The D in a Tree

The letter D in tree branches.

My theme here at my Knoontime Knitting craft blog is Letterforms In Nature and the Built Environment. I’ll be exploring my daily round, looking for shapes in the natural world and build environment.

Thank you for joining me for the A-Z Blog Challenge. If you’re blogging in the challenge, please leave me a link so I can come visit you too. If you have a moment, please check out these other fine blogs:

The theme on my main blog, Explore the Worlds of A. Catherine Noon, is The A To Z of the Zoo. Join me as I explore Brookfield Zoo and finds animals, birds, and insects from A to Z.

The theme at Noon & Wilder is The A To Z of Chicago. Since I live here in the city and we have our Chicagoland Shifters based here, I figured I’d share a window into the city, Noon & Wilder style.

The Nice Girls Writing Naughty have a new home, and we’re blogging in the challenge again this year. Throughout the month you’ll be hearing from each of the Nice Girls, and during the RT Booklovers Convention from April 12th to the 17th, you’ll be getting live convention reports. Join the conversation!

The Writer Zen Garden’s brand new website is up and running, and we’re bringing you posts from me, Noony; my partner in crime, Rachel Wilder (the Wilder half of Noon & Wilder); the talented Darla M. Sands – a blogger in her own right, see below; as well as Grace Kahlo, Evey Brown, and author Tina Holland. Check it out!

My friends who are participating in the challenge (and if you’re not on this list, tell me and I’ll add you!):

Darla M. Sands, Awakening Dreams and Conquering Nightmares with a Pen
Kari Trenten, The Cauldron of Eternal Inspiration

Write on, and Happy Blogging!

Dogs – Of the African Wild Variety

I first encountered African wild dogs at the zoo in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, a state to the south of where we live. I’m not sure how, but I’d never encountered them before. When we became members at Brookfield Zoo, I discovered a whole habitat for African wild dogs that allows them to run around and, well, be dogs.

This agile little fellow spotted the meat hanging from a tree, which handlers do in order to keep the dogs’ hunting behaviors sharp. While they’re not pet dogs, this one sure looked like what my dog would look like if she came across steak in a tree.

Hut! Hut! Up he goes.

I love the ruff on the back of their neck and shoulders. They’re really pretty, with rounded ears that definitely give them a not-dog appearance.

Success! You really get an idea of their physical power when you watch an animal like this pull meat off a hanging thingie.

Look at that face! More like a bear than a dog, yes? He caught sight of his mates squabbling over some bones over in another part of the enclosure.

The interesting thing here was that the smaller dog kept whining and what we think must be a growl when the bigger one wanted to take the rack of ribs away. They did not bite each other, however. Only the bones.

The interloper didn’t dive right in between the other two, but waited around the edges without making noise or getting too close.

The third one circled to investigate, but went back to his steak in a tree.

The two kept arguing over who would get the rib rack. Again, neither one bit the other; they only vocalized, (the smaller one did, anyway), and circled around the bones.

Thank you for joining me for the A-Z Blog Challenge. If you’re blogging in the challenge, please leave me a link so I can come visit you too. If you have a moment, please check out these other fine blogs:

My theme on my Knoontime Knitting craft blog is Letterforms In Nature. I’ll be exploring my daily round, looking for shapes in the natural world and build environment.

The theme at Noon & Wilder is The A To Z of Chicago. Since I live here in the city and we have our Chicagoland Shifters based here, I figured I’d share a window into the city, Noon & Wilder style.

The Nice Girls Writing Naughty have a new home, and we’re blogging in the challenge again this year. Throughout the month you’ll be hearing from each of the Nice Girls, and during the RT Booklovers Convention from April 12th to the 17th, you’ll be getting live convention reports. Join the conversation!

The Writer Zen Garden’s brand new website is up and running, and we’re bringing you posts from me, Noony; my partner in crime, Rachel Wilder (the Wilder half of Noon & Wilder); the talented Darla M. Sands – a blogger in her own right, see below; as well as Grace Kahlo, Evey Brown, and author Tina Holland. Check it out!

