Camera Critters #213 - Taffy, the High Jump Medalist - May 5, 2012

"Ohhhh, I'm so happy.  My mom and dad brought me and my brother, Bucky,
to the dog park!  It's such a great day and there are a dozen dogs out here to
chase and pester.  I get tired of Bucky, sometimes...and he's bigger than me.
Wait a minute.  What is this fluffy tail I see....it's not a cat but it's got fur
and it irritates me almost as much as a cat does.  I'm going closer to investigate.
Wait, you ball of fur, no fair climbing that tree!"

Taffy stood near the fence, eyes pinned on the object peering down at him
from the branches.  Alex shot this picture and, in the next second, couldn't
believe his eyes, when Taffy, from that position, vaulted over the fence, no
running start or anything!  The squirrel, safe above, probably had a good laugh.
Taffy must be working out every day....look at those muscles - no fat on her.

I am participating in Camera Critters #213

Add your critter shot to join in the fun.

also

Pets Forever

Join Bozo there with a shot of your pet.

The San Francisco Botanical Garden Membership Contest

The San Francisco Botanical Garden Membership Contest

Many of you have seen my pictures and posts from the San Francisco Botanical Garden.

It is a wonderful place and, though I don't have a membership, the charge for non-resident

seniors is $5.00/visit which I think is very fair.  Many of you have also seen the incredible

photographs done by Joanne Olivieri, my dear friend, whose blog, Poetic Shutterbug, is

truly a work of art.  Her macro photography of flowers, bees and and other creatures, and,

of course, her poetry, are artistic treasures.  She is actively involved at the Garden,

volunteering and working with their Facebook page.

The Garden is now sponsoring a membership contest which is drawing to a close, winner

to be announced on Sunday, September 12, 2010.

I've copied this information directly from the San Francisco Botanical Garden Facebook

page:

"San Francisco Botanical Garden We are excited to announce our MEMBERSHIP CONTEST GIVEAWAY!!! In honor of our 70th year Anniversary. The winner of this contest will receive a one year Garden Lover

membership valued at $125.00.


Becoming a member of the SFBGS allows you not only the privilege of keeping the gardens flourishing but you will also receiv...e special benefits such as,


Free or discounted admission to over 250 botanical gardens across the United States,


Subscription to our eNewsletter “In the Garden,"


10% Discount on all SFBGS purchases (classes, plants, tours, books, etc.)


10% Discount at over 75 Bay


Area nurseries and SO MUCH MORE... For details on our membership levels you can go to our website, or click the Discussions tab on this page and click on the Membership Levels link, or email me directly at joanneolivieri@sbcglobal.net for a detailed description.


This contest is open to everyone, worldwide even if you are already a member. Here are the contest rules:

1. Tell us, during your first visit to the gardens, what was your favorite flower, plant or garden area. If you have never been to our garden, tell us what flower, plant or garden you would be excited to see.


You can write a blurb, an essay, a poem or anything you like. Be as creative as possible. You may include photos or even a video. All you need to do is post your entry on our Facebook wall and if you have a photo or video you would like to include, use the little icons on the wall to post them along with your entry.


We realize you may not have enough room on these wall posts for your entry. So, if you have a blog you may post your entry on your blog and copy and paste that blog post link to our wall.


The contest begins today - 8/19/10 and will end on 9/12/10. The winner will be announced on 9/13/10.


The entries will be judged on quality and creativity. Give us your best and good luck to all."

Below is my entry:

San Francisco Botanical Garden

San Francisco has a treasure,

That is here for all to see,

It is filled with nature’s beauty,

An oasis of tranquility.

 

One can while away the hours,

And travel continents far away,

By seeing their plants and flowers,
Which the Garden brings your way.

Stop off in South America,

And see the giant gunnera leaf,

Stand under it in a deluge,

To keep you dry beyond belief!

Pay a visit to California,

And see Matilija poppies white,

The towering, crinkly blossoms,

Are an unforgettable sight!

 

See the majestic proteus,

There are both queens and kings,

This flower from South Africa,

Is one of the prettiest things!

Majestic trees, bumble bees,

Squirrels and Canadian geese,
In this lovely garden setting,

One feels a sense of peace.

The library and the bookstore,

Have all you’ll ever need,

To acquire a gardener’s expertise,

As long as you can read!

 

Enjoy it and support it,

For it is meant for you,

The San Francisco Botanical Garden,

Is like a dream come true.

Carmen Henesy

Copyright (c) 2010 by Carmen Henesy

All rights reserved.

