Aero in sweater
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: Celebrating #Pets and #Kids

Monday, April 26 is National Kids and Pets Day, so let’s share our favorite images of kids and pets. Last week I hinted at some ideas to get you thinking:

No kids or pets? Improvise! Images of other’s kids or grandkids will work, as well as any kinds of images of animal, bird, reptile, fish or critter. Anything goes, so have fun with this theme.

My kids are all grown up, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t celebrate them. Now that we live two states away, I miss my daughters, but we talk regularly.

For my only photo of little kids, I captured my grand niece and nephew last fall playing joyfully in the garden in grandma’s front yard. They gleefully unearthed roly-polies and made little leaf houses for them, at least the ones that didn’t flee. I used to love playing in the dirt, how about you?

My “kids” nowadays happen to be our sweet dogs Aero and Brodie. They love carousing around their new half-acre backyard chasing balls and sticks.

Aero prefers his sweater when visiting our nearby relatives.

Brodie on alert in this image taken in Bend, Oregon, where we got the good idea to eventually build a rural or pine-pole fence around our place. Five to six feet high fences are designed to keep the dogs in and the deer, coyotes and moose out!

Aero sort of photobombed this shot of our new welcome mat sent from my brother.

A “painted” version of Aero enjoying a warm RV a couple of months ago.

Brodie remembering the good times playing in the river at the Sacramento delta.

Wind blowing dog's ear

Are Backyard Birds Pets?

For years, while living in Sacramento, I enjoyed a wide variety of birds that regularly visited my backyard. I enjoyed several generations of kites, members the hawk family, for more than 20 years. The kites nested in the huge pine trees in our yard.

Bird of Prey Kite

Every once in a while I would get an unusual bird like this black-headed grosbeak, a “fake finch,” which surprisingly belongs to the cardinal family. Sharing for Lisa’s Bird Weekly, Birds with letter F.

Black headed Grosbeak
Black-headed Grosbeak

By far, I enjoyed generations of Anna’s hummingbirds that fed and nested in my backyard. They got quite tame and “let” me take their pictures! I put out some bird feeders in our new backyard, but no hummers yet! I miss these little guys!

  • Hummer Straight Beak
  • Closeup view of Hummingbird
    Hummingbird close-up
  • Post-edited hummingbird
  • Male Allen Hummingbird
  • Fluffed up hummingbird
  • Spring green background
  • Sierra hummingbird
    Sierra hummingbird
  • Is a hummingbird really ever satisfied?
    Is a hummingbird really ever satisfied?
  • Hummingbird ready to feed

The Lens-Artists challenge invites us to explore the relationship with those things that are dear to us and how they affect us. As you have read, my dogs are an integral part of our lives. The birds I have photographed over the years are beloved to me as well and I thank God for nature and this beautiful world in which we live.

House Happenings

Since I’m still struggling along without wi-fi in the house, my photography has slowed down. I managed to upload these two images of our home using the WordPress Mobile app then edited on the laptop using the hotspot. This process works for now. I have 100s of images that need to be uploaded and edited and I need to hang out at a neighbor’s house to use their wi-fi. Soon.

Today I share two quick pics of our finished dining room and a view from our back deck into the house.

Aero managed to photobomb yet another picture. All about pets, right?

View from dining room, and living room from back deck

Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

  • Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
  • Title your blog post a little differently than mine.
  • Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post. I also recommend adding your post’s URL into the comments.
  • Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
  • Use hashtag #SundayStills for sharing on social media.

Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. I sure enjoyed catching up with everyone last week! I was so thrilled to see so many purple/violet/lavender images shared by you all.

“No Shrinking Violets” from Last Week’s Links

May themes are listed on my Sunday Stills page. May 2nd’s theme is water. If you followed my blog long enough, you might remember that May is Water Safety Month, and my former identity as an aquatics director rears its head as I still enjoy promoting water safety. Water in any form, from droplets to oceans will be welcomed.

Sharing for Becky B’s Bright Squares

Looking forward to seeing your images of kids and pets! Have a great week!

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123 comments

  2. Terri, You’ve got an awesome collection of photos of pets and kids. The hummingbirds photos are Wow and your two dogs are gorgeous. Thank you for sharing the photos of your new home, too. Everything looks so fresh. I hope you take breaks from unpacking. Packing, moving, unpacking and getting things set up are hard work. Have a great weekend!

    Here’s my entry: https://natalietheexplorer.home.blog/2021/04/23/pink-flowers-pets-and-fun-list/

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  3. First off, thanks for the glimpses of your home. I love your table and the photos you used. LOVE the floor color too. We are working on finishing the second part of our home and I have a ton of flooring choices sitting, waiting to be decided on…Ugg.

