Sunday, July 25, 2010

Faster than a speeding bullet

Maybe Smooch is part greyhound.


At least once a day, she erupts in a spontaneous moment of joy, which I've come to call a microburst.


We'll be hanging out on the back porch when some spirit grabs hold of her and forces her to run laps around the yard.


Round and round she goes, when she'll stop, nobody knows.


It's part of her charm.

Post processing: 1. Rotate 1.26 degrees counterclockwise; 2. Crop; 3. PW's Warmer action at 75%; 4. PW's Boost action at 60%; 5. MCP's High Definition Sharpening action @ 52% on Smooch; 6. MCP's Touch of Lightness action on Smooch, Touch of Darkness action on left and right edges.
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50 comments:

  1. Pat in east TN7/25/10, 4:03 AM

    The girl is REALLY into it! Love Smooch and love these pictures. Perhaps she's preparing for a marathon?

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  2. June7/25/10, 4:16 AM

    I know that activity as a FRAP: Frenetic Random Acts of Play.

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  3. Wade7/25/10, 4:42 AM

    Ha Ha that's great! I love the trails of dust she leaves behind, Smooch is such a cool dog. How about a contest to guess the number of laps Smooch does :)

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  4. Anonymous7/25/10, 4:58 AM

    I always thought I saw some whippet there.

    Love the mouse-over feature and instructions!

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  5. Brenda7/25/10, 5:13 AM

    I love to watch dogs run like this. I'm always envious of the energy. Oh, to feel that good.
    Just the dust on the one picture is perfect. Finishes the story.
    I am learning on the pictures you fix. For some dumb reason I thought you could only pick one action to apply and not several. And I guess if you just save it once you don't keep losing quality.

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  6. Anonymous7/25/10, 5:50 AM

    WOW! This is smoochs way of saying "eat my dust"! :-)
    signed
    Theresa in Alberta

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  7. clairz7/25/10, 6:56 AM

    Love the series; the picture of just the dust is priceless in context.

    You'll tweet right away when Deets shows up, right? My Skippy (Siamese) got closed in a neighbor's shed for three days in New Hampshire; and in a neighbor's yard for over a week in Clovis. Deets is somewhere, keeping safe.

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  8. I need orange7/25/10, 7:20 AM

    My Wilbur does this. And he's 11.5.....

    Love it when they get that goofy look on their face and just ... take off!

    Love that last pic of just dust.

    Please keep us posted about Deets....

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  9. A New England Life7/25/10, 8:15 AM

    Love what you did with that last photo. Smooch has just gotta get that energy out!

    I hope you find Deets soon. My heart just sunk a little when I read it on Twitter : /

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  10. billie7/25/10, 8:20 AM

    Love Smooch on her circuit! We had a retired greyhound and he did the same thing - apparently they get out of their kennels to exercise a few times a day, so they get very accustomed to lounging and then doing the burst of activity when let out. Ron would run around our yard at about 90 mph for about 10 minutes twice a day, and then he was perfectly content to relax on the couch the rest of the time!

    Sending good thoughts to Deets, and some btdt ones to you. Dickens does this to us periodically and it is terrifying - but I have caught him a few times and realized that most of the time when he's "missing" - he's right in the edge of the woods hunkered down in a long cat nap, or in some hiding place right in our own barnyard (hay manger in the horse trailer, etc.) that we don't know about. And he simply doesn't respond to our frantic calling. These feline cowboys march to the beat of a different drummer.

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  11. Unknown7/25/10, 8:35 AM

    Our beagle/aussie used to do this, now the goofy poodle mix is the tear it up dog.

    GREAT photos. Calendar worthy I dare say!

    Yesh. How will you ever pick just 13 (you can have one extra for the cover, right?)

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  12. janitabean7/25/10, 8:36 AM

    I do the same thing sometimes! Sure hope you find Deets soon. Hope he's just out having fun.

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  13. Dreaming7/25/10, 8:37 AM

    Love the dust!

    Our dog(s) do this too. I've often wondered just what they are imagining. I'll have to remember June's 'FRAP' as a title for it!

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  14. Grey Horse Matters7/25/10, 9:14 AM

    Maybe you should have called her Flash! I love to see a dog having fun like that.

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  15. Lilla7/25/10, 9:16 AM

    yep, I believe there's greyhound in her lineage! Those microbursts are what gives her that girlish figure! A girl's gotta stay in shape out in the middle of nowhere, you know?

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  16. Gaina7/25/10, 9:24 AM

    Weeee!!! I love watching animals when they display such uncomplicated joie de vivre. That's why it's important to have pets - they remind us to do the same :).

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  17. Gaina7/25/10, 9:25 AM

    Doh! forgot to click box for replies again....haha

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  18. Lisa Paul7/25/10, 9:28 AM

    This is definitely Terrier Behavior.

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  19. Shirley7/25/10, 9:32 AM

    Deets is missing? Oh no! I'd be heartbroke if anything happened to him! Prayers going up!

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  20. Crystal7/25/10, 9:45 AM

    Haha, reminds me of my german shepard Mercury, she had a trail worn around the house from doing so many laps

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  21. sonia a. mascaro7/25/10, 9:47 AM

    Awesome photos!
    Give a kiss to Smooch.

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  22. Vicki7/25/10, 9:57 AM

    Smooch may indeed have some greyhound or whippet in her. She certainly acts and looks that way. I have no dogs now, just the 2 cats. Miss having one around every once and a while. We like to travel so a dog doesn't fit our current lifestyle. I do enjoy seeing my neighbors', daughter's, and friends' dogs antics and I babysit them ocassionally (gee, I sound like a Grandma, don't I?).

