Beautiful black bear…

This guy is my favorite animal from the zoo trip yesterday, also one of my favorite shots. He looks like a very thoughtful bear.. This guy was rescued from a circus, so he is used to people staring at him! He was just hanging out on a beautiful day…

A belated weekly challenge: Blue…..

Took Lucy to the zoo for the first time today. It was so much fun, even though she wasn’t really impressed. (She’s only 11 months old and teething, so not too many smiles, but we got a few!) So, I took the opportunity to get some shots of the animals at the Popcorn Park Zoo. It is kind of like a retirement home for abused animals. They do a great job giving these special creatures a second chance at a peaceful life. Unfortunately it is in a zoo, but when you read the stories around the zoo you realize these guys are better off where they are now! (For more information, check out the Humane Society website)

Still not sure what these are….

Saw these on the beach in Long Boat Key last February. Still haven’t figured out exactly what they are. To me they look like pearls on the beach.. but they were soft.. maybe eggs ? egg cases? some other life stage of an organism? They made a really pretty trail on the beach… so that’s good enough for now.. 🙂

An Escape from the Gloom….

Today in NJ, it’s rainy and grey. I’m sitting here thinking of a happier time and beautiful weather!  A Long Boat Key sunset is right up there at the top of the list of places to go to escape. The perfect escape for me!

It’s Lunch time…

Say hello to one of the manatees that live at Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Florida. They chow down on romaine lettuce quite often. This was an awesome moment where I just stood face to face with him for about 5 or 10 minutes… Such a beautiful mammal!