    I definitely refer to the wildlife outside our home as ours…especially the hummingbirds. I need to try and get better photos of them.

    Your pups are so cute.What breed are they? Your daughters are beautiful. Mine are grown now too, my oldest was in texas for 8 months and just moved back so I’m really excited.

    Here’s my entry for the week.

    https://troyerslovinglife.blogspot.com/2021/04/taking-in-life-around_0616229107.html

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    • Oh, I also meant to add that we LOVE Bend and Sunriver, and I like that fence idea too. I need to get one around where I”d have my garden area, but that’s not high on the priority list right now. 😦

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    • Thank you, Kirstin! One day at a time with setting up the house. We just got the two guest room beds set up, so now I can put linens on them! My floor is exciting vinyl linoleum, standard issue for the manufactured home. Both dogs are spaniels: Aero is mixed with poodle, while Brodie is a purebred Boykin Spaniel. I’m sure you will get the work done on your home. It’s a process for sure, especially if DIY!

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  4. Cheers to you for having time to get back into the blogging groove. As a topic, “pets” is on my Ideas List for future beach walks – so thanks for that reminder because that is a great topic for me. Love the pic of your dog in the water. 🙂 We’ve had 3 cats during our time, but no longer have them primarily due to my wife’s allergies and travels (under normal circumstances). Well done mentioning pets that nature provides. Our hummingbird feeder will probably go out this week. Thanks for the wonderful bird images!

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    • Thank you Frank! I’m remiss in visiting posts lately since my phone still refuses to cooperate. I want to hop over to yours later today and take a walk with you! I am still planning a trail walk among the pines to submit, and collecting a few pics for you. My dogs are such a source of fun photos, probably ad nauseum, so I keep it brief. We still have conditions here, so the birds are acting shy in visiting our feeders.

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  5. Fun challenge this week Terri, guessing your responses will be many, and all filled with smiles! Loved your little pups, especially their photobombing techniques! Happy to see your new home taking shape!

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  20. It’s lovely to see you in your home, Terri. Finally, huh? And great pictures of kids and pets. We don’t have either here anymore, but we have noticed that the birds are getting a lot closer! That’s been a fun development. Have a lovely week and enjoy the sunshine. 🙂

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  21. Such a lovely and loving post Terri. You have captured so much in this of those you care for and about and LOVE. No wifi yet…booo! Love seeing the progress in the house and that is exciting.I did not do the prompt this time because it was a very important day in Australia and New Zealand on 25 April and that was my focus. Denyse

    https://www.denysewhelan.com.au/denyse-blogs/why-a-n-z-a-c-day-is-one-to-commemorate-not-celebrate-sundaystills-50-2021/

    Liked by 1 person

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  31. Hi Terri, I’m sorry you are still having wifi problems. It’s such a struggle to do things when you don’t have all your tools. We take it for granted now. Wish I could share mine. My new computer is working well. I feel I am back in business. I hope you will enjoy my look backwards into my my most memorable times with my children and pets. – My students. 🙂 https://tchistorygal.net/2021/04/25/sunday-stills-celebrating-past-pets/ Have a wonderful week. Talk to you soon.

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  34. I don’t think we have National Pets and Kids Day here in the UK but that needn’t stop me joining in the fun! I also don’t have any kids and pets, but again, that isn’t going to stop me, so I’ve ‘borrowed’ some kids from our visit to Japan to share with you: https://www.toonsarah-travels.blog/celebrating-childhood-at-the-shrines-of-japan/

    Good to see you starting to settle into the house, even if you are still dogged (pun intended!) by wifi issues 🙂 I’m impressed you’ve manged to create such a great post AND run a Sunday Still challenge, under the circumstances!

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  35. I’ve read all the comments so far, and I don’t think anyone asked this, but is that Hans in the background of the last picture in your post, Terri? It looks like he sneaked in.
    Your new home looks gorgeous. I love all the open space. You’ve done so much. And what a wonderful backyard you know have. Good to see the fence has gone up.
    Lovely photo of you and your daughters too, but all your photos are lovely, Terri.
    I had a tough time choosing a photo for this week’s prompt, but here you go.

