Cherish is my favorite word, and I cherish the ability of turning the routine into a beautiful moment.
Nature creates in me, a spiritual and meditative time to bring peace, harmony and balance, into an otherwise ordinary day~
Mary Howell Cromer







Friday, January 13, 2017

A Winter Day Visit to the Louisville Zoological Gardens



Well I published a pretty descent post on the 27th day of December and attached the post to my favorite memes and then forgot each day to post to all of said memes...has to be the age thing and I am sticking to it... Life does get really quite busy though, even when retired.  Not sure about you, but my days run together so swiftly I sometimes cannot even tell you what I did on a specific day.  What about you...do you have days that just seem to run together and you have to think about what day it is and did you miss anything...
We had our first snow, not a huge amount, but it was quite slick.  In fact my daughter Brittany and her husband had an accident and flipped their car into a creek.  They were thankfully OK, other than aches and pains, but had to escape the vehicle by way of the roof top window.  Their car totaled!

Above and below are some of the visitors that make their way into my yard just about every evening to partake of cracked corn that we offer them, outside the dog yard.  This time of year is extremely harsh on them and several neighbors help care for this herd of 11 to 16.

Hoping that you have a very Happy and safe weekend and week ahead~

Remember to double click on the first image, to view a larger slideshow presentation after                                                                you have read the narratives~

I am joining in the fun with Eileen at:
Saturday's Critter

Anni at:
http://id-rather-b-birdin.blogspot.com/ 
I'd Rather Be Birdin'
 Linking to I'd Rather B Birdin'

    
Maggie's  MOSAIC MONDAY
                                              https://normandylife.blogspot.com/


Stewart for:


 On a cold Sunday morning I had to get out just far enough to get a newspaper for the husby and since I was already out... well I took a little bit of a long way about getting back home, not too far though, the roads were not great, but I saw the sunrise~



Taken through glass and looking into my side garden I got these captures of the wee little White-throated Sparrows, American Goldfinch, male Cardinal, Eastern Towhee, also known locally as the Rufous-sided Towhee and a wee little Chickadee~








 Our three pup-cubs...Silveit on left turned 4 this week, 7 month old Svetka and 9 year old Meaka~



Our little kit-cat Survhee Pipka, part of the dog pack and a huge part of our hearts~



Svetka had her first fun in the snow this past week and she LOVED it~




4 year old Silveit celebrated her birthday on the 9th~


9 year old Meaka still enjoys the snow, but no longer romps with her sisters out in it~


More of the herd of White-tailed Deer in our yard~




I had to run errands one morning this week and could hear Crows caw-cawing quite loud, even with the windows up.  They were chasing a Red-tailed Hawk from tree to tree, for no other reason than harassment~


 I took the grand-twins to the Zoo while they were still out on their Christmas holiday.  My young nephew Josh happened to be working at the Zoo, and we surprised him.  He is such a kind young man and showed the boys and I some behind the scenes with a few of the captive animals~




I am fascinated by many of the animals that our zoo has and while I enjoy them very much, I also whence inside, thinking that they should have had a wonderful life of freedoms also~


Helen below turned 58 years of age this week, the next to the oldest captive Gorilla~


Twin Kerrick on the right gets a fist bump from one of the Silver-back Gorillas, through glass, of course ;)~


This Puma/Cougar/Mountain Lion depending on which name you want to give it, has only been at our Zoo for less than a month~


We also have two new Canada Lynx that were stunning...captive bred and very accessible for photos~





Snow Leopards are one of my favorite exotic animals.  The zoo had two for a long time and not sure if one has passed on, or if it was just off exhibit.  This beauty was quite active on the early, cold morning that we went by~





I am thinking that I have only ever seen a single Maned Wolf at a time at our zoo, but on this day, they had two on exhibit.  Aren't they lovely, even if through fencing~


Finally the two Bald Eagles...always enjoy seeing this pair, but have very deep feelings about the fact they were injured and could not be released back into the wild.  I always have to stop by and see them~


27 comments:

  1. I love these visits.

    (I loved the depth of field in that fifth shot in the forest)

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  2. What a fabulous place! I haven't been to a zoo is SO long! Love the serious look on the face of the wee chickadee! Enjoy your weekend and thanks for taking the time to share so many great photos this morning! Sweet hugs, Diane

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  3. Hello, Mary! you look like you were busy, awesome collection of critter photos. I love the deer and all the birds. My favorite are your beautiful dogs. I am so glad your daughter and SIL were ok, the photos of the car on facebook looked bad. They were lucky! Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!

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  4. so many gorgeous images of all the critters. Love especially, the buck jumping the hedge and the little bird that seems so cold :)

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  5. Wow ~ all kinds of critters ~ lovely photos ~ so creative ~

    Wishing you a Happy Weekend ~ ^_^

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  6. How wnderful to have a nephew who could take you and the twins on a private tour of this great spot. All of your pictures -- there and elsewhere -- are just great and nobody puts photos together in a mosaic as beautifully as you do.

    I'm glad your daughter was unhurt and I hope the weather is treating you better by now.... it has already been a hard winter in so many places.

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  7. Wow, so many nice shots. love the pic out the side window into the woods. Lots of good bird pics, I love the chickadee. Nice pics at the zoo. Have a good weekend.

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  8. Good Morning Mary. Oh dear. That sounds nasty Mary. Overturning a car and having to leave via the roof. I hope they are both over the shock.

