I LOVE baby elephants!
Category Archives: Amazing Animals
Did I Tell You?
Filed under Amazing Animals, Awe-Inspiring Photography
Awww – Baby Elephants
Filed under Amazing Animals
Funny Guard Dog
Amber is a 95-pound yellow lab. She thinks she is a ferocious guard dog. I don’t really think she gets the idea, though.
Instead of barking, she greets everyone who comes to the house with tail wagging, wanting to get up on them and give them a kiss or two. (She might bowl them over while doing that, but her intentions are to LOVE, not DEFEND.
She will run like a nut after a rabbit or other critter in the yard, but she’s never come close to catching anything – leaving that job to Abby, our cat.
She routinely sits on her bed in the living room late in the evening, when we’re watching TV or reading, suddenly growling or barking – scaring us to death. There is never anything that she is growling or barking AT – and we have to encourage her NOT to do it.
Last night she was in the office with me. Suddenly she was growling and barking – looking at the stairs to the second floor. When I got up to go with her and check out what the problem was, I had to laugh. I had ‘walked’ a big ‘package’ of bottled water up the stairs and left it at the top, to be taken into our bedroom when we went up for the night. Amber saw that at the top of the stairs, recognized that she didn’t normally see that there, and freaked out.
SO – our guard dog was great at defending us from the bottled water. We can rest easy.
Filed under Amazing Animals, Family
I Melt for Dogs
Filed under Amazing Animals, animal paintings
For the Love of a Cat
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Dog Sculpture
Filed under Amazing Animals, sculpture
Dogs and Clay
Filed under Amazing Animals, ceramics, Clay Art
Beholder’s Eye
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” ~ Margaret Wolfe Hungerford
Some say these birds are ‘ugly.’ In fact, I found these pictures when I used the search term, “Ugly Birds.”
I love these birds. Their faces are full of character. I would much rather enjoy these birds than male cardinals, who wait for their mates to check an area out to see if it’s safe, and THEN will come and preen before taking a sunflower seed. This emu would as soon as peck you as say, “Hello.” I love him.
I had never seen this bird before. He looks quite dignified to me. Royalty, for sure. :0)
This has long been one of my favorite birds. He’s beautiful, isn’t he? He looks like he’s laughing.
And this sweet bird is just trying to be left alone, hopefully camouflaged so he can catch a nap.
I admit I love all birds, but these hold a special place in my eye and heart.
Filed under Amazing Animals, Mother Nature
Thoughts on a Tuesday 6-8-2021
You HAVE to laugh when you have to “update” the first blog post of the day 5 times to get rid of as many mistakes as possible. My lesson learned for the day is that you CANNOT cut and paste from the Etsy website to the blog without a MESS. Sorry about that. I think it’s straightened out now.
The Etsy shop is NOT messed up, and I AM offering a 25% discount on any two pair of my hand-painted wooden earrings – dangle/wire, post/stud, and/or clip-ons plus free shipping. If you’re interested, please take a look and take advantage of this and other discounts. HandmadeHavenByLinda on Etsy.
We’ve been setting a humane trap each night on our deck, trying to catch the critter who has been emptying our bird feeders lately. No luck until this morning, when we caught a cute raccoon. He didn’t hiss or spit at us, even though he was in the cage. We went out in the rain, put our trash at the bottom of the driveway, got our mail, and then drove out about 5 miles to relocate the raccoon in a stream. Raccoons don’t share well. They not only clean out all the feeders – they TRASH the feeders. He probably has brothers or sisters, mother and father, cousins, etc., but it’s ‘one down’ now.
It’s raining, of course. I drowned putting out the trash. My husband had put the cage with the raccoon in it in the back of the truck, plus the bags of trash around the cage. I couldn’t get the bags out without moving the cage, scaring the poor raccoon as I drowned. Of course, he had pulled part of one of the trash bags into the cage with him, and I had to extricate that, as well. I was not a happy camper when I got back into the truck. My HUSBAND got drowned when let the raccoon out, so we’re even. :0)
Since it is supposed to rain off and on all day, it’s a great day to now stay home and stay inside. I plan to do a few things on the ‘should’ list, read, and maybe play in my art room today.
Have a Happy Tuesday.
Filed under Amazing Animals, Mother Nature, Thoughts on a ________
Beautiful Cat Art
Filed under Amazing Animals
Dogs as an Art Form
Filed under Amazing Animals
Long Legged Birds Make Me Smile
I love birds. I love pretty birds AND ‘ugly’ birds. I love water birds. I love water birds with long legs. I’ve been to the ocean once that I remember, when my husband and I went to California. We drove down Highway 101 and I made my husband stop many times so that I could get out and walk on the sand a bit. When I saw the sandpipers skitter across the sand on their long, long legs, it made me laugh out loud. I loved it.
One of life’s many pleasures – to be remembered – not to be missed.
