taking pictures of her - not always an easy thing to do. Though we are technically fostering her still, it seems inconceivable that she will not continue to be a part of our household. Nevertheless, I'm trying to approach photographing her as if I'm trying to promote her adoption - maybe this is something we can do more of in the future.

We walked along some of the paths above the Dog Chapel. I don't think she was sticking her tongue out at me but... I'm not sure.

Eventually coming around to a nice overlook of the chapel.

Keeping an eye on other dogs - and people!