Our Fall Litter by a Maine Dog Photographer

We were blessed with the opportunity to breed our seven year old Violet this past summer.  Violet had her first litter of 4 pups in the fall of 2017 via artificial insemination.  She had three boys and a girl, and we were not ready to add another pup to our family at that time so these four pups all went to homes outside my family.  We bred Violet again in 2018 and 2019 unsuccessfully.  Violet's Mom Chloe was turning ten years old at the end of 2019 and we were very much wanting to keep her lineage going in our family so we started researching alternative studs for Violet.  (you are free to peruse my blog from years past to learn of the significance of Chloe to me and my family, specifically the years of 2010, and 2014)  Last year we successfully bred Violet and had three beautiful puppies born December 22nd...two boys and a girl...so we finally had a girl of our own to hopefully continue Chloe's legacy.  We named her Ivy and she is currently 10 months old and has an incredible and amazing personality.  She was the easiest puppy to raise because of the amazing roll models of her Mom and Nana that she lives with and her two brothers that visit regularly.  We won't know if she's got what it takes to continue the line for another year or so, once she is old enough to be tested for hips, heart and eye clearances...so...

When Violet went into heat this past summer we decided to give her one more opportunity to have another litter.  My dogs have extremely small litters!!  Unusually small litters!  Chloe had three pups in 2014 one of which was Violet, and in 2015 she had a litter of one, a very large boy...and for safety reasons we opted for a c-section due to his size.  All was well but we officially retired her with him.  Now Violet, first 4 pups, then 3, we thought we'd try her at this one more time.  She's an amazing Mom and we thought we would give it a go, again with a different stud this time.

On October 18th Violet gave birth to 4 little boy puppies. FOUR BOYS!

This is Violet's last litter and we will have her "fixed" this spring...and we will continue the motto with Ivy of "if it's meant to be it will be" with her responsibility of keeping Chloe's lineage going for us.  Chloe was an amazing Mom, Violet is an amazing Mom and we certainly hope Ivy will be one someday too.

Our boys are 4 weeks old this week, and I thought it was about time I introduce them to you all.  As you can imagine they are all incredibly special and spoken for.  We gave them fall (or Halloween) names just to identify them while they are with us.

Left to Right and in birth order we have Leif, Jack, Freddie, and Pumpkin

We are very much enjoying nurturing them and watching their personalities bloom!  We are very blessed to have been placed on this path with Chloe and to be able to share these wonderful beautiful pups every couple of years.  

And while I've got your attention with cute puppies, I partnered up with Heather Nadeau of Bear Pond Retrievers this past summer and fall and created a fund raising calendar for Mission Working Dogs. (this link is to their website)  All of the photos are mine and I am beyond thrilled to have found an organization that I could share my talents with!!

The calendars are $20 and 100% of your $20 goes directly to Mission Working Dogs!!(this link is to their facebook page, message them to buy a calendar)  You can find them by following the link above and purchase a 2022 calendar of your own!!  They will make a great Christmas gift for yourself or a friend!  Go ahead please, buy one or two today!!  (still a little old school, you need to send them a message that you want to buy a calendar!)

Plants Come to My House to Die and Second Chances. A Maine Photographer

There is an old tv commercial with the statement "plants come to my house to die"

Years later, I cannot remember what the commercial was for, but both my husband and I recite these words whenever a plant enters our house.

I know I know, you need to water them, give them a good homey spot, occasionally talk to them...

I wasn't always bad with plants...but somewhere along the years I became that way.

My mother-in-law had given me a Christmas cactus, and I kept that plant alive for years and years, practically abandoning it every winter as it sat in the dark next to my bedroom attic window with the thick pink Styrofoam insulation stuffed inside the window casing each December through March to keep out the cold.  I've since done some research on that plant, it appears they enjoy a few months rest period in the dark...which is probably why it survived for so many years...but when we moved to our current location, it's now been 8 years, I've been fighting to keep that plant alive!  I have a two inch stem left alive.  Barely.

Now, let's backtrack a couple of years ago.  My Mom past away, and she had a wonderful collection of plants.  Nothing too big, and several of each kind...probably a total of about 10 plants.  It took me a good 4 or 5 or 6 months to clear out her condo, and I was in no hurry to bring the plants to my house.  When it came time to move out the plants I chose one of each and I "shamed" a couple of the ladies who lived next door to my Mom into taking a few of them.

