Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear

 

Saturday, July 20, 2024

Today is a lazy day of sorts. Terry and I are staying home in an attempt to get the house clean and animals taken care of. I want to take the vacuum outside and turn it lose in the car. We will be using it to go to Wildlife Safari tomorrow with Mallory and Hayden. Unless we want to have two people in the backseat eating dog hair, then it needs to be done. 

I did put a couple of blankets in the back to protect the seats, but that was a miserable fail. Between Togo's weight pulling slightly each time he laid down and people sitting in the seats, the blankets are of no use. It's time to invest in actual seat covers. The car is either growing its own hair or the dog's hair has taken over. Common sense tells me the dog has laid his "seed" down all through the car. We are now growing small Togos. Once they sprout, we'll be in business. 

I've been cleaning all morning. Terry just cleaned the bathroom. Yes, the man does clean toilets too, although not with a smile on his face. Although, I do not recall the last time I had a smile on my face while cleaning a toilet either. That's fair. 

Mallory is heading over in a while and we want the house to at least look as though we care. Today is movie watching day. Terry pulled out the classics by choosing the 1985 film, Cocoon. 

While Terry and I have both seen the alien film, Mallory hasn't. For those who have not seen it, you might want to give it a view. I give it four out of five dimes for ET to phone home. It's a Ron Howard movie that is worth the time to see. 

Movie watched. Check. Hubby outside, check. Mallory and I watching Bridgerton, check, check, and check. Amazing season in Bridgerton! Awesome show. Yes, there is some sexual portions of the show still, but not like a porn movie as was season one. They finally found the balance of that crap and have not been overdoing it in the seasons to follow season one. 

Saturday evening ended with Mallory heading out toward her home and Terry and I watching our new show, Leverage. Leverage is an awesome show too. We love it as much as we loved Scorpion. Leverage is all new to Terry, but he is loving it. 

Once our show was complete, I headed to bed around midnight or after. Moving into the bathroom, I could smell a familiar odor. It dawned on me it was the smell of a rain after a long heat spell. I went to the open window and sure enough, not only was it pouring rain, but there was lightning in the distance. But, but, but .... this is summer! We are in the last part of July. Very odd. With that in the back of my mind, I snuggled down under the sheets to close my eyes. I was gone in an instant. 

Sunday, July 21, 2024

The day started out under a cloud cover, keeping the temps down to about 67 degrees this morning. We wanted to go to Wildlife Safari today with Mallory and Hayden and hoped the day would remain cool. More animals roam the grounds when the weather is a bit cooler. 

Off we went and we had a lot of experiences today on our little safari. It was nice. Sun rays found their way to shine from behind, under, and above the clouds. This shot the temperatures up. The day turned out to be rather warm when all was said and done.

Here are our adventures in the Wildlife Safari Park in Winston, Oregon:

Lionesses were out today. We were lucky to catch a decent video of them. Those fences get in the way of course, but I am grateful for them as well. I sort of like our bodies the way they are, being without lion teeth marks all through them, thank you very much. 

Even though it wasn't too warm yet as we drove through the bear's home, the bears were still lazy. One slept underneath this bear in the shady, covered area below. I do believe these guys would remain in constant hibernation if nature would allow it. 

Raza peered over the top of the fence, checking us out a closely as we looked at him. 

The fallow deer were out in herds today!

This bison (and a couple others) were playing it smart. They laid off in the shade where naps could be taken in peace. All the other bison were in another area, lying in shade too, but on the other side of the park. 

Fallow deer were peering in at us to see if we may have food for them. 

This time through the park, there was a group of tiny babies, waiting on their moms to finish eating. 

Zooming in again, Terry caught a beautiful close up of the fawns.  

Further along the drive, Terry was able to capture a red wolf. The wolf was laying on the far side of the run making it a bit more difficult to get a clear picture. 

The wild turkeys were out in full force today, showing off their beautiful colors. 

