Throwback Thursday

We all have these photos … throwback photos! Don’t we just… so many. It’s described as ‘nostalgia-inducing pictures … from a different era of your life”.

This week (#TB Thursday). We visited Karhulinna ( bear castle) in Korkeasaari Zoo in 2015. I got some nice shots of the bears enjoying a smim and playing together.


Korkeasaari got its first bears already in 1888, i.e. a year before the zoo was officially founded.

Today’s Karhulinna is home to two bears, Sofia born in 2001 in Ähtäri Zoo and her female cub Yulia born in 2006 in Korkeasaari. They look very similar, but there are some differences in behavior – for example, the younger one of the bears likes to swim, but its mother is content to wade. Bears hibernate indoors in their own dens, usually from November to the beginning of March.

The bear is Finland’s largest predator, but it mostly eats plant food. It tastes soft shoots, leaves, roots, berries and grain, but also all kinds of animal food such as small mammals and fish. Despite its large size, the bear moves nimbly, climbs and swims well.

In Northern Europe, bears hibernate, when their body temperature drops a few degrees and their vital functions slow down. Hibernation is the bears’ way of surviving the long winter, when there is little food available. Before going to sleep, the bear gets fat, eating a lot of sugary berries in particular. Bear cubs are born during the mother’s hibernation in January-March. Their birth weight is only 350-500 grams. The cubs emerge from the nest in May-June, and stay with their mother for a couple of years. When the female has her young cubs with her, she avoids the males when moving, as they can kill the foreign cubs. The female does not have offspring every year.

Lens Artists Challenge #225: Wildlife Close to Home

Ann from Slow Shutter Speed A photographic journey hosts this weeks Lens Artists Challenge #225: Wildlife Close to Home. Wrote; Stop. Look. Listen. Doing those three things will help you discover the abundance of wildlife you have nearby. You have wildlife in your yard, nearby park, local pond or lake and just about anywhere around you.

My contribution this week are these images. Animal Photography is not my forte, I don’t have the patience or the equipment to get the best shots, but I occasionally get a shot.

Birds big and small that I have been able to capture. this type of photography is not my forte.

Capturing this Seal was just a happy break, I was at a right place at right time.

🦎 Lizard

I came across these images of a lizard I saw in Key West some years back. I find it very impressive and beautiful in it’s own way.

Wonderful structure of the lizard
Gorgeous details of the lizard

Playtime

I have been watching these to dog friends play if not daily, then weekly. Looking at them from my office window. They are big, but still puppies and enjoying themselves playing in the snow. This time I decided I will take photos of them. Cute, aren’t they?

How to survive November 2020-24

Food Photography

Time goes by so fast even if there is nothing happening, one week left of November. It has been so much better weather wise than I thought. So only 28 days until we are back to gaining light again. Something to look forward to.

I will try to continue my experiments in cooking, I have tried several new recipes lately. Healthy ones at that. That is something 🙂 using lots of olive oil, onions and garlic tp spice it up. I do like butter and cream in my cooking, but my Italian recipes are giving me nice options. Taking black and white food photography does not appeal to me, but this will do, a cook book.

Food photography – cool book

My Veikka cat has a beautiful tail and he is gorgeous big white cat-

If you wish to participate in this survival of the darkest month challenge, use this link to add your post to it. PARALLEL LINES

How to survive November 2020-23

Maukka the dog

Maukka the dog is waiting for some treats at the table as we prepare to sit down for coffee. The look of yearning…I have one too, waiting for this to be over and start to live a the “new” normal life. so wishing this was over. I am sure not the only one with this one, maybe I should write to Santa?

Maukka The Dog

Keeping up with todays animal theme here is our backyard visitor snatching our rope from our old oak tree swing

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If you wish to participate in this survival of the darkest month challenge, use this link to add your post to it. PARALLEL LINES

Happy cows

It is rare to see cows outside nowadays, so I get exited every time I do see them in the field. You can see them more than some years back, but still. So, I ask my hubby to stop the car so I can take photos, he kindly obliges so my whims. Now I would like to share my excitement (photos) of seeing HAPPY COWS under the blue sky on green field.

New Edits #10

I saw these two turtles also when visiting Australia, as with previous post of the frog I totally forgot I had this shot, as I did go overboard with the amount of pictures I took there.

Once again I am lifting my own tail, but this is rather nice shot. I could have have had little bit larger f number for larger area of focus, but these are such at the moment shots… The turtles look happy, eh?

Elephant Seal Vista Point

We came across this Elephant Seal Vista Point as we drove the Cabrillo Highway. We were impressed by the sight, one more experience that I had not encountered before. More info of the Elephant Seals

September-October: The newest generation and juvenile seals arrive at the rookery. In October, the population on the beach hits another peak.

Brumbies

Brumbies

Wild horses…so beautiful

How to survive November ~11

Sunday was one more bleak day. Since we got home early this morning, we slept late. The joys of not having small children. Then we decorated. A new wallpaper did wonders to this room. I don’t know if I am trendy or not, but it is new and different. Our cats enjoy the flowers I bought

March 26

This quote came to mind when I saw these photos of this Smiling (?) Alligator I took when visiting Florida in January.

“Smile and the world smiles with you, cry and you cry alone.”                                                ― Stanley Gordon West, Growing an Inch

January 6

One more day of grayness at home, it is wonderful to look at the colorful parrots we saw on our last trip to Florida.

January 5

lizard-13

It it is worth to look over the edge, even if not all that comfortable doing so- These lizards, were rather striking.

 

Nesting of the swan

As we walked around the island, we came across this swan nesting her eggs. We made sure we did not go too close as they might leave the nest if you go too near the nest.

The female swan nests alone. The male is guarding the nest or is eating somewhere further away. The female  rarely leaves the eggs during this month’s nesting time. So it’s virtually not eating of for four weeks. Even when the female leaves for a small distance to get something from the edible from the bottom of the sea it covers its eggs so they do not cool too much.

MakroTex – Love

I know these do not really qualify as  macro shots- more like close-ups. Topic is love, I thought of wedding rings, a kiss…I chose these photos because one of my cats, Sisko, was run over by a car past winter, and I can clearly see that she is also missed by her brother, Veikka and by us. She was dearly loved.

SONY DSC SONY DSC SONY DSC

Love…

SONY DSC

more at: Makrohaaste 138