Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies. I told you I would be back with more photos from the Global Wildlife Center adventure. Here are some more.
There are Camels and there are Dromedaries. If you are curious about the differences, click here for a short lesson. (One easy difference: A Camel has two humps. A Dromedary has one hump.)
There were birds, also, although not nearly as many as there were four-footed critters. A couple of Geese (below) didn't seem to mind sharing space and snacks with the long-legged Greater Rhea which shares some characteristics with the Ostrich and the Emu... but is neither.
As we drove, this Greater Rhea was determined to keep up and get some snacks!! They run quite well and have a pretty long stride at higher speed.
Who doesn't love a Llama? Look at these faces! These were so sweet and gentle. They enjoyed eating the treats right from our hands. One even chased alongside the Pinz as we drove while Charlotte held out treats for it to snack on mid-stride!! Hilarious!!
The only somewhat enclosed animals were the Kangaroos. They had a large enclosure surrounding the pond near the main buildings. There were a number of them. Two had Joeys (babies!) and we were able to spot a pair of little legs dangling from one mother's pouch. We weren't able to capture a photo, however, as the mother was turned away from us.
Okay. Some of you (us) are of an age that allows us to be familiar with the Watusi dance (be sure to watch the video)! Others may remember some National Geographic specials which included information on the Watusi Tribe in Africa with extremely tall men and extremely colorful clothing. There are also Watusi Cattle and there were some beautiful examples of them at the Center. They are known for their exceptionally long horns.
The mother below had her calf with her. Beautiful animals.
I believe the next lovely bovine was a cross of some other types of cattle. Sorry, I cannot recall. But it was a really beautiful animal and I want you to see it.
And... speaking of bovine... who doesn't love a bison?!?
Well, Hello, Charlotte!!! Got anything for me?
No luck with Charlotte. I'll try the other rider! Hello!!!!!! Whatcha' got for me? Huh?
Okay. Okay. I'm a soft touch. Have a cuppa' snacks! (My new best friend.) :)
Alright. That's a lotta' pictures for you today. I think there will only be one more round... but it's one I think might amaze you. It should at least make you want to make the trip.
Until next post...
Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies!! You just are not going to believe this post... and a few after it to get all of the pictures to you!
I had never heard of the Global Wildlife Center, much less known it was in southeast Louisiana... a mere 4 hour drive away from where I am in southwest Louisiana. My friend, Charlotte B., with whom I have traveled on several "excellent adventures", made me aware of it and suggested it might be a good place for us to visit. We were long overdue for a catch-up and it seemed like a great idea. She is such a good amateur photographer and it was a perfect spot for photo ops! Check out the web site but definitely check out the photos I have posted for you. Most are hers with a few of my cellphone camera photos mixed in.
I will tell you that kids of ALL ages will enjoy this place. We were fortunate our booking in early December happened to be on a wonderful, beautiful day... albeit a bit chilly (which will explain our attire!). Sunshine. No wind to speak of. Perfect. Having reviewed information on the web site, I had booked a Private Pinz Tour for us. You can read more there about the two different types of tours.
Without further ado... please join me on my visit to the Global Wildlife Center in Folsom, Louisiana!!
The main buildings and a lovely statue of a giraffe family. (That will make sense later.)
After loading up in our Pinz (and getting our huge bucket of animal feed piled into the thing!), we headed out to the "savanna"-like area comprised of about 700 acres (with an additional 200 acres in hay for wintertime feeding when necessary). Ahead of us was one of the Safari Wagon Tours which holds multiple folks. I assure you all of the animals know exactly what is coming when these roll onto the landscape!! LOL!! The whole nearby herd arrived en masse for some feed! Yes, there are a couple of giraffes in the picture. The numbers of exotic deer was huge!
There was a sign posted in our Pinz clearly stating that anyone feeding a Zebra would be removed from the tour!! I asked our lovely guide why that would occur? She advised that the Zebras were "love-biters" and they loved anyone feeding them... meaning potential "love-bites" from them. Unfortunately, a Zebra "love-bite" can be rather large, painful, and unwanted! Made sense. Hated to have to not feed them, though, since everyone else was getting fed. Sorry, guys! :(
Some of the racks on the exotics were just amazing. We happened to be there during rutting season... so there was a lot of clashing of racks as we drove through.
