Alfie

Alfie

I love to take photo of animals. Like people, it's not just a case of capturing their likeness, it's about capturing their character; what makes them who they are in a single picture. This isn't that easy as we humans see living things in motion. Essentially we are watching a movie as the pets, people and animals we see are not frozen in time in front of us, but constantly moving. The way they move and hold themselves is an essential part of who they are. So a photo is literally a moment in time and that is why my approach to photography is more journalistic than posed. I always know when I have 'the shot'. The one that captures the spirit and personality of my subject and not just how they look. I love it when someone sees a photo and says "That's so-and-so to a 'T'!"

I was recently commissioned by a client to take photos of their beloved Border Collie, Alfie. Alfie is a very personable old chap who loves his owner and likes nothing better than a game of ball, where he fixes his whole being on the ball until it is thrown for him. The first shot here is of Alfie looking at his owner. He is clearly enjoying himself. The second shot shows the intent side of him, the one that concentrates completely on his beloved ball which is just out of shot. When I showed these to the client she said, "Oh, that's definitely my Alfie" and there it was, the buzz I get from taking photos.

Small Furry Lodgers

I have small furry lodgers, and no, I don't mean the kitties. I was stood out in my back garden when I noticed a buzzing sound. Close by. I looked up and my lodgers were going to and fro from their nest which they had set up in a small bird box near the garage door. Buzz...in through the hole....buzz out the hole...and so on, busy, busy, busy! I have bees of course. Bumble bees and I'm pleased as punch to have them in my garden.


The photo is one of the bees returning. Apologies for the photo clarity, but I didn't want to get too close and the light was poor, but I wanted to get a shot to post and to help identify what type of bumble bee I have. According to *this site*, my black bees with red bottoms most probably the Red Tailed Bumble Bee. I can't be sure as I cannot get close enough (don't want to disturb them and don't want to get stung).

This little bit of research led me to doing more reading about bees. Bees are currently threatened from disease, loss of habitat, loss of bee keepers (really) and more the more aggressive South American breeds. Einstein is quoted as saying " without bees to pollinate our food crops, humans would die off in just 4 years". I checked out Snopes.com and it is unlikely that Einstein actually said this, but the point is no less salient. So, I'm happy to have my lodgers. Bumble bee nests are small and short lived on the whole, so they will move on in time and in the meantime they seem content to share my garden with me.

Having Kittens

Max & Sam, July 1st 2009

My home has been invaded by small furry creatures. Thankfully not the rapidly multiplying Tribbles of Star Trek fame, but rather two Ragdoll kittens which I have named Max and Sam. Max is the seal point (brown nose and brown paw pads) and Sam is the bi-colour (pink nose and paw pads). The brothers are my birthday present to myself and I must say I am thrilled at my choice of gift!

I have missed the presence of a kitty (or two) in my life ever since dear old Bob passed away a couple of months ago. Already, I am starting to see their individual characters. Max is the bolder of the two. He is always first into everything, and he wants to get into everything too.Where Max goes, Sam invariably follows.


But Sam is no sheep. The more timid of the two at first, Sam knows his own mind and once he settled in, seemed to be the more pliable of the two. Already he recognises his name and the word 'no'. Max plays much rougher than Sam and also hogs the toys. If Sam has a toy then Max wants it too. I ma looking forward to getting to know them both better.

Other news is that I had a wonderful weekend away to celebrate my birthday. Chester is a wonderful old town where the buildings are white with black timbers and the shops are double decker with one row built on top of the first complete with covered walkway. The sun shone and I had a lovely time. I was dined at the most wonderful little restaurant, called Upstairs at the Grill run by two people who used to work at the Savoy (in London). I had the best steak I have ever tasted, along with a lovely Stilton Souffle and Creme Brulee, all washed down with some nice Chablis.


I had some lovely gifts too although not all of my family bothered to mark the occasion by even sending a card. Happily many friends did though and quite frankly, that counts a whole lot more in my book. On Thursday I am going out for a late celebration of a few drinks and something to eat with some of those friends which should be a good evening. Meanwhile I have two kitties to keep me entertained : )

For what we are about to receive...

... May the Lord Make us truly thankful!

Prairie Dog ~ Bristol Zoo, December 2008

I go to the hospital tomorrow for my test results and finally find out what kind of lump Hector is. Thank you to everyone who has stopped by or sent me good wishes, thoughts, prayers and positive vibes since Hector took up residence in my thyroid. Even if Hector didn't take the hint immediately they all helped to buoy my spirits and were truly appreciated.

