Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Visiting the Animals on Christmas

We had a quiet family day today. After a yummy breakfast of blueberry pancakes and bacon, we as a family of three humans and two furry dogs, opened our Christmas presents. Everyone was pleasantly surprised with their gifts, including the dogs.

Needing to walk off all the food eaten over the last two days, I set out for an afternoon hike and Walk and Click adventure. I decided to visit the Outdoor Discovery Center for something different. There are quite a few animals that live there due to accidents that have happened to them.

A family of Elk.


They have a wonderful Birds of Prey area. There are Bald Eagles, a Golden Eagle, different hawks and  owls. So many beautiful and majestic creatures. This is a Barred Owl that has one eye damaged.


I could just stand and watch them all day. All the birds were active and seemed excited to see us. We wished each bird a Merry Christmas before we moved on to the next cage.

Yes, I said we. I was so happy to have Mallory join me today on my Walk and Click adventure.



The Outdoor Discovery Center is used for outdoor education for school age kids, so there are many interesting areas set up. This is a replica of an Ottawa Native American Summer Village.



We have a small dusting of snow on the ground here, and there was a little ice on the ponds, which was something new to photograph for Walk and Click.


Winter exposes the bare bones of everything, things that wouldn't be seen the rest of the year with foliage covering them.


Mallory and I had a wonderful time spending the afternoon together. It was so nice to have somebody to go exploring with, and one of my favorite people to go exploring with is my beautiful daughter.








9 comments:

Lisa said...

Loved this . Merry Christmas my friend.
You made an overcast dull day full of Beauty.

Viv@Thoughts from the Desktop said...

Lovely full of unexpected delights thanks for sharing.....

Lissa Forbes said...

Sarah, I just love your winter discoveries--ice on the creek, unusual animal captures, the bee hive, and more. And what fun to share your Walk and Click experience with your daughter. Who knows, maybe she will also find the value and start her own adventure. Thanks for joining this week.

Mary said...

Sarah, what a wonderful day. Great memeories and photos :)

stacie said...

Sounds like a wonderful way to spend Christmas day! My Dad and I took a walk on Christmas Eve and saw a beautiful Owl.

Unknown said...

I love the wonderful textures and colors you found, esp. the ice and the wasp nest. The critters in the animal sanctuary are lucky to have somewhere to be. I enjoyed "walking" with you. :)

xoxo

Ahayes1225 said...

So nice isn't it when our kids walk with us. I am off today my son is coming with me. Very nice photos!

Justine said...

these are great shots, I hope you have a wonderful New year and look forward to seeing more of your pictures in 2013

Pride In Photos Beauty said...

Some really great close up shots...love seeing the details.
Happy New Years.
Laurie