While not an exotic, this elk was a lovely specimen. My friend, Charlotte B., enjoyed him until he caught her with his rack!! He gave her a good jolt but she was an excellent sport about it. Just don't think you are "safe" due to your being inside a vehicle. :)
The next photo shows the same type of vehicle we were in (Pinz). It gives you some scale to the animals we were enjoying. Yes, you are seeing a Llama, Giraffes, and Zebras with the exotic deer.
Okay!! Now you know what we are doing. There are more photos for you... some more "up close and personal" than you could possibly imagine. I know I wasn't quite prepared for it!! Stay tuned!!
Until next post...
Heidy-Ho, my Blogging Buddies!
I apologize profusely for the length of time since my last post. There have been some changes here that created other priorities. I do have some photos for you to enjoy, however, and I have enough for more than one post... so I hope to get a bit "caught up" with posts.
With that said, please allow me to provide you with some shots I found interesting.
First of all, I saw something I had not seen before... nor did I know it was possible. During my early morning walks, I found the usual beauty (photo #1 below) but also found something unusual to me. Take a look at photos #2-#5 below and see if you notice something. (I'll tell you what I saw after the photos.)
Do you see what I saw? The sun has not yet risen and is still just below the horizon... but the clouds were positioned in such a way that the sun cast shadows from below them!! Yes... those grey areas you see above the clouds are actually the shadows of the clouds!! I had never seen this before and found it to be completely interesting.
My favorite holiday has nearly always been Halloween. I remember my grandmother making homemade fudge, cookies, and caramel popcorn balls. She would tie clear wrap around an appropriate "serving" of these items (2 pieces of fudge, 3 cookies, and a popcorn ball!) using orange and black ribbon to close them. She would then place a number of them on a tray. When her doorbell would ring, she arrived at the door with the tray in hand. I'm pretty sure there were parents who drove their kids across town (which didn't take more than 5 minutes!) to get one of her special homemade Halloween "treats!" I know my brother and I insisted my parents take us there VERY early to be sure we got ours! I doubt we would have missed out on them... but we wanted to be sure. As an adult, I would dress up to answer the door. One year I dressed as a Gypsy fortune-teller. I would "read the palm" of each child, taking cues from them about what they liked, etc. It was lots of fun and they would stand wide-eyed while I told them about their future... which was always good. :)
With all of that now in the open, I present you with a few photos I was able to take in Texas as Halloween approached this year.
Glad to see there are still those who get into the "spirit" of the thing!! :)
Finally, I was driving down one of the many country roads here and came across a newly cut field. The fun part was what was occupying the field! Little opportunists, these. I watched them for a few minutes as they mowed across like a synchronized swimming team!
I hope you have found at least one or two things of interest. It seems like the best things show up when I am not looking for them! Perhaps that is how it is should be always! :) So... don't look... but be aware and keep your eyes open for something for which you weren't looking.
I will try to post at least once more before Gobbler Day... but in case I miss that, I wish all of you a wonderful Turkey Day!! Find something to be thankful for as I know there are many things we all sometimes take for granted.
Until next post...
Greetings to my Blogging Pals. Those who have been with me a while know about my participation in Project 2996. I began my participation in 2009 and plan to continue this as long as I am able to do so. I ask each of you to take a moment to remember what happened on 9/11/2001. Even if you read my tributes previously, please read them again. It's important that we see this as an individual, personal event... not just something that happened in New York, D.C., and Pennsylvania over a decade ago. It affects us all and will continue to do so. I do not see the 12th Anniversary as any different from the 2nd, the 19th, or the 100th. The pain for the families is the same. But this is a tribute to their loved one!! Please read about this wonderful gentleman.
*** This was posted in 2009 as my tribute to Sgt. Maj. Larry Strickland. I repeat it here as I will continue doing so on each anniversary of 9/11 as long as I am able. There are a couple of notes and updates from 2010 in italic.
