Category Archives: zoos & gardens
orchid, five
orchid, four
orchid, three
orchid, two
orchid, one in a series
Before we went to Boyd’s Hill, Vicki, two of her neighbors, BFF Judy, and I went to Florida Native Orchids. I seem to be the only one who left without a plant in my hand, but what I lacked in flora I made up in photos. I’ll be posting some of my favorites here, interspersed with seasonal updates from the Midwest. Something, I hope, for everyone.
eagle + egg + cam
This is Spirit, a bald eagle in residence at Boyd’s Hill Nature Preserve.
This is Spirit’s (infertile) egg.
I don’t know about you, but I’d never seen a bald eagle egg before. We just happened to be there when this one showed up. I guess if I kept a life-egg list, this would be one for the books.
Here’s a close-up of Spirit.
I’m pretty sure Vicki took this last picture, since she was able to go inside the cage. On the others, I took some and she took some, and I didn’t keep track of which was which. But you should go see definite Vicki-pictures on her blog, where she recounts Spirit’s surgery to set a broken leg, with a follow-up happy-ending recovery post.
I added the note about the happy ending, in case you’re like me, and don’t like the suspense of worrying about the fate of a truly noble bird. I couldn’t bear to think that she wouldn’t recover, despite her age, when I’d just seen her a few days before.
Be well, Spirit.
Update: And now, sadly, a not-so-happy post on Vicki’s blog: Linky Goodness, for better and worse. I can’t write any more right now, as Vicki’s comment took me by surprise and her post greatly saddened me. I have only a passing acquaintance with Spirit, but that was enough to forge a bond; I can only imagine the worry that those who have known her longer and love her deeply must feel. I hold her in my heart, and hope you will, too.
One final statement from my original post remains true:
Thank you to rehabbers everywhere.
screech owls at boyd’s hill
Vicki herself took this little darling out for us to view.
Meet Wheezer, the eastern screech owl.
Animal self-awareness; “I know I’m cute!”
Yes, that’s Vicki’s hand in the glove. So now you can say you’ve seen them both.
one florida trip, in non-chronological order
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Who am I to argue with Ralph Waldo? Foolish consistency, including chronological order, is hereby banished from this post and this blog.
So I begin at the end, not the beginning. I commence my narrative at Boyd’s Hill Nature Preserve, where Vicki took BFF Judy and me to meet the education raptors and friends on the last day of our trip.
Gabe graciously brought Mystic, the barred owl, out to be admired
and admired she was
from every possible angle
and distance,
and not just by us humans.
I love the reflection in her eyes. If you missed that the first time through, go back and take another look, especially of the fourth photo.
bald eagle at sitka raptor center
Believe it or not, I’ve finished the photos from Australia, and I’m returning to blogging the Alaska trip, taking up where I left off at the Sitka Raptor Center.
