Heh, heh! I just know you guys are expecting more birds from me! Nope! I actually do have pictures of critters other than birds, and today is the perfect excuse to share them here. It's a nice mix of domestic and wild creatures, I think.
This Llama lives on the Hammersmith Farm in Newport. Hammersmith is an extension of the Swiss Village Farm Foundation, which gathers, protects, and preserves heritage breeds of farm animals. The llamas actually serve a purpose beyond preservation - they protect the sheep and goats from coyotes. They have quite a kick, and no self-respecting coyote will be dumb enough to mess with that!
This Shetland pony is part of a herd on Hammersmith Farm. When these cute little buggers wander up to the stone fence, traffic stops on Harrison Ave.; everybody pulls over to come pet the little cuties. But... DO NOT FEED THEM! The SVF Foundation is very strict about this. But petting is fine. This little guy wasn't gonna let me stop. That look is one of reproach because I stopped petting to take pictures.
Yes, friends and neighbors, Eeyore is alive and well on Hammersmith Farm. This fella wasn't much bigger than the Shetlands.
This young White-Tailed Deer was wandering around in the salt marsh on Gooseneck Cove last Summer. When I first saw him, he was trying to play with a Great Egret, who was really annoyed at being interrupted while poking around for a meal on the mud flats. When the Egret finally flew away, the deer noticed me and got curious. Not curious enough to come too close (I still had to get this shot with the telephoto), but certainly curious enough to walk back and forth to eye me from several different angles. This was a yearling, so I may have been his first experience with a human, hence the cautious curiosity.
And finally, we have this Green Frog in one of the swamp pools in the Audubon Center in Bristol, RI. I was hiking on the East Bay Bike Path last September, and the path passes through the Audubon Center. I always stop at this point and go walk down their boardwalk into the center of the salt marsh, but this pool lies along the bike path, and I kept hearing the short, characteristic bark of these frogs, so I went looking. And there it was, posing for a shot!
And to wind up this little Theme Thursday excursion, I'll continue my habit of adding a YouTube video. This week it's the adorable Miss Shirley Temple singing "Animal Crackers In My Soup" from the movie Curly Top.
Photography © 2007 & 2008 by A. Roy Hilbinger
Lovely images. We have a zoo in our large urban park here in Toronto. Deer, goats, llamas, capybarras. Great fun to see someone once say "hey look at the wallabie" and point at a ground hog.
ReplyDeleteRoy all your posts just make me want to come visit you and your town! Wonerful!
ReplyDeleteNot sure what the appeal is with this song. Flit loves it, too! Oh, well.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in Oklahoma, going to and from college, I passed a farm with many unusual animals, including emus and ostriches, but also llamas and antelope and various forms of out-of-the-ordinary domesticated animals. We never knew what we'd see when we drove by.
Where I live and work now, deer are a common site at Johnson Space Center. We frequently see herds wandering the area and, in fact, have warnings out during rutting season to remind us not to mess with potentially dangerous (and armed with antlers) deer.
Lovely pictures, as always.
Great TT post! The pony is my favorite I have to say...don't know there is something about them.
ReplyDeleteTake care
xoxo
That song always cheers me up.
ReplyDeleteAnd that Shetland pony is absolutely gorgeous!
Llamas have such great "bring it on" attitudes in their expression!
ReplyDeleteThat mini donkey is the cutest thing that I've seen all week.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteThose pictures are great.I like the poney very much.Great post.
Your digital zoo was nicely presented and a fun visit. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGreat pics!
ReplyDeleteWell, I had to forego the Shirley Temple, as Wifey has the tv on behind me, but of course I have seen it. You have an incorrigible sense of humor, sir!
ReplyDeleteGreat pics, my favorite being the frog, I think because they still look so...original, you know, like an early life form.
And that llama? They just look...so alert, present, like you better not mess with 'em. It fits that they would have a fierce kick to go with it.
Great animal post!
Yes. I was expecting to see birds.
ReplyDeleteA nice selection of animals are displayed. I'll have to look for that farm the next time I'm in Rhode Island.
Yay, Eeyore!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd the ears on that baby deer, oh wow, oh wow.
Thank you, Roy!
Shirley Temple! Yay! I used to be able to sing all her songs.
ReplyDeleteLoved the photos of the animals too. Thanks.
Because I have curly hair like Shirley Temple and it does the little ringlet thing all on its own, everyone tells me, "Do you know you look like Shirley Temple?". I now just want to say, "Duh." But I am so used to it and am surprised that they still say it. Hubby says that is why he married me. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, great pictures, I am so in love with that pony and if I lived nearby I think I would want to visit him all the time. You are so lucky to have petted such a sweet animal. And it is a look of love that he was giving you. Oh so cute. I love the froggy pic. Very nice.
Thank you so much for the pictures and the video, the video brings back memories of growing up watching all of her movies. We loved them.
God bless.
That may be the only time Jane Darwell cracked a smile!
ReplyDeleteStunning photos Roy.
ReplyDeleteI particularly like the one of the deer- they move so fast so it must be quite difficult to see one stand still for long enough to get a shot like this.
wonderful pictures (as always)....I want to visit hammersmith farm...
ReplyDeletellamma, ponies, and donkeys oh my!!!
I (heart) eeyore!!
I'm sad I can't watch the vid - for some reason my friends' computer (am in nyc) blocks videos...oh my
but I am most familiar with the song... and had been an earworm, so maybe it's good that I didn't listen, although with my oh my commment, I'm afraid I introduced a different earworm
hey, I knew you'd have some good furry animal pictures too! and a frog - icing on the cake, or should it be scum on the pond????
have a good weekend....the sun is shining bright in nyc this morning, it looks as if it is going to be a lovely day for a wander!
Eh ! Where is the purple loop (? that is really the word ??) on Bouriquet (Eeyore ?) ?
ReplyDeleteI've been called Shirley Temple since I was little. But it's the first time I see her in "action".
Lovely pictures. Have a nice day.
...such a perfect match with the video. Love that song! Beautiful photos...the frog is really fun and I love Eeyore (and it's nice to see his tail is attached)! I didn't know Llamas were used as predator protection...cool.
ReplyDeleteomg, roy, i posted the horse pics. thank you for your comments. these...that's it..i am making a trip. LOL
ReplyDeleteawesome post. i got some sheep farm pics and more goats i am working on. you would love this area i live in now. i just found a beautiful stone bridge over a waterfall just past the village.