The photo of the prairie dog was taken on a recent day out at the zoo. The Prairie Dogs had recently been fed and I enjoyed watching them squabble over choice bits of food. I snapped away as they dined and when I got home I noticed that this little fella had his eyes closed. For all the world it looked like he was saying Grace.

I'll post again when I have some news. I'm hoping and parying for the good kind.

Home zoo

Say hello to Dessie, the newest member of my household. This is what happens when I'm given a bonus at work and I treat myself to something I would like!

Dessie is a Bearded Dragon and hails from Australia. At the moment she is still a baby at about 10 inches long but she will grown to about 2 feet (including tail). Just look at those markings down her back - isn't she beautiful?

Dessie is not the most active of creatures, choosing to mostly bask under her heat lamp on her favourite branch. She comes down for her twice daily feed which includes crickets and veggies, though she much prefers the crickets. She is extremely docile and hand tame and enjoys watching the fish in the aquarium. So far Bob the cat has not really shown much interest and as long as he doesn't have to share his food I don't think he's bothered!

I have quite the home menagerie these days with Bob, the fish, the two geckos and Dessie. I like having animals in my life.

Darwin Candidate

The fluffy innocent looking bunny in the picture caused a bit of a stir this week. In fact, one woman thought it was nothing less than an emergency. She called the emergency services to complain that the rabbits ears were not floppy, as advertised by the person she bought it from. Discovering this story led me to pose several questions, which accosted my mind in quick succession not least of which was what on earth was going on in her head?

Worryingly this woman isn't alone. Emergency call centre staff have reported cases of people phoning to get telephone numbers and to report getting soaked by a passing car which drove through a puddle! Lordy, if there were ever cases for the Darwin awards then I think these folk are ideal candidates. I never cease to be surprised at how stupid people can be, nor how selfish, as while there is certainly an amusing side to this story, while these selfish and deeply deeply stupid people are having their own personal crisis someone somewhere may be in genuine need of help and not able to get it.

Double trouble

I have always been fascinated by reptiles. Even as a small child my favourite toys were a large cuddly crocodile (which was meant to be a draught excluder for the door but which I adopted as a best friend) and a rather long cuddly snake which was made for me. I always wanted my own pet snake or lizard but my mother was not exactly keen.

Well, recently my childhood dream came true. I visited a small shop specialising in aquariums and reptiles and got talking to the owner. I must have seemed keen as he let me handle one of the juvenile leopard geckos. She was so small and sweet that I wanted to take her home and that is exactly what I ended up doing. She is an albino leopard gecko, similar to the one in the picture above (from the web). I called her Bianca.


A couple of days later Isabel joined her from the shop. She was her tank mate there and so it made sense to me to have them both as they got on, rather than try and introduce a stranger later on. Isabel is a ghost leopard gecko which refers to the muted colouring she has which is similar to the one in the second picture which I found on the web. At the moment they are both far too shy to photograph and being nocturnal this would be a challenge anyway!

Leopard geckos are very docile creatures and are fairly undemanding in terms of care though handling live bugs to feed them takes a bit of getting used to. Good job I'm not squeamish! My two are still juveniles and only a few weeks old so are quite timid and hide a lot. They are already becoming more bold however and will calm down a lot by the time they reach adulthood. I'm looking forward to watching the m grow.

Sir Penguin

Nils Olav II inspecting the troops - Edinburgh Zoo

When I visited Edinburgh Zoo in June I had no idea I was in the presence of a famous and high ranking military King Penguin called Nils Olav II. Nils (to his friends) was knighted on 15th August having previously carried the rank of colonel-in-chief. Nils has been promoted each time the Norwegian Kings Guard visit the zoo when they attend the Edinburgh Military Tattoo and Nils is the first penguin to be Knighted which is approved by the King himself. A video of the ceremony which was held at Edinburgh zoo can be seen *here*.

This all came about when a lieutenant called Nils Egelien became interested in Edinburgh Zoo's penguin colony when he attended the Tattoo in 1961. When the Guards once again returned to Edinburgh in 1972, he arranged for the unit to adopt a penguin which was named Nils Olav in honour of Nils Egelien and King Olav V of Norway. The new recruit was given the rank of lance corporal and has been promoted each time the King's Guard has returned to the Tattoo. The original Nils Olav died shortly after his promotion to sergeant, and his place of honour was taken by Nils Olav II. You can hear more about Nils and this bizarre but endearing relationship as a mascot for the Norwegian Kings Guard *here* which is a broadcast from the BBC Today Programme.