    What with the deer and your garden birds you do make the snow look inviting but I’m very thankful we’ve had none yet. Living half a mile from the coast has many advantages.

    Wonderful pictures from the zoo. The Cougar, Lynx and Snow Leopard especially, but like you I have very mixed feelings about zoos. If they teach people to appreciate the wilderness and/or preserve threatened species then so much the better - If they are just peep shows it’s no good.

    I was thinking about the conversations that Muhammad Ali might have with Colonel Sanders. Ali wouldn’t be too happy about the Colonel feeding our kids with all that junk food would he?

    Take care.

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  9. The zoo pictures made me too sad. Had to skip over them. In a perfect world, there will be no more zoos. Just sanctuaries for injured wildlife. Web cams can be used far more effectively to educate. I loved your wildlife photos, though, and really appreciate that you and the neighbours are feeding the deer in the harsher weather! Crows and birds of prey are fairly evenly matched, I think. I've watched eagles prey on the young crows, carrying them off from the nest in their talons. The parent crows give chase, but it is usually a futile effort. When it is clearly too late to save their baby, they sit in their tree and mourn the loss. I've also heard of crows running an eagle into the power lines, causing it to die. Bottom line, I guess, is that each is doing its best to survive.

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  10. What a wonderful selection of critters and birds. Loved each pic, but Svetka really caught my eye. Loving the pups!

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  11. That was something...just hope you're all okay. The shock would have me a bit frantic yet, I'm sure.

    Love ALL your photos. The deer is just absolutely gorgeous. As are your birds. I have yet to see a white throated sparrow, tho they're seen here - I haven't yet!!!

    Thanks for sharing this wonderful, filled with beauty, post with us birders at I'd Rather B Birdin' this weekend.

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  12. How lovely it was to take a visit to the zoo with you all and see the wonderful creatures there. I cannot get over how well the Canada Lynx blends into the background, it's camouflage is the best I've ever seen. The amount of wildlife that visits your property would have been out constantly with my camera, you have some amazing bird captures in your mosaics this week. I hope the crows didn't harm the hawk.
    Happy MM.

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  13. What great opportunities for seeing these awesome creatures! The birds are so pretty and different from what I see.

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  14. Hello Mary, I'm so glad that your daughter and son-in-law are okay after their car flipped. Icy roads can be tricky.
    Love those deer photos; they are such graceful creatures (although they can be a terrible nuisance, too). Gorgeous birds - your photos are always marvelous.

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  15. A wonderful series of photos!
    The first ones of the deer are magnificent!
    Glad there were no serious injuries in the car accident
    Have a great day!

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  16. Beautiful series of photographs and collages.
    Best regards, Irma

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  17. Your posts are always chock-full of incredible images! Love the deer, and the awesome bird shots! The zoo pictures were great as well. Really wonderful post! Hope you are having a great new year!

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  18. Beautiful images, but, I hate the idea of zoos. You made it excellently.

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  19. What stunning pictures... Incredible, fantastic place to live! It must be a heavenly place, full of wonderful things; lots of animals and so much fun for you and family!! Deers, birds, cute dogs, puppy (so big at 9 months) and funny little kitty (happy bday to Silveit)*-*
    Such great time at the zoo for you, nephew and grand-nephews! It must be so lovely to see from upclose those amazing critters and to learn so much about them. I enjoyed so much your post; beautiful pictures!
    Many thanks for sharing them with us! and for your recent visit on my blog, too! Have a perfect and lovely weekend to you and whole family!

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  20. What?!! I'm glad they are ok. Very scary stuff there. Sounds like they had their seat belts on or it might have been worse?

    Hope your year is off to a good start. I went back home to WI during vacation and it was weird. It felt like you were saying, every day blurring into the other. Overcast skies and COLD!

    Beautiful photos...especially love your White-throated Sparrow. Have a good weekend! Chris

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  21. Happy New Year, dear Mary!

    So relieved to learn that your daughter and her husband came out of that horrible accident in good condition; it sounds very scary, the car flipping over like that!

    Your photos of all the beautiful birds are stunning! Cardinals, robins (and, as you know, Blue Jays) as well as black capped chickadees are all personal favourites of mine, and thus, I studied your images for a bit!

    I haven't been to a zoo in ages, maybe since Liberty was a little girl, so I enjoyed seeing your shots of all the intriguing critters, albeit, caged, (and yes, I too, have mixed feelings about their fate). Your grands looks completely enthralled with all of them; they must have had a super fun time!

    Silveit, Meaka and Svetka are simply gorgeous, as ever, always so striking!

    Hope you are well my friend, and wishing you all the best for 2017!

    Hugs,
    Poppy

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  22. Hi Mary, your photos are wonderful and very uplifting. Thank you for sharing them and I am a bit late as I have had a break from blogging but Happy New Year!

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  23. Hi Mary, just stopping back again to say thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Fabulous post, photos and critters. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!

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  24. I'm glad to hear your daughter and her husband were not badly hurt! That is scary! Hugs!

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  25. Glad all is well and safe. Nice pics from your window and such an array of beautiful pics.

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  26. Wow! So many wonderful critters. So sorry to hear about that accident but glad they got out okay. I can relate to forgetting some things like linking, etc. these days. Hope you are having a lovely weekend.

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  27. Hello, Mary! what an awesome critter post. Your dogs are beautiful. I love the deer and the handsome buck. Your nephew job at the zoo sounds interesting. Wonderful collection of photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Enjoy your day and the weekend!

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