My friends who are participating in the challenge (and if you’re not on this list, tell me and I’ll add you!):

Darla M. Sands, Awakening Dreams and Conquering Nightmares with a Pen
Kari Trenten, The Cauldron of Eternal Inspiration

Write on, and Happy Blogging!

Urbanscapes and Letterforms in the Built Environment

I’m tempted to leave this picture stand on its own merits, because “a picture’s worth a thousand words.” But I’m proud of it, and figured I’d share why:

I’ve been a photographer since high school, when I was privileged to take two years of art photography with one of our better teachers. We were given black and white film, ASA 100, and taught to see the world around us with new eyes. This is well before the digital revolution took the photographic world by storm.

Fast forward to a few years ago, when high-quality digital cameras first started appearing in cell phones. What a revolutionary idea for me! I’d resisted joining the digital photography movement because I prefer to shoot with an SLR camera (Single Lens Reflex) and the little point-and-shoot jobbies didn’t satisfy. But now, with my ubiquitous phone, it allowed me to snap things as I saw them, instead of lament not having a digital SLR. (In a side note, I inherited my husband’s old SLR when he upgraded to his new one in his freelance photography business, and I once again can wander around of an afternoon haunting my environment.)

This particular image caught my eye on a bridge over the railroad tracks near the Chicago Art Institute, the subject of my “A” entry on the main blog of this very website. The bridge is made of cast concrete, and joined with whatever substance one uses to join such things. I caught sight of this obvious “C” and had to have it. It’s a hyper-close-up, as the original object is only a few inches across, smaller than the length of my hand.

Thank you for joining me for the A-Z Blog Challenge. If you’re blogging in the challenge, please leave me a link so I can come visit you too. If you have a moment, please check out these other fine blogs:

The theme on my main blog, Explore the Worlds of A. Catherine Noon, is The A To Z of the Zoo. Join me as I explore Brookfield Zoo and finds animals, birds, and insects from A to Z.

The theme at Noon & Wilder is The A To Z of Chicago. Since I live here in the city and we have our Chicagoland Shifters based here, I figured I’d share a window into the city, Noon & Wilder style.

The Nice Girls Writing Naughty have a new home, and we’re blogging in the challenge again this year. Throughout the month you’ll be hearing from each of the Nice Girls, and during the RT Booklovers Convention from April 12^th to the 17^th, you’ll be getting live convention reports. Join the conversation!

The Writer Zen Garden’s brand new website is up and running, and we’re bringing you posts from me, Noony; my partner in crime, Rachel Wilder (the Wilder half of Noon & Wilder); the talented Darla M. Sands – a blogger in her own right, see below; as well as Grace Kahlo, Evey Brown, and author Tina Holland. Check it out!

My friends who are participating in the challenge (and if you’re not on this list, tell me and I’ll add you!):

Darla M. Sands, Awakening Dreams and Conquering Nightmares with a Pen
Kari Trenten, The Cauldron of Eternal Inspiration

Write on, and Happy Blogging!

Wray-Wray’s Namesake – When You Find Your Name on a Camel

Today’s letter in the A to Z Blog Challenge is “C,” for Chicago, and crayons, and calisthenics. Catherine, cranberries, chocolate, cocoa, and coffee. Coffee, and coffee, and coffee, and …

Ahem, where was I?

Camels!

As you walk down the path from the North Gate of the Brookfield Zoo, and come around to the right between the butterfly tent and one of the beer sheds, you come to the world-famous Bactrian Camels. They have two humps. A one-humped camel is called a dromedary.

And now, for something completely different: a short limerick, by Ogden Nash:

A one “L” lama is a priest.

A two “L” llama is a beast.

But I would bet my pink pajama

There’s no such thing as a three “L” lllama.

My favorite part about that poem is the footnote from Mr. Nash: “I received the following response from a reader: ‘a three “L” lllama is a conflagration.’ To which I say, ‘Pooh.'”