The photo above is a picture I took of the King penguins when I visited the zoo. The penguins are let out of their pen every day for a voluntary walk which is a huge attraction. I have no idea if one of them is Nils or not but they all had a military bearing, walking regally along the path taking in the admiration of the crowds. Well, they are King penguins after all!

I will announce the winner of the 'Whose Bedroom' competition soon :)

See! Turtles!

With a long bank holiday weekend ahead of me, it seemed the perfect opportunity for a day out somewhere. I have always loved animals and I love photography so I wanted to combine these in my day out. We decided on the Birmingham Sea Life Centre and so off we set. I have always found aquariums to be relaxing places, despite the throngs of people clamouring around the tanks. As I watch the fish effortlessly glide past I lose myself in their underwater world and everyone around me slides into the background. The only thing that can break this is the shrill screech of a young child who isn't getting their way or actually being jostled. I was prepared for all this and we got there early to beat the crowds. I had fun taking photos of the fish and managed to get a few nice photos, a couple of which I have posted on my photo blog.

There were fish from all all sorts of watery habitats but the thing that entranced me the most was the sea turtles. The two turtles were rescued as hatchlings and were called Molokai and Gulliver and were housed in a giant tank with one of those amazing tubes you can walk through. They seemed just as interested in checking out the curious visitors as we were about them and cruised by in lazy circuits surrounded by bejewelled fish of all sizes. Sea turtles have been on the earth since the dinosaurs were around but as ever, hunting them and adverse effects on the habitats and hatching grounds has meant that many species are endangered. I find that so sad so I'm putting my money where my mouth is and adopting a turtle through the Marine Conservation Society. It was a wonderful to see the turtles at the aquarium, who essentially act as ambassadors for their species. My friend took a couple of short videos on his mobile phone which I have posted here. Enjoy!

Meer-friends

Meerkats ~ Longleat October 2007

I have always have a soft spot for animals of just about every type. I grew up around animals and have had a pet of one sort or another for the majority of my life. So it is no coincidence that many of my days out are to zoos or wildlife parks or animal reserves of one kind or another. It is also no coincidence then, if we follow this line of logic, that many of my photographs are also of animals and I have also found that I love taking photos of them. Sometimes you capture a moment and it paints a wonderful picture of the animals personality. That is why I love the picture above. These Meerkats look like two old friends (though more likely to be family members) sat out enjoying the late afternoon sun. I was stood behind them and couldn't get to the other side of the pen so I waited until one turned his head and got the shot. I love the way the light makes their fur almost glow around the edges.

While I am on the subject of friendship, I thought I would share some quotes from my 'friendship' calendar which was given to me as a Christmas present by CrazieQueen.

"Friends are those rare people who ask how we are and then wait to hear the answer"
~ Ed Cunningham

"My friend if I could give you one thing, I would wish for you the ability to see yourself as others see you. Then you would realise what a truly special person you are"
~ B.A. Bilingsly

"Laughter is the shortest distance between two people"
~ Victor Borge

"The friend who holds your hand and says the wrong thing is made of dearer stuff than the one who stays away"
~ Barbara Kingsolver

"No road is long with good company"
~ Turkish Proverb

"Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is slow-ripening fruit"
~ Aristotle

"The worst solitude is to be destitute of friendship"
~ Francis Bacon

Old MacDonald had a Wildlife Park

Cotswold Wildlife Park has all sorts of animals that are alien to the British countryside. As I have posted about recently it is not often you will see a rhino and zebra in front of an old English mansion, or hear lions roaring while walking around a lake full of ducks, geese and swans, but this is all part of it's particular charm. However, there are some more familiar residents at the park which are not so 'wild'. In fact they are rather domesticated as the park has a corner full of farm animals.


In a barn full of animals in comfy straw lined pens I found a simply huge pig snoozing noisily. Piggy was far more interested in napping than saying hello so after taking her photo I moved on to the bunnies. We think of rabbits as being small and cuddly creatures but these seemed huge. I had to wonder what on earth they were feeding these animals but I recall the rabbit our family had when I was a child. It was called Harvey after the rabbit in the film as he was white. He was meant to be a dwarf rabbit but grew to the size of a donkey with a kick to match! (Okay, not really but he was bigger than quite a few dogs!). Turned out his name was apt as he also turned out to be a giant rabbit as well. The rabbits in the park regarded me with the suspicion that prey animals reserve for anything bigger than them with teeth but sat still for photos save the twitching of their noses.


