Day 175 - Pig Mania?

I recently spent a day at the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar, and when I saw these piglets, I tried to remember what their point value would be in Pig Mania . . .

Day 151 - Extreme Close-Up

Um, no . . . no handouts here.

Day 150 - Deer

There were four deer feeding in a small clearing next to a stream, and I was using my Uncle Max's hunting techniques to get as close to them as possible to take their pictures, but then a group of noisy tourists spotted them and they fled into the woods.

The deer, that is.

Day 143 - Bull Riding

Despite the fact that either the PBR or the venue wouldn't let me bring my DSLR in (I sent strongly worded "disappointed customer" emails to both), I'm very grateful I have such a good point-and-shoot camera.

Day 141 - Bull Riding

Went to a PBR (Professional Bull Riders) event on Saturday . . . notice the ear tag on this bad boy - his name is "Toxic Shock."

Day 115 - James

James is good at catching lizards, but gophers? Not so much.

Day 68 - Banana Slug

The namesake for the UC Santa Cruz athletic teams, this banana slug was at least six inches long and bigger around than my thumb. Once I spotted the first one, I started seeing them all over the forest.

Day 47 - Wally

Certain dogs just have to ALWAYS have something in their mouths . . .

Requiem for a Rabbit

Just before Christmas, my parents lost their house-trained dwarf rabbit. She had been sick for some time, and simply didn't wake up one morning.

There might be some who think, "Oh, it's just a rabbit . . . it's not like it was a real pet, like a dog or cat," and I will firmly and respectfully disagree with them. "Bunny," or "Rabbit" as she was called, was litter box trained, had free run of my parents' family and laundry rooms, knew when her bedtime was, and would come over to my parents, my father especially, when they were watching television in the evening and wait to be picked up and petted. If that's not a real pet, then I don't know what is.

But more than that was the literal companionship this little rabbit provided. She was a rescue, being found by my parents one Sunday morning wandering around the parking lot at church. She wasn't wild, and didn't run away when someone simply went over and picked her up. Perhaps she escaped from someone, or was released for some reason, but for the seven years she was with my parents, she was a loved member of the family. When they first brought her home, my parents would block the steps and slats on the deck behind their house, and let Rabbit wander around unsupervised. Until a hawk landed on the deck railing, eyeing Rabbit as an easy meal and was luckily shooed away by my mother. After that, Rabbit stayed in the house.


When I still lived in Maryland, and my parents would go away on vacation, I would go up to their house every night after work to care for and "play" with Rabbit per my mom's written instructions. I would come into the house and let her out of the laundry room, and she would do a once-around the family room and kitchen and then head down the hallway to the living room. The living room, especially under the piano, was a forbidden zone, and Rabbit would inevitably sense a new person in the house and head right for the piano. As Mom recalls, "When you wanted to get her out, you had to sharply say, 'Rabbit, Rabbit, where are you?' And then rattle the Ritz cracker box and say, 'Want a cookie?' And she would come out to the the laundry room and you could close the door...it was funny and sad at the same time to remember those instructions."

My father's nighttime ritual of watching "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" included petting Rabbit, either holding her on his lap or tucking her next to his leg as he sat on the floor. And much like a cat purrs when it's relaxed and content, Rabbit would let out a series of small grunts and clicks when she was with my dad, thoroughly enjoying the gentle petting.

Once the two game shows were over, Rabbit knew it was time for bed, and she would leave my father and hop into her cage, waiting for her nightly graham cracker, and the top to be placed on her cage, ending her day.

And after I moved away, Tori, the daughter of my mom's colleague Amy, would watch Rabbit, or "Flopsy," as she called her, as an unknown disorder caused her to lose her balance and somersault. This condition grew progressively worse, and ultimately proved fatal.

The morning Rabbit died, my father, always the soft-hearted one, cried softly as they wrapped her in a soft towel, placed her in a shoebox, and then my father buried her under a tree in their backyard.

The importance and value of a pet cannot be underestimated, nor can the loss of a pet, even a rabbit, be dismissed lightly. Even before she died, I asked my mother if she would ever replace Rabbit, and she was adamant that she wouldn't. I believed my mother then, and still believe now that she and my father won't have another pet.

Because no pet could ever replace Rabbit.

Day 365 - Completion

Almost 400 photos later, I've completed my photo-a-day assignment for an entire year. Beginning 2010 with images from the San Diego Wild Animal Park, I'm ending it with a sheep yawning. Anticlimactic? Yeah, probably. Let's see if 2011 is more exciting . . .

Day 269 - Burton Chace Park

When I was a child, my mother often took my sister and me to Burton Chace Park, a small chunk of trees and grass in the middle of Marina del Rey. There was room for us to run around, boats to watch, and even celebrities to see. My mother was bold enough to ask for the autographs of Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan when they were filming an episode of Remington Steele there.

In any case, I hadn't been to Burton Chace in at least 20 years when H-Mac and I went shooting there this week. Apparently these four sea lions aren't permanent residents, but visit frequently enough to not attract too much attention.

Day 266 - Breakfast

I've never been afraid of spiders; as a child I read Charlotte's Web and always welcomed their presence . . . as long as it was outside.

Day 215 - Archives

The last eight years I was in Maryland, I lived in a house on eight acres of land that backed up to a large reservoir. These little frogs would come out every year and mistake the pool in the backyard for the reservoir. And man, were they noisy . . .

Day 214 - Archives

Since I haven't had much time to go out shooting new things, I'm reaching back into the way-back machine for images I shot when I was still living in Maryland.

This is "Rabbit," or "Bunny," my parents' house-trained dwarf rabbit.

Day 181 - Amadeus

Deus likes to drape himself all over John & Jana's furniture . . .

Day 180 - Amadeus

This is Amadeus . . . or "Deus" for short.

Day 15 - Monarch

It's amazing what you find when you start looking for things to photograph. Two weeks down, 50 more to go . . .

Day 11 - Shorebird

Chained to my desk today; decided to post a photo request.

Day 2 - Sea World

Not the same as when I was eight . . .

Day 1 - San Diego Wild Animal Park

So I went a little overboard on the first day - maybe this will buy me some goodwill if I miss a day or two in the future?