Back at the Zoo 2: Squirrely

Pics NSFI (Not Safe For Iris)

Some versions of squirrels/rodents/chipmunks.

Back at the Zoo 1

On Friday both Mr and I had a day off. We cherish those days when we’re both at home and the kids are not, having some couple’s time. We usually try to get a few of them, a day or an evening, throughout the year, but you can imagine how that’s been going this year…

Now,usually we’d go to the spa or something, have a nice meal, too, but that’s crying over spilled milk right now, so we decided to go to the zoo, which is still open, and given that it was a foggy Friday morning, we pretty much had the whole thing to ourselves. The weather made taking pics difficult, since it was either grainy 6400 ISO pics or longish exposure, but some of them are still nice.

Let’s start with these amazing birds whose names I’ve forgotten. I remember they’re from India, though…

The Art of …

… photography, by Daniel Murtagh

Kate, photograph by Daniel Murtagh. Image from the artist’s site, danielmurtagh.com

Fungi Friday

Thanks to Avalus, we have some new little mushrooms to admire.

Tree Tuesday

Today, our reader VBFF has sent in one of her favourite trees as seen in two seasons. The tree got its name because at one point it held an impressive eagle’s nest.

It’s Founder’s Day

Today would have been Caine’s birthday, and we’d like to celebrate it by officially designating the day as Founder’s Day here at Affinity. Caine started this blog in July of 2016, and her witty, insightful and eloquent writing coupled with her artistic talent, made the blog instantly appealing and quickly beloved. Her birthday seems like the right day to celebrate her legacy and all the gifts she shared with us. We decided as a team that we would celebrate today with a collection of photos that remind us of Caine. We hope you enjoy them and encourage you to share your memories of Caine in the comments section.

Note: This post has been updated to add 2 photographs that I missed from rq.

From Charly,

I remember Caine whenever I pick up my camera because she introduced me to photography and bird watching. By publishing my amateurish pictures, giving them platform and having nothing but kind words about them, she gave me motivation to go out and do something at a time when I was suffering from heavy depression, and doing anything at all was difficult.

I have always admired her ability to make the most beautiful and interesting pictures by photographing the most ordinary things. So I took my camera today and I went in the garden to take pictures of completely ordinary things. Not arranging or changing anything, just pointing and clicking. I think I went a bit overboard and I cannot decide which of these are best to publish. They all remind me of Caine in one way or another – the bird-pecked sunflower, the late dandelion, the thorny hawthorn, the rough patterns on an old chopping block… All ordinary things, but each unique and beautiful.

From Giliell,

Caine taught me to look at things, really look at them. Oh, she loved the grand, spectacular shots, but she also had an amazing eye for the small things, the things people would just walk by, but that are also just as beautiful.

I am very sure that Caine would have loved our resident rodents. She just loved all creatures. She showed me that you needn’t be religious or believe in anything supernatural to feel a deep, spiritual connection with the world around you.

From rq,

From Voyager,

I find it hard to put into words the way that Caine impacted my life. Much like Charly, I was in a bad place when I started blogging here. I’d been sick for years and struggling, but Caine believed in me and was endlessly supportive during a time when her own life was full of pain and turmoil. That support helped me redefine myself as something besides being chronically ill and this beautiful blog that she bequeathed to us continues to nurture me. I thank her for the gift of seeing the beauty in common things and for allowing me to become a part of the wonderful community that she created.

The Art of …

… seeing light. First, the original painting by Vermeer

The Girl with a Pearl Earring, 1665, Johannes Vermeer. Image from Wikiart

and last, a photographic reproduction by Ranum

Girl with a pink bunny earring, by Marcus Ranum. Image from Deviantart.

The Art of …

… photography, by Ansel Adams

Jeffrey Pine, Sentinel Dome, Yosemite, c. 1940, by Ansel Adams. Image from The Seagrave Gallery

A Predator Poses for Pics

Avalus has been out capturing the natural world for us, and this set of photos is spectacular.

And this morning I had this big bird of prey pose and flex its wings for me. Quality is not the best, as I was shivering on my bike (cold! Forgot my gloves! Again!) and the autofocus had its problems focusing the bird from about 30 m away. It was a majestic sight. The pictures don’t do it justice.

[Read more…]

Degupdate: Emotionally Overwhelmed Pet Owner

Ok, I’ll admit it: I’m very, very stressed out right now. The USA at the brink of a coup, Covid still raging, and the ministry of education deciding to throw us collectively under the bus (the latest brainfart: if there’s a case in a class, they don’t want to quarantine the whole class, but only “immediate contacts”, because as we all know, 10 years old kids are great at never getting close to each other and staying in their seats for 6 times 45 minutes. It is also absolutely no additional work to teach half the class in school and half the class at home, no sir).

