He is just so magnificent that I have no words.
I will leave you with this interesting fact though
White rhinos have a hump of muscle on their necks and shoulders to hold up their head
which can weigh 800 to 1,000 pounds.
Armored Giant
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Paint the Roses Red
We all need a little beautiful madness in our lives.
I found this rose while out on an adventure one afternoon. It renews in me the wonder and magic in nature.
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Are you Going to share
Squirrels never cease to amaze me. Something I didn’t know there are over 250 different kinds of squirrels.
The squirrel in this photo used to wait outside our balcony door every morning for us to feed her. One afternoon I left the door open and went into another room. A little while later I heard strange noises and when I went to investigate I was rather surprised to see her sitting in the middle of the dinning room floor. Note to self: never underestimate a squirrel.
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Leu Gardens
Outside it’s fall. The air is cool and the colored leaves blow on the breeze as if they were waltzing. The land is preparing to sleep, but as you step into the Harry P. Leu Gardens you would never know fall was here. The flowers are blooming, the grass is green, and butterflies wait to emerge from their chrysalis.
In the center of the Leu Gardens next to a cottage is a section where over a hundred different plants are arranged to attract butterflies twelve months a year. There are two types of plants used in the butterfly garden; nectar and larval plants. Nectar plants usually have showy flowers, bright colors, and provide a food sorce for the butterfly. Larval plants are those plants on which the butterflies lay their eggs. After hatching, the young caterpillar begins to eat the leaves of the plants. You can usually find the larval plants in the garden (without the wonderful plant lables) because they look a little nibbled on.
I adore fall and all the good things that come with it, like apple cider and pumpkin deserts, but I can never resist watching butterflies. Sitting in the garden and watching the butterflies doing their graceful aerobatics I can almost hear the whisper of spring and the excitement it brings.
Posted in Animals, Nature, Things to do in Florida
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Porch Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a water spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building. Outside of architecture gargoyle is also used to describe a grotesque. A grotesque is a carved sculpture used for ornamental purposes only. Another purpose of gargoyles was as a guardian designed to represent, and ward off evil.
You have to look closley to see him, but he is there diligently gaurding his post. This little guy isn’t spitting water so he would technically be a grotesque. Now I wouldn’t ever call him that, I know some people who would disagree, but he’s a gargoyle anyway. I don’t know if he is warding of evil by saying “don’t bother, I’m already here doing demonic stuff” or just “I’m watching you don’t think about it”, but either way I’m glad to see him gaurding our door.
Posted in Animals, Frog, Nature
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They call me a vampire
Don’t worry there isn’t any need to drag out the garlic and start praying for daylight.
I have always been a night person. Trying to get me out of bed early in the morning is like trying to wake the dead. Being refered to as a vampire by people who know me well is nothing new. I have noticed that a lot of my coworkers, who I have known for a relativley short time, have started using the same reference. Granted I have a job that requires me to keep night time hours, but not all the time. On the rare occasion where I come in and the sun is still up I am greeted with ”I don’t ever see you while the sun is up,” and “are you sure the sun isn’t too bright out there for you?” There have even been, when I’m leaving in the wee hours of the morning, “Be careful and make sure to be home before the sun comes up.”
This morning it was running around in my brain and I couldn’t seem to fall asleep at my normal time, which is before the sun comes up. In response I grabbed my camera and ventured out into the first rays of sun and thought to myself,
“Now is the time for all good ghouls and their hedgehogs to be tucked away safe in bed.”
Say hello to Fizgig!
This is Fizgig. He’s without a doubt one of the most adorable creatures on the face of this planet. He is a hedgehog.
I have to admit though he is a bit of a picky eater. He like’s grapes, but you can’t just roll a grape over his way and he’ll start munching on it, oh no. Sir Fizgig requires you to peal the skin off his grapes. Only then will he honor you by eating the food you’ve given him.
He is not a fan of the light! He will find any crevice or crack in clothing to hide in.
Hedgehogs like a warm climate to hang out in, between 72 and 85 degrees ideally. They’re an ideal domestic pet because they are pretty low maintenance and willing to eat bugs! They’re cute and adorable which helps.
Remember Groundhog Day? Well originally it was a Roman themed Hedgehog Day which is still celebrated around the globe.
Posted in Animals, Hedgehog, Nature
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Kitty time
Say hello to Baxter. He’s a local neighborhood cat. I have no idea if anyone takes care of him on a regular basis but he shows up every four to five days and certainly looks healthy enough. Even so I put out some milk for him when he drops by and starts singing me a song from the window.
Did you know there are between 25 and 60 million feral/wild cats in America? All the more reason to take your kitty to the vet for a little snip snip procedure isn’t it?
Interesting fact on cats, archeologists found a grave in Cyprus that is 9,500 years old and the occupant was next to his cat! This is pretty big news in the scientific world because the domestication of cats was commonly associated with the Egyptians in the neighborhood of 3,500 years ago. Pretty cool news if you ask me.
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Everybody loves Dolphins!
Say hello to flipper. Ok not THE flipper but instead one of the wonderful bottlenose dolphins of SeaWorld in Orlando Florida. Bottlenose dolphins are probably the most well known type of dolphin in the world.
Bottlenose Dolphins live in pods and there can be up to one thousand traveling together in a group. They eat forage fish and try to work together as teams when hunting for the fish.
Bottlenose Dolphins whistle and squeak to communicate through their blow holes along with various types of body language. They have excellent eye sight! Their sense of smell however it not so great, and is pretty much limited to salty, sweet, bitter and sour!
All in all these guys are pretty cool and worth checking out if you ever visit a Seaworld!
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The Peabody Ducks
Say hello to the Peabody Ducks. The tradition started at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1932 when a couple of hunter friends had had a little (or a lot) too much to drink when returning to the hotel and decided it would be fun to put their live decoys (ducks) into the fountain at the hotel.
It had become such a significant tradition for the hotel that in 1940 once of the bellman who had Circus experience became the first “Duckmaster” a position that still exists today 71 years later.
The ducks march through the lobby daily at 11am and 5pm. A pretty neat experience to checkout if you are ever in the area!
Posted in Animals, Nature, Things to do in Florida
Tagged ducks, Peabody, Peabody Ducks, Peabody Hotel Orlando
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