Bald Eagle
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: Fun with #Furred and #Feathered Friends

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

roosting turkeys
Wild Turkeys perch awkwardly on top of a Telephone Pole

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.”

Aero spaniel-poodle mix
Aero was Ever Vigilant
Aero the cockapoo
Beloved Aero

But! I managed to catch him with his guard down in rare moments!

collage of Sleepy Aero
So sleepy
Aero (left) really is a friend to Brodie.
Aero (left) really was a friend to Brodie.
dog running lickity split
Aero on the run back into the house!
Me and My Aero

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

Hanging out with dogs
Hanging with Aero and Brodie

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!

Brodie the Boykin Spaniel, 10 weeks old
Dressed up dogs ready to play
Baby Brodie and Aero the Boss

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.

Frosty Fence
Flash Frozen in One Afternoon
Brodie and frozen ball
Please throw the snow-covered ball!
Wind blowing dog's ear
My wind-swept ear

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.

Brodie muzzled at the Vet
Brodie muzzled at the Vet

He is very attentive when you call his name, ears flying…

Brodie Boykin Spaniel

and he knows how to order food at a dog-friendly restaurant.

Brodie at dog-friendly restaurant
Brodie orders lunch from the waitress
Hans and Brodie the dog
Happy Hans and Brodie!
Brodie pretty in pink
Brodie’s Pretty in Pink, too

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…

Mule Deer at the fence
Mule Deer Contemplates the Jump
Back end Mule Deer
Mule Deer rethinking which side of the fence

…once she hopped over, she appeared to have changed her mind.

And I love this one of the deer trying to eat the birdseed!

Feeding deer

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.

vivid hummingbird
Hummingbird’s awkward preening
Hummingbird ready to feed
Hummer incoming!
Hummingbird and feeder
Hummer appears pink in this image

Some water birds are a bit awkward in their approach. All legs and necks in their beautiful way.

Black-necked Stilt admires his reflection
Black-necked Stilt admires his reflection
Snowy Egret at Riparian Preserve
Snowy Egret at Riparian Preserve

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.

Mourning Doves in Birdbath

“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.

American Bald Eagle
Whatcha lookin’ at?

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:

Bald Eagle
Eagle? Thunderbird? Phoenix?

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.

Totem Pole Eagle and Bear
My Wooden Furred and Feathered Friends, Bear and Eagle

“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.

Source: Smithsonian Magazine

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.

Bald Eagle in tree
Look Ma, I can perch on one claw

Then she adjusted herself on the branch and grabbed the perch with her other claw.

Bald Eagle perching

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.

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.

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.

Black and White Sunflower Bud

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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131 comments

  17. What a great subject for this week’s Sunday Stills, Terri. Your photos of Aero & Brodie and amazing. I didn’t realise that you got Brodie the same year as we got Austin.

    The turkey looks such an odd bird, but I expect any turkey would say the same about me.

    I’m away on vacation this week, so no entry from me. You can imagine how Toby and Austin felt when I told them I could used photos of them for this week’s challenge. But I’m sure there will be another time.

    I didn’t know Bren, but it’s always sad news when I hear the news of the death of a fellow blogger.

    Enjoy the rest of your week. I’m off to the dog-friendly cocktail bar (yet again), but it is pouring with rain, so I have as good excuse. Typical British summer weather!

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    • Thanks so much, Hugh! So Austin and Brodie are same age…6? Brodie has a December birthday like me but he is a daddy’s boy. Aero was my baby.
      Enjoy your liquid sunshine while on your vacation. We have a gloomy cloudy week for the solstice tomorrow. Too bad we can’t bottle it up and save it for a hot day that will inevitably be upon us!

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  24. Hi Terri! Your photography is stunning, and I especially love the photo of the eagle and your dogs. I am following you on Mastodon – calsy1031
    @marmalade12@mastodon.social.

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  36. […] Feathered friends captured on our road trip to Öland, an island east of the southern part of Sweden. From top left to bottom right: European Trush, Common Ringed Plover, Common Redshank, Yellowhammer, Wood Sandpiper and Meadow Pipit.For Terri´s Sunday Stills Challenge. […]

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  40. Hi, Terri,
    Amazingly, we get so attached to our fur babies and accept them as children. We’ve had an English Bulldog for about a month, and I can’t imagine life without him. I know you feel the same about your handsome Brodie, and will always have a soft spot in your heart for Aero. I loved your deer pictures and wanted to post a picture of me feeding a deer a peanut in Lake Kissimmee, FL, two years ago. The deer had no fear, and I probably should have let him search for his own food, but he was so sweet I couldn’t resist. Have a great week! Joe

