A 'lil HooHaa

So. I promise that every challenge won’t just be about Harper. And I had a few ideas of other things I wanted to do with this theme.

Alas, it’s way too hard to get away from photos of Harper when water is involved.

Really hard.

And in the end, I also wanted to make sure it wasn’t just photos of dock diving, so I worked to at least figure that part out.

Harper definitely likes water.

One interesting story about her with water — drinking it. A few months ago, I didn’t think she was drinking enough of it, and of course I was getting way worried. Who wouldn’t when it comes to a dog drinking, right?

So I reached out to my trainer and asked her — and she mentioned something about village water and chlorine etc. So we started with spring/bottled water with her and she totally drinks way more, so that’s a good thing.

Anyway .. I hope you all had a great month. It’s been crazy busy for me and I’ve been working on understanding self care and trying to take care of myself. I’ve always been way too married to a job and such and I have finally started to realize that life is short. I need to make sure I’m in a good place so I can enjoy life and with Harper!

Here are my five for the month! Let’s see what you all have!

1. Dock diving

Harper is into dock diving. Sort of. I don’t know if she will ever compete, but we have fun. Most of the time, I have to be in the pool for her to jump to me. I don’t mind, usually, though. And it also allows me to take photos from inside the pool (yes, I’m careful!) Where she dives, there are three levels. The ramp, the lower dock and the higher dock. This was her first time jumping off the high dock! Her trainer is watching on!

2. Get the toy

Once in the pool, she needs to get her toy and then swim back to the ramp and go back up. Here she is getting the toy.

3. Waiting

Before dock diving lessons, I always try and walk her around so she can go. And after, we sit back so she can see others diving, but not be trying to get closer. Most of the time, she sits like this, watches, and waits.

4. Water(melon)

Harper loves watermelon!

5. In the creek

Harper loves to explore, and that includes creeks and rivers. A park opened in town and it has an easy access to the creek, so we went exploring one day.. so much fun!

There’s my five and let’s see what you came up with! If you took part in this month’s challenge, make sure to link up below.

And for those of you who participated, make sure you try and get to other people’s blogs and comment (here, too!).

Let’s continue to grow this challenge and have a strong community. Come back and check out the others who link later on, too! NOTE: We have a Facebook group for those who participate in the challenge and are interested. I’ll post any announcements there and hopefully it can be a place where things are discussed and some interaction etc. You can access it here.

** CHALLENGE CHANGE **

From this point forward, I am going to do the next theme at the bottom of each linkup. Also, the posting date will now be the first of each month, thus giving you the entire month to take the photos etc.

That means it’s a one-stop shop! Hopefully this helps out with everybody.

So, below is the linkup for May. Make sure you drop your link there. The theme for July is Get low. Remember to come back on August 1 to link up and check out the theme for that month!

Photo Blogging Challenge: June 2022 results

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

One hour.

60 minutes.

3,600 seconds.

A lot can happen in that amount of time. But what happens if you decide to capture an hour in five photos?

Just five photos?

This is one of those times where this challenge gets harder as I could easily go 10 or more photos for this one — as you will see below.

I’m sure most of you knew Harper would somehow be in this, yeah? She is. In fact, what I decided to do was to cover a morning walk. From beginning to end … it is less than an hour. But the end of it all, there’s one way to show how this all ends for Harper — on days when I am home anyway. This walk was taken at the local college, which is out for the summer. It’s a nice route and if done right, is a good two-mile walk where she can explore, sniff, climb some steps, jump on walls etc.

Hope you all have had a great month. It’s been interesting here. Some ups and downs. Had a few deaths in the family, finally no longer could avoid covid (as I write this, I’m isolated and hoping I can return when I’m supposed to … but we’ll see if I am symptom free) … and here’s hoping for a better June!

Here are my five for the month! Let’s see what you all have!

1. A dog’s life in the morning.

Carrying her pal. When we are out on walks, after Harper does her business, Gumby comes out and she’ll carry him usually for the rest of the walk. Unless, of course, she finds a stick or something.

2. On the wall

When Harper finds a stone wall, she likes to jump up and walk it. She has pretty good balance. She actually stopped and let me snap this photo!

3. Steps

Harper loves climbing and going down steps. So when we do the college walk, I make sure we go in areas where she can go up and go down etc. This is a large set and she loves going up the steps.

4. Up above

When we are at the upper sidewalk of the college walk, it’s a great view, You can see how impressed Harper is.

5. Snooze

If I am home … and am on the couch after the walk, this will often be the scene at hand. Walking takes a lot out of her!

BONUS

I can’t resist. This should have likely been the first photo, but… early in her walks, this is kind of a normal thing, too!

There’s my five and let’s see what you came up with! If you took part in this month’s challenge, make sure to link up below.

And for those of you who participated, make sure you try and get to other people’s blogs and comment (here, too!).

