My Three Sons-Pleasant Lake, MN

It seems like only yesterday we received a phone call from Lee and Danielle, requesting a casual, relaxed family photo session by the lake.

Meanwhile, I noticed a few days ago there was a teeny bit of ice on our pond.  This is November and the lakes will be frozen before we know it…

Consequently, beautiful summer days in Minnesota are fleeting. Most likely why we embrace activities by the lake with such gusto.

It was a pleasure to spend some time with Danielle, Lee, and their busy boys.

Mom and Dad wanted to be sure we captured some special pics of their youngest, Charlie.  He was so proud to show us how far he could toss the really big rocks into the water.  I think my kids spent endless time doing the same thing when they were his age.  In fact, they still love our July trips to the North Shore of Lake Superior, where they skip rocks for hours.

Beth + Bill = “Elizabeth” & “Mr. Darcy”

Beth and Bill were married last October at the incredibly classy Semple Mansion in Minneapolis, MN.

You can view some of the photographs Adam and I shot for them here.

Meanwhile, this is the video we produced for them, hot off the presses!

 

Furminators.

I love watching my little fur balls play together.  Posh and Olive are two sisters that think the world of one another.

Their big, and I mean BIG brother Trouble thinks they are both drama queens.  Here he is giving them the last meow.

Life is good at the “zoo.”

 

Clucking Eggcited!

After months of anticipation, the Digital Art House family is back to eating delicious eggs from happy and healthy hens. No more “sweat shop” eggs from factory farms for us.

Here are the first dozen eggs from our “Baker’s Dozen” flock.

We don’t give our chickens antibiotics, and your risk of catching salmonella is next to nil with these eggs.  Unlike the huge chicken barns where thousands of cramped hens are kept in stacked cages, our ladies are free to roam, stretch, potter around, and eat greens, bugs, and things of their own choosing.

Our girls are allowed to be chickens.

These are the friendliest, happiest, and healthy chickens I think I’ve ever met.

Seriously.

Take a gander at a couple of my beautiful girls.

Soufflé:

Souffle is for sure Digital Art House’s Alpha Hen.  She gets the best treats and the highest roosting spot in the coop.  This is the chick who would actually leap onto my hand in order to socialize with us humans, and she is still extremely social allowing us to pet her and pick her up.

Meringue:

Meringue is the whitest, most beautiful hen I’ve ever seen.  I can’t believe how clean she keeps herself, as the life of a chicken ain’t exactly the tidiest.

She is most likely the most people friendly and she is always the first one to greet me when I venture away from my editing studio.

It was Violet’s idea to add Meringue, a Plymouth Rock hen, to the flock.

What a smart daughter I have.

Foto Friday

Every Friday I will be posting random photos from daily DigitalArtHouse life, and I’m contemplating some sort of Friday Foto challenge from you blog followers out there too. There may even be prizes…

Stay tuned.

AnimAl Fresco

G + G = The Z Boys

No, The Z Boys isn’t the name of an up and coming rock band.  It’s what I’m calling the two cutest clients of the summer (sorry brides ).

When photographing kids, its my philosophy that it should be fun.  No stiff posing.  No weird backgrounds.  Just boys, being boys.

When you adopt this “anything goes” mentality and allow the kids to be themselves, you end up with photos that really look like your kids. Instead of flat and static, you glimpse the vivacity of their little personalities.  And boy, do these two have great personalities.

Thanks Z Boys for letting us play.

Kidding Around

Yesterday we headed to Clare’s Well, a spiritual farm and popular place of respite founded and cared for by the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls.

Spending some time with Sister Carol and Sister Jan it is easy for one to notice and be in awe of their strength, generosity, and kindness.  They couldn’t let us leave without giving us gifts of fresh eggs and herbs from their garden.

Meanwhile, yesterday it was all about sharing some love with their new kids-two sets of twins, one set less than 24 hours old.

Adam took some great photos of the feathered friends at Clare’s Well too.  Here is a pea hen that insisted on flying over Adam’s head.

I love this chicken’s markings.  It was so fun to see chickens in every corner doing what chickens do best, scratching, fluffing their wings, and looking for tasty bugs in the barn and in the tall grass.  Happy birds give healthy eggs to us, that is something I am positive of.

