My animals❤️

 I suspect I was an animal in my past life as I just love them.😊

Coquerels Sifika, lemurs from Madagascar 

They are cute and playful

Polar bears grow to 10 feet tall!

Grizzlies only grow to 8 feet.

A very nervous Jaguar

A lazy snow leopard

Pygmy rhinos weigh 90% less than regular rhinos

This lion has no energy and appears sad.

My favorite animals

If I had I not killed my pet duck accidentally as a child, it is quite likely I would have followed my dream and become a vet.

My all time favorites.

Oh well, that's water under the bridge now, as I hate blood so the animals are safer without me.😬

Now I visit zoos every chance I get and go on safaris when I can.

https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2023/03/heaven-on-earth.html?m=1

San Francisco zoo has some pretty nice animals. 

A very active grizzly 

More coquerels 

                            Pygmy rhino

                  Some wonderful animals

      

A boobab tree from Madagascar

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My biggest disappointment in San Francisco was not seeing the annoying, smelly, lovable, rowdy sea lions that used to hang around everywhere on Fisherman's Wharf.

Then my schoolmate Sonia had a brilliant idea. 

Google them.

  Immediately we found them.

Some are sunning their bellies😂

They had been relocated to a special area by Pier 39 in 1989.

There they were, as contankerous, smelly,  playful and loud as ever.

Country life nice😊

I love the countryside. Country areas anywhere in the world. 

Maybe its my love of animals which causes me to find these parts so attractive. Problem is, this love only exists in the daytime, as being in the country at night is quite scary.  

When you live there, I mean, not when visiting with lots of friends around.

Phoebe Snow

It never used to be this way with me before I had a traumatic break-in and had no neighbors with lights to illuminate the darkness outside.

 Not a little light anywhere. 

So now if I can’t see a neighbor’s light outside, such places are not for me to live in.

Even driving in the country areas alone at night is quite discombobulating. For I always think that if I get a puncture or some other problem, some serial killer is going to come along and make my live miserable.

That’s what happens when you are addicted to shows like Criminal Minds, CSI, Forensic Files, Dateline etc.  

These programs I enjoy but they can be hazardous to your peace of mind.😊

Sandy

Why am I rambling so much, you may very well ask?😏

I just had another few wonderful days with friends in the country- side, that’s why.

This was in Sebring, Northern Florida, where a friend and I drove to for three hours, to surprise another friend on her birthday. (22/10/). 

When I go to places like that in the USA, I always hope to see a black bear or two, but never have such luck. On this trip, my disapointment was made even worse, when another friend showed me that her security camera had picked one up a few days before, right across the street.

There's a black bear behind the SUV!

Well, I saw no bears, but I met two very nice horses. 

The white one is Phoebe Snow and the darker one Sandy.

They are so friendly that when my host Cardiff called them and just held out his hand with some grass, they came trotting rapidly towards him. 

They even allow his grandson to ride them, I hear.

 Lovely horses. Pity I can’t ride, as the last time I mounted a horse, the saddle was slack, I slid off and he nearly stepped in my head.

Now I play with them but resist the temptation to mount!

It was good to see that Sebring escaped the devastation of hurricane Ian. It did pass through but only tore down some branches and added some water to the creeks and lakes.

Where I stayed with friends, I had previously avoided going down to the creek on the property because it is a hangout for wild boars, rattle snakes and other unfriendly types. 

Since my host recently acquired an ATV though, we got a proper tour of the back of his large, forested property, and all was well.

There were fallen trees and others were missing branches, but nothing serious and the creek actually had a good amount of water in it this time.

Yup, those few days in the countryside with friends around were really refreshing.

Occasions like this always make me want to move from the city.

Then night falls. 😊

A PICTORIAL TOUR

 

Christmas 2021

At an air show in Sebring

 I can't keep up with how time is flying, for I had no idea so much time had passed since my interesting and enjoyable Christmas visit to Sebring, covid and all.

Last Christmas, I was invited to spend the holidays with my best friend and her family, who had recently relocated from the crowded city to a rustic section of Sebring in Florida. This is some two hours away from where I live in Broward County.

 Also spending Christmas there, were her family from Costa Rica. I had met them all in Costa Rica, and it was certainly great to see them again.

This wasn't my first trip to Sebring, as I did visit that beautiful area some years ago to attend an air show. On another occasion, I visited nearby Lake Placid, which has an annual Caladium festival. (Joan, my views: Search results for lake placid (joan-myviews.blogspot.com)

However, where we were this time, was off the beaten track, where deer and bears roam but where there is no good wifi reception or cable tv to disturb the peace.

These bears were caught on a neighbor's camera in October

The bears there are black bears and according to the records, there has never been any report of these bears killing people in Florida. So, I was most anxious to see one up close and personal, especially after our host showed us a bear's footprint in his backyard. 

But to my disappointment, it was not to be. 

A bear's paw print

More frustrating was the fact that a neighbor sent us pictures of the bears that her outside camera had picked up in her backyard. ,

Damn.

The entire area is beautiful though, with lots of lakes and open spaces.

Anyway, back to Christmas.

 It sure is cold in that area, so on our first night as we sat on the patio, our host Cardiff, suggested that we test out his outdoor heater, as he had a lot of dried wood which had been cleared from the property before the house was built.

It was fun but we still had to bungle up in blankets as the only thing missing was snow. 😁

I have to admit that it did eventually warm up and we had a lot of fun, especially on Christmas Eve and Christmas day when it was time to open presents. 

The girls pose in their pj's

Then disaster struck for I picked up what I still insist was the flu. It kept me in bed for three days with a fever, stuffy nose and sore throat. Then my friend who had been nursing me, came down with similar symptoms plus body aches and stomach problems.  Anxiously, we tried to find somewhere to do a test for covid, but everywhere was closed for the holidays.

Since I returned home, she has been confirmed as suffering from covid and some two weeks later she has not recovered. To make matters worse, since then too, her daughter and son-in-law have tested positive as have her Costa Rican relatives, since their return home.

So yes, it was a great Christmas in that I spent it in a lovely, peaceful environment with good friends, (though not seeing any bears!)  And naturally there was lots of Christmas food plus exotic Costa Rican dishes, and I even got some Spanish practice too to boot.

What was not so great, is that the disgusting covid became an uninvited guest and is still lingering around.

Memories.

A Park at Old Sebring

Church at Old Sebring

She was happy to find a discarded Halloween pumpkin

At Lake Charlotte

Lake Charlotte in background

Trying to keep warm at Sebring

Lake Jackson