Please meet Sgt. Maj. Larry Strickland. He was 52 years old, born in Washington State, and had a Bachelor of Science degree. He had served our country in a lot of places including Germany, Washington State, Washington DC, Texas, and Virginia. He had many awards and decorations. Most devastating for me to learn was his plan to retire upon completion of 30 years of service... at the end of September 2001. After all of his service, he was close to spending more time on his hobbies (fishing, hiking, gourmet cooking, and needlepoint) and especially looking forward to spending more time with his family. SGM Strickland left behind a wife, Debra, who was the Garrison Command Sergeant Major of Fort Belvoir, VA. at the time, three adult children, and one grandson who will never know his grandfather as he was only a year old when SGM Strickland was taken. His parents also were left to deal with the untimely loss of their child.
NOTE: I posted a note to the family at Legacy.com and received two emails.
One was from SGM Strickland's son-in-law and read, in part:
"I came across your blog today while searching for SM Larry Strickland. I am lucky enough to be married to his daughter Julia and I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for caring enough to research this remarkable man. Everything you read about him and his character is true. He left behind an amazingly strong wife, a beautiful daughter, his two sons, and his grandson. His grandson was 4, not 1 as many newspaper articles claim, so he does remember his grandfather, and fondly."(I was SO happy to read that his grandson did remember his grandfather and wanted to share that with you all! MNC)
The other email was from SGM Strickland's daughter and read, in part:
"Mary, thank you very much for your kind words. I am Larry's daughter, and it is wonderful to know that though it's been 8 years, remembering him and this tragic event is still as important now as it was the day it happened. He was truly a wonderful man, and the best father anyone could ask for."
SGM Strickland headed out to work that day at the Pentagon as there were some meetings he deemed important enough to attend even though he could have skipped them. He had annual leave built up that needed to be used or lost. He chose to go to work. If you knew nothing more about him than that, you would know the character of the man. It was that character that had him in his office on the second floor when the wing he was in was struck by American Airlines Flight 77.
But this is a tribute to SGM Strickland's life. And I've got to tell you the things said about him and written about him are absolutely glowing!! What a wonderful thing... to have those left behind remember you so well and so lovingly. It's not just family. These were friends, co-workers, people who knew him on a "business" level where, many times, the feelings are not so great. I would suggest you take a few moments today to review three different web sites where there are tributes (and from where I gathered much of the information I am sharing with you). It really won't take that long and, thankfully, most of us did not actually know anyone who was lost that day. Perhaps it would be good to learn about at least one of them. I know it gave me a very new perspective.
Pentagon Memorial Fund - Names of the souls lost at the Pentagon are alphabetical by last name. Scroll down and click on SGM Strickland's name to read about his service career.
Columns - The University of Washington Alumni Magazine- Read a really great article here about SGM Strickland's personal life. Sounds like someone we would all like to have known.
The Washington Post - This project is a database of all of the souls lost that day and has a very nice tribute to SGM Strickland.
Legacy.com - This is where folks can leave notes for the family. Many folks were positively impacted by SGM Strickland. Some commented here about their appreciation of the man. I invite you to take just a moment to leave a note here to let the family know the loss of their loved one is something we all remember.
9-11 Heroes - This is another site where a note can be left. Again... take a moment to leave a note on at least one of the sites. You have no idea how much this can mean to family members.
Thank you, SGM Strickland, for your service, for your honor, and for your character. I'm glad I got to know you.
We should never forget.
Greetings to my Blogging Pals. Those who have been with me a while know about my participation in Project 2996. I began my participation in 2009 and plan to continue this as long as I am able to do so. I ask each of you to take a moment to remember what happened on 9/11/2001. Even if you read my tributes previously, please read them again. It's important that we see this as an individual, personal event... not just something that happened in New York, D.C., and Pennsylvania over a decade ago. It affects us all and will continue to do so. I do not see the 12th Anniversary as any different from the 2nd, the 19th, or the 100th. The pain for the families is the same. But this is a tribute to their loved one!! Please read about this wonderful gentleman.
