365 113-125

I'm basically just doing dump posts of my 365 project until I catch up!! I don't want the same thing to happen this year that did in 2015! (This is especially tragic because my images were being hosted on a 365 website, which was helpful for organizing them, but it also deleted them after a year of inactivity so now those posts are filled with grey frames of IMAGE CANNOT BE FOUND - so irritating)


113/365

We all have those situations where we've decided to do an intensive artistic project but you're out to dinner with friends and too busy drinking and laughing and eating queso to take any photos and so you must hurriedly snap something on the way out of the restaurant because it's dark outside and you're too drunk to care, right? No, is that a bit specific?



114/365

There was a point in my life (aka when I took this photo) where I second guessed how many photos of Kogi I wanted in my 365 project. But then I realized that, if I felt like it, the entire YEAR could just be filled with photos of Kogi! And I adore this animal, so why shouldn't he be featured prominently? Here he is being a stunna!





115/365

Wow, I finally got my hands on a Unicorn Frappuccino! I waited in line for hours to snag this magical beverage and I was not disappointed - the mango syrup and iridescent sour powder made it taste just like a sweet tart, and its gorgeous color palette made for an excellent photo.

...

jk, I called all of the Starbucks in my area and every single one of them was already out. I was BITTER, but then read a bunch of reviews about how terrible it tasted and felt better (and then made one of my own!).



116/365

Xena being cute during one of her last stage sessions before her move to the new Caribbean exhibit.



117/365

Googly eyes will never get old.



118/365

A Nautilus! They literally levitate through the water motionlessly with the help of jet propulsion; it's pretty amazing.






119/365

50 Shades of African Grey





120/365

I saw Turkey Vultures chowing down on a squirrel carcass at the park across the street and decided to take a bunch of pictures because I love vultures and the sight of them eating a dead, skinned fluffy animal at a park meant for children was an interesting juxtaposition (I love the photo of them perching on the swingset, it was a bit blurry but I still wanted to include it because it was so cool).



121/365

Someone accidentally left their zombie in the car at Target.



122/365

Taylor was on a wand-making kick in his makeshift garage shop (sawdust. EVERYWHERE). He's pretty good AND wants to get an Easy shop up and running at some point, featuring some product photography by moi!



123/365

I had been sick for a couple of days, so the past couple of photos were really a struggle to achieve (AKA I went to Target for juice and cold medicine and took a full thirty steps to get to the garage for the 122nd day's photo). I finally felt okay enough to take a shower and, reveling in the unknotted state of my hair, took a photo in the park. PSA: there is not a wad of chewing gum in my hair, that's a tiny flower. It symbolizes me feeling better and being a child of the Earth or whatever.



124/365

Laura and I went out with some of her classmates and got wasted. Oh glorious weekends off!



125/365

I occasionally help Andie with her animal training business, specifically with classes on the weekends. This was a recall class aimed at helping dogs who weren't the best at coming when called. We practiced a lot of recall exercises and gave owners and handlers tips on how to problem solve when a dog isn't listening to you. The end of class sort of morphed into a puppy pool party, which is honestly usually what ends up happening. I'm not mad about it, look how adorable!!


Back when it wasn't in the triple digits and I had weekends off!! Now it's so hot that garbage cans are melting in Arizona (and my face is melting off here in Texas) and I work weekends again. I meant to have a sendoff brunch on a Sunday as a final goodbye, but instead ended up sleeping in because of who I am as a person. However, sleeping in is also a wonderful weekend activity so I think that I still did it justice.

365 101-112

101/365

National Pet Day!! These two baby birds are my favorites, even though one is terrified of the world around him and the other has a ridiculous amount of pin feathers on her head right now and is a queen bitch. I love them so much.







102/365

I have a hard time deciding which pictures I like best when it involves glowing lights. If you know me, you know I ADORE fluorescent, neon lights and therefore am automatically attracted to carnivals like a moth drawn to the flame. Sometimes a small roadside carnival pops up on the side of the highway in the mall parking lot. I noticed it from down the way after a dinner of fajitas and margaritas and, just like the year before when I won a goldfish named Scully and played ringtoss with friends, I went to take photos of the rides lit up in the darkness. Carnivals remind me of summer - of long days, fried food, and rattling roller coaster carts on tiny tracks that are barely up to code.



