Saturday was spent coaxing, cajoling and otherwise bribing our furry girls, Nala and Willow to pose for a portrait shoot.
This was much easier said than done. Willow was first up and immediately turned the yowling volume to maximum in response to being -very gently- manhandled into position. Thankfully no RSPCA patrols were passing at the time! A quick dab of fish paste on a very cute nose distracted her just long enough for me to grab a brush and get to work.
Willow is a sucker for being brushed, though it still took a good five minutes before she deigned to face the camera and after about five minutes of frantic, brush-focus-shoot, brush-focus-shoot, she'd obviously had enough.
Flouncing off disdainfully, flicking her tail in my face as she went I swear I heard 'deal with my agent' in cat speak.
Nala was next and she is a very different proposition, always being very much in charge of when brushing can occur and when it most definitely cannot, so I had to be a bit more canny with her. She also wasn't particularly interested in the fish paste either, being a very fussy eater, though it did take her attention away from immediately leaping off the table long enough for me to reveal my secret weapon; a nail file!
All pet shops should sell them, Nala finds them fascinating, once I waved it under her nose and started making scratchy noises with it she was putty in my hands. Well, slightly more amenable for about 45 seconds anyway, which was just about long enough to make a few images where she almost looked as if she was enjoying herself.
Given the shenanigans required to get any shots at all, I'm reasonably happy with the results - though I may be ever so slightly biased - and we will definitely get some printed to hang on the wall. It is their house after all, we are just the live in servants.
Sunday saw me switch furs, so to speak.
Fi, my lovely wife - in a moment of madness - has signed up to do the Norfolk Coastal Challenge again this year, walking 47 miles in 24 hrs along the North Norfolk coast. She only lost eight toenails last time!
It's organised by Norwich City Community Sports Foundation and will be taking place on June 9th, giving Fi and her friends from work - Steeles Law - several months to get some training walks done.
Blickling was chosen for the first training walk and I tagged along for moral support. Or more accurately I tagged along as I knew there would be dogs for me to photograph :0)
It was a beautiful day and Lexi, Ruby, Biscuit and Opie had a great time, as did I, trying my best to keep up with them. Lexi and Ruby are as boundlessly energetic as they are beautiful and little Biscuit is cute as a button while the insanely handsome Opie is most definitely a poser!
The hoomans seemed to enjoy it too, despite one or two, ahem, 'detours' resulting in an extra mile or so racked up. Never mind, all good training!