I adore Mr. Nash.

(If that doesn’t make sense, say “three ‘L’ lllama” out loud and think New York City.)

Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled program:

There are two camels in the enclosure, and I read that they are both female.

The best part?

One is named Ray-Ray.

Rachel Wilder, my beloved coauthor, has a nickname. Wray Wray.

Wait, what?

Wray Wray. You know, like the camel.

Um…

Of course it’s a good idea! She has a mascot now!

I’m not so sure this is a good idea…

I just won’t tell her then.

It’s your funeral.

Why am I carrying on an imaginary conversation with a camel??

Stay tuned tomorrow for Dogs – of the African Wild Variety.

Thank you for joining me for the A-Z Blog Challenge. If you’re blogging in the challenge, please leave me a link so I can come visit you too. If you have a moment, please check out these other fine blogs:

My theme on my Knoontime Knitting craft blog is Letterforms In Nature. I’ll be exploring my daily round, looking for shapes in the natural world and build environment.

The theme at Noon & Wilder is The A To Z of Chicago. Since I live here in the city and we have our Chicagoland Shifters based here, I figured I’d share a window into the city, Noon & Wilder style.

The Nice Girls Writing Naughty have a new home, and we’re blogging in the challenge again this year. Throughout the month you’ll be hearing from each of the Nice Girls, and during the RT Booklovers Convention from April 12th to the 17th, you’ll be getting live convention reports. Join the conversation!

The Writer Zen Garden’s brand new website is up and running, and we’re bringing you posts from me, Noony; my partner in crime, Rachel Wilder (the Wilder half of Noon & Wilder); the talented Darla M. Sands – a blogger in her own right, see below; as well as Grace Kahlo, Evey Brown, and author Tina Holland. Check it out!

My friends who are participating in the challenge (and if you’re not on this list, tell me and I’ll add you!):

Darla M. Sands, Awakening Dreams and Conquering Nightmares with a Pen
Kari Trenten, The Cauldron of Eternal Inspiration

Write on, and Happy Blogging!

Bears Napping, Bears Pacing, Bears, Bears, Bears! B Is For Bears!

There are many bears at the Brookfield Zoo. There are polar bears, and brown bears, and black sloth bears, not to mention the red pandas over in the Hamill Family Wild Encounters.

Bears are, however, difficult to photograph because their dens have thick Lexan between us and them – which, all things considered, is just as well because I don’t want to be a bear’s dinner. (The fact I’d love to pet one isn’t really relevant to this particular discussion, and the Encounters I mentioned let you do just that – so that will be on our list to visit next time we head over to the zoo.)

I was able to snap this shot of the snoozing polar bear over the fence. His face surprised me by how similar it is in appearance to some breeds of dogs. He looks so cozy here, doesn’t he?

Is there such a thing as a “bear nap?” Cats can’t have all the fun, now can they?

See what I mean about the Lexan here? It’s got a heck of a glare. I like this shot because it gives you some idea of his size; I’m standing maybe five or six feet away from him.

He has an interesting ridge on his nose. It seemed like he was trying to smell something. In this shot, he more resembles a seal in his facial structure.

You can really see the resemblance to a dog here.

I’m disappointed at the glare in this shot, because he looks adorably sleepy. He had a lie down right after this, but I couldn’t do it justice with the lighting.

I thought I got several more shots of the brown bear, and now that I’m typing, I’m thinking it may actually be a grizzly? Not sure. But this one startled me because of how friggin’ huge he is. You can’t tell it in this shot, but there are actually two bears in the enclosure, sound asleep. I couldn’t get the other one to come out with the lighting because they were so shadowed; I’m not sure if thi one is the male or the female.

The ears are adorable, nu?

Totally want to scritch his/her head, too. Last thing I’d ever do, but omg. Cute!?

Check back on Monday for C Is For Camel – remember, no post on Sunday! (Thank you J. K. Rowling for that earwig.)

