Fall Madness

This is my dog Grover - in his most natural form. He's a male dog and he's shameless for attention. He tries to dominate the neighborhood puppies and he's kind of a bully when he wants to be. But most the time, in his backyard lair away from prying eyes he likes to bury and dig up anything he can get his paws on and he's a sucker for peanut butter.

Today I tried to have a little photo shoot with him - and as you will see, things went awry.

All I want to do is take photos of him and all he wants to do is get pet. We both were inevitably dissatisfied...

...and this is the moment captured where Grover decides that cameras are scary...and he runs. 

I tricked him. I started shaking his dog biscuit box - devious. He caught on quick though when he saw the flash of the camera. My goal was to catch him uninhibited, free, barking and scratching but ironically the camera made him do the most unnatural things, like refuse a biscuit - never in his life has that happened before.

This was the only way I could get him - from by back-porch window. He didn't see it coming until I shifted the curtains a little and almost immediately after he saw me he ran. I think he thinks my camera is the devil (look at the fear in his eyes!) I stopped chasing him after this - he's so sensitive.

These leaves are always the last to fall on the block - they're shameless! The last leaf will fall the day before a blizzard - you mark my words - and I'll spend the next 7 hours frozen in my front yard raking the brittle bundles. 

Fall 2008: The view from my front door. There used to be children on this block and now it seems I'm the youngest one. Awful. But the street looks pretty today, doesn't it?