day 24 - an animal

L - iphone / T - iphone

Well we weren't very clever with this prompt for sure but it was a weekend of the animals - the dogs. Daisy had so much fun being outdoors all weekend long. With her new wireless collar she is free to roam around our big yard - roll in the cool green grass, romp through the ivy and forage around the firepit for the best charcoaled sticks. (does anyone know why dogs enjoy this? both daisy and evee loved picking charcoal bits out of the firepit and eating them)

pink noses/ blue eyes

T- iphone

"please! take me home with you. i will love you forever."

Taylor has a job now. Yay! for her - yay for me. She is a "pet placement counselor". It's a job that she will enjoy this last year of college - allowing her flexibility with a little spending money. I think she likes it a lot - how could she not when she gets to play with these sweet little guys.
This is the company's mission statement that she had to recite at training:
"We are dedicated to matching the right pet with the right customer and meeting the needs of both. To our customers who already have pets, we are dedicated to enhancing their knowledge and enjoyment of the human-animal bond."
I think she'll be good at her job.

submissive / docile

L - iphone / T - Nikon

It's wonderful to be in the presence of a gentle creature - one that is well-trained and obedient to your command. It is especially important when an inexperienced rider is on a large horse, like I was. My horse tried to make his own path on occasion but a tug this way, or that, to the reins got him right back on track. Because he was well-trained it made me feel in perfect control – it put me at ease and made for a pleasant ride on a crisp autumn day. I loved it. / i am in love with this dog, that i named mason. he is the perfect companion - always at attention for my commands, always eager to please. it's hard to believe someone could have left this dog behind. he has been my joy for a week now. i don't even mind taking him out to pee on rainy days - now that's love.

distinctive / distinct

solo post - L, Nikon

Taylor has been missing in action lately so I'm having to go it alone. Truthfully she said her computer has been acting up - making it difficult for her to send me photos, so I'll give her a break. Thank goodness I have a lot of photos to pull from. The bad thing is I'm not sure what to share. I told you a little bit about my Easter weekend. I went to Callaway Gardens and on the way there stopped at the Wild Animal Safari. If I had been a couple of days earlier I might have fooled you into thinking that I had indeed set out to travel the world. There were animals from all over the world and I was face to face with them - literally. If you're not prepared with a slobber towel you'll be sorry. You can see some of my 'up close and personal' shots on my flickr.

The zebras were one of my favorites. Did you know that a zebras stripes are as distinctive as fingerprints are in man? To me they are a bold and striking. / For a few hours on Sunday I tried desperately to get a decent photograph of the bluebirds moving in. I set up my tripod and waited patiently behind a tree. They came and went many times but I never did get a good photograph of them. I've also been trying to learn the different bird calls by using my iBird app. I think I can recognize the bluebird's song now. Each bird call has a distinct sound but when you hear close to a dozen different species singing in the backyard it's difficult to distinguish them. Towards the end of the day I decided to just lie in the hammock and listen. I heard one call that I had never noticed before and after searching my iBird app it seems it was a Eastern Meadowlark's song - yet I have never seen a Meadowlark. I would be thrilled to see one here.

By the way, the book on my hammock is a different sort of book than I expected. I have to say I was immediately drawn to the beauty of the cover and the illustrations inside. I read the brief description: "blessed with moments of beauty and the insight to recognize them as such, Sam Keen translates the marvels of the natural world to the language of heart and soul. He asks us to turn our eyes skyward and see what we discover." and this verse on the first page: "Arise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land." - Song of Solomon 2:10-12. It seemed a good purchase for my bookshelf. It's an interesting read but as it turns out Keen seems to discount God in his nature sightings - a surprise to me and frankly a disappointment. Oh well there's parts of it that I enjoy and it is pretty on my shelf.