The gorgeous autumn colors remind me that fall is just around the corner! Just the colors of this bird, not the fact that we eat them on Thanksgiving. Just so that's clear. LOL

 Speaking of just around the corner, we saw two of the crowned cranes I have grown so fond of. 

I caught this guy halfway around to get in another dig at his feathers. 

The tiger cubs were lazing around, enjoying the warm afternoon. 

This one was so out of it. So deep in nap time that his or her mouth was hanging open to cool his body in the heat. 

He's a snorer!

Terry zoomed in on the hippo, spending time mud bathing in the pond. 

And even closer ...

Amazing shot, babe! Also amazing as to what the cameras on our phones can accomplish. Beautiful!

There were zebras and Antole-Watusi cattle, elk, and many other animals sleeping in the shade today. Not worth taking pictures of them due to the darkness of the area they were laying in. After one drive through, we chose to walk around in the village. 

Inside the village, we ran into our favorite little cheetah cubs again. Love their mullets! That baby fur is still there, but wow, have they grown!

There were quite a few visitors today. The weather seemed to be just right, although the rhinos were sleeping under a large tree, way up on a hill. Other animals were out of it today as well, but for the most part, they were up and moving. We didn't see any of our guanacos either. I missed them as they have become one of my favorites. Terry loves their faces and that's what makes them so cute. 

Love these guys! That color is spectacular and the way they display gracefully is fun to watch. 

There was a gator inside the building, but this one was out sunbathing. 

Terry managed to get this shot of the cougar, despite the fencing. 

The close up of this beautiful cat enables you to see the eyes and details of the face a bit better. Wonderful job again, sweet man. 

It is difficult to get good shots of the cougars. Those fences are both a PITA, but also a good thing to protect the visitors from those teeth. 

I fell in love with the kookaburra. The kookaburra and other birds such as parakeets and cockatiels were along the Australian Walkabout, a new area for people to learn about birds and other critters such as the wallaroos. 

These two wallaroos were enjoying the shadier parts of their run and were just chillin' for the day. Terry happened to snap this photo of them as they were in and out of napping. 

Afternoon hours brought about even more heat from the burgeoning sun. It was flat out hot now! The clouds had backed off and now the sun reminded us it is indeed summer. I wore a spring or fall shirt, which was definitely a silly move on my part. What was I thinking? Ugh. That brilliant move didn't make it any better either. 

Fountain sprays were looking good, but somehow I believe I would have been escorted from the park if I had jumped into the ponds. Swimming with the fishes would have become a reality, as the ponds are full of very large koi. 

Walking around the village brought us back to the alligator pen. Now this guy was out of the water and was sunbathing. Look at the smile on his face! Just use sunscreen, little man. 

Almost makes you want to give him a kiss. Yeah, no. 

We looked into the red panda cage and caught some movement. Finally! I have been to this park so many times, but to actually see a red panda moving around is awesome! Loved watching them move about. 

Wildlife Safari had remodeled a couple of areas inside the village. The petting zoo area has been expanded. They added chickens, better barn-shaped homes for the pigs, goats, and sheep, and they had added the Australian Walkabout. It looks good and gives children and grown animal lovers the opportunity to visit the animals close up and personal, while keeping the animals happy. 

I wanted to take this handsome, smiling man home with me. Love the ZZ Top beard too. He keeps it smooth and groomed to perfection. 

The chickens sitting on their chick-nic table was a great addition. Loved this!

There was a stand with a wash bucket, underneath two hand pumps. Kids were playing in the water after pumping it out. Nice touch. We walked out of the Barnyard and headed toward the front gate, but not without checking out the owls and tamarins. 

Love these guys!

This is a burrowing owl. 

We took one more quick peek at the cheetah cubs laying in the sun, then off we went to Arby's. This trip to Arby's gave a whole new meaning to the slogan, "We Have the Meats!" Next time, next post. In fact, you probably don't even want to know. 

Until our next post, where we will be in Portland, Oregon, at the Billy Idol concert and then possibly in Eugene for the Satin Love Orchestra concert, please take care of yourselves! We appreciate all of you and send love and health your way.