big cats

I got to photograph big cats last week. The first four are from the National Tiger Sanctuary in Saddlebrook and the last one is backstage at the Fercos Brothers show in Branson.

Merlin, a lion who didn't take to show business, is now retired at the sanctuary.

Right after this photo, Midnight leapt up a growled in my face. I screamed and jumped. The black leopard was someone's pet before coming to live at the sanctuary. People be crazy.

Vincent weights 750 lbs and stands 10 feet tall.

Banshee, a cougar, was a pet too.

Tony Fercos brushes his lion, Sinbad. "I always say 'Sinbad, like the entertainer' but people still think it's Simba," said Tony Fercos.

Little Sac Woods

We hiked at Little Sac Woods last weekend and ran into about a million spiders dangling in the middle of the trail.

What a weird tree, huh?

Busiek State Forest and Wildlife Area

yesterday's harvest

I keep hearing that people's gardens aren't doing so well this year, but ours has been prolific!

R.I.P.?

Dear Blackie,

Where did you go? The other chickens aren't talking. You were always at the bottom of the pecking order, pecked at and picked on. But so pretty. I never got the kind of picture I wanted of the iridescence of your feathers. We miss you, even if the other chickens don't.

Love,
Val and Jamie

in the backyard

Jamie takes a break from gardening to chat with our ninety-eight-year-old neighbor, Nick. He always has good gardening advice, and his dog, Sara, is a sweetheart, too.

baby giraffe

I got to go to the zoo recently and photograph a 2-day-old giraffe, Stretch, Jr. At 165 pounds and six feet, four inches tall, he's the biggest baby I've ever seen.
Kamili licks her 2-day-old calf Wednesday at the Dickerson Park Zoo. This is Kamili's sixth calf, and she is more protective of him than she has been in the past, said zookeeper Tracy Campbell.

Such a big baby, yet so small.

He has to learn how to use his tongue, because it's so long, Tracy said.

Stretch, Jr. nurses awkwardly.

Awe. He's all tuckered out. Tracy told me that adult giraffes only sleep about an hour per day, and in this kind of position. Usually the babies will curl up with their heads near their haunches, but this was just a little cat nap.