Changes...Changes..Changes

I haven't been blogging much lately for several reasons.  One being that I've been busy doing other things.  Since I got a new puppy in June, I've been spending a lot of time with him and not taking very many pictures.  We hike trails and play in the back yard.  When we hike, I'm busy working with Finn.  He still wants to jump on people and kiss them.  He's just a little guy, 9 lbs or so, so he won't hurt anyone, but he still has to learn his manners.  A camera hanging around my neck just gets in the way when I'm tending to Finn.

One of our cats is not doing very well either.  Magnum has lost the use of his back legs.  He doesn't seem to be in any pain, but we do keep an extra eye for him.  Finn likes to jump on the cats and give them "kisses" too, and poor Magnum has no way to escape quickly.  We move Magnum to higher ground (the sofa) when Finn is out tearing around the house.  Magnum is having some litter box issues too.  His back legs usually don't make it into the litter box (he thinks they're in, but because he doesn't have any feeling in them, he doesn't realize they aren't in).  We have a pretty good system set up so the mess stays in a big tray, but it does take extra time and effort to clean up after him.

 These are a couple of shots of Magnum's spot when he wants to sit with us in the family room

Magnum in his safe spot on the sofa when Finn is running wild.

Magnum's other safe spot in the "cat room" only the cats are allowed in this room.  Litter boxes, food and water and of course, Magnum's special resting spot.  Magnum spends a lot of time in here away from crazy Finn, but he can come out whenever he wants. 








I don't get a lot of comments on my blog, and that's OK.  I know some people read my blog, but don't leave comments...I'm OK with that.  I read a few blogs and don't leave comments either.  I do appreciate anyone who stops by to read my blog leaving comments or not.

So, I've decided just to blog when I have something that I'd like to share with others or just for my own enjoyment.  I hope you'll tag along with me whether I blog once a week, once a month...or who knows, once a year!

Today, I've decided to share a video of horse I used to ride at Winton Woods Riding Center when I took lessons a few years ago.  His name is Sultan and has always been one of my favorites.  This video was taken by a lady who works at the Riding Center and was kind enough to share it with me.  This video shows off how beautiful Sultan is...such a handsome boy!  Horses are such magnificent animals! This is my first attempt to post a video, hope it works!  Enjoy!

Long Necked Beauties

More pictures from the Cincinnati Zoo.

Flamingos

Gotcha!  Thought it was going to be another bird...didn't ya?

Creepy Critters and a Surprise at the "End"

Was too tired to hike last night and after a hectic day at work today I was all set for a good hike to work off the stress.  Boom!  Heavy rains just after I got home from work.  So, that gives me a little time to blog.

More pictures from the Zoo.

I can't recall what this animal is, but I love his skin pattern and he was a big boy!

A komodo dragon.

BATS!!!!

This is what I call "The End"...a rhino's butt!

Exotic Zoo Birds

Definitely not your backyard birds.  Thought I'd share some of the lovely and exotic birds from our Cincinnati Zoo.

BIG Feline Friday 5/17/13

Fridays are days that I sometimes post pictures of the shelter cats I see every Friday when I volunteer.  Today, I thought I'd post some feline pictures from my recent trip to the Cincinnati Zoo.  Such gorgeous animals!

White Tiger...I love his markings.

Snow Leopard.  There were several running and chasing each other.  It was difficult to get good shots of them with the movement and the glare of the sun.

Such a pretty tail!

I like how he's framed between the tree trunks.

Sorry for the bit of reflection on the plexiglass.

Babies on Mother's Day

Cincinnati has a wonderful zoo!  I spent Mother's Day at the Zoo with my daughter, Emily her twin brother, Paul (who was visiting from Miami, Florida) and Emily's daughter Emmi.  I hadn't been to the Zoo in about 12 years and was on my list of things to do this summer.  When Emily popped in on Sunday and invited me to go with her, well, I couldn't pass it up!  I know we walked nearly 6 miles...my knees told me so!  It was such a fun time, I want to go back again before the summer is over.  Here are a few shots of our day.

Here is Baby Lulu.  She was born 10/12/12,

 Isn't Baby Gladys the cutest little girl?  She was born 1/29/13.  Her mama doesn't seem to be taking very good care of her, so zoo employees fill in for mama.  How sweet!  I would love that job!

These aren't babies, but elephants are amazing animals nonetheless.  I could stand there and watch them all day, even with bad knees. 

Mothers Day at the American Robin's House

The American Robin is a pretty common bird, but today it's the topic of my blog. 

A fine young couple sits atop the wires.

Happy Mother's Day!  A sweet little robin's nest resting securely on our mailbox.  It's a vacant home that we own, so the only one who may have a problem with it is the mailman.  All he brings is junk mail anyway, so who cares?

Good Day for a Swim

Posting a few pictures of my duck couple who I usually see along a Kingfisher Trail. 

Her feathers are so beautiful in this picture.

Surprise! It's Ernestine & Jimmie J!

Today was my normal day volunteering at the animal shelter.  Usually after cleaning my rooms I visit some of the other kitties throughout the shelter.  I was more tired than usual this morning, so I only visited a few.  I found my little friend Jimmie J had moved to a larger 3 tierd cage that he shares with another little kitty, named Ernestine.

Jimmie J was relaxing in the hammock.  He looked so cute peeking over the top of the hammock, I just had to take his picture.  It wasn't until I got home that I noticed sweet little Ernestine had popped her head in the picture too!  I laughed out loud when I saw her in my picture!  Ernestine is partially blind, but that doesn't seem to hold her back.

Another shot of Jimmie J

As I mentioned, Ernestine is partially blind, but today she was all over that cage looking for attention...and getting it!  She is one cute, adorable kitty...Jimmie J is too!

A Pop of Spring Color

Such pretty colors, I thought.

Yeah, I couldn't stay away from the herons.  More nesting shots.

All This and a Belted Kingfisher Too...Really!

Feeling kind of bummed today...so I wasn't going to blog, but I didn't feel like getting up from the computer to do anything else...so I guess I'm blogging!  Why am I bummed?  Our neighbor next door decided to cut down all of his shrubs along his fence line.  These shrubs were great for all the wild birds to sit in as they waited for their turn on our feeders.  Now they will have nowhere to sit and feel safe.  Yeah, the shrubs were messy and wild, but the birds loved them.  Oh, we have other trees in our yard, but I loved watching the birds in these shrubs.  I guess I'll have to plant some of my own on our side of the fence. 

Here's a pretty little flower all sunny and bright.

Like the little fuzzies on this plant.

 My little friend, Mr Duck.  There are two ducks that I normally see along Kingfisher Trail...I'm not sure where Mrs Duck was at this moment.

Ok, you're going to have to take my word for it, because I know you really can't see the bird very well at all in this picture...but this is the best you're going to get and I just HAD to include it.  In the middle of this picture there is a blue and white bird (he looks as though he's sitting on the limb that is bending to the left).  Believe it or not, that is a Belted Kingfisher.  I've never actually seen one before, and I only caught glimpses of this one.  He kept swooping from tree to tree just as I would get close enough to possibly get his picture.  This is the best I could get.  As soon as I got home I looked up the Belted Kingfisher in my Stokes bird book.  The picture in the book looked exactly like what I saw. 
Imagine seeing a Belted Kingfisher on Kingfisher Trail!

Here is what he looked like.  This, of course, is not one of my pictures.

Spring is Upon Us!

Pretty purple flowers popping up along the trail.

 A crop of may apples shooting up towards the sun.

Interesting looking fungi growing on a stump.  Side view and top view.