Saturday Critters ~ 198 ~

Bird Kingdom

located in Niagara Falls, Canada, it is the world's largest indoor free flying aviary.

As I am looking through the brochure, 
preparing this entry,

it seems as though we "may" have missed the upper level, 

The Lost Kingdom

YeP - I'm pretty sure we missed that level but I think we were good, anyway.

- the birds were beautiful -

There was one floor dedicated to the big birds.

This bird was my favorite, a big talker and very colorful!

The next 2 images capture the area that was dedicated to the smaller birds.

The small birds were difficult to photograph, they were like little birds on steroids, always moving!

This is "not" a 5 minute walk from the falls, nor is it "next" to the Rainbow Bridge.
It was nice, I enjoyed it, but I think one visit is enough.

Sharing today's images with

Eileen at Viewing Nature With Eileen

Horn Blower - Niagara

The gardens around Niagara Falls are breathtaking,

because of my love for flowers, I found them to be almost as beautiful as the falls.

A lot of red and white, Canada's colors, they were well designed and well kept.

After MarineLand, the Horn Blower was next, we needed "cooling off",

and we were excited to get wet!

My handsome man...

A sail upon the Hornblower gives you an upclose and awe-inspiring look at 

The American Falls, The Bridal Veil Falls and The Horseshoe Falls.

What an experience to feel the amazing "mist" and to hear the thundering roar.

We got soaked, even with those red poncho's they give you, and it felt great!

You get really close and the camera gets really wet.

We have experienced this ride several times in the past and it never gets old.

Can you see the bird, dead center of this picture?

What a view he had of the falls.

MarineLand - Part II

Today I an sharing some of the other magnificent and well cared for animals we saw in 

MarineLand
This park is enormous and we only spent a couple of hours here.

If you missed Part I, you can view that here.

The Deer are beautiful and maintain their spots for the entire first year of life.

We were able to feed the Brown Bears...
and trust me when I say they are very good at catching food.

Buffalo

and Elk

Canada was having "their" Summer on this 20th day of September,
and it was about 90 degrees fahrenheit in the shade, (32 degrees celsius, we are in Canada you know)
there is a funny story connected to that, I will share another time!
We enjoyed our time here but had several other adventures planned for the day.
More from Canada tomorrow!

Yarn Along

Last night, I started a new knitting project.

I was inspired by the visit to "my farm" this past weekend...

 - more on that visit another day -

Leanne was there knitting, seeing her always reminds me to think bigger

and this is a lot bigger than those wash cloths I have been knitting.

Plus, we are going on a girls trip to a Sheep & Wool Festival.

10 of us, Leanne rented a house for us and we will be staying 2 nights.

I must have a "big girl" project to work on because these women are expert knitters.

The Guernsey Wrap

I have made 3 of these wraps in the past, they are luxurious!

I am using Cascade Yarns

100% Undyed Baby Alpaca yarn

MarineLand - Part I

Day 2 in Canada...
MarineLand
I have such a great love and admiration for aquatic and wild animals.
But of course, I have a love/hate relationship with Zoo's, and facilities like this.
I so enjoy seeing these animals up close, but seeing them in captivity tears at my heart strings.
I prefer to see them happy and free, 
but I can't ever imagine seeing some of these animals in the wild.

Our first stop was Arctic Cove, where the Beluga Whales swim gracefully around the pool,
they appear happy and well cared for.

In Friendship Cove we were able to see the one rescued killer whale they had.

Their Blog is interesting and there is a wonderful video on the blog 
about how the animals are watched, cared for, fed and played with.
The video talks about the relationships they develop here with the staff and other animals.
It highlights the safety the animals enjoy in MarineLand.
It puts your mind at ease about living in MarineLand if you are a wild animal.

I am going to share a few more pictures of the animals tomorrow!