Serene Scenery Sunday

Ha roo, pups and cool cats.  It's me, Zim.  Are you ready to kick back and relax?  To let the serenity of some gorgeous Kansas scenery wash over you?  Ready to enter the Zen of Zim Zone?  Then let's head back to Tuttle Creek State Park and look at those photos I mentioned yesterday!

As I said, when Mom and I first got to the State Park, we had a good look around.  We checked the water in front of our parking area, then went down to the look out to see if anything was happening down there.

We walked down to the water's edge, but didn't see any animals to commune with.  It sure was pretty down there, though.  Here's a look up at some of the pond areas:

I've heard there are beaver dams up there!  I'll have to explore that area some more and maybe make some new friends.  Oh.  Speaking of new friends - here's my pelican friend!

American White Pelican

Isn't he a handsome bird?!?

We also saw this gathering of Cormorants out on a tree sticking up out of the water:

Cormorants and Canada Geese

Some Canada Geese were out there with them - and a bunch of assorted ducks in the distance.  Is it me, or are the Cormorants a bit scary-looking?  Let's get back to Mr. Pelican!

"Honk, Zim!"

He was checking me out there!  We made a lot of eye contact, but I made sure to look away so he wouldn't feel threatened or anything.

This hawk was keeping watch over everyone from his perch way up high:

There's a chance that's a juvenile Bald Eagle, but Mom isn't real sure.  Feel free to weigh in on that if you feel strongly either way.

As I mentioned yesterday, my pelican friend swam up one of the narrow parts of the water, following me and Mom.  Here's a shot of him swimming in that area:

When Mom and I got over by our car to drive out to another area of the park, this is what he did:



Yep.  He flew back over to where he was when we first saw him.  I thought it was really cool that he came over to us; I love making new friends!

OK - so speaking of new friends, we drove over to another area of the River Pond and I saw a bunch of gooses!  It was really cool.  Mom said we could walk out just a little bit onto this little dock - so I asked the gooses to meet me out there!

"Ha roo, gooses!  I'm Zim.  Meet me by the dock?!?"

They came swimming over to meet me.  I especially liked this guy:

Canada Goose

You can see by the water that it was mighty cold and windy!  The gooses didn't mind, though - and neither did I!

Mom took a bunch of pix of the gooses; if you'd like to see more of them and more of all the birdies we saw, please click here.  Anyway, Mom spotted some ducks way out beyond my new goose friends and was trying to get some pictures of them.  I thought I'd see what I could do to help out ...

"Hey, gooses.  See those ducks over there?  Are they friends of yours?
Can you invite them to come a little closer?
My mom would like to get some photos!"

"Those guys, eh?  Sure.  I'll go get them, Zim."

Good to his word, my new goose friend swam over then brought some of those ducks back with him.  Mom was pretty excited.

Northern Shovelers

We just had the best time, seeing all the beauty of the River Pond area at the park, making new friends, and just spending time together.  I hope our photos helped you feel a bit more serene today!

Have a wonderful Sunday.

Play bows,

Zim