SkyWatch Friday

SkyWatch Friday is hosted by a team of bloggers (Tom, SandyCarlson, and Imac).  Be sure to stop by and visit them.

The following pictures were taken by pier in Pepin, Wisconsin on June 28 of this year.  I think I was kneeling in the first one in an attempt to get the entire tree.  That is why my photo is a bit lop-sided.  The hills on the other side are Minnesota.  

 

Here is a close-up of the roots.  There were a few other trees growing like this.  

 

In the following two frames, I am still around the tree, but concentrating on the bigger view here.  The clouds were moving pretty fast which changed the lighting nicely.

 

Thank you for visiting.  Please stop by SkyWatch Friday to find more participants.

Camera Critters

Joining Camera Critters for the first time today :)

Thank you Carletta at Round the Bend for the recommendation to join.

As I have mentioned previously in my blog, we went to the MN Zoo while on vacation this past June.  I took over 2000 pictures while on vacation and have been slowly going through them.  I love having a digital camera just because I can take so many and not worry about cost.  All it costs me is time to sort after I'm home.  Here is a small sampling from the World of Birds Show at the MN Zoo. 

These are in order of the show.  I've linked the pages from the show list for anyone who wants a quick primer on a particular bird.  That exercise helped me remember what each one was called.  As you can see through some of the pictures, I moved closer to the stage to get better pictures.  If I had a camera with better zoom, I could have stayed in the cool shade up at the top of the seating area.  Obviously close-ups became more important than comfort that hot summer day.  

As usual you can click on a picture to enlarge it.  I hope you enjoy the pictures. 

I missed the doves flying around the arena at the very beginning as we arrived just as the show was starting. 

Ducks....

Greater Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Nearly albino Red Tailed Hawk

Named Pink Floyd

 

 

King Vulture

Peregine Falcon

Red JungleFowl

  

East African Crowned Crane 

Hyacnith Macaw

 Yellow-Naped Amazon Parrot

 

Rose-breasted Cockatoo

 Bald Eagle

 

 

I am a definite fan of the World of Birds Show and the MN Zoo.  It was well worth the money and time.  I think I may try for a cooler day next time.  That day was boiling.

To see more Camera Critters please click on badge at beginning of post or the right of your screen.  Thank you for stopping by today :)

Vacation pics: Laura Ingalls Wilder Birthplace

Interesting cloud

I saw this on our camping trip. I couldn't resist snapping a couple of pictures.

Here is a photo of the campground. Yes, two people required two tents. We like room to s-t-r-e-t-c-h out.

Meerkats

Here are some meerkat pictures from my trips to the Assiniboine Zoo and MN Zoo. The meerkats in Winnipeg are indoors and the ones in MN Zoo are outdoors and behind glass thus the reflections in the photos (I'm not talented enough to get rid of them in editing).The first two pictures are from the Assiniboine Zoo and the rest are from MN Zoo.

Vacation

(I apologize if the fonts are wonky in this post. They seem wonky in my previews.)

We recently took our yearly camping vacation to WI. We generally camp to save on motel fees although we did spend one night in a motel. This allows us to visit family and play tourist.

This year we did some different activities than normal. We did more touristy stuff than family visits. It was a nice break and I took LOTS and LOTS of photos. In the last 3 or so weeks, I have visited 4 different zoos, the National Eagle Center and the estimated birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

I'll be posting the majority of the vacation pictures in the coming weeks on my picture blog. I will try to place notes here when I do update the other blog.

• Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg, Manitoba, CA
• Irvine Park Zoo in Chippewa Falls, WI,
• MN Zoo in Apple Valley, MN
• Como Park Zoo and Conservatory in St. Paul, MN.
• National Eagle Center in Wabasha, MN.
• Laura Ingalls Wilder Birthplace in Pepin, WI (also known as my mom's hometown)

I went to the Assiniboine Park Zoo with my son on the 23rd of June. We've been meaning to do this for the entire 16 yrs we've lived on the Can/Am border. The other places were visited while on a camping vacation with my mom. Kiddo stayed home and babysat the dogs. We hit those places between the 29th of June and 2nd of July.

