Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Siesta
OrangutanWoodland Park Zoo
Seattle, Washington ~ May 5, 2008
This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Majestic in Gray and Black
California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus), juvenileSan Diego Zoo ~ November 5, 2009
Wikipedia
This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store
Monday, March 29, 2010
A Blue-striped Fish
I have no idea what kind of fish this is, but it looked a little like a snapper when I tried to identify it. I was just happy I got it in focus, and I think it's a cool looking fish. You can see the pale blue lines better if you enlarge the photo, and if you know what it is, please tell me!
This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store
On the Piazza IX Aprile
Taormina, Sicily, Italy ~ March 26, 2004Formerly a church, then a monastery, St. Augustine's is now the town library. It has undergone a change of name as well as physical reconstruction. It's located on a the charming Piazza IX Aprile along with shopping, restaurants, an ancient church, and an outstanding view of the Mediterranean. On a clear day, we could have seen Mt. Etna. The large white square on the side of the building is a plaque to Guiseppe Garibaldi, a national hero.
Triceratops on a Carousel
Paris ~ October 14, 2008Jardin des Plantes
Here's a Triceratops, another animal in the series from the delightful and thought-provoking Dodo Carousel of Extinct and Endangered Animals. Check out the giant panda looking rather pensive in the background.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Tapir Mask?
Manaus, Brazil ~ April 25, 2007Here's another of those pointy-nosed balsa wood masks we saw in the open-air market in Manaus. In this case, it just may be a tapir.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Reflection
Asian or Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus)Woodland Park Zoo
Seattle, Washington ~ May 5, 2008
Wikipedia / Tapir Preservation Fund
Friday, March 26, 2010
Natural History, Unnatural Light
London ~ February 14, 2010As day faded, the electric lighting bathed the sculpture-adorned Victorian facade in wonderfully eerie colors.
Wary
It was only 31 degrees out, and the young blue heron was trying to warm itself in the morning sun on the radio tower outside my window. It was not pleased to see me watching back, but also unwilling to fly away and give up its perch in the sun. At least for awhile. It's the closest I've ever been to a heron that didn't immediately fly away.
This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store
Thursday, March 25, 2010
A Pig-deer by Any Other Name . . .
A young babirusa (Babyrousa babyrussa)Oregon Zoo
Portland, Oregon ~ February 16, 2008
On the Oregon Zoo's Web Site
More photos on Sheryl's Personal Blog
This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Ears and Eyes
Guest photographer: Lee SpanglerWild hippos
Serengeti, Tanzania, Africa
March 13, 2010
This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
A Favorite Place
Paris ~ October 17, 2008The cafe is right on Place du Chatelet, and the tables in the front face the sphinx fountain in the square. I had no idea about its fascinating history or wonderfully historic clientele list until I looked for a link on the web while making this post, but we went back again because the location was handy, the food was fantastic and the waiters were nice. The reviews I've just read say the same thing. I've written more about it with additional pix on my personal blog on this post and this one. The first link has more photos of the view, the second has more photos of the cafe. I should have taken more inside, but, as I keep saying . . . that's another of the thousand reasons to go back.
Lucky Day
White Pelican and Dolphin Key Biscayne, Florida ~ January 14, 2008
This little girl was visibly ecstatic when she was chosen out of the crowd by the dolphin trainer for a personal encounter with this intelligent animal. I think all of us in the audience tried to live the experience through her hands and senses. What fond memories she will have, as she clearly loved being with the dolphin.
This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store
Monday, March 22, 2010
Clean Water for Fish
Salmon near a Drain Portland, Oregon ~ January 3, 2010
Parking Lot of the Sheraton Hotel
Not far from the Columbia River
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Spectacled Owl at Woodland Park Zoo
Spectacled Owl (Pulsatrix perspicillata)
Range: Southern Mexico through South America
Woodland Park Zoo
Seattle, Washington ~ May 5, 2008
The Owl Pages
Seattle, Washington ~ May 5, 2008
The Owl Pages
When I took this photo, the owl was on the arm of volunteer handler, Libbie Mistretta, who was giving a keeper talk to anyone who stopped by, and answering questions about the strikingly-colored and somewhat-friendly bird.
This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store
A Dour Lion at Brookfield Zoo
Brookfield, Chicago, Illinois ~ April 25, 2005Brookfield Zoo (Chicago Zoological Society)
I don't know if this lion was having a bad day or was merely tending to his official duties. The zoo grounds are quite beautiful, and the weather was superb. So, where are all the people? That's OK, it was nice having some space in which to enjoy it all.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Who's Watching Whom?
DolphinMiami Seaquarium
Key Biscayne, Florida ~ January 14, 2008
This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store
The Old Ship Church
Hingham, Massachusetts ~ May 6, 2006After reading a couple of your comments, I should say that the huge wooden beams inside are reminiscent of those used in ship-building. I didn't get a chance to see the inside, because it was late in the day when we visited.
