More Lorikeets

I have a lot of lorikeets pictures because I think they're so colorful and they've been fun to photograph.

More Fishy Stuff

I wish you could have seen these lobsters and how big they were. Let me put it this way. You know those tanks where you can pick your lobster. One of these would have barely fit in one of those tanks....and it would have easily climbed out.




And I don't know what the ones are below. I just liked the pictures. :-)





And I think we all know this is a stingray. Man, this thing was huge. I'm sure it was easily 4-5 feet long not include that tail.

Little Fishies

I went back to the Long Beach Aquarium trying to work with my camera a little more and get some better shots than the last time. I still have some work to do in figuring out some settings and why I mess up so many shots!!! Urrrggghhh! LOL!

Earthquake

This post will have no pics. I just wanted to share that I just went through an earthquake. Part of me thinks the news is making more out of it than necessary like they usually do but then the other part of me realizes earthquakes really terrify some people and they need to hear the news to give them a sense of peace that all is well. Still, I've been watching the news for 2 hrs now and there's nothing really to report. There is one building, a really old building where some bricks fell covering the alley. There is one broken water main and a couple of stores where things fell off the shelves. They've been showing that for 2 hrs. now. Me thinks sometimes the news makes way too much of things and sometimes they just need to turn off and do little updates during the day.

I've lived in and around the Los Angeles area my whole life. I used to be terrified of them and remember as kids running into my parents' room and diving into their bed if an earthquake hit. I remember when the 6.5 hit in 1971, the Sylmar quake. The aftershocks were many and not that small. I swear I felt every one. I was in jr. high and I was terrified. I'm not that scared any more. Most times when we get the little ones my eyes get a little big and I sit and wait to see if it's just a small one or if it will turn into a big one.

This one shook hard a couple of times and then did some serious rolling that to me, was worse than the initial shakes. I think that was the worst rolling earthquake I've felt. I think this was the first time I literally saw the inside of my house moving. So, though I'm not afraid of earthquakes and I'm terrified like I used to be as a kid, I DON'T want to experience this on a bigger scale like the "big one" they're talking about and I DON'T want to be in downtown L.A. if/when the big one hits. All I picture is being stuck downtown because the streets are full of glass from the tall buildings. I want to be home.

Still, I think I'd rather deal with the occasional earthquakes and maybe even "the big one" than to deal with tornados every year that cause major damage, every year.

Okay, that's my earthquake news and my way to vent about what I've experienced today. If you've read this, thanks for reading. :-) And despite all you may hear about how many aftershocks we've experienced, it's much ado about nothing because not one of them has even made my candle holders hanging from the ceiling even sway. No one has felt the aftershocks and the news, once again, making more of it than I think is necessary, scaring folks already freaked out by what happened today.

Y'all be safe no matter where you are and what you're doing.

A Whatcha-ma-callit

I need to pay more attention to what I'm taking pics of and/or not think I can always rely on my memory. I don't remember what this thing is but one of them seemed to have gotten stuck between a rock and the glass of the tank it was in. Perfect opportunity to view its underbelly.

Loveable Lorikeets

I just thought these were two cute. I don't know if they were being loving or just preening each other but the romantic in me chooses to believe they were being romantic.

Red Lorikeet

This red lorikeet was in an aviary with the colorful lorikeets. In fact there were probably three or four red ones. I thought maybe it was something rare that happened in their genes so I looked it up. Nope. They're actually just a species of their own, still a lorikeet, just red. What a nice red.

Poison Dart Frogs

I don't know why I had the most difficult time getting a picture of these two little things. My camera just did not want to focus on them. I started to wonder if they had some kind of biomagnetic aura that was throwing off my camera. LOL! But I finally got a couple of shots even though they're not as clear as I would have liked.

They're teeny tiny. Look at your thumb now imagine these things are half the size of your thumb.

Some Summer Flowers

Splish Splash

Butterflies 3

Butterflies 2

I think this is a Monarch butterfly but I don't know for sure.

Butterflies 1

I usually don't see many butterflies and they bounce around so much I haven't had much luck. Not today. I either found the perfect spot or they were doing me a favor by sitting long enough to let me capture them. Sorry, I don't know the names of the butterflies I'm posting.

Dragonflies

I've been hoping to catch some dragonflies and butterflies one of these days. Today was the day! The butterflies will be in a separate post.

Angeles National Forest - Azusa Canyon

I finally got a good shot of the dam. Parking near it isn't that great and the couple of spots that are there I always seem to pass before I realize it. Not today. LOL! The picture of the bird below is the only bird I saw all day, at least while I was out of the car with the camera. There was also still some water running down the stream here but a lot of areas full of water are now dried up. It's fire season and it looks it (didn't take any pictures to prove it).





And look! I was finally able to get a picture of a squirrel too!

Angeles National Forest - Mt. Baldy

Angeles National Forest is no joke. It stretches over 655,000 acres. There are two places I like to go located in the forest - Azusa Canyon and the Mt. Baldy area, mostly because they're not far from me and I know them. The last time went up to Mt. Baldy there was still some snow on the ground. Everything is drying up with all of this heat and starting to look deserty except in the areas were there was a lot of snow. There was still water running down the stream and plenty of greenery in my favorite spot.

Ducks and Such