This Weekend Had Its Moments

 

Rain? Snow? What was it going to be? I stopped working for the past three or four days mainly due to not knowing what was happening in surrounding areas. I read that Winston had snow, along with Myrtle Creek. Staring up at the surrounding hills I saw the white stuff. Nope. Not going to get stranded at the top of a hill in Winston because of that beautiful crystalized water.  Winston and Myrtle Creek are two of the areas they tend to send me to, along with Sutherlin and Oakland. 

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The skies were dark gray through some of the four days Terry had off. Rain pelted the pavement and grass, but it was better than snow. Definitely time to reconsider going out to deliver a bouquet of flowers or a burger to someone. Maybe, maybe not. I'd have to check the traffic report for the roads outside of Roseburg. 

The sun began to shine down on us a bit on Saturday, so Terry suggested a trip through Wildlife Safari and then dinner at Arby's, our one go-to place when we finish a run through the park. We stepped outside and rain was pouring, puddles were forming, and humans were rushing to seek cover. Hmm. Yes, let's definitely go to see animals through the whishing of windshield wipers. Why not? 

Just to catch everyone up, nothing happened on Thursday or Friday. Terry really had nothing going besides getting his hair cut. That was accomplished and his face and head looks well groomed once more. I was trying to find files to transcribe and that failed due to one in the queue. That one I listened to for a bit, only to find it was beyond comprehension what was being said. Nope. Well, that leaves jewelry to work with, which I sold some of that. Anyway, that's why there isn't anything on here about those two boring days besides our time spent laughing and watching our shows. 

Saturday did bring the trip through the park to see wildlife and I couldn't wait. It had been a bit of time since we had driven through there. We never know what we will see or what antics the beautiful babies are up to. So, off we went, with wipers on to remove as much rain as possible. Oh, this would be fun. 

As we entered the gates of the park, it was pouring rain. I began to wonder if we would see anything. Once again, we snapped photos of what was out, but the entire lineup of creatures were not walking around as they typically do. 

Driving through the park a bit, the rain subsided. The sun was playing peekaboo with us, floating in and out from behind clouds. But that was fine. Drops of water were not blocking our view of the park any longer. The trip would be fine. 

I'm going to do a photo dump of the animals we were able to see. Like I said, some were kept inside and some were underneath structures to keep dry and warm. The bears are in hibernation mode this time of year, so we have not had any sightings of them for a few months. But the rest we will leave here, at least the complete photo session we were able to get. 

Rhinos were hiding under the wooden feeding structure but even then the rain was pelting their tough skin. 

Zebras lined the hills. They didn't seem to care what the weather was. They weren't budging. Perfectly happy with their position in life. 

Bison. Those beautiful, proud creatures. Slow moving, but I love them. If you look at their soulful eyes you can see history of when they roamed the plains in South Asia, their homeland. Eventually bison herds began to cross the Bering Land Bridge to North America and settled here as well. Bison were first seen around 2.6 million years ago. Hmm. He doesn't look a day over 20. 

This massive American bison walked alongside the cars traveling the muddy roads to see him and others like him. I have never seen a bison get excited or move suddenly. They seem to plod along through life like your neighbor of the Jeff Spicoli group, loving life and bringing peace and love to all. Although this is not saying I would ever want to piss one off either. 

Rain, snow. Didn't matter. These guys were all about napping. Napping and munching on hay or the green grassy hillside. 

Stopping for traffic and we saw the large guy still plodding down the road alongside all the cars and trucks. He didn't care. He was on a mission, so with hay hanging from his face, off he went. Very focused. Love the bison. And if you look real close, it looks like he's wearing some bitchin' shaggy pants with leg warmers underneath. Just sayin'. 

Yes, very nice view, thank you. The ass side of a red wolf is just what you were looking for, I'm sure. I will become photographer of the year with shots like this, I'm sure. But, or butt as the case may be, here is one of the red wolves in the park. 

There we go. A better view. Those beautiful, watchful eyes. Lovely pups. 

As Siberian husky owners like we are, I still can't even imagine all the fur that comes out of that coat! 

So majestic and gorgeous. I thought these were American elk, however my image search disagrees due to the massive size of this boy. Research suggest this is a Roosevelt elk which get up to 1,100 pounds in size. Hmm. I'll take it's word for it. I'm not getting close to this boy to ask him to step on a scale for me. I do believe their maps state American elk. 

I don't really care what species this boy is. I just know he is grand and magnificent in size and beauty. Momma Nature did good. 

A second one stood in the middle of some cows, as one would imagine. 

In my opinion, the cows of the American elk or Roosevelt species is just as beautiful. She sat perfectly still for me while I snapped this photo. 