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  42. You have quite a collection here, Terri. You are in fur and feather heaven in Nine Miles. I bet little Aero is prancing around in the clouds watching all the animals and chasing them your way so you can take pictures and Brodie can have fun. Brodie’s got the biggest and best pink tongue ever, but I do love the picture of him and Hans. I am going to feature Puppy Girl’s miniature this week. I should have taken a selfie with her. I probably won’t get an eagle picture, but there are tons of ravens in the area, and some of them even like to pose. Well, they like to eat and don’t bother to get up from the table when you come to their door. This is a fun post, my friend. We have gotten far enough from the pain to remember the good times and smile again. 🙂

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  44. Terri, so I came here first and was going to give you today’s link in my comment and you already put it here – thank you for doing that!

    So much to comment on and you lost Aero after I started following you – such a loss. I won’t have pets anymore – too sad, despite the companionship they would provide as I live alone. Two friends that I have known for decades recently lost their pets, a few days apart. Those pets were family members for 12 and 15 years. They are both devastated. Brodie looks happy, as does Hans (taken on your trip if memory serves me right). I did not know that muzzles look like this nowadays. I’ve never seen an eagle up close like you do (except Luc, the injured eagle that I visited earlier today). I did see an Osprey by the nest on top of the fire station siren. Dad was sitting on a pole, then flew away on “stick duty”.

    Your deer was smart to stay put. I was pretty excited to see a doe within a few feet of my car today. I did a double take and inched toward her as she nibbled leaves. A car spooked her and she loped into the woods, but I found her, still munching leaves. I hope those photos come out as it was low light (surely one of the 50 or so shots came out). Maybe I should have had birdseed with me. 🙂

    I remember your totem pole when you first began creating it. The Bald Eagle with the wings outstretched resembles a Cormorant (which always reminds me of Dracula flaring his cape).

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    • You really have a great memory, Linda. I would love to see eagles close up. I had them zoomed into my 600mm travel lens. You just reminded me I have some nesting osprey pics, darn it. Next time 😁 As hard as it is to lose a pet, they really do make our lives richer for having them for their short life spans. We want to travel more abroad and we need a housesitter for Brodie when that happens. Once Brodie is gone we may not have anymore dogs.

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      • I remember that picture as Hans was happy hugging Brodie and I liked it as it was in black-and-white and I forgot to mention my condolences about the fellow blogger Bren’s passing. I don’t do any monochromes but a fellow blogger does. Another fellow blogger , Laurie (Meditations in Motion) has not posted in two years but continues to follow and comment on our posts when possible. She and her husband have been traveling and visiting their kids who live in Colorado and Oregon, plus all around the world. They had a housesitter for their dog Benji for several years before he passed away. It was a teenage girl who would stay at the house as well.

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      • That would be perfect then – Brodie is better off than going to a kennel … less angst and separation anxiety. That was what happened with Benji. Laurie and Bill had to pack the suitcases and keep them out of sight as Benji knew they were leaving.

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  48. I love how your post hit so many emotions. Aw…sniffles…Aero was such a sweetie. I know how hard it is to miss our furbabies. Brodie’s energy reminds me of how fun it is to have a dog. Wow, that’s awesome, Brodie orders his own meal! What does he order and does he ever complain?
    Your eagle photos are stunning, I see them around our field a lot but never get close enough to take photos like you have.
    Aw…more sniffles…I crossed paths in the blogosphere with Bren a few years ago, I’m sad to read about her passing away. That was so kind of you to share a tribute message about her too. 😭
    Thanks for hosting this fun challenge. I hope you have a great week!

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    • Thank you, Shelley! Pets and people inevitably depart from our lives, just as we will so the same some day. I loved how Brodie sat to attentively at the table at this outdoor dog-friendly restaurant in Arizona. The waitress even brought him a bowl of water and some treats! About those eagles, they fly around us but it is dizzying trying to capture them in the air with a zoom lens, LOL! Luckily when the kokanee salmon run in the fall, at Lake Couer D’ Alene in Idaho lots of people gather to see them hunt and fish.

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      • Excellent words of wisdom, Terri!
        It’s so fun that Brodie likes (and sits well) restaurants. I’m sure the water and treats help 😂
        Oh, yes, I bet it’s dizzying to try and capture them in the air. My neck hurts thinking about trying that. 🤣 My boss has been to that lake. I hear it is a gorgeous place to visit and with a bunch of eagles, that would be the place to get some awesome photos!

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  52. Both Brodie and Aero are gorgeous, and what a lovely and loving tribute to Aero you have shared, may his memory be a blessing to all who knew and loved him. And your remembrance of Been is beautiful, too. Thanks for hosting!

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