103/365

A little pink house, abandoned across the road from one of my downtown watering holes.



104/365

Rex, our Silkie chicken with the cross-beak who we weren't sure would survive to adulthood, is now performing in shows as the partner to Echo, our Barred Rock hen who lost her own partner - Charlie - a couple of months ago. One of my goals is to take more photos of training sessions so that we have more action shots, and I have more concrete memories of these moments.



105/365

Our first beach bonfire of the season. I love a good bonfire - the gritty feel of sand, the smell of smoke permeating layers of clothing, and the sound of waves crashing in the distance. It's pure love.



106/365

Easter Sunday!! Usually Easter is spent eating a decadent meal with family (involving ham of some sort), or setting up Easter Eggs hunts in our house, or decorating Easter Eggs. This year I decided that I wanted to decorate eggs, having missed out the previous year, so I bought a tie-dye kit for coloring, a carton of eggs, and a six-pack. My eggs turned out beautiful, and as a final touch I poured iridescent glitter on top of them while wet. They sparkled and shone.



107/365

Laura's friend came for a visit so we went to Harrison's Landing for din dins.



108/365

DOG. IN A DINOSAUR COSTUME. I REPEAT - DOG IN A DINOSAUR COSTUME.


!!!!



109/365

An amaretto sour in honor of National Amaretto Day!



110/365

A tiny jellyfish in a sea of blue.





111/365

Andie was doing a board and train with this cute little shih tzu named Sergio, but Laura REFUSED to let me take a photo of him. Every time I whipped out my camera to get a shot, she blocked me. Finally, I was able to get some cute shots of his tootsies!!




112/365

On Earth Day, I was able to participate in the National March for Science. At first I didn't know if we were even going to have one, considering the size of our town and the culture of slacktivism or even straight-up denial or ignorance. Luckily, I got word that a march was scheduled to walk along the seawall in the morning, so I went. I didn't end up making a sign, which I sort of regret, but I did show up and got some great photos of other people's amazing signs. We all marched down the seawall together, chanting and brandishing signs (while I snapped photos), and ended at the science museum, where we listened to inspiring speeches by local scientists. I finished out the day by attending a BEAUTIFUL wedding on the coast where we danced, indulged in the open bar, and ate our weight in mac 'n cheese. Best Earth Day ever!

---

Oh, I'm behind. I was doing so well and suddenly BAM life happened. Isn't it always the way?

The good news is that I'm moved into my new apartment!! I'm living on my own for the first time EVER and so far it's been exhilarating, cozy, scary, and sometimes lonely. The birds and I love our new home, though, and being near so many fun things has been AWESOME!! Time to live it up this summer, despite the heat!!

365 days 86-100

86/365

There's an old, rusted train car overgrown with ivy and covered in graffiti down the road from our rehabilitation center. One time I saw a coyote in the field nearby and followed it into the "no trespassing" territory that the train car guards. I've always meant to take photos since it's so aesthetically pleasing, so this evening after a stint at Sealab (what we call the dilapidated building that houses our rehab program) I decided to go for it.



87/365

While exploring Portland I found a tiny plant shop with a beautiful garden out front.



88/365

Laura passes out anywhere: movie theaters, couches, the floor, at random people's houses...so she and Chunk took a small nap together while we watched Gossip Girl.



89/365

A Roseate Spoonbill hanging out at Sunset Lake.



90/365

I explored a park near our house that I've never been to (I've been wandering around Portland a bit since I'll be moving back to Corpus in a couple of months); there's a pathway leading right down to the ocean and a small spit of beach. The old wooden fencing lining the pathway made me think of a song I learned in Girl Scouts so many years ago - "So I went outside and left a piece of my heart buried by the third fence post. So when tomorrow morning comes I'll be smiling, though I might be a little down - though my body's leaving, I'll still be around".



91/365

HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY!! I've done quite a bit of googly eye pranks in the past, but since seeing this post, I knew I wanted to put the remaining google eyes I own on one of our raptor hoods. Unfortunately, the idea to do so on one of our real birds did not fly (GET IT), so I instead outfitted Valencia our practice peregrine falcon.