Filed under Amazing Animals, memories
Crafty Cats
“Cats always seem so very wise, when staring with their half-closed eyes. Can they be thinking, “I’ll be nice, and maybe she will feed me twice?” ~ Bette Midler
“A cat has absolute emotional honesty.” – Ernest Hemingway
“Those who’ll play with cats must expect to be scratched.” – Miguel de Cervantes
“Cats invented self-esteem” – Erma Bombeck
“The smallest feline is a masterpiece” – Leonardo Da Vinci
Filed under Amazing Animals
Awwwwww!
Filed under Amazing Animals, Awe-Inspiring Photography
Throw the Ball?
Amber is a 4-year-old, 95-pound yellow lab who thinks she is a lap dog. Every day when I’m sitting at the computer, she tries her best to climb up in my chair with me. This results in a lot of laughter (on my part), face-licking (on hers), hugs, and some colorful bruised spots on my legs.
She also SAYS she wants us to throw a ball (or one of her other squeeky toys or ropes) for her. There is a lot of drama in the game. She brings the toy with great enthusiasm (I don’t really understand how she manages to smile with a ball in her mouth, but she does, making it squeak as she comes to us, shaking her head to break the ball’s neck.
We hold out our hands for her to give us the ball so we can throw it. She doesn’t really want us to THROW the ball as much as she wants to engage us while she lords it over us that the ball is HERS. She actually wants us to play Tug of War. She will actually put the ball in our hands, but won’t let go of it. She will pull it away, eyes twinkling, then run around and around the living room, squeaking the ball madly, return to us again to tease us, over and over.
Finally, when we give up, she drops the ball in our lap. We throw the ball, she dashes to get it, bringing it back eyes filled with triumph. She really would LIKE for us to play Tug of War, but she can pull us up right out of our chairs, so we aren’t excited about that challenge.
Would you like to come over and play with Amber for awhile?
Filed under Amazing Animals, Family
Wonderful Dogs
“Never judge a dog’s pedigree by the kind of books he does not chew.” ~ Unknown
“Dogs feel very strongly that they should always go with you in the car, in case the need should arise for them to bark violently at nothing right in your ear.” ~ Dave Barry
“To err is human – to forgive, canine.” ~ Unknown
“You can say any fool thing to a dog, and the dog will give you this look that says, “My God, you’re right! I never would’ve thought of that!” Dave Barry
Filed under Amazing Animals
Dogs are People, Too
“A watchdog is a dog kept to guard your home, usually by sleeping where a burglar would awaken the household by falling over him.” ~ Anonymous
“Some dogs live for praise. They look at you as if to say “Don’t throw balls… just throw bouquets.” ~ Jhordis Anderson
“Never judge a dog’s pedigree by the kind of books he does not chew.” ~ Anonymous
“Dogs love to go for rides. A dog will happily get into any vehicle going anywhere.” ~ Dave Barry
“Money will buy a pretty good dog, but it won’t buy the wag of his tail.” ~ Josh Billings
Filed under Amazing Animals, Favorite Quotes
Clever Cats
“Some people say that cats are sneaky, evil, and cruel. True, and they have many other fine qualities as well.” – Missy Dizick
“The trouble with a kitten is that it eventually beomes a cat.” – Ogden Nash
“I believe cats to be spirits come to earth. A cat, I am sure, could walk on a cloud without coming through.” – Jules Verne
“People with insufficient personalities are fond of cats. These people adore being ignored.” – Henry Morgan
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I Love Cats
“I got rid of my husband. The cat was allergic.” ~ Anonymous
stranamasterov.ru
“Some people say that cats are sneaky, evil, and cruel. True, and they have many other fine qualities as well.”
~ Missy Dizick
“As anyone who has ever been around a cat for any length of time well knows, cats have enormous patience with the limitations of the human kind.” ~ Cleveland Amory
Cats always seem so very wise, when staring with their half-closed eyes. Can they be thinking, “I’ll be nice, and maybe she will feed me twice?” ~ Bette Midler
Filed under Amazing Animals, Favorite Quotes
Dog Wisdom
“Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.” ~ Ann Landers
“Properly trained, a Man can be Dog’s best friend.” ~ Corey Ford
“Anybody who doesn’t know what soap tastes like never washed a dog.” ~ Franklin P. Jones
“The most affectionate creature in the world is a wet dog.” ~ Ambrose Bierce
Filed under Amazing Animals, Favorite Quotes
Sweet Cats
Filed under Amazing Animals
I Love Dogs
“Every boy should have two things: a dog, and a mother willing to let him have one.”
“There is only one smartest dog in the world, and every boy has it.”
“My Labrador retriever had a nervous breakdown. I kept throwing him a boomerang.” ~ Nick Arnette
“Dogs feel very strongly that they should always go with you in the car, in case the need should arise for them to bark violently at nothing right in your ear.” ~ Dave Barry
Filed under Amazing Animals
Beautiful Animal Paintings
Filed under Amazing Animals, paintings I love
Love for Baby Elephants
My mom loved ‘baby anythings.’ She would melt into a puddle, her heart on the floor as she oohed and ahhed over pictures or the sweet animals in the flesh.