Here is an email I sent to some friends after we arrived home from our trip. Some of it is repeat from above. Please bear with me, I'm too lazy to edit tonight :)

Hi all,

We arrived home last Wed. night about midnight. We had no internet until last night due to a bad modem and some line work being done. Poor kid had no internet for 3 days before we got home. He didn't bother to tell us until late Wed. which was too late for us to call. We had a technician come out on Mon. and installed a new modem/router as ours was nearly 4 years old and was one of their first. Needless to say, I got a bunch of shows watched up on the DVR which was good because we only had 14 hours left on Wed. night when we arrived home.

The trip was fantastic!! We visited 3 zoos while on our trip: Irvine Park Zoo (http://www.irvineparkzoo.org/) in Chippewa Falls, WI, MN Zoo (http://www.mnzoo.com/) in Apple Valley, MN and Como Park Zoo (http://www.comozooconservatory.org/) in St. Paul, MN. Those zoos came on the heels of going to the Assiniboine Park Zoo (www.zoosociety.com/) in Winnipeg, Manitoba, CA with Charles the Monday before we left. We also went to the National Eagle Center (http://www.nationaleaglecenter.org/) in Wabasha, MN. I'll post pictures as soon as I finish sifting and resizing for email. I have to say right now that the National Eagle Center was my FAVORITE. Those are the most majestic birds on the earth!!!!

We also visited with a couple of relatives, but unlike most trips we didn't fuss about visiting them. We did it on OUR time and kept it short and sweet. No pressure and lots of time to ourselves to just relax. Most years, we go nuts trying to visit everyone and jam so much into the time that we get overtired and very cranky. The cooler weather helped things quite a bit as well. We had a couple of rain showers the first two nights, but nothing major. Neither tent leaked or had any troubles. Most days the tents were dry by 10 thanks to the great breeze that kept blowing. Where we camped didn't get the sun until after 9am. That is one of the joys of being in a valley in a valley.

Mom took me on tours of the area. We spent some time searching for various family homes and grave sites which is not easy when towns and buildings dwindle. A couple of the old family farms only have a half a silo left or maybe an old shed. Some cemeteries are hidden behind huge new barns or forests. We couldn't find the grave site of Mom's Dad which is also were her sister Donna was buried. Donna died at 4 months back in '40 or so. Mom has only been their once and that was when her dad died in '77. We found out too late where her maternal grandmother is buried. It's in Porcupine...which isn't exactly on the map. Gotta love country places. We even spent some time at the birth site of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Mom grew up in Pepin, WI. We laughed and laughed at how the old dump site is now a RV park. By looking at it you can't tell it was the city dump. My aunt Violet even has a camper in there. It's funny how I've seen many of these sites before, but I was able to enjoy them more this year. Maybe it was because we were so doggone relaxed and unrushed.

Kiddo did great staying home alone even though he had a sick dog. I almost had to come home, but I had Charles give Smokie lots of skits (dog biscuits). She was being pukey due to not eating much. This gave her something in her tummy which helped. Poor dog! She actually did better than Amy which we expected to be extremely mopey.

I just finished reading the digest from my time away. I am praying for all things mentioned. (((hugz))) to those close to the tragedies or going through rough times.

Mom had her cardiology appointment yesterday. She is back in A-fib, but not as bad as before. She will have another Cardioversion on the 30th.

Vacation pictures.

In the last 3 or so weeks, I have visited 4 different zoos, the National Eagle Center and the estimated birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder. I'll be posting some pictures of my visits in the coming weeks.

• Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg, Manitoba, CA
  
• Irvine Park Zoo in Chippewa Falls, WI,
• MN Zoo in Apple Valley, MN
• Como Park Zoo and Conservatory in St. Paul, MN.
• National Eagle Center in Wabasha, MN.
• Laura Ingalls Wilder Birthplace in Pepin, WI (also known as my mom's hometown)
  

I went to the Assiniboine Park Zoo with my son on the 23rd of June. We've been meaning to do this for the entire 16 yrs we've lived on the Can/Am border. The other places were visited while on a camping vacation with my mom. Kiddo stayed home and babysat the dogs. We hit those places between the 29th of June and 2nd of July.