Camera Critters #126 - I'm Feeling Squirrely - September 4, 2010

Camera Critters #126 - I'm Feeling Squirrely - September 4, 2010

A couple of weeks ago, my dear friend, Joanne Olivieri who has a fantastic blog,

Poetic Shutterbug, took me to her regular haunt, the San Francisco Botanical Garden.

We spent several hours there taking pictures of the flowers, bees, ducks, Canadian

geese squirrels and other creatures that passed our way.

The squirrels were in rare form, following us fearlessly for handouts.  There were a
couple that, I truly believe, kept up with us until we finally put our cameras away and
headed home. 

I'm posting a few of the pictures I took and am dedicating this post to my friend, Ratty
( he chose to call himself this ) who has a wonderful nature blog called, The Everyday Adventurer.  I think he really is a squirrel whisperer.  He gets the most fantastic
squirrel photographs and, somehow, in his part of the country, he seems to get
different varieties of squirrels - black ones, fox squirrels, as well as eastern gray
squirrels which are the ones in my photographs.

Am I posing nicely?

This is yummy!

See, I'm not afraid of that lady at all!

Look at all the plants!  This is the Botanical Garden, after all.

I think this is my better side.

I have to make sure those other guys keep away from the food!


I'm taking part in Camera Critters - check it out and join in the fun!

Golden Gate Park Scenes - 5-15-10

Joanne Olivieiri ( Poetic Shutterbug ) and I had a fun morning on Friday.  I picked her up at 8:45AM for a jaunt to Golden Gate Park and the Japanese Tea Garden.  It seems on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, if you get there from 9AM until 10AM, admission is free so, armed with our cameras ( Jo has a marvelous new one that takes incredible macro shots  while mine, once terrific, now shows signifignant trauma from several encounters with pavement, rocks, and other hard objects in various parts of the world ), we braved the misty morning.  One advantage to embarking early is that we found easy parking right next to the Japanese Tea Garden and were
thrilled to see a robin who allowed us to get several photos.  While we would have preferred a bright, sunny day, it was nice to see this setting without hordes of tourists.  In the next month, the numbers will definitely increase.

Of course, Jo and I will both be posting about our visit on our blogs so forgive us if you see some of the same pictures over the next several days.  Her macro shots, beyond a doubt, will blow you away.  For tonight, though, I'm just posting a couple that I know Jo didn't get.

After our visit to the Japanese Tea Garden, we crossed the street and entered the Botannical Garden where several squirrels cavorted around and entertained us for a few minutes.  They clearly were wanting a handout and I was so sorry I didn't have any treats with me. 

From there, we went to Clement Street and had lunch at Yet Wah, a venerable old Chinese Restaurant that both Jo and I had eaten at for years. 

Jo is happy as can be with her new camera

Poetic Shutterbug will go to any length for a good picture!

Here I am in my 49'er jacket, acquiring sniffles for the rest of the day!

Jo's camera will have much better pictures of this robin!

This was the only robin we spotted out and about that morning but, surely, there must have been others nearby somewhere in the park.

These guys were racing around all over the place.  They look a lot skinnier than Ratty's squirrels.

They would come right up to us, obviously expecting food.  When they didn't get it, off they went!

I loved the flowers and lovely scenes we encountered everywhere.

Baby's tears, one of my favorite plants of all time

Japanese maple ( I think ) - if you look closely, you can see the rain drops

At Yet Wah, Jo and I became nearly hysterical with laughter over the appetizer menu with the "stuffed crab craws" - we figured it had to be a misprint or the Chinese interpretation of crab claws.  If anyone out there knows more about crustacean anatomy than we do, please let us know!

More photos to follow on the Japanese Tea Garden and the Botannical Gardens in a future post.

Getting Ready for Winter

My mother lives in Columbus, Georgia, in an area of eight duplexes that are built in what used to be a pecan orchard.  Fifteen years ago, when she first moved in, the trees yielded large crops of nuts and I could always count on receiving several bags of shelled pecans for Christmas every year.  Over the years, the trees seem to produce smaller crops but the squirrels still seem to find an ample supply to sustain them during the Georgia winters.  During the past week, I've enjoyed watching them busily scampering about, hard at work.  Occasionally, they take a break and frolic with each other on the lawns.

This is the view from my mother's back door.

The squirrels here are not the pretty black one's like Ratty's but the usual gray ones - they are very well camouflauged by the tree bark and the grass

This one seems airborne

A bit wary of any movement on my part

There must have been twenty of these guys out today 

 

Play time now