Thursday, October 29, 2009

Boise Zoo






























My friend Katy took me to the Boise Zoo last weekend. Being a week before Halloween, the zoo sponsored a day for kids to come trick-or-treating inside the park's gates.
So I had just as much fun snapping photos of kids in costume as I did taking photos of the animals.
The peacock to the right is probably one of the most flamboyant examples of a costume at the zoo, and the kid's dad looks to be having a good time, too. He was one of the few who smiled for a photo.
Below is the most classic 'zoo' picture I could think of, other than a lion (my lion pictures didn't turn out so well). It turned out to be a challenge to get the camera not to focus on the cage, fence or glass between myself and the wildlife.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Which is which?



Here are some fun comparisons between costumes and actual animals. I think an adult, one working for the zoo, was in the giraffe costume.
I took a lot of photos, and it was just chance that some of the costumes matched some of the animals. There were far more kids dressed up as ninjas or wizardsor Hannah Montana.









































These little penguins were making a run for it. Surprising how alike they look in these photos.




Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Fall colors


Fall colors are pretty self-explanatory. The upper photo is a branch stretching over the Umatilla River on the Main Street bridge in downtown Pendleton, the lower is a shot of the hills behind Weston at sunset.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Rise and shine


Saturday morning I saw the sun rise on my way to the White Eagle Grange's breakfast. To be fair, it wasn't that early. By the time I made it to the grange it was 7:30.
As I was driving down Highway 395 the sun just peaked over the mountains. I pulled off on the nearest frontage road and snapped a few photos.
At the grange I took photos for a wild art letting people know the grange needs members. I considered using this photo, but didn't think that wonderful steam coming off the biscuits and gravy would translate in black and white newsprint. So I saved it for the blog.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Blue Mountain Wildlife

Blue Mountain Wildlife held its annual open house Saturday. I happened the be the reporter on that day, so I had an excuse to go, though I probably would have gone whether I'd been working or not.
Blue Mountain Wildlife is a raptor rehabilitation center just south of Pendleton. Lynn Tompkins, the director, works day and night to bring many hawks, eagles and even pelicans back to health. There are a number that don't make it, as is the nature of the job. She is an interesting person because her knowledge comes from experiences with the animals, rather than from books.
To the right, Marsha Flamm, who runs a rehab center in Yakima, brought her falconry skills to ooh and awe those visiting BMW. Her hawk, Black Jack, is a Harris's hawk.





This is Bob Tompkins, Lynn's husband. He is with her in every endeavor, though almost always working in the background. I was glad to get a photo of him. Here he is with Flame, the flammulated owl.









Lastly, of course, is Angus, my favorite raptor at the center. He's one of the education birds. The Tompkins take a number of birds that have been healed but are not releasable in the wild to schools, museums and events to teach people about them. He was imprinted to humans as a baby and so prefers our company to those of his own kind. He always seems ready to pose for a great photo.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Nostalgic fall


With fall setting in, I grow nostalgic for last year, when Eric and I took a vacation to Southern Oregon. We spent two of those days on his property near Grants Pass, gold panning and camping.

We also took a chance to hike the entire property - most of which is made up of a huge hill. It's often hard to portray steepness in a photo, but this one below show's it perfectly. That tilt of the ground in the bottom corner is how steep it is. Eric's face also shows how steep it is.









It was just a nice relaxing time to spend with all the fall colors. It was even warm and sunny for the time we were down there.