Twas a grand day at the farm just “kidding” around.  :) As you can see, Violet thinks Mom’s humor is lacking…

Baker’s Dozen Part II

Thanks to my chicken whispering assistant, Miss Violet, I was able to take a TON of pictures of the remaining chicks.

Introducing the rest of our “yummy” flock:

Crème brûlée is Silver Cuckoo Maran like her sister, Quiche.  Most likely she will be called Quiche or Brûlée depending on the day, as we aren’t so good at telling these girls apart if they are the same breed…

Chocolate Soufflé is a Barred Plymouth Rock hen, sure to be a calm pet and a good layer.  I love how dark her face and beak are.

Isn’t Eclair cute?! She will grow up to be a stunning chicken, as she is a Black Australorp.  They are really rather striking with their greenish-black feathers and bright red combs.  Unfortunately, we lost both of our Australorps pretty early on in our Fairytale Flock…

Pudding is just the fuzziest little thing.  I love her chocolate downy fluff.  Pudding is a Partridge Plymouth Rock.  She will eventually have really rich red feathers.

Flan, who may also be called Trifle from time to time, is another Speckled Sussex.  I can’t wait to see how these girls turn out!

A Baker’s Dozen

This morning my elated family awoke to a phone call from the post office.  A special and long awaited package arrived for us today.

Its contents?

23 baby hens!!

Darling Violet could hardly wait to tell her kindergarten friends about her new pets.  We won’t be keeping all of these girls.  Ten will be loved by another poultryphile, my aunt Sheila.

So, we end up with a perfect 13…sometimes referred to as a baker’s dozen.

Consequently, we are naming the girls for baked yummy goodies (which of course all recipes call for eggs).

These are the new gals so far.  I will attempt for more poultry portraits in the next couple of days, before these kids enter the “jurassic” stage…

I had a few run-away chickens during their photoshoot and I admit I’m a bit afraid one will disappear under my piano.

It’s going to be hard getting my work done today, with all that adorable peeping going on (their box is five feet from my desk.)

Life is good.

Trifle is a Speckled Sussex she and her sister are so far the quietest and calmest of the chicks.  It will be interesting to see how they mature and if they stay calm and friendly.

Quiche is Silver Cuckoo Maran.  These birds originally from France lay a very deep dark brown egg and are sometimes referred to as “chocolate layers.”

Little Cream Puff is an adorable and  feisty little thing.  Her breed is Columbian Wyandotte.  These are really cool looking chickens.  In our previous flock we enjoyed the beauty and curious nature of our Wyandottes.

The cupcakes are Silver Laced Wyandottes.  In our “Fairytale Flock” we referred to these hens as our “Cinderellas.”  They are a bit timid as pets, but absolutely stunning to look at.

I have to admit, I’m really exited about these Cookies and they might be my favorites of the flock.  These baby hens are Buff Orpingtons, a beautiful hearty blonde breed that is a great egg layer and a wonderful pet.

Although, since they originated in Britain, I may have to call them biscuits…

Violet’s favorite hen, Marie Antoinette, indeed the “queen of the coop” was a Buff Orpington.  R.I.P. dear Marie.  She was part of our original five ladies and the first victim of the mink.

Meringue is a busy busy chick.  She was the first one who decided it would be fun to run off my paper during the photo shoot and head for the “hills” aka under the piano.  She is a White Plymouth Rock hen.  She will grow up to look like “SnowWhite” from our Fairtytale Flock.  Adam and I aren’t crazy about white chickens, but our little chicken whisperer Violet insisted.

Cuba Has Good Relations With Scotland

In the doggie world anyway.

Posh and I had a great morning playdate with Colleen and her two Scottie dogs.

The bigger boy is Danny who recently added a little brother to his pack.

Danny’s mommy is a volunteer for MN Scottie Rescue and was fostering this new baby sibling.  Well, Colleen decided to fail Fostering 101. For any of you who don’t get my little “dog joke,” failing Fostering 101 means you end up keeping the puppy.  :)

Looks like Scottie dogs know how to fly too!

Seems to me, these brothers are a perfect pair and keeping him was a fabulous decision.