Back outside I found the goats, together with their kids. One particular kid was obviously testing his boundaries and trying to discover if goats can climb. He was quite thorough in his testing, trying again and again to shimmy up the fence post, but despite actually getting three legs off the ground he had to admit that cloven hooves aren't the best for gripping vertical surfaces, though I recorded his endeavours for posterity.

Afterwards I made my way to a small paddock full of goats that you could walk in and pet. Despite all this free attention the goats seemed far more engrossed in eating the spring grass and acted like the people walking amongst them were invisible, apart for moments when a small errant child tried to mount one like a pony. The goat simply walked off leaving the child hopping on the spot with his leg cocked in the air and didn't break it's feeding momentum for a moment. It was quite comical to watch but I guess you had to be there.


The farm corner of the park was extremely sweet and obviously aimed at children as most of the animals were hand tame and could be petted. There were also sheep, chickens, a couple of ponies and some guinea pigs there. I loitered for awhile but then a sign for the reptile house caught my eye and I knew where I wanted to go next. So that is what I did.

More from Cotswold Wildlife Park

I had finished my MBA project a few weekends ago so I decided to actually get outside and taste the fresh air once more. The fresh air I headed for was in the Cotswolds, which are not too far away, and specifically my love of animals drew me to the Cotswold Wildlife Park which I have already posted about *here* and *here*. It is a fantastic open place set in parkland and the grounds of an old Victorian mansion which you can see in the first photo. It's not often you see a rhino grazing on the lawn in front of an old English house and it looks quite incongruous but the rhino and it's zebra friends seemed content enough


The rhino and zebra are two of the animals that you see when you first enter the park. They have a huge enclosure to roam in and nearby the camel have another paddock and on the other side the ostrich jealously guard their paddock from human interlopers. At the top end of the rhino and zebra enclosure though is where the big cats live. I am used to big cats being shy. They often spend their time in a quiet corner in the sun away from prying eyes or in the comfort of their pen on more chilly days. On this visit however I walked up to the large glass window in the wall of the pen and was rewarded with the sight in the photo below.


The leopard emerged from the bushes as if on cue and walked past on a few feet away from me. I was very happy that a large piece of glass separated us but at the same time I was in awe of being so close to such a beautiful and magnificent animal; it was all I could do to gather my camera, point and shoot so I was very pleased when I saw I had got the shot!


The leopard did a couple of circuits of his territory while the crowd that had gathered 'ooed' and 'ah-ed'. Content that all was well in his world he decided to make the most of the weak early spring sun and climbed a tree to take up station on a wooden platform to sunbathe. Next door was where the lions lived. I had heard the male roaring when I reached the park entrance, a deep guttural roar which pronounced his place as king of all he surveyed. When I got to the lion pen the male was nowhere to be seen but one of the females had visited the pool for a drink, a mere few yards from the glass viewing window. Once her thirst was slaked she simply sat and took in the view and I took the opportunity to snap her portrait.


After a while I left the throng that had gathered to watch her sitting and watching nothing in particular and braved the path past the ostriches and made my way towards the farm animals. I will post about these soon :)

The Birds

During my recent day out to the Cotswold Wildlife Park, I crossed paths with a few animals of the feathered variety. Birds are wonderful photographic subjects. They often have gorgeous plumage (a la the Norwegian Blue of Monty Python fame) and some have bags of character. Some occasionally stay still long enough to photograph. The park has a wide range of bird life including water fowl, birds of prey and exotic birds. I didn't take photos of many as they were either too active, too shy or the enclosure wire was too intrusive for a decent shot.

The Macaw (above) was sat on his tree in the walled garden with his mate. Macaws can live for up to 60 years and mate for life and this pair has been at the park for some time. They obviously know it is their home as their tree is set out in the open with no netting to stop them leaving. I think it is nice that they choose to stay and they obviously enjoy human company. As I snapped one or two pictures of him, the macaw in the photo happily posed and squawked hello at me. It was only polite to reply but after that the conversation became a little limited, never really moving pass the greeting phase.


