ABC Wednesday - B!

Today is the B day! ABC Wednesday is hosted each week by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt, click on the icon, sign up and get out your dictionary and find some B words to share with us!!

B is for Beer, Bears and Birthdays -- my son's!!



B is for Banana!



B is for Banjo!



And B is for Bridge!

That's My World -- Woodland Park Zoo

That's My World is hosted each week by Klaus and the My World team of, Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and myself. People from all over the world share their world with us and you can share yours as well! Click on the icon, sign up and show us the things you love about your world! PLEASE do read and follow the directions when signing in. Thank you!

One of my favorite places anywhere is the zoo and Seattle has a wonderful one! My son, knowing how I love zoos, took me there for my Mother's Day treat last year and what a wonderful day it was! So, I thought I would share that fun part of my world today. The history is courtesy of Wikipedia, but the photos are all mine. Do click on any of the photos to embiggen and get a better look.



Woodland Park Zoo is a zoological garden around the Green Lake neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. Occupying the western half of Woodland Park, the zoo began as a small menagerie on the estate of Guy C. Phinney, a Canadian-born lumber mill owner and real estate developer. Opened in 1899, the 188-acre (0.76 km2) Woodland Park was sold to the city for $5,000 in cash and the assumption of a $95,000 mortgage on December 28, 1899, by Phinney's wife (Phinney had died six years earlier, in 1893). The sum was so large that the Seattle mayor vetoed the acquisition, only to be over-ruled by the city council. In 1902, the Olmsted Brothers firm of Boston was hired to design the city's parks, including Woodland Park, and the next year the collection of the private Leschi Park menagerie was moved to Phinney Ridge.

Entrance to the African Section of the Zoo.



As of 2009, the zoo includes 92 acres (263,000 m²) of exhibits and public spaces. It is open to the public daily, and an entrance fee of $11.00 per adult (13-64); $8.00 for children (3-12); free for children 2 and younger is required from October 1 to April 30. The fee goes to $16.50 for adults and $11.00 for children from May 1 to September 30. Its collection includes:
• 1,090 animal specimens
• 300 animal species
• 35 endangered and five threatened animal species
• 7,000 trees
• 50,000+ shrubs and herbs
• 1,000+ plant species
Woodland Park Zoo had 1.05 million visitors in 2006.

It is all a very natural setting and sometimes you have to look closely to see the animals as they wander through the trees and around the ponds.





Look closely to see the hippo and zebras enjoying their "wild" space!



Scattered throughout the zoo are statues of the various animals!



Royal as always, the lion surveys his kingdom!



There is a very interesting program about birds where you can get up close and personal with a variety of owls and various birds of prey.



I loved seeing the children "communicating" with the seals!!



And the lovely and colorful flamingos! There was a mallard standing in front of them as though he was conducting some kind of exercise program in neck rolling!



And that's my fun, four-legged, winged world for today!

Evening, Wisdom and Beauty

Promises are like babies: easy to make, hard to deliver. ~Author Unknown



The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
~Mahatma Gandhi



Forgive all who have offended you, not for them, but for yourself. ~Harriet Nelson



Someone once defined humor as a way to keep from killing yourself. I keep my sense of humor and I stay alive. ~Abe Burrows



He who cannot forgive breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass.
~George Herbert

Microfiction Monday

Susan at Stony River Farm hosts Microfiction Monday. She posts a picture and you compose a story in 140 characters. You can click on her name to get further instructions. To help you along she has posted a wonderful link that counts your characters for you! How great is that! You can get the counter at Design 215.

Here's this week's picture, followed by my story to go with it:


Why do they get all the glory? Jeez! I'm the one who has to take all the chances?
If everyone only knew what they really do for a living!

Pet Pride!

Yoo Hoo! Time to check out the Birthday Kitty over at Bozo's place in Mumbai!! Have your human friend click on the icon of Bozo and sign you up to play!

Man oh Man! Have I had a fun weekend! Just let me tell you about it!!



Dad was home for one thing, but then Izzie got to come over and play! She is so funny! She had me rolling on the ground laughing!



And then her Mom gave my Dad a picture she had taken of Izzie and me when I was visiting during the holidays. We were playing with a new toy! Dad said to tell you to be sure and click to embiggen the photo so you can see how cute we are!



So, what am I supposed to say about all that STUFF???? No one made a framed picture of me with anyone!!!!



But Mom says I'm still the cutest thing she's ever seen! Guess that's all that matters!!

Evening, Wisdom and Beauty

It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not.
~Author Unknown



The way you treat yourself sets the standard for others. ~Sonya Friedman



Seven days without laughter makes one weak. ~Mort Walker



Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward. ~Kurt Vonnegut



It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else's eyes. ~Sally Field

Shadow Shot Sunday!

Hooray! Time to play with the shadows again! Shadow Shot Sunday is hosted each week by Tracy over at Hey Harriet! Click on the icon, sign up and become addicted to shadows along with the rest of us!!

We actually had some sun this week! Not a lot, a few hours a day, here and there, but enough to catch a few shots.

Here's Madame Mojo the Most and me caught looking for snacks in the kitchen!



A happy African Violet, a touch of blue and a pitcher just waiting to water something -- anything!



Depending on the angle of the sun at any given time during the day, the shadows get larger or smaller and the same shadows will appear in different places -- table, wall or reflections in the window!





When I went out on the deck I saw this bucket full of rainwater and it had it's own set of shadows!

Evening, Wisdom and Beauty

Not what we give,
But what we share,
For the gift
without the giver
Is bare.
~James Russell Lowell



Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone. ~G.B. Stern



Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. ~Mark Twain



Kindness is the greatest wisdom. ~Author Unknown



Remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something and has lost something. ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.



Unselfish and noble actions are the most radiant pages in the biography of souls. ~David Thomas



The last picture show !

Funny thing,
the mind.

Sometimes
tough as the rocks
that rise up
as sentinels on the
water bank.

Sometimes
malleable,
free flowing,
as the calm ebb and flow
of the waves
in the bay,
tumbling over
an idea here,
a doubt there...

It grows,
nevertheless,
a spring childhood,
adolescence
in summer,
and pining away
for rain.

Winters of doubt,
sharp nettles of hurt,
an inward look
and appraisal
of what life holds...

Meanwhile,
the tear-laden clouds
can hold no more,
and rush in torrents
to green the mind,
once again,
as the sun of hope
emerges
radiant,
and golden,
waiting to light up
your life.

Funny thing,
the mind,
isnt it ?

Posted by Ugich Konitari to Sylvia From Over The Hill at January 22, 2010 6:59 PM

Little Humor for the Weekend!

These Bottles Tell the Story of Life




and then there is this age .....

"Sure Wish Somebody Would Invent Something To Keep The Sun Out Of My Eyes."



Nope, can't fix stupid!



Children in a classroom one day began to identify the flavors by their color:

Red......................Cherry
Yellow...................Lemon
Green..................Lime
Orange ...............Orange

Finally the teacher gave them all HONEY lifesavers. None
of the children could identify the taste.

The teacher said, 'I will give you all a clue. It's what your
mother may sometimes call your father.'

One little girl looked up in horror, spit her lifesaver out and
yelled, 'Oh my God! They're ass-holes!

The teacher had to leave the room!


A Short Safari Story


If she hasn't -- she will soon!

Thought for the day!

No matter how badly last year treated you,

just walk tall with your head high. This is a brand new year, baby!



Love you guys! Have a great weekend!