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  23. kippy7/25/10, 10:20 AM

    What is this about Deets missing? Come home soon Deets!
    Smooch looks so ecstatic when she is running. Gordy does the same thing. Totally calm one minute, next minute crazy standard poodle running around the yard. Like Smooch, with a big smile on his face.

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  24. mj7/25/10, 10:47 AM

    You go girl! Way to go Smooch.

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  25. Celeste7/25/10, 10:47 AM

    Run Smooch run! That looks like a genuine case of 'joy of life!'

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  26. Gazelle7/25/10, 12:33 PM

    Just look at those muscles ripple ... Go Smooch, Go ! Great Pics, as usual.

    But then I read about Deets being AWOL and Smooch's joyful play fades in significance. Surely if a predator came around she would have sounded the alarm, but where or where can he be ? You must be so worried by now.

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  27. Anonymous7/25/10, 1:28 PM

    Around here we call this activity "plum crazies" or "fly-bys" lol. Dad's house with good for traction carpet is the preferred venue :)

    Hope you find Deets... he's probably having an excellent adventure and can't tear himself away.

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  28. slingback7/25/10, 2:09 PM

    Oh no ... read your twit just now. Has he been gone like this before? Our cats did that once a year, at least, so chances are he's okay. Will send Deets-thoughts. Please keep us posted!
    (And Smooch looks so happy there!)

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  29. Wolfie7/25/10, 5:17 PM

    Love it!

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  30. clairz7/25/10, 5:31 PM

    I don't tweet, so I keep checking and checking on your blog to see what's happening with Deets. I've got him on my mind...

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  31. Rising Rainbow7/25/10, 6:03 PM

    Wow! She's having a great time!

    Go Smooch!

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  32. Rhonda7/25/10, 6:23 PM

    LOL!!!! Love it! Love the dust trail!!! :)

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  33. Anonymous7/25/10, 8:05 PM

    Around here we call it "the crazies" or "the zooms" also known as "butt tucking"

    It sure is fun to watch!

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  34. Colleen G7/26/10, 7:01 AM

    She is just too damn cute!

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  35. Anonymous7/26/10, 7:20 AM

    I love when my dog does this.

    On a side note, I sincerely hope that Deets makes it home safe.

    Alecia

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  36. Carla7/26/10, 7:46 AM

    We call that the Indy 500 at our house.
    Nothing more wonderful than a happy dog!

    Wait, what is hjgir3584 talking about? Where is Deets?

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  37. Carla7/26/10, 7:49 AM

    Oh Linda, I just read your Twitter in your sidebar! Deets, come home!!
    I did this in February. I'm so sorry for your worry.
    Can you and Smooch go looking. You know she'd find him.

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  38. Wendy W7/26/10, 9:50 AM

    Love it! We call it "crazy run" at our house. You totally captured "crazy run" with the facial expressions, dust, and I can even feel her speed as she's going by.

    I am so sorry to hear about Deets. I hope he turns up.

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  39. Christy7/26/10, 11:17 AM

    Sending up prayers for Deets and you too! Ugh, hate that knot in the stomach when they go missing.

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  40. Gazelle7/26/10, 11:27 AM

    Forget Blogging. Deets comes first.

    Do the Burros follow a regular route when they head back out after dinner ? I'm thinking Deets may have followed his pal George the other night and ran into some trouble. Can you retrace their route ? With Smooch's help as Search & Rescue Dog ?

    Sending Deets-Come-Home vibes !

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  41. WoofWhinneyWhisper7/26/10, 11:56 AM

    Made me smile lots and lots. Yep, we call it The Frap around here too!

    Dammit Deets, get ur butt back to the ranch!

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  42. the Provident Woman7/26/10, 1:24 PM

    What great pictures!!! I love the dust cloud.

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  43. CTG Ponies7/26/10, 1:40 PM

    She's having a blast! My dog does it too. We call her the Nascar puppy.

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  44. Lynette7/26/10, 2:57 PM

    Oh, Deets! We're all so worried.

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  45. Anonymous7/26/10, 3:54 PM

    My beloved Rascal used to run laps like Smooch - she had a definite track around the yard :) If she was inside when the urge hit her she would run in circles around the couch! Her brother Duke and I would simply step aside until she stopped.

    Sending prayers your way - Deets is hopefully someplace dry until the storms are over!

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  46. Carolynn Anctil7/26/10, 6:14 PM

    She LOOKS part greyhound. Although when I saw the shot of only the dust, I thought, Roadrunner. I love it when my animals erupt into spontaneous outbursts of joy. It never fails to crack me up.

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  47. Julie7/26/10, 6:15 PM

    Oh, I finally checked your twitter feed and learned that Deets has gone missing! Sending serious good vibes your way. I love reading about the adventure of Deets! SO hoping he turns up safe and sound!

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  48. Rosanne7/26/10, 10:32 PM

    Gotta love dogs. They live in the moment. I love the photo of Smooch's dust! Sending good thoughts your way...hope Deets shows up soon.

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  49. NaeJ7/27/10, 7:56 AM

    I'll be praying for Deets. I know I'd be so worried.

    My dog (papillon) does that. He gets those spontaneous bursts of energy and just "hasta dance" (or run laps hehe). I think it's adorable. Great pictures!

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  50. Nelly Frittata7/28/10, 4:48 AM

    We call that "butt-tucking" around here. 9-year-old yellow lab Nell still thinks she's a pup once in awhile when she is overcome with joie de vivre.

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