That Winning Attitude!

I was watching the Winter Olympics on TV the other night and the snowboarding competition was on. Half way through, it started snowing horizontally and the contestants that participated later in the event definitely had a disadvantage. Visibility was minimized as the surface snow became super slippery. The young athletes began slipping, sliding and falling. What really struck me was the way these kids reacted to their twist of fate. Each one in turn, cranked it up a notch, exhibiting that winning attitude that champions are made of.

Although A Place To Bark came in 5th place today and did not receive the $50,000. grant, they did come out winners! Thank you to all my friends who took the time to make a difference today! Find out all the details from the woman who unselfishly promoted this challenge and really helped make it happen. Claudine Hellmuth

If you missed the deadline and still want to donate, use the donate link below. It will still go to A Place To Bark, it just won't go toward the grant.

Wild Turkeys In My Yard

I am and always have been an animal lover. I have a connection with nature which has found a vehicle for expression through my art. I really got serious about studying animal symbolism after discovering Ted Andrews' book, Animal Speak.

I found the book in 1994, one year after it was published and through it, I began to better understand the impressions that I had always gotten from nature. This understanding led me to write my first introductory guide book; An Awakening To The Presence Of Animal Spirits.

The wild turkeys have been in my yard all day. There are several groups; four large males, three females and eight females. Four represents steady progress, three represents self expression and eight is symbolic of new beginnings. The main symbolism of this bird is shared blessings, and they always remind me to be thankful for them all!

The Princess

Today I'm posting a picture of one of our cats, Princess. She spends most of the day curled up in her little beddie on a table in my studio. She's usually exhausted during the day because she's awake most of the night, jumping around on the bed and on us, making noise. She's got a tough job. She thinks she has to make sure that Jerry and I don't get a good nights sleep!

We're still not sure what kind of bird the mystery bird is. I'm waiting to hear back how big it is from Irvane. I'll keep you posted. ~ Sandy

Mystery Bird

Hey there ~

Does anybody know what kind of bird this is? My friend Irvane emailed these pictures to me today and said; "This bird has visited our feeder the past two weeks. It's something we've never seen before here in southern New Jersey. Possibly a Snow Bunting?"

I looked it up in my National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of North America. I don't think it's a Snow Bunting because it doesn't have any white on it's wings. I think it might be a Gray Jay. Does anybody out there know or have any ideas? Let me know what you think.

 

Have a nice night! Talk to you later, Sandy