Embracing Imperfections: Navigating the French language and puppy love with Rachael McKenna
Jag passar två fyrbenta vitlurviga damer och noterar på morgonen att byns vildhund vaktar utanför vår dörr. Han sågs senast vid nattrutinen så han har säkert varit här utanför hela natten. Känns tryggt, förutom att en av damerna löper.
När vi köpte vårt hus här för över 15 år sedan så var det just jyckarna i byn jag först började prata med. De verkade förstå mitt språk. Min franska är fortfarande obegriplig och även om byn ordnar språkkurs i bageriet varje vecka så känns det även för mig smått hopplöst, franska är så svårt. Men just språk förenar ju levande varelser så tack och lov går det att kommunicera på fler än ett sätt.
Det var i alla fall här i byn jag först träffade på dessa tre herrar, så olika varandra men här i den gemensamma uppgiften att försöka förstå vad fotografen Rachael McKenna vill.
Sa jag att våren är här? Och som ni förstår råder det lite förälskelser här i byn Causses Et Veyran.
Allt Gott! /Nette
I am currently looking after two four-legged, white-furred ladies and noticed this morning that the village's stray dog was guarding our door. He was last seen during our nighttime routine, so he must have been outside all night. It feels safe, except for the fact that one of the ladies is in heat.
Over 15 years ago, when we purchased our house here, it was the village dogs I first started conversing with. They seemed to understand me. My French remains incomprehensible, and despite the village offering a language course at the bakery every week, mastering French still feels somewhat hopeless for me; it is such a difficult language. However, language has the power to unite living beings, so thankfully, communication is possible in more ways than one.
In any case, it was here in the village where I first met these three gentlemen, each so different yet united in the common goal of trying to understand what the photographer Rachael McKenna was seeking.
Did I mention that spring has arrived? And, as you can gather, there's a bit of romance in the air here in the village of Causses Et Veyran.
All the best! / Nette
Loki´s Kitten / Kizzie on Rollerblades - Rachael McKenna
Rachael McKenna
Kizzie, a striking Boxer/Dalmatian mix, was photographed by New Zealand artist Rachael McKenna. When Rachael captured this image, she was creating visuals for her book ‘Why Dogs are Better Than Cats,’ co-published with international bestselling author Bradley Trevor Grieve; the book needed an image embodying a ‘Fitness Fanatic’. Inspired by her own affection for roller skating and Kizzie’s high energy levels, Rachael painted the smallest pair of roller skates she could find to match those she wore as a child. To create the image, Rachael drove nails through the underside of a wooden board to stabilize the roller skates, then covered the wood with a seamless background and secured the roller skates onto the nails. Kizzie’s smile was brought to life as she was playfully teased with a vacuum cleaner by Rachael’s assistant, being told to ‘stay’ while Rachael snapped the photo. Chasing and barking at the vacuum cleaner is among Kizzie’s favorite pastimes.