She had three dogs – two chihuahuas and a toy poodle, who ALL stayed small and ALL sat in her chair with her whenever she sat down. She would cuddle, and talk in a baby voice FOR the doggies, giving each a definite personality.
My dad, who wanted to please my mom, sometimes brought home baby animals to try to please her. I will never forget a baby monkey that my dad brought home from a pet shop. They named him “Philbert,” and he basically hated everyone. One day he escaped from his cage and ran into the kitchen. My mother was soaking a head of lettuce in the sink. Philbert grabbed the head of lettuce and proceeded to run all over the house with it dripping – up and down draperies, over the carpet, onto the furniture, even up a wall or two as my mom ran around screeching. My dad tried to catch it, carrying a towel. He finally caught it. I remember seeing the monkey’s TEETH biting through the towel as he stuffed the monkey back into the cage and locked the door. (I was given custody of the head of lettuce to take back to the kitchen while my brother got more towels for the cleanup. (Philbert was taken back to the pet shop the next day to be adopted by someone else.)
We had baby rabbits as pets, too, because my mom fell in love with the ones at the store being sold at Easter. We brought home two gaily colored rabbits who became members of our family. We named them “Peter Rabbit” and “Welch Rabbit.” They grew out of their pastel-dyed fur and became quite sweet pets for us.
My mom saw a special on elephants on National Geographic. She oohed and ahhed, but by that point, had learned to look at my dad sternly and say firmly, “But, Jim. I DON’T want one!”
It’s a good thing that my husband doesn’t react to MY melting into a puddle over baby animals. We wouldn’t be able to get into our home because of all the cats and dogs, in particular, I would want to adopt… BUT – probably NOT an elephant… AREN’T THEY CUTE!?
Filed under Amazing Animals, Awe-Inspiring Photography
Handsome Horses
“When your horse follows you without being asked, when he rubs his head on yours, and when you look at him and feel a tingle down your spine…you know you are loved.” ~ John Lyons
“For one to fly, one needs only to take the reins.” ~ Melissa James
“I am still under the impression that there is nothing alive quite so beautiful as a horse.” ~ John Galsworthy
“The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and freedom.” ~ Sharon Ralls Lemon
“There is something about riding down the street on a prancing horse that makes you feel like something, even when you ain’t a thing.” ~ Will Rogers
“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” ~ Sir Winston Churchill
Filed under Amazing Animals, Favorite Quotes
“Joy” is a Pork Stick
When we were in the co-op buying veggie plants, we found this huge, long pork stick for Amber. We balanced it on the garage trash can while we brought in packages from our errands. Amber came out of the utility room, as usual, went right over to the pork stick, picked it up and carried it outside.
She finally picked it up, her tail wagging like mad.
She whipped it all around, like she was doing a victory lap.
This photo should be captioned, “Amber’s Joy.”
Filed under Amazing Animals, Family
I Love Squirrels 4
Filed under Amazing Animals, Awe-Inspiring Photography
I Love Squirrels 3
I Love Squirrels 2
Filed under Amazing Animals, Awe-Inspiring Photography
I’m Not the ONLY One With a Birthday
Four years ago Amber was born and soon came to live with us. She is a yellow lab.
We had done some research before getting her, and saw that labs tend to be a bit hyperactive for the first two years, but then they settle down.
Amber did not get the memo.
(I remember my parents, both only children, sitting me down at times for ‘serious discussions.’ They would calmly tell me that they had read the book (probably Dr. Spock) and that they realized that I was apparently going through the ‘terrible two’s.’ They had decided that I would SKIP this stage, moving right on to whatever came next. The talks really didn’t work that well, but I understand their motivation.)
Amber HAS calmed down – to be fair – but still is a maniac. She does pretty well when nothing is happening and we are by ourselves. The minute anyone ELSE comes, she acts as though she has never seen us before. All the time we’ve spent trying to train her goes out the window.
Since she weighs 95 pounds, it isn’t ‘cute’ that she wants to run right up to you, jump up, and lick you in the face. We have baby gates all over the house so that we can contain her. She is sneaky, and very smart, knowing that we can’t pay attention to her every minute. She calmly waits and then goes into the kitchen and eats my husband’s treats off the counter, leaving only the container on the floor, coming in where we are in the living room, smiling and belching. My husband and I try really hard to remember to close the baby gate between the living room and the kitchen, but we’re old and we get busy…
My other worst time is when she is outside and I come out, usually going out to the shop to check on my husband, or out to the garden. When she sees me, her eyes light up and she comes running FULL SPEED. She has knocked me flat onto my back on the ground several times. I now try to hurry to a tree, or at least turn sideways to give her a smaller target. She doesn’t mean to hurt me, but the damage is done before she tries to lick my face.
If I had to describe Amber in one word, it would be ‘EXUBERANT.’ The love for life and wish to experience all there is overflowS in this sweet dog. I wish her parents were smarter…
Filed under Amazing Animals, Challenges, Family
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