I take Pepper to the park behind our house almost everyday. I can actually see a piece of it from my sewing room window, so it’s easy to tell if the grass is going to be too wet and muddy for a clumsy, high spirited puppy before we take our afternoon constitutional. I think we’ve both come to love our trips to the park where we can run, play, learn manners and practice tricks and obedience training. It’s a small park with a few mature trees, a small lawn, lots of sports infrastructure, and a big, ugly fence all around the perimeter. I frequently find myself standing in a spot in the park that looks lovely and quaint up close, only to focus my eyes a little farther away at the less than picturesque high fences, inadequately maintained basketball court and large area with it’s chipping paint. It’s a peaceful little park when the sun shines through the tall sycamores on a warm and lazy afternoon, but capturing that feeling on film appears almost impossible when I contemplate all the unsightly aspects of the area I will need to crop out.

Feeling brave and ambitious yesterday, I prepped a loose plan to do some quick photos under a tree I had been specifically admiring, and hit the sidewalk with Pepper at my side. After burning off some post-nap puppy energy, I tied Pepper to a bench very close by and gave her a prime selection of sticks and pine cones to play with. This kept her busy only long enough for me to set up my tripod. Once I starting taking some test shots, she loudly insisted on being part of the photos. As with almost every other thing I try to do while raising a happy, healthy puppy, I had to quickly adapted the plan to include the little ham. Well, I’m glad I did because it wasn’t until after I had returned home and reviewed the photos that I noticed how her blue merle coat matched my favourite, old blue coat.

Coat Old Navy
Sweatshirt Bluenotes
Dress ModCloth
Tights Pretty Polly
Shoes ModCloth
Gloves Danier
Dog Leash Petsmart

All photos by me.