CONNIE’S WORLD

Our cat, Blue

No, she is not blind… Capturing a good shot of our cat has proved difficult. Usually, when I’d go to take her picture, she would want to come and rub against me or want to be picked up. So most my shots are rather boring of her, but this day I got lucky. Blue was not about to give up her warm sunny spot on top of this trunk in front of our window.She is a Siamese Color Point Blue - Thus, the name Blue, which is fitting considering her brilliant blue colored eyes.

Katie and polar bear

More from the zoo…While this is not photographically great, it was a lucky shot (Katie and bears touching hand and paw). Katie and I had so much fun with this polar bear and he was in the mood to play.Additionally during his ascent from the bottom he often would put a paw on the glass and push off as he reached back for his shot. Twice I was able to photograph Katie comparing her hand to his paw.

Big Polar bear

He had several balls to play with, some weighted to fall to the bottom of the tank and some that would float. He seemed to prefer the weighted toy as he would swim to the bottom grab the ball and swim to the surface holding it against his chest. As he ascended to the surface he would arch backward onto his back and shoot the ball into an imaginary basket behind his head like a true pro basketball player would making a fall away jump shot. Michael Jordan would be proud of his style.

Katie and polar bear play

As you can see this animal was a very impressive size.

The girl was told magic didn’t exist. But she’d seen birds flying in the sky. Those white wings lifting the graceful creatures to the infinite blue above her head. Those fish swimming in the sea that can breathe under water- how do they do that?! The fishes of many colors and so many shapes and so many sizes…

Katie in 2005

The seasons were magic, too. How could people deny this wonderful fact of life? In summer, everything’s pretty and green. In the fall, the leaves have to put on their colorful scarves and sweaters. In the winter, they get covered by the blanket of snow that falls for them so they can sleep. And in spring, they wake up again so they can play with the flowers!And the most magical season of all was summer. If the little girl stayed up late and out long enough, magic lights would float through the sky. Her father had said they were fireflies. She laughed, and told him, “No, silly, they’re starflies!” Because starflies are much, much prettier.

A pelican flies over the Cape Fear river

Last summer Joyce and I went for a short hike on the Sugarloaf trail. This is a beautiful walk that runs along the Cape Fear river just south of my home. As we were walking along a sandy stretch along the river’s edge, I noticed that there were Pelicans flying over this one section of pines. They must have been catching the wind as they just kept coming and coming lined up like they were taking turns trying the updraft. One after another they flew over us giving me the perfect opportunity to capture as many shots as I wanted.I love the coloring and detail this big sea bird and the shape of his neck. This is one of the simple pleasures of living near the coast of North Carolina.

Touring the NC Zoo on Christmas Eve was absolutely the best use of the day. We were actually there for a school project for Katie, but came home with great shots as well.Visiting the Zoo on this day was so nice. The animals were out of hiding and animated because there were so few people visiting the park that day. Additionally the temperatures (in the 60’s) were wonderful for hiking around the park. I can’t imagine walking up and down those hills in the heat.

Arctic fox

This Arctic Fox is by far my favorite shot from this day. She was so beautiful with her snow white fir. Every time I work on this picture I find myself looking deep in the eyes of this quiet little fox. I can’t help but wondering what she was thinking while she was looking back at me.Perhaps she was thinking “Humm… another fashionably challenged tourist”. Or maybe “Oh please, can’t I have one day off without someone clicking or making smooching sounds to get my attention?”I think she was thinking “Nice camera. Is that a Canon or Nikon?”

Kute Kangaroo

I wanted to share this silly picture of a kangaroo that I took while Katie was conducting research on foxes at the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro on Christmas Eve, 2005. I think this guy should have a beer in his paws. What do you think? Hope you enjoy your day!

Connie and the Chordsmen

So there I was in the middle of a 9:00 AM sales meeting with us all sitting around the conference table when my assistant Ruth Ann walks in with a funny smirk on her face. She says, “Uh, Connie, you have some visitors”. I remember thinking, “Oh *#@! What did Walter do? Please don’t let it be strippers.” Ha!So I walked out to the lobby and there are these four guys dressed in gray tuxes and red glittery vests and holding a rose. So I turned around and got all of the sales department to come out to the lobby to see the performance of the foursome.As it turns out, Walter had seen an article in the paper about the Cape Fear Chordsmen. This barbershop quartet was really very good. I remember, while they were singing their two love songs, thinking how good they were and how I wished that Walter was there to share it with me. He would have really enjoyed it. Thank you Wally, you made my day!