"The Old Ship Church is the oldest meetinghouse in continuous ecclesiastical use in the United States" [see The Old Ship Church link above] and is "the only remaining 17th century Puritan meetinghouse in America." It is also famous for its hammerbeam roof, constructed in a bold Gothic style. The Washington Post said, "Within the church, 'the ceiling, made of great oak beams, looks like the inverted frame of a ship.' "
At least two of my immigrant ancestors, Thomas Joy and his wife, Joan Gallop, are buried behind the church along with ancestors of Abraham Lincoln and are still listed on web sites as notable burials in the churchyard. I'll post photos of the cemetery in future blog entries. After arriving in the New World in 1635, Thomas Joy, a carpenter, made his home in Boston, where he built wharves and a number of other buildings. Although styled as "a carpenter," he in fact became one of the area's most prominent builders and architects. He built the first Town-House (Town Hall) in Boston "from his own design," which we know from an extant contract dated 1657. The Town House burned down in 1711 and was replaced by The Old State House.
The building of the Town-House in Boston took place after Joy's return to Boston. He had moved to Hingham (about 12 miles from Boston) about 1646 to enlarge a grist mill and establish a sawmill, and had stayed for a number of years. He had been persecuted in Boston by Governor Winthrop because Joy had signed a petition to grant suffrage to a greater number of men than had been allowed under the colonial government which, "since 1631 had restricted the right of suffrage to the members of the local Puritan churches, excluding more than three-fourths of the adult male population from any participation in public affairs." [Thomas Joy and His Descendants, p. 14, by James Richard Joy.] Thomas Joy had acquired property in both locations, but died in Hingham in 1678.
Thomas died a few years before the 1681 construction date given for The Old Ship Meeting House, but it has many features of Boston's first Town House, which Thomas Joy designed and built. The 1681 Old Ship replaced a "first rude meetinghouse." I don't see Thomas Joy listed anywhere in conjunction with the design of The Old Ship Meetinghouse, but his influence was certainly felt and emulated.
I would also like to honor the memory of Bradner (Brad) Petersen, and thank him posthumously for compiling and writing the book, Ancestry of the Jameson,Gilbert, Joy, Skinner and Related Families, which has been and continues to be such a tremendous resource for me.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Fish on the Floor
Songgang, Guangdong Province, China ~ March 12, 2010
(A town about an hour's drive north of Hong Kong)
Photo by Francisca de Zwager
Francisca wrote: "Animal Art Along the Way. This shot of the fish stone mosaic on the garden floor of our apartment complex in Songgang is for my friend Sheryl who posts her fun animal art photos daily on her blog: http://animalartalongtheway.blogspot.com/. This may not amount to 'urban art' by strict definition, but I enjoy anything creative that enriches our city living. If it makes me smile, it's good. March 12."
Thank you, Francisca! Your post made me smile, too.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Red Head
Warwick, England ~ February 17, 2010A dog's head carved on the arm of a chair in the great hall of Warwick Castle.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Orchard House: Family Home of Louisa May Alcott
Elvis
Palisade, Colorado ~ Sometime before June 2001This is Elvis, my much-loved Colorado cat. I took the photo with my old Nikon F and, looking back, I'm surprised the scan of the slide came out so well. It's one of my few good portraits of domestic animals. I don't know the date, but I moved from Colorado to Oregon in June 2001. Elvis still lives in Colorado with Marco.
This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store
Sivatherium: Not A Modern-day Giraffe
Paris ~ October 14, 2008On the Dodo Carousel of extinct and endangered animals in the Jardin des Plantes are several extinct Sivatheria (singular: Sivatherium). Bleary-eyed in the dusk after a long walk, I thought they were giraffes. I was delighted to find that they were something much rarer in my experience, and I began to look at the rest of the animals. . . . I blogged about the carousel on my personal blog here, and someone else has blogged it here. You can learn more about Sivatherium on Wikipedia and Laelaps.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Indian Mongoose in Hawaii
While this is not a great photo, I was thrilled to get it. We were parked at a bookstore on the edge of a shopping center, and we spied this bold mongoose on some rocks near the car. While it scampered away, I managed to get a quick photo. Trust me, they are FAST! Mongooses are an invasive species in Hawaii. You can read about them via the "Instant Hawaii" link above. If you ever wondered what the underside of a mongoose's foot looks like here is your chance. Click to enlarge the photo.
This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store
A Leaping Orca in Seattle
Seattle, Washington ~ Several years agoIt was fun to encounter this leaping orca on the side of a building not far from the waterfront in Seattle. Unfortunately, I was not careful about taking the photos, and I had no thought at the time that they'd be part of an animal art blog. I like strange juxtapositions, and the hyper-realistic leaping orca with the industrial pipes is one of those. See below for a close-up of the orca.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Lunch
Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris)Miami Seaquarium
Key Biscayne, Florida ~ January 14, 2008
Wikipedia / Miami Seaquarium / IUCN Red List
Miami Seaquarium provides refuge for several Florida manatees that have been damaged by the proximity of human activities, mainly boating.
This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store
Fish for the Market
Brazil: Along the Amazon above Manaus ~
April 27, 2007
This floating dock is tied up along the banks of the Amazon, miles above Manaus, a state capital with over two million people and a tremendous appetite for fish.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
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