As the park is set in several acres of woodland, meadow, ponds and gardens there are many ducks, swans and geese that visit and are free to stay and leave as they wish. There are also several stately looking peacocks mixed in with these and roaming free. They pop in and out of enclosures as they wish (except for the large carnivores which are more enclosed!) and the one in the photo above was enjoying the early spring sun while sat in the enclosure reserved for the capybara who didn't seem to mind sharing at all.


I reached the penguin enclosure just in time for feeding (the penguins, not me). The park has Humbolt penguins from areas of south America, and the sight of these little birds waddling excitedly over their pebble beach to claim their fishy prize always makes me smile. They are so comical! Their keeper also threw some fish into the water and they came into their own swooping gracefully through the water to catch the fish. Some of the penguins took up station next to the keeper and demanded to be fed, looking up at her with hungry stares. Their patience was soon rewarded as she hand fed them and they all clamoured for the proffered food, managing to convey disappointment when the bucket was finally empty.

Their appetites (mostly) sated they went back to their penguin business and I wandered on. After all their was still the big cats to see. Photos of them coming soon!

Fluff 'n' stuff

I was determined not to do any work or study this past weekend, so I was a bit miffed when I woke up on Saturday to wind and torrential rain. However, Sunday dawned much brighter, with the sun pouring through the clouds eager, it seemed to dry them out of the sky where they floated. There were no complaints from me, as having been holed up in my study or office almost exclusively for the past few weeks I was eager for some fresh air, sun and to stretch my legs.


I decided I would like to visit the Cotswold Wildlife Park which is a great place for getting out in the fresh air and stretching your legs as it is set in 160 acres of parkland set around a Victorian mansion. The larger animals all have huge paddocks to roam in while the smaller ones are housed in conditions mimicking their natural habitat. The park is a member of EAZA (the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) which shares and exchanges animals to further breeding programmes of conservation importance.


Of course I took my camera along with me and happily snapped away. Animals in zoos make great subjects as you can get fairly close to ones you wouldn't normally see. I have posted a few of some of the small furry critters that I came across: the Prairie Dog, Meerkat, Mongoose and the Otter. It was great watching these creatures for a time as they all live in family groups and interact with each other, playing, washing, chasing, scalding, feeding and going about whatever business is important to small furry animals. They are so used to visitors that they largely ignore them, with the exception of the otters who were curious about everything going on around them.


The Otters were one of my favourites of the day. There was something so endearing about them. It is hard to think that they became endangered at one point in many parts of the UK as they were treated as pests! Happily that is not the case now and these gorgeous creatures are protected.


I took many more pictures that day and will share some more soon. Hope you like these :)

Crazy cats!

It appears that at some point in my existence I have been very very very bad indeed. I am sooo busy! Work is very hectic at the moment where I feel I am simultaneously herding cats, juggling soot and pushing jelly (jello) up a hill with a pointy stick! So much to do, so few hands, too few hours in the day! Despite the apparent lack of hours the days have been long which of course has compressed time to do other things...

At home, the house point blank refuses to stay tidy and clean itself, the grass has the temerity to keep on growing and I have the most boring essay in the world to finish for my course which I am having a bit of trouble with. So, I must have been very bad at some point as we all know there is no rest for the wicked! LOL!

The upshot is that I have got stuff to share with you but no time to do it justice. I have loads of pics from the airshow still to show you and some from a re-enactment I went to a while ago too. But for now I am going to go and start on my long list of things to do and write my essay so I am leaving you with the video below. Anyone who owns a cat knows that they can be loving, sweet and funny. I have a cat called Bob and my cat has done some crazy things in the 16 years I have had him, (but thankfully he hasn't done anything as silly as some of these cats). Enjoy! :)

Reptiles

The reptile house has always been a place I love to visit at zoos and animal parks, so it was definitely on my list when I went to Bristol Zoo. Even as a child I have been fascinated by these prehistoric looking creatures and I loved that they looked like mini dinosaurs. As ever, half the fun of the reptile house is spotting what is actually in the enclosure as they are usually well hidden and camouflaged. This was certainly true of the snakes that day who were not at all co-operative as photographic subjects. Some, however, are right out in the open like this feisty little fellow below who was perched atop a rock giving everyone the bad-eye as if to challenge them.


