Cockatoo

Oh, be still my beating heart! A Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo!! This is such a wonderful picture and an angle that's perfect too! These birds come in Large, Medium, and Lesser versions and there's another subspecies called an Eleanora Cockatoo as well as a few others. I have no idea which this one is exactly but I can tell you that the Lessers were also on my short list of all-time favorite birds. Well, until I went to a website that educates the masses on why cockatoos in particular are not suitable as pets. I'd fallen madly in love with two different Lessers in the past but once I got the skinny on their temperament and attention requirements, I never considered them as a companion again. Steve, too, wanted a 'too so badly--he loves Mollucans and has his own love stories about them too. Sent him to the 'too site and that was the end of that. A shame. Such amazing birds. They should not be pets. Granted, most birds don't get the proper attention, etc., but 'toos in particular are too sensitive and needy, destructive and noisy to be considered as a companion bird. *sigh* 'Nuff on that!

Oh! You got to see my baby lizard picture with the Tolkien quote!! YAY!! I adore that picture, the little guy has the cutest expression on his face! :D And yes, it's a Western Fence Lizard, also known as a Blue-Belly. I love them! And yep yep, gotta love Tolkien...he's part of our fabric! :) Finally, no, I have NOT read those stories, and I will correct that as soon as I am able! :)