Her mouth opened a bit, like she was going to tell us to get some sort of a life or hobby. 

On the other side of the car, the hippos were strutting their stuff about the place. Terry was able to capture missy here had taken a break from her mud bath to search the grounds for something good. How dare they not serve munchies on a platter while she is in her spa? 

This gal or guy wasn't as pleased with an audience today. No posing or coming toward us to let us snap photos as it was the other trip here. 

Yeah, I think it was asking us to move on. So we did. 

Onward to the ostriches and emus, rheas, and fallow deer, all of which I love. I saw the yaks standing by the feeding tray, eating their lunch. Stopping the car, I went to adjust the camera, finger ready for the perfect shot, when ...

This appears in my window. The bird slithered its neck into my shot and stared. It felt and looked like a snake the way it moved its neck back and forth until its head was directly in the camera, and I have just had a nasty nightmare involving a huge snake slithering into bed with Terry and I.

 Moving the camera to see what the black blob was in front of me, there it was ... a black character resembling Squidward from SpongeBob SquarePants. Seeing the close up face made me jump, grab my chest, and let out a shout. My husband, meanwhile, was grabbing his chest too, but in laughter instead of fear. He saw this thing coming at me from behind and thought it wise to not say a word. Yeah, little man. There is a cat bed out on the porch with your name written all over it.  

After I gained my heartbeat back again, we laughed over the incident and checked out the yaks, that is once the glory hounds removed their bodies from our view. 

Little beggars. 

Usually these guys do make me laugh, but they can get fairly aggressive. We were not attacked by a treat-searching ostrich or rhea, but they come right through your window and introduce themselves and will often peck at you or items in your car. 

And speaking of shoving faces into spaces, here is the yak making an attempt to finish off the hay in the feeder. The yaks are always covered in dirt, mud, and hay, but I love the dirty little guys. 

Finally pulling his face from the feeder, I was able to get a full shot of my little buddy. Terry likes them, but says all they do is yak, yak, yak. 

Driving through the yak, fallow deer, and ostrich population, I looked up on the hillside to see white stuff. I like to see it, just don't wish to drive in it. 

Here are my guys! Terry calls them my boyfriends because one came up to the car and flirted with me as he did an adorable mating dance, but I think they are beautiful. The colors and that crown! Nature is amazing, isn't it? If you would like to hear his serenade to me, you can click on the link "mating dance."

Preening his beautiful feathers to make an impression on those females we saw down the road. 

Rounding the corner, we went into the Asia section of the park. Immediately we spotted several of the cheetahs, including a momma taking care of her two babies. 

The two cubs kept an eye out for any danger coming, while mom bathed them. Fierce looking, aren't they?

This section is also home to the tigers, but it is so difficult to get a good photo of them. We saw three, however, they were enclosed in a group of three fences. No go with the camera. You would have seen fences with a touch of orange and possibly a drop of black. 

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After our run through the park, Terry and I went into Arby's because you know, they've "Got the Meats." I ordered a French dip sandwich and hubby had a fish sandwich and a Reuben. 

Eating our lunch, we laughed as we always do about the shower triage. When Terry and I first got together, we came to Arby's and found it to be quite entertaining. First, Terry tried giving my food to the wrong woman until he looked up and realized what was happening. Secondly, we surmised that the triage setup was for those people who had a horrible odor and were taking showers once they went through triage to see how bad they were. The worst of them went first. 

You hear a little "ding" and then an announcement comes over the loudspeaker for whomever to come because their shower is ready. It was so odd that we had to come up with something. It made us giggle over the loudspeaker announcement of showers being taken. 

In all actuality, it is a truck stop, where truckers sign up to get in line for the showers. Wonderful idea for them and we do know they work hard. Not easy being on the road all day and sometimes night, especially in inclement weather. My youngest sister is a trucker and I've heard stories. It can be fun, but also very tedious and scary from her point of view and truck stops are welcome.  

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Terry and I went home. Back to our own fur babies. Back to relaxation and our routines. It is always nice to go to Wildlife Safari and today was no different. 

I went to the store as soon as we were home. Dish soap and other worldly goods were calling my name. Leaving Terry to his cigar, I took off. On the way home, I had to snap a photo of this at the stoplight. The light turned red and this gave me an opportunity to snag another photo for the day. 

Another beautiful day in our lives ends. I took a deep breath and knew, this is where I'm supposed to be at this time in my life. I am loved, have an amazing family, and I always know I am blessed. Blessings are everywhere. 

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Thank you for reading the blog. Please know that Terry and I are appreciative that you read it. We began the blog to remind ourselves of our life activities and events and when they take place. We love photos too, so this is where we find them a home. Thank you again. Shine your light! The world needs it!