Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Creatures great and small

We've been wondering where our winter has gone. The temperatures have been cool to downright warm and our garden is ready to explode with spring blooms. What I hear from my family and friends in Germany, it seems that Europe is where winter is hiding. I feel for everyone who is cold and cut off from civilization because of the snow and ice. 
A couple of weekends ago, while I was busy printing for class, Daniel went for a walk in the marshland along the Savannah River and saw some fantastic wildlife. By now, we are quite used to seeing the occasional alligator, but Daniel said that this one was especially impressive in its size and also that rusty color. I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but to me they are magnificent creatures!
The absolute highlight for Daniel though was the sighting of two rather large bobcats.
While he observed them and they checked him out, he was able to snap some beautiful photos. Isn't this a gorgeous cat? Daniel said they were about the size of a large dog, so quite big.
And then there was our kitty last night. The pictures are a bit fuzzy because I took them without a flash, but he was just so adorable in his new little kitty bed.
We've had the bed for days, but he's been avoiding it. Finally yesterday, we picked him up and sat him down in it. After a few moments hesitation he started making a nest and then took a loooong nap.
He was so cute I just had to snap some pictures...
I have another day ahead of me filled with painting and printing. Well, and tax preparations - it's that time of the year...

Now I'm off to visit some of your blogs for my morning inspiration!

P.S. Daniel also had fun making a little watercolor sketch inspired by his walk. If you'd like to see it, click here.

11 comments:

  1. Wow--that's a pretty exciting walk I'd say!!

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  2. Gorgeous post..fabulous photos..and such a sweet kitty..!
    victoria

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  3. Silke,
    That is one thing I miss about SC ~ the wildlife. I always got excited when I saw a large heron or an alligator. I think the alligators are fascinating ~ beautiful in their own right.
    Enjoy your day of art making.
    ♥ audrey

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  4. That was a big alligator, but my heart is dancing over the bobcat!!! :-] When I was a baby girl, and my parents were living in Savannah, we had a baby bobcat as a pet for a wild (something no one would do now!!) Apparently when they had to let it go I was beside myself! I was in love with it. {I don't remember this, but I've been told the stories about 'Bob-Bob-White' all my life. :-)} It must be true, because whenever I see those little pointed whisker-eared 'babies', my heart swoons. :-) And the photos of your indoor kitty were pretty cute too! Sometimes it takes 'a minute' to get used to a new sleeping place. I KNOW!! LOL

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  5. oh wow Silke!!!! what an amazing collection of creature photos you have!!!! lovely share!!! off to see what Daniel Painted!!!

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  6. Silke, ich lass Dir liebe Grüsse da. Und Danke fürs immerwieder vorbeischauen.
    Susanne ist von den Bild mit dem Krokodil sehr begeistert. Sie stellt sich grad vor wie das wäre wenn so ein riesiges Tier in unserem Dorfweiher leben würde...
    herzliche Grüsse
    Elisabeth

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  7. wow, they are rather scary animals.

    especially that last one...lol

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  8. These are great photos - what a wonderful walk! Love your kitty in his bed - personally, I'm surprised he did use it - many of our cats have ignored these special beds, preferring ours, of course!

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  9. Oh, forgot to say I visited Daniel's blog - what a super watercolour he's made!

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  10. Hi Silke!

    Thanks for visiting :) It's been awhile since I've stopped by here too! Your blog looks great...I love how your painting style has developed. I'm finding it hard to carve out time to paint with my work/school schedule lately. But I have a 4 day weekend coming up, so maybe...

    Love the gator photo. We get moose in our yard all the time, but I've never seen anything quite as prehistoric as that thing up close.

    xo ~ Karen

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  11. Wow. Fancy going for a walk and seeing bobcats and alligators. What a wonderful place you live in.

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