Sunday, March 29, 2015 Tom Thumb

I was supremely honoured to have been chosen BEST PHOTOGRAPHER by the readers of GringoPost for 2014, and now I am a repeat winner in 2015 !!!   THANK YOU to all the kind folks who voted for me.

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Sunday, March 29, 2015

Last night we had a lovely thunderstorm with tiny bits of hail, nothing serious though.  Normally the clouds move quite slowly here so that we have ample warning to take cover if they are menacing.  Yesterday I took cover almost 2 hours before the storm hit.

Today we had a cold, wet, miserable morning, so what is a person to do???  Well, take pictures of wet hummingbirds, of course.....  Tom Thumb and 3 rivals were buzzing my feeders all day with Tom trying to maintain his territory but the other fellows seemed to sometimes almost work together, one distracting Tom while a buddy slipped in for a quick feed.  

I would love to be able to capture the sparring between the rival hummers but it would be almost impossible to catch anything clearly because of the speed at which they travel, and their fights are never in the same spot.

Even though the day was quite dull, the overhead sun still helped me capture the amazing iridescence of those tiny feathers.  The photos tend to make these hummers larger than they really are (with a body smaller than my thumb).  

I hope you enjoy the photos.  That was the day's excitement,   Cheers, Al  

These clouds, and lightning, caused me to hunker down yesterday

Then the rain came on with a vengeance

It wasn't long before the streets became rivers

Tom doesn't seem bothered by rain

Even with raindrops on his beak, he comes to feed

It takes a lot of patience and timing to get decent shots

Luckily the camera didn't seem to bother Tom today

By now he should be accustomed to me

He will come and feed often

... in between chasing off the rivals

I never get tired of my little buddy's visits

He is such an easy pet to maintain

3 years he has been coming here

He knows that I mean him no harm

I am about 12 inches away

He jealously guards his territory and his food

He keeps coming until well after darkness has fallen

Saturday, March 28, 2015 Madre Tierra

I was supremely honoured to have been chosen BEST PHOTOGRAPHER by the readers of GringoPost for 2014, and now I am a repeat winner in 2015 !!!   THANK YOU to all the kind folks who voted for me.

Please see more of my artworks for sale at http://saccc05.tripod.com

© All my work is COPYRIGHT protected and may not be used in any way without purchase, or without my permission.

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Saturday, March 28, 2015

Wednesday night we decided to try the new Tacos Mexico restaurant which is not far from my favourite Big Kabudas Burgers.  This place was referred to me by a fellow Canadian, Paul Pfeiffer of ServiceEcuador.com.  The owner Leon Argudo speaks good English so it was easy to get his recommendations and we were not disappointed.  We will definitely be back to this place, carefully hidden between Paucarabamba, Paseo De Los Canaris, and Pumapungo.  I have scanned the flyer with a map for you.   Try it.

Today I just had to get out and enjoy the sunshine so I bused over to Parque De La Madre for the annual Madre Tierra (Mother Earth) Festival.  I certainly expected a lot more artisanal booths with a lot more "respect the earth" themes but there was some neat stuff there and a lot of Gringo presence.  There wasn't one food booth so I nipped over to McDonalds for a little comfort food for lunch.  I will be good and eat my veggies for supper.

Parque De La Madre is a great place to people-watch at the best of times, but even more so when there is a festival happening.   There was a big stage being set up for music to start about 2:30 but my feet said that it was time to go home, and one look at the skies said that the afternoon sun would soon give way to a storm (which did soak everything around 4:40pm).  
Update -  Just received the bad news that all 6 of the baby rabbits have died.....  I guess there is just no substitute for mothers' milk and care....  So sad right now.

I hope you enjoy the photos.  That was the day's excitement,   Cheers, Al  

Very good Mexican food here

The Madre Tierra Festival was fittingly at the Parque De La Madre

This youngster was coming as well to enjoy the fun

Musical instrument made from recycled propane tanks

A whole lot of other instruments on display too

Many folks lined up to visit the Planetarium

Daniela Altieri teaching people local folk rhythms

Beading display with macrame classes at this booth

A zither??.. or something like it??

McDonalds looks much like home, but in Spanish

Love the combo of the "Madre" statue with Todos Santos behind

Blowing music thru a shotgun?

This Mom is showing us how to exercise to the max

Interesting tattoo art

Mixture of the cultures

Lots of nice Gringas wandering the grounds

More lovely Gringas in attendance

Lotis by the Madre

Kids love the camera

A Chola lady doing some instruction

Lots of indigenous interest in her subject

There was even an outdoor massage available

A lovely lady enjoying tunes in the shade

A gorgeous rose along the pathway

Great colours on this rose too

This little girl was being a tomboy

Wednesday, March 25, 2015 Rabbits

I was supremely honoured to have been chosen BEST PHOTOGRAPHER by the readers of GringoPost for 2014, and now I am a repeat winner in 2015 !!!   THANK YOU to all the kind folks who voted for me.

Please see more of my artworks for sale at http://saccc05.tripod.com

© All my work is COPYRIGHT protected and may not be used in any way without purchase, or without my permission.

Welcome…..  Please note that you may SUBSCRIBE below to this Blog.

Comments or purchase requests are graciously accepted at souvenirphotostudio@gmail.com.

NOTE that you may click on any photo for an ENLARGED VIEW.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

I never expected to be helping babysit six tiny baby bunnies today whose Momma is inexplicably unable to nurse them.  Apparently trying to get them nursed by a female guinea pig in the next stall were unsuccessful.

They are so cute and seemingly helpless without the fur, and yet they have the little bouncing noses and the long ears.  They are still sightless so they crawl all over each other looking for warmth and nourishment.   Until they are able to see they need to be fed by hand with warm water and milk every 3 hours or they won't survive.

Cristina is like Doctor Doolittle in looking after the animals at Oasis and especially with the tiny babies.

I hope you enjoy the photos.  That was the day's excitement,   Cheers, Al

The bunnies are barely 3 inches long

Six of them huddle for security and warmth

They already have the cute noses and the long ears

The search for nourishment leads to some funny interaction

Half a dozen hungry mouths to feed

Too cute for words

They never stray far from the pack

It is amazing to see the development in only 2 days

Feeding every 3 hours is necessary or they might not survive

OK, I am adding 5 more shots taken with a close-up lens taken later this afternoon.

Trying to get more detail on the shots

It must be hard to stumble around blind for a few days

I wonder how long before the fur really starts to show?

I sure hope that our efforts are rewarded with 6 healthy bunnies

Hard to believe something so tiny can be so complex.