I'm sort of cheating on my promise.

My Nikon is now sitting in my camera bag after shooting picture # DSC_9999.jpg the other night. But I know that I cannot have something ready to take another picture with before Ruff's birthday next Sunday so I dusted off my old Sony digital that I haven't used in the last 4 1/2 years and I charged up the battery. I will keep the promise I made to take my 10,000th picture with my Nikon when Ruff has his birthday party. After all, it was Ruff who was the reason I bought the Nikon in the first place. If you're curious, here is the 9,999th picture. Nothing out of the ordinary, just another after-the-movie image.

Our Rottweilers are going to love this.

The local weather forecast for this winter came in today with a reminder about last year's snowfall from the WCPO-TV weatherman. Its funny how a lengthy, hot and very wet Summer makes you forget what happened last year.

It wasn't until Dec. 1, 2010 that Cincinnati got its first measurable snowfall of 0.6", slightly more than a trace, with the second round of 3.2" on Dec. 4.  That got everyone's attention.  The snowmachine was just getting started.  By the end of December, The Tri-State had racked up 16.6" of snowfall.  Well above its 3.6" normal intake.  Subsequently, January 2011 also saw above normal snowfall with 12.8".

Cincinnati didn't catch a break until February and March when snowfall totals decreased to below normal amounts of 2.8".

In case you are wondering, normal seasonal snowfall for Cincinnati is 23.6" Last winter's (2010-2011) amount was more than 11" above normal at 35.2".

With La Nina making a second go-around this year, NOAA is forecasting a similar winter season to last year's. So expect more cold, wet and snowy conditions this winter.

So I guess we can expect the Rotts to begin pointing their noses to the North and sniffing the cold air for signs of more snow again. They seem to look forward to it like little children.

 

Our little Ruff has gotten big.

I still call him my baby Rottweiler even though he is almost 5 years old. But yesterday we took Ruff to the Vet's office for his annual Heartworm test and when they put him on the scale to see how much he weighed I couldn't believe the results. My baby Ruff now weighs 132 lbs. And he still thinks he is a lap dog. Oh, he passed the test.

   

It's official. We've broken the all-time annual rainfall record.

At 10 PM tonight the weatherman said our all time annual rainfall record was broken. So far this year the tri-state region of Cincinnati, Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Indiana has had 58 inches of rain breaking the record of 57.58 inches. And right now we are having more rain with 2 inches expected by tomorrow and we still have two months left in the year. In other words besides having a very hot Summer it has also been very wet. And I can tell you that every weed in creation is growing like crazy.

Ruff and Axl resting.

My trigger finger is itching. No, not that trigger finger, the one I use to press the shutter release on my camera. Between now and November 13th I have got to resist taking too many pictures. I promised myself and everyone else that I would use my Nikon to take picture number 10,000 on Ruff's 5th birthday on 11-13-2011. I couldn't resist taking a few more last night and I'm up to picture # 9,993. I think it is a fitting tribute since I bought the camera soon after we brought baby Ruff home in January 2007 to record him growing up.

Oh, in case you were interested in seeing last night's pictures, here they are. The first picture is DSC_9990.jpg and the second is DSC_9991.jpg.

And here is a picture of both Ruff and Axl taken last year to show what they look like when they are awake. My wife and I sat in.

 

Rottweilers: Reason # 9,984 why you gotta love 'em.

Last night, when I was getting ready for bed, my baby Rottweiler, Ruff, was waiting for me on the bed. I just had to grab my camera and capture this image. Ruff is just a natural born clown and he always makes me laugh even when he seems to be doing nothing special.

This is picture # 9,984. Still waiting for # 10,000 to be taken on Ruff's 5th birthday on November 13, 2011.   

  

Our senior Rottweiler Axl has his 10th birthday.

Sunday was a very special day at our house. Our adopted Rottweiler, Axl, celebrated his 10th birthday and we had a special birthday party. I baked a full-size meatloaf and covered it with a mash potato icing and a candle. Everyone enjoyed the feast. (Next up is my baby Ruff who will be 5 years old next month.)

 And wearing his digitally enhanced birthday hat.

We adopted Axl two years ago in August when he was almost 8 years old. He was trained to work as a service dog and had lived for most of his life with a handicapped woman until her house burned down in Akron, Ohio. When I heard that he needed a new home I jumped at the chance to adopt him and he turned out to be the most wonderful Rottweiler I have ever known. As many pictures on this blog show, he became my wife's constant companion.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AXL.

