Kind of A Squirrely Day - RSABG #2

I went to Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens yesterday. I walked my booty off. Okay, not really. It's still back there but it was quite a trek and I almost got lost. I didn't realize how far back it extended. Why can't I go anywhere without taking over 400 shots? I get back and it's very difficult to share them without boring anyone. I posted a few shots below this post of some of the lady bugs that were out. They were everywhere!


These are just a couple of the squirrels that were rustling through the leaves under the many trees. This first one caught my attention sitting on the top of a bench as I walked towards it. I managed to get a couple of shots before a jogger came close enough to send it leaping into the nearest tree.


I copped a squat on a bench for a minute and as I was sitting there browsing through the photos I'd taken I hear a rustling in the leaves over my shoulder. I look over and this little guy is sitting there less than a yard from the bench and it let me take a couple of close-ups. Actually, I got quite a few. :-)

Chimpanzees - L.A. Zoo #3

Chimpanzees fascinate me though I admit that even though they're cute there is a slight creepiness factor to them in that they're a little too close to human. These are another animal that gets a lot of time from me with my camera when I visit the zoo. They've got so much personality!

Silverback Gorilla - The Zoo Part I

The Silverback gorilla is such a handsome animal. Whenever I visit the zoo I have to visit the gorilla camp. Most times it's difficult to get close to the edge to take photos because of how many people are around it. It's actually a beautiful area. The photo below is just one of the four sides of this area.


Also, most times when you can see the silverback he sits with his back to you... and just sits. If you wait long enough he may move so you can get a good shot but it's short lived and he'll disappear out of view. I got good shots today. He sat for a long time but I must admit he looked pretty bored and I could imagine how tough it is to live there no matter how nice the area is.

The Ky-ote

Guess what I saw today!! Okay, time-wise it's officially yesterday. A coyote! Luckily there was no one else on the road and I was able to stop and grab a few shots before I continued on my way. What a treat. I drove away singing, "I saw a ky-ote! I saw a ky-ote!" :-D

A Few Little Birdies

I got out today, took my 3 hour walk around the L.A. Country Arboretum and actually found a few birds to take some photos of. They're not the best shots but I still wanted to share them. I didn't look the names up this time so I really don't know what they are. I even saw a woodpecker but none of the shots came out. :-(

Harry Hippo

Still working on some photos I took at the zoo, I thought I'd share some of another massive animal, the Hippopotamus. And just so you know, if you didn't already, the plural of hippopotamus is not hippopotami. LOL! Although, that does sound better than hippopotamuses.


When I was in jr. high school I made a stuffed animal hippo out of brown vinyl. It came out great and look JUST like a hippo. I wonder what I ever did with that.


Check out the teeth on this baby.

One Hump Or Two?

I've been reorganizing my thousands of photographs and there are so many I've never posted. I came across these and they made me smile so I thought I'd share them. I hope they're not repeats because I didn't go back to check.


In case you didn't know, he dromedary, one-humped or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the Bactrian camel has two humps.


I took these pictures on one of my trips to the Los Angeles Zoo.

I've Been Blocked

The picture below is pretty much how I feel about right now. There was someone whose blogs I really enjoyed and followed on the dashboard. Of late I haven't been able to view any of the blogs. I kept getting a blogger error page saying the blogs had been removed but I would see this person comment on other blogs and their new posts kept popping up under "Follow" on my dashboard. It took me a minute to realize that this person must have blocked me. I thought, "Wow". I've never left any comments that were negative, but here I am - blocked. I know I shouldn't let it bother me but I have to admit that it does. It makes me think that maybe I should just view and not leave any comments. Maybe I should keep my comments to a minimum. Maybe I should remove my picture from my profile and make this impersonal. I'll get over it but I sit here wondering what did to make this person block me? My apologies to anyone if I've ever offended, said too much or did anything that even made you consider blocking me from even viewing your blog. It may take me a while to feel comfortable leaving comments again.

L.A. County Fair #1

The L.A. County Fair opened today. I used to go every year but haven't been for the last two. Mostly I would just hit the bungalows for the shopping because more times than not I would go buy myself since I just live down the street. This year I did something I don't normally do, I visited the area with all of the animals - pigs, goats, sheep, cows, horses. And I did something I never do - I left the bungalows and shopping alone. :-) I did my usual when I have my camera - too many pics to post now I have to pic out some favorites so this will come in several posts as I go through them and downsize them for posting.




These were a couple of sheep after they had been sheared.


A white turkey! I've never seen one. I wonder if there are naturally white ones or if these are albino and rare. I guess I could look it up but I'm tired and a little lazy right now.

Turtles & Lizards

Just a few pics of the "animules" I saw at the arboretum. Since the birds and butterflies were just teasing me I stuck with the turtles and the lizards.

Later 'Gater

The first time I went to the zoo the alligator they had was so close to the fence that I couldn't get a good picture without the fence being in the picture. This time the alligator was across the pond just sitting there. When I looked at the pics I thought, wow, it doesn't even look real. It could be a fake alligator and no one would ever know. Doesn't it look fake?

Zebras

I love the black and white stripes of a zebra. Thought I would share something I just learned. The name "zebra" comes from the Old Portuguese word zevra which means "wild ass".





This one looks like it is laughing but actually, it was reaching for some leaves that were hanging over its head.

Chimpanzee

This particular day it was a little overcast and the mood of the chimpanzees seemed to dictate their really lazy mood.

THE TORTOISE

My visit to Sandpiper's Place and her series of photos at a trip to the zoo encouraged me to go back through my photos to my trip to the Los Angeles Zoo a couple of months ago. I always take so many pictures but never post them all because there are so many. Since I haven't been anywhere this week I thought I'd go ahead and revisit my own zoo trip. This will probably carry over into the next several posts.

This big 'ol turtle, I mean tortoise was big enough for two people to ride on. Personally, I found it's almond shaped eyes a little intriguing.

Ducks and Such