My Final Post!

Four years ago when I went to Vacation Bible School at a friend’s church in Churchville, the age group that I was in made animals out of recycled materials for one of our projects. We had brought in a bunch of recyclables such as egg cartons, toilet paper rolls, and cardboard. We could choose any animal we wanted to make, and what materials we wanted to make it out of.  I decided to make a pig because I was going through a phase when I liked pigs and my favorite color was and still is pink. I remember when I brought the pig home my family really liked it. It’s been on display in our living room ever since. Whenever I look at it, I always remember great memories with friends.  

            This is my final blog entry. I have enjoyed this project and looking at old photographs that I have taken in the past. I have used those photographs in my blog entries and I have also taken some new photographs. I didn’t have enough photographs of actual animals, which forced me to expand my thinking and reach further with my imagination. My favorite blog entry has been the rooster entry. It was a lot of fun writing about those animals that I see on a daily basis all over my house. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my blog entries these past few weeks.

 Is there anything that you love doing on a daily basis? 

A Special First Pet

            A few days before Christmas, my frog named Gilly died. It was a very sad moment for our family. She was an African Clawed frog which I had received as a present from a friend at my six year old birthday party. She was just a little tadpole back then. It was fun to watch her grow. She wasn’t the only one that grew from our time together. I did too. She taught me responsibility and to truly fall in love with a pet.

A few years after we got her, my mom went to a craft show in Delaware and returned with this miniature statue of a frog. We put it next to her tank, which was located on the breakfast bar in our kitchen, so Gilly would have something to look at.

            Gilly was my first pet that I ever had and she will forever hold a special place in my heart. I never really thought about her that much after I got my puppy four years ago, and I completely regret that. I guess it was because she wasn’t a very interactive pet to have. Even though Gilly is gone now, we still have this miniature statue on our breakfast bar to remind us of her.

            We all miss Gilly very much. We were very close to her. Was there a pet that you were close to that has passed away? 

Edible Insects?

            Every year, my mom has a Christmas cookie swap party. There are about twenty-five ladies who attend this gathering.  Each year she has three prizes that she gives out for categories, which include best presentation, best looking cookie, and the best Christmas outfit that the guest is wearing. One year, she decided to do a cupcake swap party instead for a change of pace. These cupcakes in the photograph obviously won the best-looking cupcakes.

             You might be wondering what does this photograph have to do with the topic of insects and animals? Well, if you look at the picture closely, you can see many different insects including bees, ladybugs, caterpillars, and butterflies. You can also see that the icing is meant to look like grass. This was the first year that this guest had attended my mother’s party, and what a thrill she had when she won first place. I love when my mom has her Christmas parties. Sometimes I am allowed to have friends over, and sometimes I can help with the judging of the three categories.

            My mom’s parties have been a tradition each year for the last ten years. So tell me, are there any holiday traditions that you celebrate?

Colorado Dogs

The dogs that live the furthest away from us are my aunt’s and uncle’s dogs, Moose and Brooke. They live in Colorado, which is very far away from the rest of my family who all live in Pennsylvania and Delaware. As I look at this picture, I realize that this is the first time that I’ve seen Moose. It appears that they received many presents for Christmas, and seem as spoiled as Snowy (my wonderful Maltese.). We often receive pictures of my cousins from Colorado, but this is the first time I’ve seen pictures of their dogs.

Dogs are small creatures on this impressive earth. Even though they’re not huge, they can still be the luminous star in many peoples’ lives.

Here come real stars to fill the upper skies,

And here on earth come emulating flies,

That though they never equal stars in size,

(And they were never really stars at heart)

Achieve at times a very star-like start.

Only, of course, they can't sustain the part.

~Robert Frost

This poem suggests fireflies. One way that dogs and fireflies are alike is that they are both little living creatures that are adored by how they make people feel when they are with them. Just like there are millions of fireflies, there are also millions of dogs. When you catch a firefly, you feel like it’s yours. You might give it a name. You may not catch a dog and keep it but they light up your life as the fireflies light up the sky. Is there someone or something in your life that you feel close to? 

As Still as a Statue

A couple of years ago, my family and I visited the Outer Banks in North Carolina. The Outer Banks was another exquisitely planned trip by my mother. We got to see so many lighthouses, climb up sand dunes, visit the Wright Brother’s Historic Site, and have a great time being together. I must say climbing up the sand dunes was my favorite feature of this trip.

When we were visiting one of those many beautiful lighthouses, the four of us spotted a cat sitting on steps. At first, we were sure it was a statue. It was sitting there so still. After a while, we determined it was a real cat. I took three pictures of this cat, but this is my favorite one. This trip inspired me. It opened up my eyes to the beauty of the world. North Carolina might not have been Hawaii or Florida, but it certainly had the same amount of beauty. It had the beauty of history mixed with serenity especially when you visit during March. The many lighthouses that you see driving down the coastline stand tall with visitors admiring their beauty. Also, animals could roam around without fear, which made for an amazing trip.

