6 Sloan's Birthday and Blooming Heather at Brimham Rocks

 Saturday was Sloan's birthday, so we had to head to her Favorite Place on Earth,

Brimham Rocks.

(Which really needs its own label here, we go there so much!)

(I, II, III, IV, V, VI)

The heather recently started blooming, so I took the dogs straight over to Brimham Moor and we skipped the rocks.  The day had been pretty warm, so I'd waited until just before sunset to take them out so that Max wouldn't be too hot. As an added bonus, that sunset gave me some beautiful colors!

(Looking back over last year's posts around this time (III and IV above), I'd say that a rainy, chilly summer makes for much more vibrant heather!!)

So beautiful!

 One comment I get variations of when I post pictures of the dogs on FB or here is "How do you get them to pose so prettily?" or "I could never get my dogs to sit for a picture like that!"
Well, first of all, both dogs have been raised in front of my camera. I was in college during both their adoptions, so not only did I take pictures for fun but for assignments, too.  The camera also loves Sloan (and vice-versa)- she's quite photogenic, unlike Max (and me), so I often photograph her because it's just so satisfying.
That said... it's still not a simple matter to get a good shot.

First you have to get both of them sitting at the same time- and facing the same direction.

 Then there's a lot of goofy voices and excited tones to try and get both their attention at once- without being so excited that one or both of them get up to see what the fuss is about!

 Then there are the awkward faces. Usually this would be Max with his eyes closed- he's notorious for that!

Then I have to be sure they aren't conspiring shenanigans while I'm distracted!

 And finally, we've got a keeper!!

 After Max got tired of searching for trails in the thick overgrowth (he's an adamant trail-follower- don't even THINK about asking him to go "off-road"),

 and Sloan took a break from her never-ending fetch,

I was free to photograph for a bit!

So gorgeous! 

I think I'll wait until her Gotcha Day (Sept. 22) to do a proper retrospective of Sloan-

if you are dying to know what baby Sloan looked like, though, check out this post on her blog.

For those who might be curious, she's 7.2.

As in, she turned 6 in 2009, 7 in 2010, 7.1 in 2011, and 7.2 this year.

7: dogs :: 25: women.

At least that's what we're saying!