Thank you for joining me for the A-Z Blog Challenge. If you’re blogging in the challenge, please leave me a link so I can come visit you too. If you have a moment, please check out these other fine blogs:

My theme on my Knoontime Knitting craft blog is Letterforms In Nature. I’ll be exploring my daily round, looking for shapes in the natural world and build environment.
The theme at Noon & Wilder is The A To Z of Chicago. Since I live here in the city and we have our Chicagoland Shifters based here, I figured I’d share a window into the city, Noon & Wilder style.
The Nice Girls Writing Naughty have a new home, and we’re blogging in the challenge again this year. Throughout the month you’ll be hearing from each of the Nice Girls, and during the RT Booklovers Convention from April 12th to the 17th, you’ll be getting live convention reports. Join the conversation!
The Writer Zen Garden’s brand new website is up and running, and we’re bringing you posts from me, Noony; my partner in crime, Rachel Wilder (the Wilder half of Noon & Wilder); the talented Darla M. Sands – a blogger in her own right, see below; as well as Grace Kahlo, Evey Brown, and author Tina Holland. Check it out!

My friends who are participating in the challenge (and if you’re not on this list, tell me and I’ll add you!):

Darla M. Sands, Awakening Dreams and Conquering Nightmares with a Pen
Kari Trenten, The Cauldron of Eternal Inspiration

Write on, and Happy Blogging!

B Is For Bush! (No, Not THAT Kind of Bush)

I got home and downloaded my pictures and, for the life of me, could not remember what I’d intended when I shot this one. Then, as I was writing about doing the challenge, I said something like, “B is for bush,” and it hit me – I must have meant bush!

Now, as I am putting my posts up, I realized it’s because it has Berries.

You know, with a B?

Sequitur much?

Okay, on that topic, I have to share a cute joke with you:

How many Zen masters does it take to change a light bulb?

Fish.

Thank you for joining me for the A-Z Blog Challenge. If you’re blogging in the challenge, please leave me a link so I can come visit you too. If you have a moment, please check out these other fine blogs:

The theme on my main blog, Explore the Worlds of A. Catherine Noon, is The A To Z of the Zoo. Join me as I explore Brookfield Zoo and finds animals, birds, and insects from A to Z.

The theme at Noon & Wilder is The A To Z of Chicago. Since I live here in the city and we have our Chicagoland Shifters based here, I figured I’d share a window into the city, Noon & Wilder style.

The Nice Girls Writing Naughty have a new home, and we’re blogging in the challenge again this year. Throughout the month you’ll be hearing from each of the Nice Girls, and during the RT Booklovers Convention from April 12^th to the 17^th, you’ll be getting live convention reports. Join the conversation!

The Writer Zen Garden’s brand new website is up and running, and we’re bringing you posts from me, Noony; my partner in crime, Rachel Wilder (the Wilder half of Noon & Wilder); the talented Darla M. Sands – a blogger in her own right, see below; as well as Grace Kahlo, Evey Brown, and author Tina Holland. Check it out!

My friends who are participating in the challenge (and if you’re not on this list, tell me and I’ll add you!):

Darla M. Sands, Awakening Dreams and Conquering Nightmares with a Pen
Kari Trenten, The Cauldron of Eternal Inspiration

Write on, and Happy Blogging!

The A-Z of the Natural World – Letterforms In Nature

I waffled on whether to do the A-Z on my craft blog, because I’m already doing it elsewhere. But I already went out and took half the photographs for my idea, so I decided what the heck, I’m gonna throw my hat in the ring.

So here’s what I’m doing:

The A To Z of the Natural World – Finding Letterforms in Nature

Inspired by calligrapher Margaret Shepherd’s blog, I decided to take a different tack – rather than look for human-made letters around my neighborhood, I am looking for letter shapes in the natural forms made by botanicals and objects in the built environment. Over the next month, I’ll share with you my discoveries, beginning with today: A In a Tree.

Enjoy, and Happy A-Z!

Amur Leopard – For A!

