Mare's Tails - Republished

The wind was howling in Malibu today. A eucalyptus tree toppled over and barely missed the house it once shaded. Down by the beach, consecutive gusts created rivers of blowing sand that swept over the ground and erased footprints within its path. Mare's tails were blown in long wisps atop the crest of each wave.

In the early afternoon, there was a low tide, a negative tide of close to two feet. Taking photographs of the tidepools and experimenting with my new camera seemed to be a great idea at the time. Of course, that was before the wind started showing some major attitude.

Although grains of sand sometimes ended up in my eyes and my skin was sometimes abraded by the relentless blasts, pictures were on my mind, and somehow or another I planned on taking those photos. And, I did. And, it was a lesson in futility, especially when attempting to take pictures of wildlife while being blown sideways, backward, forward, you name it.



Was it worth it? Well, it kept me busy for two hours, and it was good exercise. What struck me as odd was that a couple of guys on horseback would ride by the day after I published the post about Apollo. I'm unaccustomed to that sight. Maybe it's a sign. Ha!

It's All Happening At The Zoo

It's been quite some time since I've shared some of my photography in one of my posts.

On Sunday, November 2nd, I had the opportunity to participate in the Los Angeles Zoo's 19th Annual Photo Day. Although I was operating a camera system, which was completely foreign to me, and dealing with a substantial learning curve, I did manage to get some relatively decent shots. What you'll see here are a few of my best shots from that day.

All of the pictures were taken with a Nikon D90 and a Nikkor 70mm-300mm zoom lens. The gorilla picture, however, was taken with a Nikkor 500mm zoom lens at one of the telephoto stations, which was set up in advance for the photographers.

I loaned all of the camera equipment from various participating vendors, including my tripod. Being able to test drive this equipment was included in the registration fee as well as a continental breakfast, a box lunch, a nifty t-shirt (used to identify participants), and more.

This was the first photo day for me, and I was absolutely amazed at the extent of organization that was required to pull off this event. It required the involvement of Mark Comon and his staff from Paul's Photo, the staff and docents from the Los Angeles Zoo, the vendors from companies such as Nikon, Sony and Olympus (Canon was a no show...::mutter::) and the participants themselves, not to mention others who are unbeknownst to me.

Since participants, numbering about 200, were allowed entrance to the zoo early, zookeepers actually brought out reptiles and insects for the photographers to use in close up shots: snakes, a tortoise, a blue-tongued skink, a hissing cockroach, a rather big millipede, a large walking stick and more.

Each hour was packed with options. Frequently, those options were on opposite ends of the zoo, and yours truly wanted to take it all in. Needless to say, I covered a lot of ground, hiking from one end of the zoo and uphill to the other end several times throughout the day while lugging my backpack, camera equipment and tripod.

All in all, it was a pretty remarkable day. I had no idea exactly how active I had been until the next day. I was so caught up in taking pictures that I was somewhat oblivious about the weight of carrying my daypack and transporting the tripod on my shoulders, of hiking up and down the zoo paths, of stepping up and squatting down for certain camera angles. My arms had a workout from setting up the tripod and packing up the tripod ad infinitum.

When I woke up the next morning, stiff doesn't even describe the state of various body parts. I was certain that had turned to stone or that someone had injected concrete into my neck and shoulders.

Yet, I can tell you this. I plan on doing it all over again next year.

The Joy of Barking

Labradors [are] lousy watchdogs.
They usually bark when there is a stranger about,
but it is an expression of unmitigated joy
at the chance to meet somebody new, not a warning.
~Norman Strung~

Sometimes teaching your canine companion a few tricks can be truly rewarding!

Yesterday, Tess, my 2-year-old female Labrador retriever, courageously took center stage at the Big Dog Parade & Canine Festival in Santa Barbara. After I asked her to warm up with a couple of whispers for everyone, she joyously produced three well-enunciated barks on command with her usual bright-eyed enthusiasm.

When it was announced that Tess was the winner of this year's Best Barker contest, she was invited to take center stage again and receive her award.

Not that Tess took note, but I was certainly more than a bit shocked to discover that her award was packaged in a rather large (much, much bigger than a breadbox) carton. It was definitely cumbersome and heavier than I could easily carry back to the car, especially if I had any intention of simultaneously walking Tess safely back to the car with me.

Add to the equation that I was already hauling my --- correction, make that our --- day pack, which was now overloaded with our allotted free Big Dog Parade goodies bag, my Big Dog Parade t-shirt and our other Big Dog Parade freebies along with the essential items in our pack.

Thankfully, it turned out that a very nice couple, Steve and Linda, looked kindly upon Tess and me. They helped haul Tess's prize back to my car in the bed of their pick-up truck, while Tess and I rode in the back seat in air-conditioned comfort.

In case you're wondering, there was a reason why the mystery carton weighed what it did. This is what Tess and I found inside:

• Limited Edition Big Dogs leather bomber jacket
• Limited Edition Cowboy Big Dogs plush
• 100.00 gift certificate from Big Dogs
• Custom Big Dog Parade & Canine Festival treats jar
• Dogswell Mellow Mut, Happy Heart, & Vitality Dog Treats
  9 - 1 lb. bags of 100% Chicken Breast or 100% Beef Liver
• One-year subscription to Wag Magazine
• One-year membership to Fido Friendly Travel Club, including a one-year subscription to Fido Friendly Magazine

Morning Sun

Tess In The Morning Sun
A Flickr Photo Set

Tess In The Morning Sun
A Flickr Slideshow

There's A New Lab In Town

Meet Tess

A PhotoShow Slideshow

Our Beloved Raven

Our beloved Raven passed away unexpectedly from cancer at the end of September 2005. A wonderful and unique companion, she was blessed with a loving temperament along with her remarkable spirit. She is forever imprinted on our hearts and will always be part of our fondest and happiest memories.

Our beloved Raven, may you forever play in peace.

Ice Is Nice

My dear parrot has never done this before and I've had her for over 11 years. Out of nowhere, she decided that a taste of my husband's fruit juice was not enough, so she reached into his glass and pulled out an ice cube. She licked it and played with it until it was almost completely melted. What a riot!

Happy Hummer

Featherhead

Parrot Goddess

She's an 11 1/2 year old Meyer's parrot with the emotions of a 2 1/2 year old and the intelligence of a 4 or 5 year old. My husband sometimes refers to her tantrums as the equivalent of having a 2 1/2 year old with a can-opener. No, she doesn't talk, although she thinks that she does. She does rule the roost, so to speak.

Lake Powell

Anasazi Canyon - Double Arch