Fast forward to now, all that remains of my Mom's Christmas cactus is a two inch twig also.  Over the past year I have transplanted it with the remaining two inch twig from my mother-in-laws Christmas cactus, but I just can't seem to snap them out of their dying mode.  The two remaining transplanted Christmas cactus are a pathetic representation of my plant skills and I have completely loss track of which one is which.

Plants come to my house to die.

Not sure if this is Moms or MILs, but either way I've got some nurturing to do.

so, my husbands idea, to buy an already thriving arrangement at the store and add my sad saplings to it...notice at "8 o'clock the dead remains and at 11 o'clock and 4 o'clock there is a glimmer of hope however not much.  He wants me to give up, but I'm not ready to yet...

Below is a photo of the other plants I took from my Mom, the spider plant on the left has already produced many babies, the one in the window and some of which I have given away...and the Ivy growing around the window has proven itself hearty enough to live with me...

Now comes the reason for my sharing this in a blog post. 

The "second chance" part.

There is an underlying reason I have struggled to keep these plants alive, both my Mom and my Mother-in-Law have moved onto the next great chapter, the eternal life one, and to have something living left behind by them is comforting to me.  In addition, neither one of them were particularly gifted with a green thumb of their own, so I do feel a bit of pressure to live up to at least a mediocre plant mom...and there is one additional reason...my Mom's Christmas cactus was known to bloom every year on my sister Carmen's birthday.  My sister died in 2009.

Plants come to my house to die.

Okay, okay, the second chance part.

Remember earlier, when I told you I shamed a couple of my Mom's neighbor friends into taking a few of her plants?  Well, one of those neighbor friends was more than just a neighbor friend.  Connie was the last person on this earth to make my Mom smile hours before she died.  Connie was THE person who gave me the greatest gift ever of my Mom smiling just hours before she died.  The story of Connie's visit is one I will cherish until the day I die myself and it is my special story, just mine, but it is the one reason I can look back on that day and smile myself.  What I will share...if you ever receive word that someone is not doing well, and you want to go say goodbye, please just do it!!  Don't wonder if they will know if you are there or not, don't wonder if you are inconveniencing anyone, don't second guess your desire to say goodbye, just do it.  Connie was not my Mom's "best friend", in fact I didn't even know who Connie was...but she had sent a couple of "thinking of you" cards so I was able to reach out to her when I thought it was the right time...unfortunately I cut it way too close and I believe that Connie must have had to "dropped everything" to see my Mom and to say goodbye but the forever impact her visit made on my Mom and the mystery I solved to find out who put that wonderful smile on my Moms face is a moment I could have never predicted.  And the gratitude I have for Connie is immeasurable!

Once my Mom's place was empty and sold I asked Connie if I could come sit and talk with her about her last visit with my Mom.  She said yes, we met, we talked, I cried of course and we ended it with a hug and a promise to become Facebook friends :)

Second chances...oh yes!

 

In February, probably after combining my sad little saplings into the "purchased at the store" cactus pot and losing the "8 o'clock" one I messaged Connie and asked how the cactus I had "shamed" her into taking from my Mom was doing.  I told her how I was struggling to keep my sample alive and how special it was to my Mom because it bloomed on my sisters birthday.  I told Connie that if she no longer had it I would understand, but if she by chance still did..."could I get a little piece of it"???

Connie sent me this photo

And she let me know not only was it still alive, but it was thriving!!  And yes, she would be happy to give me a call in the spring when she repotted it and give me one of my own!!!!

Plants come to my house to die.

Second chances.

As promised, Connie messaged me and I went to pick up my second chance last week.  She gave me some tips on how to take care of it and told me to call her if I have any questions :)  She also gave me back a couple of things that were my Moms, including the beautiful butterfly adorning the pot.  Once again, Connie has given me something priceless that money can't buy.    

Connie has given me a second chance. 

  

   

   

My Pink Bunny by Purple Ivy, Great Grandpup of A Maine Photographer

 My human Mommy bought me a pink bunny for Valentine's Day.

We all laughed at it cause it was so big...huge really.

