This week we take a look at perhaps the humorous side of our furred and feathered friends. If we have dogs, cats, or other furry and feathered friends, we like to depict them in a good and respectful light. But sometimes domesticated and wild animals and birds are captured in a silly pose or situation.
“Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no questions; they pass no criticisms.” ~ George Eliot
Don’t worry if you do not have a funny photo of your furred or feathered friends … just have fun this week, sharing yours.
Amusing and Awkward Animals
Aero the Spaniel/Poodle-Mix
My dogs are always a source of amusement for me. My little Aero, who’s gone 8 months now, was always elegant, regal, refined, and rarely awkward. Even in his last moments, he held his head high as if to say, “I’m strong for YOU, Mom, don’t cry.”
But! I managed to catch him with his guard down in rare moments!
I will never forget your love and friendship, little Aero.
“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.” ― Josh Billings
Brodie, The Silliest Thing
Brodie, our Boykin Spaniel, entered our lives in early 2017 as an 8-week-old pup, meant as a companion to Aero. His look was inspired by Aero, (they are not related except for spaniel genes). Clearly, there were similarities, but Brodie is 55 pounds of muscle!
I have a LOT of silly images of Brodie. He is a love bug but loves to play and chase the ball, not to mention swim all day if he could.
He despises going to the veterinarian. Our vet is the cutest, little British lady, with a huge heart for animals. How does Brodie thank her? By growling and snarling–so we have to muzzle him.
He is very attentive when you call his name, ears flying…
and he knows how to order food at a dog-friendly restaurant.
As for the Wildlife
Since living in Eastern Washington on our rural property, I like to think about the wildlife here as fun and engaging visitors. Especially the deer.
In April, the mule deer herd that lives in the nearby forest, ambled in and out of our backyard, never deterred by 4 and 5-foot fences.
I caught this young doe in a quandary…she longingly wanted to join the other 8 deer in our yard…
…once she hopped over, she appeared to have changed her mind.
And I love this one of the deer trying to eat the birdseed!
Funny Feathers
“Because the heart beats under a covering of hair, of fur, feathers, or wings, it is, for that reason, to be of no account?” ~ Jean Paul
Segueing into birds, our feathered friends, they are a continuous source of delight and humor. The biggest clowns, in my opinion, are the hummingbirds. They suddenly get your attention with their loud HUM as they rocket past you on their way to a feeder or flower.
Some water birds are a bit awkward in their approach. All legs and necks in their beautiful way.
When we placed our large cement birdbath in the yard, I’m reminded of “If you build it, t(he)y will come” (from Field of Dreams). This mourning dove mated pair takes their baths regularly now (sorry not a clear image). I should provide soap and hand towels.
“Be innocent like a dove, strong like an ostrich, fierce like a hawk, wise like an owl, and swift like an eagle.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo
Day of the Eagle
Did you know June 20th is American Eagle Day? I always thought July 4th would bear that distinction since the American Bald Eagle is the US symbol.
With this date in mind, I saved some eagle images as inspiration for my monthly collaboration for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday challenge.
You may remember another version of this eagle I photographed at the Riparian Preserve in Gilbert, Arizona. Her slightly awkward pose, wings stretched, brought to mind the mythical thunderbird or phoenix. My own inspiration came from this image:
Native American legend describes the Thunderbird as a large vulture or eagle-like bird with a wingspan of 20 feet or larger. Many tribes believed Thunderbird was a god in animal form that controlled the weather by bringing thunderstorms, but also protected humanity. In almost all Native American tribes, the Thunderbird is the dominant icon or symbol in their traditions and artworks such as totem poles, pottery, jewelry, masks, petroglyphs, and carvings.
Source: Owlcation
I sent Colleen the above eagle image, along with a version of the eagle totem pole I painted. Colleen opted to use the image of the totem for the challenge.
