Its That Time Again

Posted on December 28, 2016December 28, 2016 by Dusty Roads

New Years is right around the corner. A blank sheet of paper if you will. Lots of people will be looking back over 2016 and setting goals for 2017. There will be the usual “lose weight”, “quit smoking”, “be nice to the neighbor” and so on. I’ll probably make some “resolutions” too. After all, a little introspection is a good thing but I tend to think of this week between Christmas and New Years as a time to wade through a whole year’s worth of photos.

Red Fox on a rock

Most of my pictures are of the snap shot variety. I grab the camera and try to capture a moment, maybe something to share here but every now and then I try to get that special picture. One that makes me say ahhhh.

swan-family-2a

It gets harder and harder to get those special pictures. Everybody has a camera and everybody thinks they are a “pro”. Just this kind of atmosphere raises the bar.

dsc_3908-2-copy

I’m reviewing my pictures for that special , indefinable quality that makes them a “cut above”. I want to find the 10 best.

dsc_2338-copy

They have to be in focus, with lots of pixels so they can be blown up to gallery print size, and they need to be special in some way.

Puffin portrait

So for the next few days I’m going to share my pictures as I search for those special top 10.

Some of these are pretty good but I don’t think they will make the cut. We’ll see.

Animal Kingdom At Christmas

Posted on January 3, 2016January 3, 2016 by Dusty Roads

With the Orlando Eye down for the count Joe and I put our heads together to come up with a plan B. Now when you are in Orlando and your BFF works for Disney World, what is the most logical conclusion for a Plan B? Why, go to one of the parks , of course!

DSC_1816 copy

My very favorite park is Animal Kingdom because of the animals. We figured we could get The Kilimanjaro Safari ride in and maybe the Lion King Show before the park closed for the day.

DSC_1817 copy

I love the bridge where we can see the Mountain. I always have to stop and take a picture there. Usually there’s a park photographer too because its such a popular vista.

DSC_1824 copy

The park was pretty slow so we were able to get on the safari ride pretty quickly.

DSC_1834 copy

A lot of the animals were out of sight waiting for the evening feeding but that meant that I got to see some that I’ve missed in the past.

DSC_1829 copy

There was a lovely bright colored bird. The driver told us its name but I don’t remember it now.

DSC_1827a_edited-1

Of course the elephants can’t hide

DSC_1843 copy

and there were giraffes.

DSC_1831 copy

The best were the big cats and of the big cats, the lions.

DSC_1855 copy

We even got a roar out of the male before he laid down for his nap!

DSC_1859 copy

Too soon it was time to move on if we wanted to see the Lion King Show.

Goslings

Posted on May 25, 2015May 25, 2015 by Dusty Roads

While the “Majestics” wait for their eggs to hatch, several Canada Goose couples have already seen their eggs give way to fluffy goslings.

The families mingled until no one seemed to know which baby belonged to which parent.

I guess even geese have family cook outs on Memorial Day Weekend.

More Free Stuff in Vegas

Posted on March 28, 2014March 28, 2014 by Dusty Roads

More free stuff kept coming up as I roved the world wide web. The Sirens of TI, a Pyrotechnics extravaganza on a Pirate Ship sounded like an exciting if, borderline X rated show but the latest updates indicate that the show has been canceled, apparently quite suddenly.

M & M’s World is touted as Free and might be kind of cool to see . Looks like there’s be ton of places for photo ops still I got the impression it was really a huge M & M themed gift shop kind of like a Disney store for chocoholics.

But then a entry for wildlife caught my eye. Called Wildlife Habitat at the Flamingo it includes Flamingos of course.

Touted as one of the most unique and beloved attractions in Las Vegas, Flamingo’s Wildlife Habitat is a serene paradise. It is conveniently free of charge and open to the public daily. Nestled on the Flamingo hotel’s lush 15-acre grounds, the Habitat is stocked with exotic birds, fish and turtles.

A highlight is the Flamingo Island, home to a huge flock of Chilean flamingos. A colorful collection of other feathered friends such as Ring Tealed ducks and Sacred Ibis fascinate guests and populate the Habitat. In addition to our namesake, you’ll find swans, ducks, koi fish and turtles living at the Habitat. Two brown pelicans joined us from a pelican rescue in 2012.

All animals are carefully maintained. The species frolic on islands and streams surrounded by sparkling waterfalls and foliage. Spot hummingbirds zipping to their feeders, snap a few pictures of signature flamingos and watch the water animals at feeding time.