    I hope the wifi is up and working by this time next week. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

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    • Hi Hugh, what a beautiful photo of your precious pups! The look like they love the beach! Yep that is Hans in the background, the whole family photobombs everything, LOL! Thank you for your kind words about the house, it is shaping up little by little. I spent Sunday afternoon getting guest room 1 ready with the bed all made and this afternoon getting the other one made up. Still some boxes stashed in those corners but lots of boxes got emptied this weekend. Trust me there is way more to go! But we love our rural digs and the quiet. I’m getting used to no internet but the wifi hotspot from my phone is working just fine for now! I get tired of tapping everything out on my phone!

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      • I hope those boxes soon get emptied, Terri. I’m sure they will. And I hope the wifi is up soon. You seem to have made the most out of not having wifi connect ted in the house. I’d be doing the same. Are there any plans for visitors yet, or are you not allowed anyone to stay due to Covid?

        As for the beach, yes, it’s their favourite place. It’s amazing where the sand turns up in the house.

        Liked by 1 person

      • My whole exteneded family has been vaccinated, except Hans, the stubborn man, and he already had covid. He’s on track to get the jab soon, Hugh. My daughter and her boyfriend are flying up from San Diego at the end of May. Over the summer other family members are planning to visit. There are few restrictions in the rural county in which we live, but we still observe social distancing and wear masks where expected. Thanks for asking. Hope all is well and I’m sure you are excited to get out and about too!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Definitely, Terri. However, although over half the population in the UK has been vaccinated, we’re still not allowed visitors or overnight stays in our homes. We’re only allowed to meet up outside, including gardens. Restrictions are being lifted, but very slowly.

        Liked by 1 person

  36. Thanks for joining the Lens-Artists challenge and sharing your lovely home, pets, and kids! Having just moved to Oregon in August, I am finding so many new things to get to know, especially the forest around my home. I moved in order to be closer to 3 of my 4 kids. I love the photo of you and your daughters with matching smiling eyes!

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  38. Thank you for the shout out and welcoming me to your group of contributors to Sunday Stills. I researched National Pets and Kids Day and discovered it was about responsible pet ownership when you have children. I’ve posted several photo of our current dogs in the family with some of the kids.

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    • Hi Michele, great to hear from you! Aero needs a sweater most days with the colder nights but both dogs love their half-acre yard! the other funny thing is many folks here have big metal or wood BigFoot silhouettes in their yards or on fences. Such a crack-up!

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  48. What a fun post! I love your family – people and pets too! When I saw the picture of your daughters, I thought, ‘oh 3 daughters!’ But then I realized that was you in the middle, looking as young as them! 🙂 Beautiful dogs too and I ALWAYS love your beautiful hummingbirds! Here’s my offering for this week, how could I resist? https://catsandtrailsandgardentales.com/2021/04/26/celebrating-pets-with-tiger-and-benji/

    Liked by 1 person

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  49. Your home is shaping up nicely, Terri! Of course, I love the dog photos. 🙂 Here at my in-laws, the WiFi is very shaky. It always is. So, whenever pages stop loading and we can’t watch a Netflix documentary anymore, we switch over to the cell network and use our phone data plan and hot spot. Not ideal, but it has worked for years. Hope the hummies show up soon.

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  50. Fabulous post! I’m going to join in this week. I wished I had made Violet because purple is my favorite color and I have photos to post to it, but I was just too sick. Oh well. I will pingback to this once I get it done. Way to think outside the box on the “fake finch”. I know you miss your kids and your hummers! Looks like the house is coming together and that is an awesome thing! 🙂

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    • I’m glad you’re feeling better, Lisa! Thank you and I look forward to you joining in this week. Feel free to combine the violet if you wish or create a separate post, whatever is easier for you. Thanks for letting me cheat with the fake finch, lol! My new bird pics have dwindled to few left.

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      • It was fun seeing you and the girls yesterday. I’m glad I feel better too. I hope you have a much better time with your stick on Saturday. I’ll get some posts going. So behind on all of it that I decided I can’t finish the A-Z and not can’t catch up on squares. Too much! Your “fake finch” will certainly be a first! At least they have the same type of beak. LOL! 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      • I’m not that smart. I’m a Jill of many trades, master of none! 😂 we all have our strong suits. I love blogging but getting behind has not been fun. I feel I’m out of control. Life is slowly returning to normal. 😊

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  51. Terri,
    Love your hummer gallery! The colors are amazing! I finally got a good Verizon signal in Colorado, near Mesa Verde NP and can put my portable hotspot to work. We’re without pets now, so I’m posting a picture of my youngest grandchild proudly showing me the newsletter she creates each month for her class at school. She’s so smart! Your daughters are lovely…know you’re proud. Have a great week! Joe

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