Let’s continue to grow this challenge and have a strong community. Come back and check out the others who link later on, too! NOTE: We have a Facebook group for those who participate in the challenge and are interested. I’ll post any announcements there and hopefully it can be a place where things are discussed and some interaction etc. You can access it here.

** CHALLENGE CHANGE **

From this point forward, I am going to do the next theme at the bottom of each linkup. Also, the posting date will now be the first of each month, thus giving you the entire month to take the photos etc.

That means it’s a one-stop shop! Hopefully this helps out with everybody.

So, below is the linkup for May. Make sure you drop your link there. The theme for June is Water. Remember to come back on July 1 to link up and check out the theme for that month!

Photo Blogging Challenge: May 2022 results

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Enjoy life.

Two words that should be paramount to any human being.

Two words that aren’t always followed or used. Stress fills many lives. That stress can be caused by so many things: work, health, politics, school, family life, financial issues, and so much more.

At times, those two words seem impossible to follow. What can make you enjoy this life. We know, in the big scheme of things, we are all small particles in time. Our time on Earth is short, so we often find it hard to find time to enjoy what we have.

Humans are all different. We come in various shapes, colors, looks, and more. We speak different languages, we write and read differently, and we communicate on different levels.

But we are all humans. Unfortunately, part of being human are certain emotions and actions that can make it hard to “enjoy life.” And that’s a shame. Because, in the end, we should all be able to enjoy life as long as we walk this planet.

So, for me, I’ve chosen to simplify a lot of things in life. I try not to bring work or the high-level stress items into my own world. I’ve done a decent job of it at times, but still have a long way to go. Maybe one day, I’ll fully be there. For now, though, I will keep plodding along.

Here are my five for the month! Let’s see what you all have!

1. Happy birthday!

Harper turned one on April 29! What a great day (and weekend) we had together. She has really allowed me to learn to enjoy life, even though she can be a total pain in the ass sometimes!

2. Play ball!

I love baseball and I always said even if I had a dog, I wouldn’t take the pup to a baseball game. Alas, I now enjoy bringing Harper to bark in the park (though it’s only been twice). I think it will be fun as she ages to see how she grows being in the park at games.

3. The bunny!

We got a great day for Easter and I was able to make sure Cameron had his egg hunt when they came over!

4. Boop!

How could I not use this one this month? This was during her birthday hike. Is that a boopable nose, or what?

5. Wash time

I have to make sure my new ride stays looking nice!

There’s my five and let’s see what you came up with! If you took part in this month’s challenge, make sure to link up below.

And for those of you who participated, make sure you try and get to other people’s blogs and comment (here, too!).

Let’s continue to grow this challenge and have a strong community. Come back and check out the others who link later on, too! NOTE: We have a Facebook group for those who participate in the challenge and are interested. I’ll post any announcements there and hopefully it can be a place where things are discussed and some interaction etc. You can access it here.

** CHALLENGE CHANGE **

From this point forward, I am going to do the next theme at the bottom of each linkup. Also, the posting date will now be the first of each month, thus giving you the entire month to take the photos etc.

That means it’s a one-stop shop! Hopefully this helps out with everybody.

So, below is the linkup for January. Make sure you drop your link there. The theme for May is One hour. Remember to come back on June 1 to link up and check out the theme for that month!

Photo Blogging Challenge: April 2022 results

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Nine years.

We’ve been doing this challenge for nine years! Kind of crazy, if you think about it.

It’s kind of cool to look back at the ups and downs of this challenge. We used to have many more people. Then we had so few. And now, at times, we seem to at least be making a dent.

It seems challenges, as a whole, don’t draw people anymore in the blogging world. That’s not to say there aren’t some that are still huge. There are a few of them, that’s for sure.

Alas, this one never got to where I had hoped it would. We always thought it would be cool if we had 25 or so people a month to take part. But it never happened and we kept going.

And we still keep going.

This theme was a tough one though. Each March I always struggle with the number, but I try and try to figure something out. Some of these might be a stretch, but hey — I always say interpret as you see fit!

Thanks to all of you who continue to take part in this challenge, even when I tend to forget the calendar and am like “Awwww crap… I’m late!”

Here are my five for the month!

1. The chains

It’s been a bunch of years since I’ve played disc golf. I know I’d like to get back into it a little bit. We were on a geocaching day a few weeks ago and one park had a small disc golf course. And look at this .. the ninth hole! Harper seemed pretty interested!

2. Nine minutes

When Harper and I are out for normal walks and she’s out sniffing, I usually give her 30 or so seconds at a spot. And then I’ll start counting from 10 down to one … and usually when I hit one, she’s ready to go again. This day, we were at a park and she had this “stick” she was carrying and she then decided to lay down and chew on it. Of course I wanted to take photos so I told her she had 10 minutes… but in the end it was only nine. Perfect!