“Incorporate the symbolism or mythology of … the Phoenix, the Thunderbird, or the Eagle into your poem.” ~ Colleen: Tanka Tuesday
Here is Colleen’s own tanka.
For more poems inspired by the totem, visit Colleen’s June 13th Tanka Tuesday post.
The Eagle has Landed
The prompt is a nod to the mythical Phoenix bird that is said to have risen from the ashes, much like the American Bald eagle population has in the last decade.
The American Bald Eagle is the national symbol of the US. It resides on the North American Continent. For those who don’t know much about the Bald Eagle, June 20th commemorates the day in 1782 when the bird was added to the official seal of the US. For those living outside the US, the Golden Eagle is a close cousin that lives in Europe as well as North America.
In 1967, bald eagles were placed on the threatened and endangered species list with only 500 nesting pairs left! Decades of protection in 1973 through the Endangered Species Act. In 2009, there were 72,434 individual bald eagles and just 30,548 nesting pairs.
Eventually, the bald eagle was removed from the endangered list, but the species is still protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Because of these efforts, by 2019, Eagle populations quadrupled in size since 2009 with 316,700 individual bald eagles spotted and 71,400 nesting pairs recorded during the 2019 breeding season, reports Lauren M. Johnson and Liz Stark for CNN.
As regal as we expect the American Bald eagles to be, even they can pose in comical ways.
This eagle sat on this branch in this awkward pose for a bit, as we photographers watched patiently, cameras at the ready, from the Lake Couer D’Alene’s marina in November. Some speculated she bore an injury.
Then she adjusted herself on the branch and grabbed the perch with her other claw.
Seemed she had an attitude of “I’ll put both feet down when I’m good and ready.”
“Any glimpse into the life of an animal quickens our own and makes it so much the larger and better in every way.” ~ John Muir
Inspiring Photo Challenges This Week
Each week I find inspiration from my fellow bloggers’ photo challenges. I enjoy incorporating these into my Sunday Stills weekly themes.
- Cee’s Flower of the Day
- Don’t Hold Your Breath’s Bird of the Week
- Johnbo’s CellPic Sunday
- Marsha’s Wednesday Quotes: Pink
Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders
The Sunday Stills weekly-themed photo challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post.
- Remember to title your blog post a little differently than mine.
- Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
- Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
- Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
- Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post.
- I also recommend adding your post’s URL to the comments.
This Week’s Featured Bloggers
Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers, poets, and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below are this week’s links from bloggers who shared their photos of furred and feathered friends. I add these all week as new links are posted.
- YOUR BLOG’S NAME GOES HERE…
- Always Write
- And Miles to Go Before I Sleep
- Between the Lines
- Bushboys World
- Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
- Cee’s Photo Challenges
- The Day After
- Denyse Whelan Blogs
- Easin’ Along Image shared in comments
- Equipoise Life Image shared in comments
- Geriatrix Fotogallery
- Graham’s Island
- Great Blue Herons
- JJJ Interactive Books
- Kamerapromenader
- Lifelessons
- Light Words
- Loving Life
- Philosophy Through Photography
- Photos By Jez
- Quaint Revival
- Roberta Writes
- Stevie Turner
- This is Another Story
- Tranature
- Walkin’, Writin’, Wit and Whimsy
- Whippet Wisdom
- The World is a Book
- Working on Exploring
In Memoriam of Bren
The blogging world is saddened by the loss of fellow blogger and photographer, Bren from Brashley Photography, who lost her battle with cancer. She hosted the popular mid-week monochrome feature which challenged us to re-think in monochrome. She shared hundreds of gorgeous florals on her blog and joined the Sunday Stills challenge on occasion. I’m sure Heaven is full of flowers. This one is for Bren.
Let’s celebrate our furred and feathered friends this week. Go ahead, be “Paw-ssionate” and remain “Paws-itive” because I know you are each quite the amazing “photograph-fur.”
Remember the images don’t have to be weird or awkward, that is simply my own perspective of the theme.
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