 

I'm glad September is over. I hate it when the weather changes.

I actually got an email today from a fan of this blog who asked if everything was OK because I haven't posted any new stuff in several weeks. Well, we are pretty much OK but you can blame most of our problems on the weather. Summer came to a rather abrupt end around Labor Day and the weather turned cold and rainy. This entire year has had weather records broken here. Every year when the seasons change quickly I have a difficult time adapting to the change and wind up catching a cold. We seem to be turning the heat on one day and the air conditioning on the next. My wife has some ongoing health issues and needed several trips to the doctors. The Rottweilers are all enjoying themselves and seem to take everything in stride. Here is a new picture that managed to catch all of them of the furniture. Even the elusive Sassy.

And, I have to make an announcement. My baby Rottweiler Ruff will be 5 years old next month on November 13th. A few months after I got him I went out and bought a new Nikon digital camera so I could take some better quality pictures of our best friends. The picture you see above is the 9,954 picture taken with this camera. I am saving the soon to arrive 10,000th picture to take of our fully grown Ruff on his birthday. So bear with me folks, I only got 40 shots left to spread out over 6 weeks.

  
  

Last night ....

Last night wasn't much different from other nights. We all sat on the couch and watched television. Old people do that a lot. That fact also accounts for why there are a lot of pictures on this blog that look alike. Anyway, I love taking pictures of my Rottweilers and how they have made themselves so much a part of our lives.

And the night before that... Ruff gave his mom a big kiss.

And the night before that.

Axl follows his Mom everywhere.

I have seen this many times before but last night I decided to take a picture of it. We all went to the kitchen to sit down for dinner and Axl took up his place right beside his Mom. He never leaves  her side. Nothing special here but my wife never gets to see these things from my point of view.

 

Ruff and I were the babysitters.

Our friend Lucy came by for a visit a few days ago and took my wife out for lunch. Lucy never travels anywhere without her tiny little long haired Dachshund named Tinkerbell. Restaurants frown on pets in the dining areas so Tinker had to stay home with me and the three Rottweilers. That was OK with us and it gave me another opportunity to take more pictures. It wasn't so good with Tinker because she spent most of the time by the front door waiting for her Mom to return. As usual, Ruff was at her side every minute.

The word babysitter is misleading because Tinker is almost twice as old as Ruff, but anyway, we all had a good time together.

 

 

The making of a porn-star Rott. The first four years in the life of baby Ruff.

I started to write this post around a picture of Ruff that I took a few days ago that reminded me of a photo of my first Rottweiler, Mocha who I always called Mo. That is the photo I had titled Porno Puppy because of her habit of sleeping on her back like a nude centerfold in a men's magazine. Then looking at some early shots of Ruff I came across some of his more relaxed poses that preceded his current pleasures. These are the photos I'm writing about. The first one is of Mocha and her mother Felony taken 10 years ago, when Mo was six. Felony is the one on her back.

It must be an inherited trait. Here is Mocha the Porno Queen posing in 2005.

And now we come back to our big baby Rottweiler, Ruff, who used to be a real baby 4 1/2 years ago when we brought him home. This is the same hassock he is laying on in yesterday's post about the Mugwump.

Ruff, by the way, was a precocious little baby. Here is an accidental photo of one of his nasty little habits.

All baby Rottweilers are adorable as this photo shows. And he did grow up to be such a big love. He only nibbled on noses when he was a wee little thing, Thank God.

So now we see Ruff all grown up and still doing something every day to make us smile. Just by being natural.

And, Yes, Ruff is a centerfold porn star, only this time he belongs in a girl's magazine. LOL. Hey, girls, Ruff has his own email address so you can write him Ruffin@fuse.net

The word obscene does not exist in the canine world.

   
 

Have you ever seen a Mugwump (and do you know what that means)?

During the 1884 presidential campaign, Mugwumps were often portrayed as "fence-sitters," with part of their body on the side of the Democrats and the other on the side of the Republicans. Their "mug" on one side of the fence, and their "wump" on the other. Today, we call people who cannot make a decision mugwumps because they take up both sides of an issue.

Leaving politics aside for other blogs, I want to tell you about our own resident mugwump, Ruff. One of his favorite positions to watch television is laying across the hassock, just like a mugwump, because his mug is hanging over one side and his wump is hanging over the other.