3. Nine months

As Harper approaches her first birthday, she’s been mine for just over nine months. In that amount of time, it’s amazing how she’s grown. She is curious and loves to explore. She loves people. She rarely barks. This was at the St. Patrick’s Day parade in my town. She watched the parade and the sights and sounds didn’t seem to bother her. Treats didn’t hurt!

4. Goodbye to No. 9

At the beginning of the month, I bought a new car. My first SUV of sorts and my first with all wheel drive! It didn’t have everything I wanted (sunroof!) but it had most and I couldn’t say no to the deal. The used car market is crazy and they gave me an amazing deal on my Jetta, which was my ninth car since I started driving/bought my first car. It was hard to say goodbye to it, but the new car has been amazing so far!

5. Nine hours

OK, this one is a stretch. But it’s such a cute photo. It doesn’t happen often, but a nine-hour sleep at night is good for Harper. She’s a high energy pup, so she averages about 15 hours of sleep/naps/snoozes during the day. But that sleep at night is usually her most sound!

There’s my five and let’s see what you came up with! If you took part in this month’s challenge, make sure to link up below.

And for those of you who participated, make sure you try and get to other people’s blogs and comment (here, too!).

Let’s continue to grow this challenge and have a strong community. Come back and check out the others who link later on, too! NOTE: We have a Facebook group for those who participate in the challenge and are interested. I’ll post any announcements there and hopefully it can be a place where things are discussed and some interaction etc. You can access it here.

** CHALLENGE CHANGE **

From this point forward, I am going to do the next theme at the bottom of each linkup. Also, the posting date will now be the first of each month, thus giving you the entire month to take the photos etc.

That means it’s a one-stop shop! Hopefully this helps out with everybody.

So, below is the linkup for January. Make sure you drop your link there. The theme for April is Enjoy Life! Remember to come back on April 1 to link up and check out the theme for that month!

Photo Blogging Challenge: March 2022 results

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

First things first — I have to say that these challenges can be hard for one reason: I take so many photos of Harper. I’ve decided, though, that I’m going to try to not fill this challenge each month with Harper.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be some photos of her!

Every once in a while I like to throw themes like this into the fold. It makes it a somewhat easy month for people, but I also feel like it also gives people the chance to be creative and make a theme of their own. When you have the choice, it often means you can really think outside the box.

It also means you have the ability to just have a potpourri of photographs!

Not so purposely, I ended up with a bit of an adventure/outdoor type of a theme. I spend a lot of time with Harper outside, so I get to see a lot of nice scenery. But I also got away a couple of times this month, so I’m adding some items from that.

It seems like we are coming slowly out of the pandemic and more things are available. This lends to some fun opportunities, especially with photography. But I am still going to keep having adventures and such, and photography — both with my phone and my traditional cameras — is becoming fun again.

This theme always gets me excited to see what others have done with it. I hope you all had a great month and have a great March!

Here are my five for the month!

1. Selfie game

Before Harper, I hated selfies. I think it’s safe to say my selfie game has stepped up some! I do some with Harper when I can get her to settle down. This one was on a recent hike and I wanted to get the sky and such behind me. As I was snapping, she reached up and gave me a pepper kiss and this is the photo that happened. I really liked how this one came out.

2. Found it

I had the chance to get out and do a little geocaching this month, which was nice. This was a grab I made on the way to a New York Islanders game. I used the Hipstamatic + app for this shot and I thought it looked pretty cool.

3. Snowman

I couldn’t resist this photo — taken at a week of toss and fetch. The colors and the ice etc., just looked so cool to me.

4. Cannonsville

My area has several reservoirs, which are water sources for New York City. The reservoirs were made, if I remember right, came about in the 1960s. To make the reservoirs, they had to evacuate and flood several towns. The towns are remembered around the reservoir by these signs. I actually think I might do some research on some of these items and do some blog posts in the future.

5. Puppucino!

Harper had her first Puppucino from Starbucks. Something tells me she loves it!

BONUS PHOTO!

I needed to put a bonus photo in this month. I attended an Islanders game, the first NHL game I’ve been to in years. I loved the new arena. They even won that night, which was even better. Had some good seats and really enjoyed the time. The food prices, though, were crazy high!

If you took part in this month’s challenge, make sure to link up below.

And for those of you who participated, make sure you try and get to other people’s blogs and comment (here, too!).

Let’s continue to grow this challenge and have a strong community. Come back and check out the others who link later on, too! NOTE: We have a Facebook group for those who participate in the challenge and are interested. I’ll post any announcements there and hopefully it can be a place where things are discussed and some interaction etc. You can access it here.

** CHALLENGE CHANGE **

From this point forward, I am going to do the next theme at the bottom of each linkup. Also, the posting date will now be the first of each month, thus giving you the entire month to take the photos etc.

That means it’s a one-stop shop! Hopefully this helps out with everybody.

So, below is the linkup for January. Make sure you drop your link there. The theme for March is Nine! Remember to come back on April 1 to link up and check out the theme for that month!

Photo Blogging Challenge: February 2022 results

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!