92/365

I attended the Reptile Expo with Andie and Geoff since I've never been to one and I love little lizards!! I was actually INCREDIBLY TEMPTED to purchase myself a crested gecko or a day gecko, but it was all so expensive and I am not a true reptile hobbyist - I would rather spend that money on birds. But day geckos (cue heart eyes emoji). Also, fun fact, that little gecko on the spray bottle leapt right onto my face!



93/365

We made some butterbeer on Sunday afternoon and I drank mine while playing Skyward Sword (but not before composing this oh so awesome HP-afied shot) #sundaynerdysunday.



94/365

Queen Cleo needed to be caught up for her beak cope. There are few things I love in this world more than a birdrito.



95/365

Bonnie, our Golden Eagle, molted this beautiful flight feather. Due to the Migratory Bird Act, we can't keep eagle feathers since we don't have permits to do so (they are usually sent to the eagle conservatory where they're handed out to different tribes that have proper permitting), but before the feather was taken care of, I had a small photoshoot because it really was such a prime specimen.



96/365

Laura found out she got into vet school!!! Such a momentous occasion was celebrated with margaritas, chips and dip, hummus, and mini-brownies while we all played Cranium with miniature dinosaurs as our players.



97/365

We were supposed to have a Xena creature feature the next day, but SOMEONE was convinced that the creature feature was THAT DAY. Twenty minutes later, Xena would not be awoken from her nap and the certain someone finally realized that the creature feature was actually set for 24 hours from that point. Since we already had someone who was interested in the creature feature (since THAT SOMEONE told her the wrong date...), we instead brought out Kitty for her to meet.

...

Lauren. It was Lauren who was wrong. And I super rubbed it in her face.





98/365

The Earth Day Bay Day Festival in honor of Earth Day was happening at Heritage Park downtown so I decided to step outside of my comfort zone and go to a festival by myself. I did have half-baked plans to meet up with a friend and I knew I would probably end up seeing some people I know and recognize, but ultimately going by myself to things is intimidating and I'm trying to overcome this fear. It ended up being pretty fun!! I got some free swag, including an awesome new grocery bag, some sunglasses, koozies, and information about beach cleanups, I saw a free-flight bird of prey demonstration (where I sort of judged everything going on, it was bizarre and the training techniques were archaic), and I hung around the Texas Parks and Wildlife department setup to learn about seagrass since that's where my friend's husband was being forced to teach people about said seagrass. Overall, it was a good time and I'm glad I went.



99/365

National Unicorn Day!!!

In honor of this momentous occasion, I got Kogi a tiny unicorn piñata filled with banana chips and crystallized pineapple (he hated all of it). Though he did definitely split its face open and then utterly destroy it in a wrestling match for the ages when I dared pay attention to it vs. him.



100/365

I was sick so ended up sleeping all day and drinking approximately a gallon of pomegranate tea with honey. I love this owl mug my Gramma got me.


Up to day 100!!! I want to follow through with the entirety of Project 365 on the blog vs. two years ago when I ultimately stopped posting them here since I was so behind and the year was almost over. Now I'm only twenty days behind and that's not terrible, in my opinion!! A couple of things going on in life:

♥ Attended parts of the IMATA regional conference and now I'm kind of obsessed with the idea of training sea lions...
♥ Went to a beautiful wedding for a coworker that was right on the coast, had a live band, FIREWORKS, nine different cakes, a macaroni and cheese bar, and an open bar! TWO OPEN BARS! It was magical.
♥ Went to the March for Science on Earth Day, another step outside of my comfort zone, and stuck up for something I truly believe in.
♥ Dyed easter eggs with tons of glitter.
♥ Toured the new Caribbean Wing - it looks AMAZING with all the birds in it. T-minus 11 days until Grand Opening!!
♥ Had to put down one of our beloved spoonies :( She will be greatly missed.


I keep wanting to do actual blog posts that are not just my 365 project; ONE DAY. At least the 365 makes me update semi-regularly!! For now, trying to make it through this busy month as we open the new wing at work and I prepare to move as well as see one of my best friends move away (again), BUT WE'RE NOT THINKING ABOUT THAT RIGHT NOW!!!