                My trip to the Outer Banks made me realize that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to have an enjoyable time. Have you ever had a trip like that? 

Brown Eyed Girl

  This is another dog in my family and her name is Snoochie.  Snoochie is part Toy Collie and part Lhaso Apso. She’s my Uncle Ronald’s dog who lives in Delaware.  I see her more often than Goldie who is my cousin’s dog who lives in Hershey. I took this photograph after one of my piano recitals. Every June, I have a piano recital along with about twenty other students who my piano teacher also teaches. My mommom and uncle usually come and watch me perform. Afterwards, we went back to my house where we all just sat around and talked. When we first got Snowy, she was way too energetic for Snoochie’s taste. Now that Snowy has matured, the two of them get along fine.

                I sometimes think of Snoochie as my second dog. Although I don’t remember her ever allowing me to pick her up, she still enjoys my company. This was an especially cute picture because you can see how wide her eyes are. You can also see how her eyes are not focused on the camera. It was probably because Snowy was doing something to tease her.

                Before I got Snowy, my uncle always taught me how to take care of his dog. I remember taking her for walks. Snoochie is a truly magnificent dog.

A Lazy Day Down at the Beach

This is one of those funny animal stories. While down the shore in Brigantine, my cousins had come to our house for a visit. They brought along their pet Beagle named Goldie. One evening, everyone was gathered around the kitchen table playing Uno.  Suddenly, I got up because I needed a sweatshirt so I ran into my brother’s room to grab it. When I got to the room, I found Goldie stretched out on top of my brother’s bed. She was also lying on top of a pair of his shorts. After much coaxing to get her off the bed, she eventually did.

                Even though we were able to get her off the bed, Goldie didn’t give up. She went right back into the same room and jumped on the bed again. This time, we let her be. We didn’t see much of a point in getting her off just for her to jump back up again. I know we could have closed the bedroom door and she wouldn’t be able to go back in, but she was so happy just lying there. This was a special moment because we rarely see our cousins, and we were having an enjoyable week at the beach. Snowy, my dog was also thinking the same way as Goldie. She jumped up on the couch in the living room and laid the same way while Goldie was relaxing in the other room.

                If you can learn anything from this, it’s that persistence can get you far if you keep trying. Goldie was persistent in getting what she wanted, and she did. 

Freeze!

I chose another photograph of my dog Snowy for today’s blog entry. In this photo, she’s holding her paws up while my Dad supports her. Whenever I observe this picture, one word pops into my mind, “freeze.” It reminds me of those old action movies when someone’s caught and told to put their hands up. This photo was taken down the shore in Brigantine. Who would have thought that one beach house could hold so many memories? I remember my whole family was gathered around to watch Snowy doing this and we all thought she looked so adorable. We weren’t too surprised that she was able to do this because I have photos of her doing many interesting poses.  

 As I write this, Snowy is at the groomers. They’re probably struggling to get some of the knots out of her long white hair. Even though she’s not here right now, all these photos of her on my computer almost make it seem like she is here sitting next to me while I write this. I could go on forever showing you adorable pictures of her.

                As I said in my previous Snowy post, she is one of the most photographed dogs ever. I wouldn’t be surprised if another Snowy post turns up in the near future. 

The Beauty of Flight

A couple summers ago, I was down the shore in Brigantine walking my dog Snowy when I saw this beautiful Monarch Butterfly. I was shocked. It was a dreary day, so we were spending the day just relaxing around the house. Since my brother, who was on the newspaper staff in high school, had to take a good amount of photographs before he went back to school in the fall, I ran upstairs to tell him about what I had seen.  He took a few pictures, but this is the photograph I took.

                It was an extremely windy day down the shore, so I didn’t even expect to see a butterfly. Also, one doesn’t see butterflies that often in a beach setting, so when I do I always try to treasure my time with them. This is a unique picture because of the combination of those two factors. I think that the shore is always so serene and beautiful and to add the presence of butterflies, it makes the beach even more tranquil. The thing that was odd about when I saw this butterfly was that it stayed in the same spot for what seemed like hours but I believe it was about a half hour. That’s how I could get several photographs taken.

                This just goes to show that when you complain about walking your dog, you might end up finding something beautiful in Mother Nature.

Roosters Galore

Today, while walking around my house I decided to count how many decorative items that were either shaped like roosters or had pictures of roosters on it. My initial count was 10, but there are probably plenty that I missed. So you might be saying to yourself, “why do you have all these rooster decorations around your home.” Well, my mom’s favorite animal is obviously the rooster. Among all those rooster decoration, visitors to our house will be able to see a bell, several statues, embroidered throw pillows, and even coasters! Imagine all these pieces have roosters on them.  Personally, I’ve gotten used to seeing the roosters around the house.

