Lemurs and Letting That Shit Go

 

Terry's T-shirt for the day (Photo by Vicki, using phone camera)

We have all had those weeks at work where nothing really stands out of the ordinary, but you're exhausted by the weekend. Well, this week was one of those for me! I had done several files and could not wait for the weekend to roll around to be able to gather my thoughts and take time out to relax. 

Terry and I had discussed a new hobby of birdwatching. He has two nice cameras he pulled out of the dust in the closet, one a Nikon and the other a Fuji. Terry enjoys using the Nikon, so he recently purchased a couple of tripods and a telephoto lens to capture the birds we may find in the wild. Our adventures of photographing birds in their environment have not begun, but practice is a must to gain experience in taking those perfect action shots. We pulled the Fuji out so I could get used to it and off to Wildlife Safari we went. What better place to practice capturing the movement of animals of all species than Safari? 

With Terry driving, he was sitting behind the wheel as we inched through the gravel roads. This also gave him a better shot of many furred and feathered species on his side. He began taking photos out of his window. I had the camera once in a while as well, but typically told him to take the pictures instead of wasting time putting the strap on my neck after pulling it from around his. That valuable time meant the possibility of missing some good shots. While Terry did take most of these photos we chose to share, I will get my chance to practice as well. We do plan on heading out on the weekends to begin photographing our bird models.

The pictures are many, so I will just leave this here. These are the top photos we caught, some with the Fuji and some with my phone camera. 

(Photo by Vicki with phone camera)

The fields and flower beds were filled with blossoms of all genres today. 

(Photo by Vicki using phone camera)

(Photo by Vicki using phone camera)

(Photo taken by Vicki using phone camera)

(Photo by Vicki using phone camera)

(Photo taken by Vicki using phone camera)

To the right of the main entrance, we saw one of the ambassador cheetahs. Along with the cheetah was the dog, both snoozing, refusing to let anything bother them. 

(Photo by Vicki taken with phone camera)

Walking through the Wildlife Safari Village always means a photo or two of the beautiful flamingos. 

(Photo taken by Vicki with phone camera)

(Photo taken by Terry with phone camera)

Walking around the village we had a chance to see the miniature pig. Last visit his face was buried into the mud. 

(Photo taken by Vicki with phone camera)

This cavy was snoozing heavily as well as the pig and the cheetahs. It was going to be a lazy day in the safari, that's for sure. 

(Photo taken by Vicki with phone camera)

(Photo taken by Vicki with phone camera)

Cavies are part of the Caviidae family of rodents native to South America. This family includes the familiar domestic guinea pig, the cavy, and the largest living rodent, the capybara. 

(Photo taken by Vicki with phone camera)

We walked through the village to the camel space or at least where they were offering camel rides. This big guy was cute but looked as though he's in need of having some major dental work done. 

(Photo taken by Vicki with phone camera)

(Photo taken by Vicki using phone camera)

Strolling through the park, we ran into the pond and lemur playground. I love this spot and saw all the lemurs were actually out swinging across the ropes and play area built just for them. Typically, I catch most of them in the hut, waiting on food or lazing around on the platform. This visit found them running and having some fun.

(Photo by Vicki using phone camera)

Even the local brewer's blackbirds were joining in on the fun today!

(Photo by Vicki using phone camera)

(Photo by Vicki, using phone camera)

(Photo by Vicki, using phone camera)

(Photo by Vicki, using phone camera)

The koi surfaced several times to see what food may have been dropped. 

(Photo by Terry, using phone camera)

(Photo by Vicki, using phone camera)

We grew tired of the lemur pond when a very loud boy tromped through the beautiful blooming flower bed to announce very loudly, he was going to feed the fish. During his clumsy entrance, he ensured he would scare every bird there was out of his path to the pond. The koi retreated to the other end of the pond and the lemurs were jumping up the ladders again to sit at the top of their perch. 

I searched the area, hoping this unruly youngster had a parent nearby, but I could not find a guardian at all. Terry and I chose to walk away before the child either fell into the water or frustrated me even worse with his need to scare the animals. Terry smiled at me, bringing me to a good level of calm, and we walked on. Not my circus, not my monkey I guess, as the saying goes. But shame on his parents. 

(Photo by Vicki, using phone camera)

I was not 100% sure of why there were two young goats in the alligator enclosure, but the iron door to the alligator habitat was closed tightly. I hope it was not meant to be dinner for the hungry reptiles. I couldn't bear the thought of that and didn't like the images running through my head. 

Photo by Terry, using Fuji camera

After using the restroom in the village, we headed out to the car and began the usual drive through the park. The day was overcast, but it was warm enough to feel like a spring day. A wind blew through, making things chilly once in a while though. But we figured it would be an awesome day for the animals. Not too hot for them to lay in the shade all day, but not too cold for them to hide out in their shelters. We were correct in our assumptions.

Our first stop was at the sight of a common eland baby. There were two calves, and they were beautiful!

Photo by Terry, using the Fuji camera

Photo by Terry, taken with the Fuji camera

An adult common eland. 

Photo of zebra by Terry, taken with the Fuji camera

Next to the common elands were the zebras. There is a herd of reasonable size in the park. One of my favorite animals at home in the Wildlife Safari reserve. 

