Raptor Rapture

rap·ture  -  1. the state of mind resulting from feelings of high emotion; joyous ecstasy

Joyous ecstasy are two words that perfectly capture my emotions on Sunday when I came face to face with two amazing birds of prey at ZooAmerica in Hershey, PA. 

This is Bliss the golden eagle. Many of the animals come to this zoo in need of rehabilitation. Bliss was infected with the west nile virus. He is better now and has become a wonderful ambassador for his species. 

He seemed to have a real bond with his handler. 

More photos on my Flickr set: ZooAmerica.

Osgood the barn owl. 

I was so excited to get this close to a barn owl. I am surprised these photos were in focus, I was shaking a little. 

Various other raptors at Hershey's ZooAmerica...

Okay, not a raptor, but I thought this 1.5 year old alligator was kind of cute.

Feathered Friends

We went to the Philadelphia Zoo yesterday thanks to my father for his generous gift of a family membership.

They have a lot of beautiful birds in the zoo both outside and inside at the new McNeil Avian Center.

I think this new center was my daughter's favorite part. We had a great time trying to find and identify all the birds, many of which were roaming around right underfoot.

Buff-crested bustard from Southern Africa.

 He/she was very persistent and pecked the keeper on her way out.

Flamingos looked so pretty against the flowering weeping cherry tree.

Below is a Victoria crowned pigeon.

Another fancy hair-do on this femaile yellow knobbed curassow.

No knobs on the females, duh.  :)

You don't think of starlings to be very interesting birds but these metallic starlings were and also not afraid of people.

Micronesian kingfishers.

Cutest little duck I ever did see - a ringed teal from southern south America.

Green aracari is a small member of the toucan family.

A barred owl named Shakespeare was rescued from the wild with an eye injury.

She now helps educate visitors in the children's zoo.

New Work

Busy as a bee here before a trip out west to see my grandmother on her 80th birthday. My Mom and twin sisters and I are going, should be a lot of fun (although I hate to fly, ugh).

"Catrina" - Day of the Dead Kitty - SOLD

Friesian Welcome Sign -11" x 14"

  $100 plus shipping

Click on photo for a larger image.

Barn Owl - 11" x 14" - acrylic on wood

$120 plus shipping

She looks nice hanging in my dining room with the old photo of my grandparents and the antique cuckoo clock we inherited from my husband's family.

Meemee and Zazu say hello today too.

Zazu doesn't do Mondays.



Lucky Me!

I won Susan Faye's blog giveaway for a whimsical watercolor portrait of my little Pumpkin cat! Can you believe how lucky I am. Click on this link to see pictures of the work in progress on her blog and her adorable kitty, Buttonwillow! And here is the finished painting, ta da! I love how she captured his markings.

Be sure to visit Susan's Etsy Shop if you love cats and nature. She is an amazing watercolor artist!
Check out this gorgeous sparrow painting.

I have been working on a few things in my own studio. Since being accepted as an official Trail of the Painted Ponies artist, I've been trying to create a few more original ponies. Lately I've been obsessed with the live cam of a barn owl and her owlets (click here - caution, it's addicting) so I thought a barn owl pony would be fun. Here is the finished piece, now on Ebay. I'll have a hard time parting with this one.