                One thing I’ve noticed about all of the roosters is that they are all unique. No two are alike. After taking a break and coming back to writing this post, I have now counted a total of 18 rooster decorations on the first floor of our house. Some people may call this an obsession, but I call it a passion. Most people have a passion for something. Even if it’s a passion for collecting something as little as erasers, it’s still a passion and you should always express it.

                I’m sure everybody reading this has a passion as well. So tell me, what are you passionate about?

Statuesque

                One evening before going out to dinner with my family, we noticed that the dense leafed bush next to the front door seemed a little different. We saw an extremely uncommon insect… a Praying Mantis. I quickly asked my dad to unlock the front door so I could run inside and grab my camera. I returned to snap a picture of this majestic living thing.

                Before this occurrence, I had only seen a Praying Mantis once. While I was taking this photograph, I suddenly remembered the other occasion I had seen a Praying Mantis. I recalled it was in elementary school, and as I was walking into school, I saw people gathering around in a distance. There were a few teachers congregated around and some more keeping the kids back. I guess they didn’t want some out of control child to come up and crush it.

                This week, I interviewed my friend Ariele who has also seen a Praying Mantis recently.

Katharine: Have you ever seen a Praying Mantis?

Ariele: Yes

Katharine: Can you describe the insect you saw?

Ariele: Well, it was on my window this past summer. I took a few pictures but they only looked like its shadow because it was sunset.

Katharine: Were you surprised when you saw it?

Ariele: Very. I almost screamed because all I saw was this big black thing on my window. Even though a Praying Mantis is green, it appeared black to me because it was getting dark.

Katharine: What did you do with the Praying Mantis?

Ariele: I left it there because I had a screen on my window and I knew it wouldn’t get inside the house. I think it fell off the window after a while because when I came back, it was gone.

Katharine: That’s good! Thank you for answering these questions!

Ariele: Goodbye. Thank you for having me.

To read a poem about Praying Mantis, visit http://www.insectlove.net/viewtopic.php?f=87&t=1082

The Smoky Mountain Deer

            During Spring break of 2011, my family and I took a driving vacation to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. While driving through the Smoky Mountain National Park, we saw many deer roaming around the open fields.  At one point, we came very close to one particular deer. It took several seconds to find my camera and then get it out of its case, but it was worth it. I took many photos of this beautiful deer but I choose this one as my favorite.

            What really stands out in this picture are the breathtaking Smoky Mountains in the background. I enjoyed driving throughout the park, and I remember how much I enjoyed the view from all over. We didn’t see as much wildlife as we would have if we were there during the summer but what we saw was beautiful. My mother told us of a time when she came to this park during the summer months and she constantly informed us that there were “bears everywhere.” It became a family joke throughout the time we were in the park. Every time there were open fields, my mother would say that same phrase with her arms spread open.

            Gatlinburg, Tennessee is one of my favorite places I have visited. The town is beautiful and quaint, but the Smoky Mountains were by far my favorite. Even though deer are very common, seeing so many different sizes and colors were amazing. I hope some day to return to Gatlinburg, and to be able to take photos of more wild life then.

To read a poem about deer, visit http://barranca.hubpages.com/hub/poem-deer

The Present Thief

         This is probably the most photographed pet you’ve ever seen! It’s my four-year-old Maltese, Snowy. I think that if I had done this project for one year, I would already have over half of my pictures set. I took this shortly before Christmas, and I am truly in love with it.

          Since we have four dogs in my family, which include Snowy’s cousins in Colorado and Delaware, I was wrapping four presents including Snowy’s.  While wrapping, she came over and sat next to me. She started sniffing the Christmas presents, and then she found an unwrapped one. She grabbed it in her mouth and quickly ran underneath our kitchen table. I finally retrieved the present from her after several tries. She stood her ground with many moments of growling and with numerous attempts to run away.

         This was a truly hilarious moment with Snowy. She was so persistent to get her Christmas present, which she did for a brief moment. Since being reacquainted with her reindeer toy on Christmas Day, it has continued to be one of her favorite toys.

The Meandering Geese

  After eating breakfast at a quaint restaurant on the Delaware River in New Hope, I came outside to see many attention-grabbing geese strolling around. They were everywhere. Some were near the peaceful river, and some were even wondering around in the congested parking lot. My first instinct was to take a picture of them. I had never seen so many geese at one time! I pulled out my phone and snapped this picture immediately.

This picture has great significance to me because of the place it was taken. It was so serene and the company I was with was so special.  It was so much fun to be able to see these beautiful statuesque birds, and to be able to share a delicious breakfast with people I love.

I hope when the season is right, I will be able to go back and see these memorable beauties wondering around the parking lot again. I used to have this picture as the screen saver on my phone, and people would ask what website I found it. Maybe I’ll be able to take more pictures of these wonderful winged creatures when I return.

To read a beautiful poem about Geese, visit http://peacefulrivers.homestead.com/maryoliver.html#anchor_14792