The second photo is of an Iguana of which their are many species. Most can be found native in warmer countries in forested areas and some species are now vulnerable due to de-forestation. The marine Galapagos iguana is different being the only one of the species that chooses to swim in the sea to feed on seaweed, as all iguanas are vegetarian. The large male in the photo was sat on a high vantage point warming himself. Vigorous head-bobbing is an important signal in iguana society and high territorial vantage points mean that a head-bob signal can be seen by all iguanas in the area.


The Giant tortoises were out grazing in the morning sun. The male giant tortoise at Bristol Zoo Gardens is currently at the centre of a debate as previously it was thought to belong to a species called the Aldabran giant tortoise, but in the last few years, it has been suggested that it may be a survivor from a species that was thought extinct - the Seychelles giant tortoise. The Zoo's male is thought to be over 80 years old - a survivor from an almost extinct species. The head and legs are much too big to be completely withdrawn into the shells as it does not need to serve as protection from predators because there are none on the islands where they evolved. Little is known about Seychelles giant tortoises in the wild, because none are believed to be alive there.The Aldabran giant tortoises still survive in large numbers on their island home, largely free of predators and competitors.

I know reptiles might not be everyone's favourite creatures but I think they have they're own characters. My family had four tortoises as pets when I was a child and each one had different traits. The most memorable was called 'Rocket' and he would challenge everyone in the garden by head butting their feet!

Bristol Zoo is not a large zoo, but it certainly goes to great pains to recreate the habitats for the animals so that they have good quality of life and they do much work to conserve threatened species through captive breeding programmes and public awareness. If you are ever in the area I recommend a visit!

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Mum Update

I went to see mum this weekend and she is perkier in herself which was nice to see. I think she has accepted that she will be there for a while yet and that she is likely to need more IV antibiotics. I think this is largely to do with her diabetes finally being managed properly, so hoorah for that! On the downside her leg infection is still getting worse so it looks likely that she will have to go on IV antibiotics again and keep a good close eye on her kidneys. To do this they will have to fit the cannula into her neck, which will require minor surgery, as they have exhausted areas to put needles and things into her arms (they are covered in bruises as a result!). Anyway, we will hopefully find out more tomorrow. It was my dad that I really felt for as I went to see him also as he seems to be getting a bit lonely. Fingers crossed this next intervention (whatever they decide) works. Thanks to everyone who has dropped by to offer well wishes and prayers. I really do appreciate it, you have no idea how much.

Furry Critters

Bristol zoo is home to many cute, fluffy and furry beasties, including the Prairie Dogs which many people in North America may be familiar with and the meerkats. Both communities had young pups when I visited who looked like little half sized versions of the adults scampering around. One of the prairie dog young is in the photo below.

The zoo had once more done wonders in re-creating the animals habitats. both had natural compounds with extensive tunnels and burrows and it was nice that the animals were relaxed enough around people to ignore them and get on with their everyday business. In the wild, the prairie dog is prey to many animals so they are constantly on the look out for danger with the adults taking turn as look-outs and as you can see from the photo's they are very well camouflaged too!

There was also a Pudu in the prairie dog pen. The pudu is considered the smallest of the deer family and is naturally found in Chile and Argentina, so in a way the photo above is quite amazing as these two species would not meet in the wild! It was quite amusing as the pudu and prairie dogs are obviously used to each other, but this very young prairie dog obviously needed a closer look. When the pudu passed close by it stood it's ground and the two animals came nose to nose. The pudu eventually wandered off and the little pup looked so pleased with itself as it has stood up to this 'giant' animal!

Next, we saw the meerkats who are native to many parts of Africa. Like the prairie dogs they are sociable animals that live in colonies in burrows. They are well know as being alert and inquisitive with at least one meerkat on alert looking for potential threats. In the zoo, this was no exception and one had taken up sentry duty atop a tree stump while the others played, foraged and sunbathed. As you can see in the photo above, the meerkats had young too, who were intent on getting lunch while we were there.

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Update on mum

Thank you for your well wishes for my mother. I'm afraid the news is not great. Earlier this week she was diagnosed with kidney failure. It appears that everything has been too much strain on her body so she was taken off the IV antibiotics to give her kidney's a rest. The good news is that the failure is not dire, it's just that they are not working properly and after a couple of days they recovered a little.