  

Another night at the movies, at home, of course.

Last night we watched a double feature that I rented from Blockbuster. We saw the BluRay version of Paul and Mars Needs Moms and they were both very entertaining movies. Of course we didn't watch them alone, we never do. Our faithful companions are always at our sides, ever vigilant in performing their duties to keep us safe and protected. Here are some pictures to prove it. LOL. By the way, if you rent Mars Needs Moms stay watching as the credits stream by at the end. There are several video inserts that show how live actors were used for the computer animation.

Click the pictures for a larger view.

  

How Rottweilers watch television.

You all know what a couch potato is. That's a person who spends too much time sitting on the couch watching television. Well, in our house the Rottweilers do everything that we do, including watching TV, so that also makes them couch potatoes. Here are a few pictures taken on various nights in recent days during and after we had the TV turned on.

Click the picture to see a larger view.

 

The real trick is to sneak out of the room to get the camera without waking them up.

   

Our Rottweilers had a guest visit them today.

Our friend Lucy came over for a visit and brought along her long haired Dachshund named Tinker. They all sat inside and watched a movie while I went out shopping by myself. When I came back, I found Tinker laying on the couch with Ruff while my wife Jackie was sitting next to her best friend Axl on the other couch. You can click this picture for a larger view and you may have to if you want to see how little Tinker is.

One thing the Rottweilers have taught me is that size doesn't make any difference in their world. They have accepted Tinker as a little friend that sometimes comes to visit them. And once in a while they even run around the house playing with each other.

 

Ruff goes to Petsmart again and we have another kiss and tell story.

To be precise, we took both Ruff and Axl to Petsmart yesterday, but Axl is so quiet and reserved that he gets very little attention. Ruff, on the other hand, is by no means a wallflower. Ruff loves to meet people and he goes out of his way to do it even when they don't expect it. Today, when we were finished with our twice monthly shopping and picked up our usual 80 lbs of dog food, we got on the checkout line behind a woman who was writing a check to pay for her purchases. Ruff stood up with his front feet on the conveyor belt like he always does so he can greet the cashier but this time he was looking at the woman as she wrote in her checkbook. The woman, who was leaning over to write her check had no clue Ruff was standing behind her, almost looking over her shoulder. She finished and turned to her left and noticed Ruff for the first time. She was face to face with him and she gave him a big smile and Ruff gave her some licks on her cheek and her neck. The woman told Ruff how gorgeous he was and said to me that she used to own a Rottie. She let Ruff give her a few more kisses and then she left the store. Ruff enjoyed his visit to Petsmart as he always does.

 

More good PR work for Rottweilers. ARC ought to put Ruff on their payroll. (ARC is the American Rottweiler Club)

  

How do Rottweilers deal with our heat wave?

 

I know some people will say that because the normal body temperature of a Rottweiler is 102 degrees that they are not affected by a 99 degree heat wave like we humans are. Never the less, to see my 120 lb baby Rottweiler Ruff laying out by the pool sunning himself is enough to make me worry that he has already baked his brains. The photo below was taken at high noon today with a telephoto lens from our kitchen window. I apologize for the weeds in the garden, this has not been a good Summer to work outdoors.

  

Attacked by a Rottweiler, again.

My apologies for the misleading title. My over enthusiastic and extremely lovable, 120 lb baby Rottweiler, Ruff, just loves me too much. My wife came in my den and was followed by her two shadows. Her favorite companion Axl came over to me and gave me a lick and this made Ruff try to reclaim his property that he thought Axl was marking for himself. One thing led to another and while I was trying to keep Ruff from climbing on to my lap I asked my wife to grab the camera. Now we have a few more pictures to add to our collection.

This reminds me, did I ever tell you about my theory about Rottweiler saliva helping to make wrinkles go away? I really believe it does.

 

My crowded office. When Mom's shadows follow her everywhere.

Wherever Mom goes, her two shadows follow her everywhere. When she visits me in my little den they all come with her, and promptly fall asleep on the floor. I just had such a visit and when I turned around from my computer this is what I saw. Mom is sitting on the chair in the lower right of the photo but my wide angle lens couldn't fit her into the picture.

I know I've said it before but this is what it is like Living With Rottweilers. I wouldn't have it any other way.

   

The more things change the more they remain the same.