With this as my general anxiety level, and the loss of sweet Katja, I’m basically a helicopter pet mum, but to be honest, Gracie really does her best to freak me out. That’s a degu with a sense for Halloween.

She’s lucky she’s cute!

After she developed soft stool from the stress of being rehomed, I came up there on Sunday to find her whole side caked with blood. I couldn’t even imagine how that had happened, the degus hadn’t been together, and the cage is safe. I caught her and examined her. The little sweetheart apparently tore a claw, which happens, but is no great injury. But of course it bleeds, and since she sits on her hunches, the blood caked the side of her belly. When I returned an hour later, she’d cleaned herself up again and nothing was seen.

On Monday, the little one came down from feeding them and said that Gracie’s toe had apparently bled again, because there was blood in the water. And I was like “I’ll see to it”, because a droplet of blood should be right invisible in a waterdish. I came up and the whole dish was red. There shouldn’t have been any blood left in the degu to turn the water that colour.

But Gracie appeared to be fine. I got closer, took out the dish and inspected it in better light. Now the orange brown colour of blood turned a more scarlet variety and I found a formerly dried beetroot chip in the dish. She’s been repeating that game. Either she hates beetroot, or she likes her water to be flavoured.

I now moved the water away form the food. Let’s see if it was an accident or mischief.

On the good news, the running wheel finally arrived. Unfortunately the place we want to put it is currently occupied by Gracie, so they can only use it when out, but they very much like it. It was expensive as fuck, but it will sure last a long time.

Sorry, no better pic possible at that speed.

Jack’s Walk

Our weather has been fabulous for the past few days, with lots of sunshine and temps hovering around 18ºc. It feels more like September than November, and Jack and I have been spending our days outside. Jack is still having trouble with an arthritic left shoulder, so we haven’t been going very far, but Bubba is content to lie on his bed, basking in the sun while I do yard work. We have the flower beds cut back and tucked in for winter, we’ve gotten rid of most of the carpet of leaves that fall from our 2 red maples ( I like to keep a light protective leaf cover), the hoses are put away, the patio furniture is covered, the annuals have been uprooted and tossed, and I’ve harvested the last of the tomatoes. There really isn’t much left to do outside, but it’s too darn nice to stay inside, so I might just take the day off and find a good book to read in the back garden. Housework can wait. I have a long winter of Covid confinement ahead of me to get caught up on indoor chores. Summer in November is a gift not to be wasted.

The good news is that Jack’s shoulder is improving, and he should be able to resume normal activity soon. He’s been getting bored with just short walks down the street and back, and he’s more than ready for a bit of adventure. Honestly, I am, too. I’ve hardly used my camera since Jack went lame, and short walks around the block are boring for me, too. I have a backlog of photos from the earlier part of autumn, though, and I thought I’d share them over the next few weeks. Both photos today were taken along the Thames River in mid-October.

Oh What a Beautiful Morning

Some serene early morning photos from Avalus, who took these pictures one day last week on his way to work.

Degupdate: Hello Gracie

A health degu group consists of at least three animals, which is why we started out with Candy, Estelle and Katja. After poor little Katja died so early, Candy and Estelle were left alone, which is ok, but not ideal, so we got a third one this Wednesday: please meet Grace, or Gracie as she is affectionately called.

She is still so tiny, and very shy. Now the degus need to get accustomed to each other, and that takes time, patience and good nerves. Sadly the last element is in short supply right now. We put a fence up between the big part of Degustan and the small adjacent compartment and gave Gracie the small one. They need to get used to each other , so we let them out together yesterday and man, Candy was brutal. She’s the leader of the group and right now, Grace is an intruder who needs to be chased away. Today we didn’t let them out together. they can see each other through the fence, smell each other, and hear each other.

And then I discovered some soft poop in Gracie’s part and nearly freaked out because that was how Katja went. But fortunately our breeder reassured me that for the first few days that’s nothing to worry about. That lady is really how a breeder of pets should be: I can always reach her by mail with my questions, and she’s always happy to receive pics of the degus. She really cares about the animals, not just about some money on the side.

And here’s a bonus pic of Candy, who is lovely, but not the smartest cookie, as she found the jar with the food open, nicked her favourite treat, and then buried it in the jar for later…

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Back at the Zoo 2: Squirrely

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Back at the Zoo 1

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The Art of …

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Fungi Friday

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Tree Tuesday

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It’s Founder’s Day

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The Art of …

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The Art of …

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A Predator Poses for Pics

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Degupdate: Emotionally Overwhelmed Pet Owner

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Jack’s Walk

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Oh What a Beautiful Morning

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Degupdate: Hello Gracie

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