On the Wild Side

All of these pictures were taken at the Jackson, Mississippi Zoological Park. I hope you enjoy the tour.

This little guy looked so sweet and "cuddly" ...

Until he opened his mouth!

This next picture of a Diana Monkey reminds me of a line from an old song that goes, "If I had the wings of an angel, over these prison walls I would fly."

And speaking of flying, remember Dumbo, the flying elephant in the Disney movie?

I think Giraffes are so graceful-looking, to be so tall and gangly ...

Awwww ... such a sweet face!

And while we're on the subject of faces — here's one that only his mama could love!

I interrupted the Leopard's naptime.

Isn't he gorgeous!

My favorite wild animal is the Tiger, and this one was truly magnificent.

Sable Antelope

Gotta love that sweet little "smiley face!"

The Zebra almost faded into the background.

What's for dinner, guys?

If you live near Jackson, I encourage you to visit the zoo and see all these beautiful animals for yourself.

The zoo is celebrating its 91st birthday this year and needs your support and patronage.

Odds and Ends

I have a busy day ahead of me today, so I thought I would just share a few pictures that I have captured while rambling with my camera. These are just random shots of things I saw that caught my eye while on photo shoots.

Sun setting over the Mississippi River at Vicksburg

Rocks in our pond

The Ameristar Casino in Vicksburg, "neonized" with Photoshop

A sparrow patiently waiting his turn

They don't call them the Blue Ridge Mountains for nothing

A touching roadside monument

Rusty old sign

Naptime

You've gotta love southern "yard art"

Rain on the Natchez Trace

Close up of a snapdragon

Tiger at Jackson Zoo

Cows in a pasture (you can click on the picture to enlarge it, if you'd like). Have you ever noticed how they all face the same way?

This was my parents' Betta fish. I took this picture in 2005, and photoshopped the background.

And last, but not least, this was a little pond I passed on a country road.

It was fun "gathering" these pictures for this post, because each one evoked a memory of where and when and why I took them.

I'm looking forward to collecting more "random" shots like these this Spring ... if it ever gets here.

Wild Things! -- Part III

This is the last chapter of my zoo photo shoot.

After being entertained by my rock-eating elephant friend, we moved on to the primates, where I fell in love with these two red-headed Bornean Orangutans ...

This little guy especially captured my heart. Isn't he adorable? I wanted to take him home with me ...

Awwwww ... Sweet dreams!

Here's his pal ...

These two cracked us up. I could just imagine him (or her?) saying, "A little to the left, please!" ...

This Diana Monkey seemed to have three different personalities, sort of like Joanne Woodward's character in "The Three Faces of Eve."

I call this one "Lucifer." I think you can see why ...

And here he looks like he's singing an aria ...

This is one of my favorite photos I took at the zoo, and I think the bars make it even more poignant ...

While we were walking through the primate area, we were joined by several peacocks who were not at all intimidated by us ...

This one perched on a bridge for a long time, allowing me to get some good closeup shots ...

This little guy didn't look very comfortable to me, but he was totally relaxed clinging to the fence ...

Speaking of totally relaxed, we passed this Rhino who was basking in the sun ...

That is truly a face that
only his mama could love ...

The Chimpanzees were our last stop and I thought they were kind of sad looking. This one appeared to be old ...

His pal seemed to be in deep thought, and reminded me of that old joke about "Sometimes I sit and think ... and sometimes I just sit."

I'm so glad we had the opportunity to visit the zoo. I thoroughly enjoyed capturing those incredible animals with my camera and hope to go back again in the Spring.

If you live near Jackson, I encourage you to visit the zoo. It is celebrating its 90th birthday this year and needs your support and patronage.

Zoo Day is March 14th, and will be highlighted by the grand opening of the new Penguin Plunge Exhibit! The penguins are on loan to the zoo from March 14th through August 15th, and I can't wait to take our granddaughter Avery to see them. Of course, I'll take my camera, too, and will look forward to sharing them with you soon.