  

I took a photo of my wife Jackie sitting on the couch a few days ago with my "baby" Rottweiler, Ruff, sleeping next to her and it reminded me of another photo I took some 5 years ago of her sitting on the same couch with my first Rottweiler, Mo, sleeping next to her. Hope all of you Rottie lovers enjoy this.

That was then, 5 years ago.

And this is now.

By the way, "baby" Ruff is no longer a "baby" and he is all scrunched up in this photo. When he is by himself on the couch and stretches out he takes up the whole couch. He is much bigger than my old girl Mo used to be.

  

We're all ready for the 4th of July.

Celebrating our nation's Independence Day is a big thing around here. We are all ready for it.

 

Sometimes they surprise me and do stay awake.

Very rarely, once in awhile and for not particular reason, everyone manages to stay awake after a night of watching TV. I still can't explain it. I can play a movie on the BluRay player filled with explosions and gun fire and car chases and everyone sleeps right through it. Other times there may only be some drab, dull programming on TV and it keeps everyone awake. That is the way it was last night.

It's hard to stay awake watching the TV.

 

Another night watching television. The excitement must have tired everyone out. This is what I found when I turned off the TV to go to bed.

Rottweilers celebrate the 4th of July.

 

Here is a picture of my baby Ruff sitting in front of our new Rottweiler flag. That isn't him on the flag and Ruff isn't a baby anymore.

 

Spring and Summer still waging a battle.

 
This will be a year for new records in the weather book. Spring was a washout, literally, with 20+ days of rain in April alone. So far this year we have surpassed the average rainfall for the entire year and stand only a few inches of the all time annual rain. But the good news is we have managed to squeeze out a few good days with temps in the mid-80's.

That means some time to take more pictures outside. Here are a few taken with our best friends on the back porch.

This is a rare photo of Axl giving his Mom a kiss.

Then I put the camera in Jackie's hands and she captured a few of me.

Next up will be the 4th of July. And the possibility of some more rain.

 

The animal population is exploding.

  
In just the past two days we have seen unusual activity with our local animal population. There seems to be more of them and they are everywhere. This must be a result of the abundant rainfall we've been having and the growth of vegetation. Yesterday, we took the guys for a walk down back after dinner and something very funny happened.

Ruff and Axl were doing their usual nose-to-the-ground tracking - following every scent they could find. I spotted two rabbits running across the back of the property but they were so far away that I knew Ruff and Axl couldn't see them because they hardly look up from their tracking. I commented to my wife Jackie that Ruff couldn't spot a rabbit unless one popped up under his nose and less than 10 seconds later (literally) a rabbit popped up from under the Blue Spruce right in front of Ruff and it took off running. Ruff was startled for a few seconds but the he took off right after it. Ruff was no match for the speedy rabbit and he gave up after about a few hundred feet. I was afraid he would run too far so I stopped him from chasing it with some loud calls. I don't know how far he would have gone if I hadn't. By the time Ruff stopped the rabbit was a couple of hundred yards ahead of him and was still going.

Then this morning I was standing at the kitchen sink looking out the window and saw a Chipmunk in the bird feeder we hung outside the window. We put small pieces of old bread out for the birds and enjoy watching them. While the Chipmunk was cleaning up the scraps a Blue Jay flew down and landed at the feeder and both of them scared each other and jumped off.

Last year Ruff and Axl spotted a deer come out of the woods and they ran after it but didn't get too far. Luckily the wild critters can easily outrun our dogs.

   

Even watching movies in the daytime makes them sleepy.

 

We started out this morning watching the movie Open Season 3 on the BluRay player. I planned on returning the films I rented right after lunch but when the movie ended I was the only one still awake. So every time I saw the Rottweilers sleeping while we watched movies at night I thought it was just getting late that made them tired. Now I know, it is the movies.

 

What do your shadows do when they're not working.

People who own Rottweilers (and who are owned by their Rottweilers) know that this amazing breed has two notable characteristics. One, they listen in on all your conversations, and Two, they follow you everywhere like a shadow. Same here in our house. This is the reason for the catchy blog post title. Yesterday afternoon my wife was in her bedroom straightening up her dresser and as I passed by the door I spotted our two boys, Ruff and Axl, sound asleep on her bed with their heads resting on the pillows. I grabbed the camera and started taking pictures and after a few Ruff opened his eyes and started to wake up. I think this picture looks cute.

To answer my own question, what do shadows do when they're not working? They take a nap.

I just had to throw in one more picture here on the subject of napping because they also sleep when you are watching television. Like Ruff.