Capturing those blue eyes

Clyde. Sweet, skittish, don't-touch-me, Clyde. (And, after his de-worming, add "fast, with a bit of spunk" to his descriptors.)

He's the life-long buddy to George (pictured below), our enthusiastic, black-and-white, busy-body who always has his nose in everyone's business:

It's very clear that, four months after adopting us, George is convinced he owns us and our property. We're ok with this.

Clyde, though, I think, is really only here only because George is. He tolerates us, but he follows George around like a puppy. When George and I are having a cuddle, just because I don't see Clyde doesn't mean he's not there. Clyde makes sure he can see and hear us, but he doesn't need to be seen. He's kind of a behind-the-scenes guy.

I think Clyde has led a pretty rough life. He's certainly got the scrapes, scars and behavior to prove it. He keeps a big distance. And it's because of this that my pictures of him tend be of fairly poor quality. Like this, for instance:

Or this:

Or...this:

Until today.

Clyde completely surprised me by coming within spitting distance of the house and finding a patch of sun right off our deck to sit in a spell:

Please note, that while Clyde was close to the house, I still needed my telephoto lens and tripod to be able to get these photos. He hasn't grown to like me that much. (Yet.)

"NOW I'll finally be able to get a shot of his beautiful blue eyes that I keep telling people about," I thought to myself. I was so excited, I mistakenly focused on the wrong object in my first shot. Nice flowers, right?:

He promptly dozed off for my next picture:

And yes, that mat of fur behind his left ear is driving me NUTS:

He relaxed to the point where he even tilted his head up toward the sun a bit to better feel the warmth. Awwwwww....:

Just when it seemed like I wasn't going to have any luck getting a good shot of his eyes, he moved. And he came closer:

And then he looked at me:

Suddenly, there it was. The shot Carson at 7MSN calls the money shot:

Hello, Blue Eyes...

Now, take a load off, little one - you've done enough for today:

Trusting the humans is exhausting work: