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A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

animals

Being near the beach can help relax the mind and body

October 25, 2013

A baby snow leopard and the mother chill.

Despite less-than-perfect weather, a trip away to the Jersey Shore was a good thing for my mind and body.

My aunt/uncle own a house in Avalon, New Jersey. It’s a quaint little town and, from what I understand, is an absolute zoo during the summer months. I can understand why, too. It’s a gorgeous spot on the Jersey Shore and it’s a cool little area.

Bad weather couldn’t screw a mini-vacation. It did allow for some great photo chances.

So who wouldn’t want to be there.

Well, during the “on” months, me.

See, I’m all about visiting places like that when it’s not so overrun by people. A couple of years ago, I went down by myself. The reason being was I wanted to just kind of veg and not have to worry about anything.

This time, there was some family. And that’s all good, too. But I still got the chance to get out and explore a little.

One issue, though? Mother Nature. She sure can be ornery at times, can’t she? Getting down there on a Thursday night was supposed to set up a weekend of nice times. Heck, it was Avalon’s Seafood Festival!

Yum!

Alas, the old broad Mother Nature had different ideas. Wind. Rain. High tide, it seemed, was all the time. The one bridge from Avalon to Sea Isle City was actually closed because waves were crashing over the walls to the road.

Still, it’s not like it was non-stop rain.

This zebra needed to scratch his back.

Sometimes weather like that makes you think outside the box a little. Like two trips to the zoo. Some geocaching. Some walking on a windy beach. It wasn’t all that bad.

And the best part?

It helped clear my mind and body, which is something I needed.

Now, could it have been even better if it had been sunny and 60-65 out? For sure. For one, the Seafood Festival wouldn’t have been postponed! You just have to make a good out of a bad, right?

I really enjoyed getting away and not having anything to worry about. I took a ton of photos, which eventually I’ll get up on my Flickr account — along with the rest of the images I’ve taken over the past six or so months.

Practicing the crane.

Anyhoo…

There’s something to be said about watching monster waves crash up against rock walls or the shore. Or seeing a high tide and the waves rolling in. It would have been cool to see some lightning so I could have tried to have taken a few shots, but no luck.

In the end, I had the chance to do a bunch of fun things, including finding a bunch of geocaches (one of which was a first to find!), take some photos and recharge the batteries a little bit.

The zoo was especially cool. I had the chance to see several baby animals, including a set of snow leopards, a giraffe (only about a month old), a bison and I think one or two others.

Here’s a quick video I shot of the baby giraffe walking.

I won’t lie that I think I should visit this fine area one time during the summer, just to see what it’s like. But I truly do enjoy going in the fall. I just hope next time, Mother Nature cooperates!

A few more photos:

Splashing water.

An egret takes off at the Wetlands Institute.

Taking off at the beach.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Filed Under: My world, Photography, Travel Tagged With: animals, avalon, avalon nj, beach, ocean, rain, weather, zoo

11 Comments

Foto Friday: Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photo Walk

October 11, 2013

Zhin-Li was born at Ross Park Zoo on June 18, 2013. The day of the WWPW was the first day Zhin-Li had come outside with his mother, Mei-Li.

Each year, well-known photographer Scott Kelby organizes a worldwide photo walk. It’s the sixth year this event has been held and it has grown each year. Though I’ve known about it for a few years, last year was my first official walk. I traveled to Schenectady to hit a smaller event and it was quite a bit of fun.

This year, I chose to head to Binghamton, where a walk was being held at the Ross Park Zoo.

An Amur Leopard.

What is the photo walk, you may want to know? Basically, people organize photo walks around the world and register them on the site. Other photographers can search and join a walk. The groups meet at the time and spot chosen by the walk leader and then head out to take photos. When done, some will go have a bite to eat and talk some photography.

The site explains the walk as this:

It’s a social photography event where photographers get together (usually in a downtown area or trendy section of town) to walk around, shoot photos, and generally have fun with other photographers.

From there, each photographer can (if they choose) upload a photo to their walk page. The leader chooses a winning photo, which is entered into the worldwide contest. The winner of that walks away with an amazing prize pack, as do some finalists.

Each of the two events I’ve gone to have been smaller, so a little more loose. I’m not sure if I’d want to go to one of the events where it’s filled (50 people) as I think that could get crazy. But who knows, maybe it would be kind of cool.

This arctic fox was gorgeous.

Anyway, I had never been to Ross Park Zoo, so this was exciting. The zoo is small, but has quite a few cool things.

Especially on this day.

See, three months ago, a red panda was born in the zoo. This was going to be the first day it went outside with its mother. How cool is that?

The walk was scheduled to be about two hours long and we went about 2 1/2. It was a beautiful day out, which made it even better. Ross Park Zoo is not only loaded with many animals, but some great nature and good fall color, too.

As noted, our group was smaller. We had 11, but honestly, I only saw 6-7 of them on a consistent basis. We all walked the same way, but people went their own ways, stopped, took photos and such. After, people are invited to meet and eat and chat. Six of us ended up going to a local place for a solid meal.

Fall colors were aplenty.

This photo walk really is fun and it’s worth experiencing. I said when I did my first one that I wanted to try and go somewhere new each year and I hope to continue that trend next year. The idea is to see how different leaders do things and see different places, which is always nice.

It’s amazing, too, to see all of the photos and posts tagged on different social medias. The range of photographers and their styles and experience is excellent.

For example, the walk I was on had different people — from iPhone photographers to point-and-shoots to high-level DSLRs, there was a wide range. That’s the best part of this — there’s no experience needed. Just come, socialize and take photos.

And it doesn’t get much better than that.

I look forward to next year and really enjoyed this year. Make sure, if you are a photographer, you keep an eye on this so you can possibly join up next year!

Below are a few more of the images I took. To see them all, check out the set I posted on Flickr.

Amur Tiger.

Does this scare you?

Snowy owl.

Bald Eagle.

Fall color.

Ring-tailed Lemur.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Filed Under: Events, Foto Friday, My world, Photography Tagged With: animals, binghamton, binghamton ny, binghamton zoo, ross park zoo, scott kelby photo walk, scott kelby worldwide photo walk, worldwide photo walk, wwpw, zoo animals

7 Comments

Oh those crazy animals …

January 7, 2013

I needed to have a little fun on this Monday.

See, I have some real-world things getting to me so I needed to find some laughs. What better way than taking 15-20 minutes to peek at some funny animal videos on YouTube before diving back into the real world.

I don’t know about all of you, but videos like this can leave me in some seriously hard laughter.

And, it really is a light-hearted way to look at things and smile a little.

With that in mind, I wanted to share a few of my favorite animal videos from YouTube.

Watermelon, anyone?

Catch that tail!

Stealing the rug

What are you eating?

Wrapping a present…

Fly Guy — Simon’s Cat

Icecapade — Simon’s Cat

If you are looking for many more non-stop laughs, go visit the Simon’s Cat channel on YouTube and catch all the other episodes. Hilarious.

Hope you all have a decent Monday. Don’t let the man keep you down!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Filed Under: humor, My world Tagged With: animals, cats, funny animal videos, funny cat videos, funny videos, youtube, youtube roundup

2 Comments

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Don’t mind me. Just watching a little TV with so Don’t mind me. Just watching a little TV with some snuggles on the couch! 

#goldenretriever #dogsofinstagram #dog #love
It was haircut time with Cameron before Thanksgivi It was haircut time with Cameron before Thanksgiving and he challenged @studio11chris some with this festive art! 

#haircut #barber #barbershop @studio11barbersuite @harmm23 @dlinc27
Sunday was a day with some errands and such, but a Sunday was a day with some errands and such, but also a nice walk on the Vestal Rail Trail. Harper loved it, of course, especially because she got to also walk with her "Gram!" 

#dog #walk #outdoors #goldenretriever #goldenretrieversofinstagram #dogsofinstagram #love #photooftheday #iphoneography
Quick snap tonight while out walking Harper. #ni Quick snap tonight while out walking Harper. 

#night #moon #blackandwhite #spooky
The weather didn’t deter Harper for National Fet The weather didn’t deter Harper for National Fetch Day! And then friends came to Harper’s Landing to make it even better! 

#nationalfetchday #makefetchhappen #chuckit #chuckitfetchgames #dog #dogparty #goldenretriever #ball #play #dogsofinstagram #dog #goldenretrieversofinstagram #harper_dublin #akc #photography #photooftheday #love #mydogharper #harperdublin #instagood #happy #picoftheday #fun #iphoneology #retrieveroftheday #ilovemygolden #dogstagram #dailygolden #dogsofinsta #fun @chuckitfetchgames
Who’s ready for National Fetch Day on Saturday? Who’s ready for National Fetch Day on Saturday? I’m pretty sure Harper is! 

#goldenretriever #dogsofinstagram #dog #goldenretrieversofinstagram #harper_dublin #akc #photography #photooftheday #love #mydogharper #harperdublin #instagood #happy #picoftheday #fun #iphoneology #retrieveroftheday #ilovemygolden #dogstagram #dailygolden #dogsofinsta @chuckitfetchgames
Tis a dreary and rainy day. What better than to ha Tis a dreary and rainy day. What better than to have a cup of tea in my new mug, which was a birthday gift from my nephew/godson Cameron!
Live life the best you can. Have experiences. Smil Live life the best you can. Have experiences. Smile. Love the world. 