We all played with it.

Nana, Mommy and me and my big brothers.

My pink bunny is not going to make it to Easter.

I'm hoping to get a new toy Easter Sunday...

Happy Easter Everyone!

Introducing Purple Ivy, A Maine Dog Photographer

 Hello.  It's been awhile.  Not sure if my hesitation to share this story was based on superstition or something else but never-the-less I did hesitate to share...and then I just was a bit embarrassed at my delay in sharing that I haven't gotten out of my own way to share...but today is a good day to share.

My blog is my space to share my photography, much of it professional work, but also much of it personal work too.  Lately all is personal.

I've shared over the years how Chloe (my 11 year old golden retriever) came into my life.  She came to us based solely on timing.  Her date of birth is my sister's date of death.

Chloe came to me with a contract.  She needed to breed a few litters...but she herself held a distinct title, her breeding name was "Third Times A Charm" because it took her Mom three tries at breeding before she came to be.

Fast forward to Violet.  A pup we kept from Chloe's first litter...invitro...also born after several attempts, and just a litter of three.

We kept Violet, in hopes of keeping Chloe's lineage going.  

Violet also has been a challenge to "get pregnant"

She had her first litter (just 4 pups) in 2017 and we have tried each year since to have another litter so we can again hope to keep this lineage going.

Some might understand this unlikely method I have of keeping my sister with me.

We were blessed this past fall to successfully breed Violet, naturally too, and we prayed we would have a girl pup so we could again have hopes of continuing the legacy Chloe created for us.

We scheduled an ultrasound to be sure and learned we were expecting three pups!

As the holidays approached we celebrated Chloe's 11th birthday and looked forward to the birth of Violet's litter, hoping we would have a girl to continue Chloe's legacy.  Violet's previous litter was a litter of three boys and one girl, so we told ourselves if it's meant to be it will be.  :)

The pups arrived on the afternoon of December 22nd!  I delivered the first alone, but was surrounded by family for the other two.  Chloe was front and center the entire time, not leaving Violet's side.  Two boys and a girl!  

The holidays were low key due to the pandemic but all was very right in our little house.

and Christmas...was perfect!

we had been watching The Mandalorian, and I thought this photo was funny :)

We did weekly photo shoots!

                                                                    one week old

                                                                    two weeks old

                                                                    three weeks old

                                                                        four weeks old 

           

                                                                        five weeks old 

                                                                            six weeks old

Whenever I did these photo shoots I always placed the puppies in birth order so I would know who they were in the photos.  As they got older we could tell them apart by their personalities and their physical differences.

Sully (his forever name) was our first born, we called him Frank (for Frankincense)...(Christmastime puppies).  Sully's head fur was fully "poofed" at all times which made him pretty recognizable at first glance, he's a bit larger than the other two and was always willing to be the first to try anything!!

Our girl name changed over a few times...we were searching for the right fit.  We tossed around Angel and Noelle for the Christmas theme...but say "no"elle enough times and we quickly realized it wasn't appropriate for our dog and chose the name Ivy as we got to know her...and found that it fit perfectly!!  And if we are lucky to someday breed her, Purple Ivy will speak for itself!!  To sum up her personality, she's a "spitfire"!!

Yeti (his forever name) was third born.  We called him Myrrh (or Mur)...again, think Christmas.  Yeti loved to play with his siblings, but he was also the first one to toddle back to the puppy room for some quiet time.

We managed a family photo the weekend before the pups went to their forever home...and a pup group photo with Nana, Mum, and brothers Cody and Brady.  We are hopeful that we will continue to bring these beauties into the world a little at a time.

Final group photos before separation!

Yeti left first...with Tim and Jana

...and lives about an hour a way, we are staying in touch and planning a play date soon!!

The next hour Sully left with Patti and Kevin... 

we also are staying in touch and planning a visit this summer.  Patty asked me to share that Sully is "the best pup"...and Joanne speaking here...no argument from me, these three little ones are amazing!!

I LOVE my puppy family, and the extended grown up family too!!  So grateful for social media and that we can all stay in each others lives and watch these beauties grow!!

Of course, Ivy is with us and fits in amazingly.

 

Chloe (11) Ivy 12 wks and Violet on her 7th birthday this past week :)