Herd of zebra, taken by Terry with the Fuji camera

A few members of the zebra herd here.

Watusi cattle, taken by Terry with the Fuji camera

One of the most massive Watusi American breeds of cattle I have seen, horn wise. The horns are typically quite long and curved on the males. The females have a good showing as well but remain a bit smaller than the males. Can anyone say, "Excedrin please?" 

Herd of bison, taken by Terry using the Fuji camera

I can never pass up the beautiful bison. There were plenty of calves this time as well, so spring is definitely giving us quite a show, even in between the snow, the rainfall, and the cold weather warnings in the area. 

Guanaco, taken by Terry with the Fuji camera

Does this not look like an alpaca? I thought it was during our last couple of visits, but apparently it is a guanaco. The guanaco is a camelid, native to South America. While they are closely related to the llama, they are one of two wild South American camelids. The other is the vicuna, living at higher elevations. 

Roosevelt elk, taken by Terry with the Fuji camera

There was a large herd of Roosevelt elk grazing and lazing in the afternoon warmth.

Roosevelt elk, taken by Terry with the Fuji camera 

 

Napping black bear, taken by Terry with the Fuji camera

The weather of the day meant lazing in the warmth of the afternoon for most of the animals. This black bear was snoozing away, while bracing his leg and foot against a pole. 

Stretching black bear, taken by Terry with the Fuji camera

The black bear would flop over to his other side once in a while or lay on his back to scratch his belly. But it was always back to the original position and more napping. Try as he might, Terry could not get a good shot of his face. In due time my bear friend. In due time. 

Giraffe, taken by Terry with the Fuji

Three small giraffes are at home in the safari park. There is a two-year-old, a three-year-old, and a four-year-old. If you read the blog post about our last trip to the park, we went on the giraffe excursion, only to find they were all three too scared of the noise and antics of a couple of children in the group. Today they were out in the run, grazing away. 

Giraffe, taken by Terry with the Fuji

Giraffe close up, taken by Terry with the Fuji camera

Terry got some great shots of the giraffes today. I definitely enjoy them more while they are out in nature, not enclosed in the large pen they were in during our last visit. They placed the youngsters in the pen to host the giraffe encounter. This open area viewing was much better. 

Giraffe taken by Terry with the Fuji

Long and lanky giraffe, taken by Terry with the Fuji

Beautiful face, taken by Terry with the Fuji camera

Moving along the African area of the park, we spotted elephant past the giraffes and drove further.

Fenced in elephant, taken by Terry with the Fuji camera

I love the elephants in the park. This one might be the eldest of the pachyderms. I have a painting created by the beautiful Tava, one of the oldest.

Enjoying the day, by Terry, taken with the Fuji camera

We caught this larger fallow deer enjoying what warmth it could soak in this afternoon. The poor guy was missing an antler and now that I see the photo up close, there is a large lump on his neck. I'm assuming this might be an elder deer? 

White-naped crane taken by Terry with the Fuji

Terry caught this white-naped crane mid-blink I believe. His eyes were perfect when seeing him in person, yet they look cloudy in this photo. I am assuming it was a mid-blink photo. 

White naped crane, taken by Terry with the Fuji

Crane calls rang out as this guy yelled for his partner. We ran into the other crane further along the road. The second crane was making an attempt to find the other, by hearing the calls. They are beautiful birds. 

(Canadian goose and babies, taken by Terry with the Fuji)

Cockatoo, taken by Terry with his phone camera

Back in the village, there was a cockatoo sitting outside, singing the song of his people. This is Carmen, the salmon crested cockatoo who loves yelling as loud as he can. 

Arby's cup, taken by Vicki using the phone camera

For anyone who reads the blog, you know where we head after every trip to Wildlife Safari in Winston Oregon because after all, "We've Got the Meats!"

After our return, we began to remove the images from the camera. We also found a couple of images that Terry took years ago that I thought would be nice to post them here for you to see. I find them to be awesome pictures. 

Squirrel taken by Terry, using the Fuji camera, circa 2016

Squirrel taken by Terry, using the Fuji camera, circa 2016

Squirrel, taken by Terry using the Fuji, circa 2016

Cheetah cubs, taken by Terry using the Fuji, circa 2016

Momma is watching, taken by Terry using the Fuji camera, circa 2016

Beautiful family of cats, taken by Terry, using the Fuji camera, circa 2016

Concentration of a mandrill, taken by Terry using the Fuji, circa 2016

Unbelievable sights, taken by Terry using the Fuji, circa 2016

(Tiger by Terry, using the Fuji camera, circa 2016)

I hope these pictures brighten your day. I loved the ones Terry took at the San Diego Safari Park and the San Diego Zoo, somewhere around 2016. These needed to be shown and preserved and that is what the blog is for. Hopefully these will bring beauty to the day. Be sure to take time out for yourself. Our way of relaxing is to sit and do the things we love to do or to drive through the Wildlife Safari Park in Winston, Oregon or the beach. Whatever brings you happiness, life is far too short to ignore the things you love. Release all your stress and let that tension go through enjoying life. Just remember to let that shit go. Love yourself as much as you do others. You deserve it!