Major Ronald Dutrell Milam was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and had a Bachelors degree from Eastern New Mexico University earned in 1991. He served his country in Germany, Korea, and Saudi Arabia. He had recently received his assignment as Military Assistant for the Secretary of the Army. He had also recently married Jacqueline on January 15, 2000. Things were definitely going well for Major Milam and his new family. His future was clearly a bright one and who knows what wonderful things he would have accomplished!
On 9/11/2001, Major Milam, who had just turned 33 the month before, was at work at the Pentagon. His wife, Jacqueline, five months pregnant with their second child and an Air Force officer, was also at her job at the Pentagon. Neither had an office in the area where Flight 77 struck that morning. Jacqueline was not terribly concerned immediately after the attack assuming they would connect in the parking lot. Major Milam had been attending a staff meeting that morning... right where the aircraft crashed into the Pentagon.
But this post is a tribute to a man who lived well, with honor and with dedication to his country. His college basketball coach had no doubt Major Milam was a leader and a role model during his years working with him. When Major Milam told his coach he had chosen the military as his career, the coach, who thought Milam should pursue a career in law, told the young man he supported him 100%. Major Milam clearly touched many lives during his own. What a great legacy to leave!! We should all be proud of this young man.
Take a few moments today to visit the sites below. If you can, leave a note for his family at either Legacy.com or at 9-11 Heroes. All of the sites below are links to get you there quickly.
Arlington Cemetery Site - If you read nothing else, read this tribute. Major Milam's wife recounts the events of that day and what has kept her going.
Pentagon Memorial Site - This site has a full obituary providing information on Major Milam's life.
The Washington Post - This site has a short remembrance from Major Milam's father about the Major's love of golf.
Legacy.Com - Take a moment and leave a note for the family here, if you wish.
9-11 Heroes - Or you can leave a note for the family here, if you wish.
Thank you, Major Milam, for your service, for your honor, and for your character. I'm glad I got to know you.
We should never forget.
Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies!
There has not been a lot happening lately... so I don't have anything to "tell" you... but I always have my phone camera and there are some photos I have taken this spring/summer I will share with you now.
By mid-May, the tire garden was doing well with tomatoes on the way!
At the same time, there were some beautiful daylilies blooming in another area of the yard.
Mid-May was also a good time to hit the "all-you-can-eat" crawfish buffet at a nearby casino!! This is the "bucket" you get to start your feast. The gals I went with went back for second buckets to share! YUM!
You may be a little tired of my morning walk photos but bear with me. :) I enjoy them so very much!
This little one was crossing one of the airport streets. I almost didn't see it! It blends so well... and the front of my shoe gives you the scale of the "tiny turtle."
On another morning, I glanced down just in time to see this little critter making its way across another road. When I asked it to "please stay still so I can get your picture!", it stopped, raised its head a bit, looked toward me, and waited! LOL!
During late June through July and into August, I am lucky enough to see HUGE groups of wading birds, primarily white herons with a few Great Blue herons occasionally mixed in. I don't know for certain but I believe there must be a rookery fairly close by. On some mornings, I see literally hundreds of these birds fly over... ranging from small groups of 2 or 3 birds to the huge groups I mentioned that contain more than I can count as they fly over! My best estimate is about 300 birds that I have seen in one morning. My guess is there are more I do not see... so I would bet totals in the 500-600 range. At any rate, they are beautiful to see in the early morning light as they head out for wading and dining all day.
This morning, I was a little late returning from my walk... and spotted a rather interesting "sand trap" on the golf course. :) I'm not sure if you have to "play through the puppy dogs" or what?!? They certainly seemed comfortable in the cool, damp sand.
Finally, I know I have posted "sky" pictures before but sometimes nature provides some pretty cool stuff. :)
Ending on a humorous note, I pass this driveway every morning on my walk. The newspaper that is delivered there is typically on the grass to either side of the driveway although it has hit the edges of the pavement, too. Never see it dead-centered on the driveway. So... Blogging Buddies... what day do you think was the day the newspaper was placed DEAD-CENTER on the driveway? Why, the day after the driveway had been PAVED, of course! Couldn't walk on it... thus the tape. LOL!! Never fails, does it?
As always, thank you for dropping by.
Until next post...