#acadia #acadianationalpark #sunrise #sun #colors #sky #nature  #life #love #goldenretriever #dogsofinstagram #dog #cadillacmountain
Likely my final game of the year… but a nice nig Likely my final game of the year… but a nice night! 

#baseball #sky
Harper and Phil! #goldenretriever #dog #dogsofin Harper and Phil! 

#goldenretriever #dog #dogsofinstagram #love #iphonography #photography
Saturday was national dog day… posted on Faceboo Saturday was national dog day… posted on Facebook, but forgot here! Harper was spoiled all day!
How could we skip this? North of the border this How could we skip this? 

North of the border this weekend to get away and hit a few caching events and geocache. Dinner tonight was at @harpersburgers, especially with outdoor seating and dog friendly! @harper_dublin got to enjoy a little of my #burger, of course. And, yes, I got poutine, duh! Great service and great food! Went back later for a spiked shake. This one was a Malibu Colada (malibu rum, dark rum, vanilla ice cream, and pineapple juice) … yum! 

Good times! Looking forward to another event and caches on Saturday before heading home! 

#food #foodporn #poutine #fries #dinner #yummy
My newest #pathtag came in! A great design by @geo My newest #pathtag came in! A great design by @geofoxandthehound! This one, of course, is connected to @harper_dublin ‘s Instagram account. It won’t be easy to get! 

#geocaching #pathtags #goldenretriever #instagram
Rain on leaves … still on trees or on the ground Rain on leaves … still on trees or on the ground… is so peaceful. 

#rain #nature #leaves #leaf # water #naturephotography #photography #love #beautiful #raindrops #iphonography
Henlo. #goldenretriever #dogsofinstagram #dog #g Henlo. 

#goldenretriever #dogsofinstagram #dog #goldenretrieversofinstagram #harper_dublin #akc #photography #photooftheday #love #mydogharper #harperdublin #instagood #happy #picoftheday #fun #iphoneology #retrieveroftheday #ilovemygolden #dogstagram #dailygolden #dogsofinsta
Haircut day! I got mine done, as did Cameron. He g Haircut day! I got mine done, as did Cameron. He got some waves for when he goes to the shore next week! One shot of me getting the straight razor too! Nice job @studio11chris at @studio11barbersuite ! 

#haircut #barber #hair
Life is good! #goldenretriever #dogsofinstagram # Life is good!

#goldenretriever #dogsofinstagram #dog #doglife #life #lifeisgood #lifeisbeautiful #morning #morningwalk #walk #iphonography #iphonephotography #photo #photography #love #selfcare #outdoors #sky #bridge
Part one of the backyard work is done. New patio h Part one of the backyard work is done. New patio has been installed ... (the rock garden area is basically done, too ... but i need to put a few things up with it). The guy who did my patio did a great job... looks cool. 

I think Harper approves. 

One more step and we'll be set to really enjoy it back there with some shade!

Working on a few other landscaping things, too.
Golden hour. #goldenretriever #dogsofinstagram # Golden hour. 

#goldenretriever #dogsofinstagram #dog #goldenretrieversofinstagram #harper_dublin #akc #photography #photooftheday #love #mydogharper #harperdublin #instagood #happy #picoftheday #fun #iphoneology #retrieveroftheday #ilovemygolden #dogstagram #dailygolden #dogsofinsta
Waggin’ Wednesday at the @swbrailriders was a lo Waggin’ Wednesday at the @swbrailriders was a lot of fun! Hot night, but very enjoyable! 

#baseball #dog #goldenretriever #barkinthepark #wagginwednesday
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P.J. Harmer

P.J. Harmer
A video looking at my first year and a half of owning a golden retriever, my first dog. It's had its ups and downs, but I've truly loved the ride and look forward to the future. 

Music: Happy before we get old by Michael Shynes via Artlist. 

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Thank you for watching. :)
When these boxes come, there usually some excitement. But this one ... is the ultimate unboxing! 

#cielovideo52 #52weekchallenge #week5 #weeklychallenge

Music: Happy to be Happy (Dapun)

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I hate being in front of the camera, but also realize sometimes it's not the worst thing in the world. So, I'm getting better with it. Week 4's theme was all about us and having us in front of the camera, so I tried to come up with a creative way to do it. 

#cielovideo52 #52weekchallenge #week4 #weeklychallenge

Music: Infinite Wonder (Ben Fox)

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