However, since going into hospital her leg infection seems to have worsened and today she is having an x-ray as the doctor thinks it has spread into her ankle joints too. She is having to go on the IV antibiotics again and this time they will be stronger which will put a strain on her kidneys again. The doctors say that her kidneys will recover afterwards though, but I cant help thinking there are no guarantees. My poor mother is feeling very down though and has been told she is liable to be in hospital for another 2 weeks. I talk to my dad every night and I can tell he is concerned but the positive thing is that this team of doctors are some of the best at the hospital and we have been told that they are determined to sort my mother out this time. Fingers crossed.

More on the zoo and Mum

I thought I'd share a couple more photos from when I visited Bristol Zoo, this time of the penguins which have always been a bit of a favourite of mine (though where animals are concerned I have many!). The zoo has a dedicated area called Penguin Coast which mimics the penguin's habitat, down to a pebble beach, nesting areas and waves on their 'sea'. Visitors walk along a planked walkway above the beach and also can walk through transparent tubes under the water to see the penguins swimming, which is always wonderful to see. They turn from slightly comical birds to graceful creatures underwater, diving and swooping through the water with agility.


When people think of penguins they usually think of the Antarctic, of snow and ice and cold but the penguins at the zoo are African Penguins. They come from the beaches of the Southern most parts of Africa and are threatened in the wild. As with the lemurs, Bristol Zoo is heavily involved in conservation work.


Also at the zoo is a Pygmy Hippopotamus (photo below) which are also found in Africa, but in Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Their habitat is fresh water and tropical rain forest and once again the zoo had done wonders in making the hippo feel at home. The pygmy hippo is much smaller than the common hippo. Like it's larger relative, the nose and ears can be closed under water which is an adaptation to aquatic life. The skin is hairless and sensitive to the sun, but is kept supple and moisturised by a fluid that oozes from glands all over the skin, hence the hippo looks shiny in the photo. Most of the day is spent resting in ponds swamps and rivers to keep the skin supple. Now, doesn't that sound like a nice way to spend your time? This animal is also threatened in the wild with only 2000-3000 remaining in the wild, with the main reason being logging destroying it's habitat.

On a completely different note, I went to see my mother and it was the brightest I had seen her yet. This new consultant has changed her meds and has changed her management of her diabetes and it has had such an immediate and positive affect. I am really happy that this is the case but part of me is really very angry that my mother had been left until things got so bad. There seems to be an awful lot of apathy in our health service at the moment. I am not sating that all doctors are bad because they clearly aren't but I think that some care more than others. For example, my mother has found it impossible so she had been spending all night sat on the edge of the bed, in too much discomfort to sleep. One of the nurses noticed and bought her a wedge to put under the mattress at her feet end. My mum said it was the first good nights sleep she had had in a couple of weeks. This is the difference that caring makes!

Unfortunately her legs looked awful. They are so swollen and sore. She has to lie in bed while they are slathered in thick gunk to try and treat it. In her arm she has an antibiotic IV drip. They have drawn around the red area and it doesn't seem to be responding. However, I am hopeful that this new doctor will help. Fingers crossed! Thank you for all your positive thoughts and prayers. It is nice to know that my mother is in your thoughts.

Gorillas in the daisies

One of Bristol Zoo's star attractions is the the Western Lowland Gorillas. The zoo is home to three adult gorillas, Jock, who is a 20 year old male, Salome who is a 27 year old female and Romina who is a 23 year old female. The photo above is of Salome who was sat outside on 'Gorilla Island' enjoying the sun, while her baby, called Komale played nearby. The picture below is of Komale as he tried to follow his mother and his comfort blankie got caught on a twig making him look like a caped crusader!

Below is another shot of Komale and Salome together. It was so sweet the way Komale carried his blanket around with him, and other than the fact that he used his mouth to carry it a lot of the time was just like a human child in many ways.

Gorillas are vegetarian and they were enjoying some ripe tomatoes and bananas at the time with obvious enjoyment. Western Lowland Gorillas come from areas of dense forest and swamp in West Africa, and are seriously threatened in the wild. The forests where they live are being exploited for timber and the gorillas are being hunted for their meat and for bush medicine.The Western Lowland Gorilla is the most populous species but it is likely that there are only approximately 80-100,000 individuals in the wild today. Bristol Zoo supports conservation work to protect wild gorillas in Cameroon.


The final photo is of the daddy gorilla, Jock. He was sat apart from mother and baby, trying to enjoy some peace and quiet while he ate his banana. At one point Komale ran over and started to climb him and he sat there impassively until Komale got bored and wandered off to play elsewhere. It really was a pleasure to see these gorillas at close quarters.