Zoo, Dogs, and Vegan Cooking

What is spring break without a trip to the zoo?  The day after Dana, Adam, and Miss G went home we took the nieces and baby Dixie to the zoo. 


One of the best thing about our zoo is that you can purchase lettuce and feed it to the giraffes.  They are really friendly and will even let you pet them.


Here's Miss Dixie with the baby hippo in the background.  It was a brisk 41 degrees and slightly windy.  Her parents must be raising her to be tough because I had my winter coat, hat, and gloves on, but she didn't even have a jacket.  Her moms didn't either.


Our new African exhibit lets you walk among the penguins.  They're so adorable that I'd like to bring one home.


One of the mountain lions was enjoying the sunshine.


Dixie liked getting out of the stroller and walking with mama and Uncle Irvin.


It was nice being inside the hippo exhibit to warm up a bit.


Of course I have to show you some puppy pictures since National Puppy Day was this week.  The new pup gets chew bones to hopefully keep her from chewing on things like shoes.  Of course it wouldn't be fair if Aspen got one and Maisy didn't.


Aspen gets very comfortable when she's sleeping.


I did lots of vegan cooking this week because one of the nieces is a strict vegan.  I think I'm the only aunt that goes the extra mile for her when she visits and I made the decision that all of us could eat vegan while she was here.  It takes a lot of slicing, dicing, and chopping of the veggies.  I made vegan chili one evening and then it was time for vegan enchiladas.


After sautéing the veggies I added them to the black bean mixture that was the filling for the enchiladas.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take a shot of the finished product. You know, both meals were really good and you don't really miss the meat.  Today I'm making vegan carne asada tacos using portobello mushrooms.  I think they'll be fantastic.  (Irv is getting some chicken in his.)


Sometimes these two are best friends...mainly when the hoomans aren't looking.


This week in painting class I got the rest of the canvas covered in paint.  Next time I'll start on the detail.  The only thing that is really in focus is that middle stalk of grass and the blue butterfly.  Everything else is out of focus which is a new technique I'm learning.

I ordered lots of painting supplies for my time in Yellowstone along with prints of photos I want to paint while I'm there.  Best news...my brother sent me the pic of his golden bison!  I can't wait to start that one!

Have a good weekend!



Comments

polcat24 said…
And a note that anyone that says a baby is hard to take care of has never had a new puppy. I'm exhausted!!!
March 27, 2023 at 7:38 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Skywatch Friday: A little close for comfort

Image
We had a fire out here on the eastern plains of Colorado last week.  I kept getting reports on the fire's location on my cell phone while I was at work.  Then a warning popped up that let me know it was time to hit the road and go home to prepare to evacuate the critters. When we initially got home it was still a decent distance away. Within 30 minutes it had come up over the ridge and flames were visible. The winds were gusting 45 to 50 mph.  It was a fast moving fire that burned 5,000 acres in only four hours.  Then the most amazing thing happened--the winds died down and the firefighters got in under control by 8:15 that night.  Thank you, Lord! Have you ever had to stand in your house and wonder what you should take out with you?  There were only two things I could think of...1) my critters and 2) my passport so I could still go to Europe next month.  Irv and I agreed that we need to get things organized so we can just grab a box...
Read more

Skywatch Friday: Upper and Lower Falls

Image
Yesterday I got to visit the recently completed Uncle Tom's Overlook along the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park. This is the first really good look I've ever had at the Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River. These falls are almost as good as the Lower Falls. After leaving the Upper Falls you go downstream for a mile or so to.... ...Artist's Point which has the very best view of the Lower Falls (in my opinion).  In this location the view is perfect, so perfect that it look like a painting. This is just one of the features of this Park that make it my heart and soul.   Linking with Skywatch Friday
Read more

Skywatch Friday: Wild Horses!

Image
 The Salt River wild horses have been eluding us since we arrived in Arizona several weeks ago so today we went in search of them again. This time we started at the Coon Bluff Recreation Area.  First we went one way down the river, but soon had to turn back because we didn't bring any rock climbing gear. Then we turned around and went the other direction. The water in the river was crystal clear, but no sign of fish or horses. There are times when I really miss my dad especially when I want to know what kind of tree I'm looking at.  This one has something that resembles Spanish moss hanging down.  What is it? This riparian area that surrounds the river has all kinds of wildlife.  Today we saw theses white egrets. This gray heron was also hanging out in the distance. We met a guy carrying all kinds of photographic equipment and he said we needed to go about a quarter of a mile further down the river to find a spot where the horses cross every afternoon around 5:0...
Read more