Welcome to April! It’s time for the A-Z Challenge, an international blogging challenge that’s been going for a few years now. My theme this year is the A-Z of the Brookfield Zoo, one of my favorite places in the Chicagoland area. My husband and I went through the zoo with a fine-toothed comb, looking for animals from A-Z.

This lovely gentleman is the Amur Leopard. He’s endangered in the wild, so we’re lucky to have him – and Brookfield Zoo participates an international Species Survival Plan for many of the animals that are threatened, endangered, or, sadly, extinct in the wild.

He moves around a lot, and my camera was not cooperating with me that day. But what excited me is the fact that he was down off his perch so I could get a good look at him.

Even though his mouth was open, I couldn’t hear any sounds from him.

I just missed catching his face head-on in this shot, but my auto-focus categorically refused to work with me. I heard the shot snap just when he turned to go back the other way.

Looks close enough to pet, though, doesn’t he? There’s actually about six inches of clear Lexan (think bullet-proof glass) between the two of us, so he’s safe from being mauled by overly friendly cat people.

Shame, really.

Will you look at those feet? Holy retractable claws, Batman. (Actually I think they can’t retract claws, being big cats?) He paced for the whole time we watched him, about ten or fifteen minutes.

In this one, he caught sight of a small boy who was making a lot of noise. From bored to intent, in an instant.

Probably a good thing there’s netting over the entirety of his enclosure, eh?

Stay tuned tomorrow, when we get to see… Bears!

It’s Aliiiive! The Nice Girls Writing Naughty Home on the Web

The Online Home of the Nice Girls Writing Naughty!

I’m pleased as punch to share with you the brand new home of the Nice Girls Writing Naughty on the web! From our start as a small group of dedicated authors to where we are today, we’ve grown to a team of friends interested in supporting each and building a great community. Our popular blog has grown into a full-blown website with more content coming like a bookstore, which will be launching before RT next month. (RT is the RT Booklovers Convention, this year in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; it’s one of the largest romance-related conventions in the States.)

We also have a popular Facebook group and @NGWNGroup where we welcome interaction from our beloved community of readers. We wouldn’t be here without you, and we are so grateful to each and every one of you.

Keep your eyes on our blog starting April 1st for the April A-Z Blogging Challenge. Several of the Nice Girls will be at RT hosting a party, signing books, and with some great giveaways including a signed Michael Stokes book of photography (I WANT this book!). For those of us not going to RT, don’t worry – we’ll have some great blog content through the awesome folks at TRS Parties and will share pictures from RT, event news, and lots of other great content.

April’s shaping up to be a busy month, Dear Reader, so rest those eyes and get readeh!

Luck O’ The Irish! Enter To Win $100 Gift Card and Other Prizes. Plus, Blog Posts from Noony!

It’s that time o’ the year, me dears! The St. Patrick’s Day Party at The Romance Studio! You can enter to win a $100 USD gift card from the online retailer Amazon, books from Noon & Wilder and other fabulous authors, and read excerpts, recipes, stories and more! Won’t you join us?

Here’s the links to my posts, so it’s easy to find. Won’t you stop by and comment? You’ll be glad you did, and I’ll feel the love. What could be better?

Happy reading!

Sunday, March 13th

(Note – I don’t have any posts on the 12th due to a family emergency, but there is plenty of content from my fellow authors so don’t be shy!)

Monday, March 14th

Tuesday, March 15th

Wednesday, March 16th

Thursday, St. Patrick’s Day!

A Catherine Noon

Explore the Worlds of A. Catherine Noon | Bestselling Author

The D in a Tree

The letter D in tree branches.

Dogs – Of the African Wild Variety

Urbanscapes and Letterforms in the Built Environment

Wray-Wray’s Namesake – When You Find Your Name on a Camel

Camels!

Bears Napping, Bears Pacing, Bears, Bears, Bears! B Is For Bears!

B Is For Bush! (No, Not THAT Kind of Bush)

The A-Z of the Natural World – Letterforms In Nature

The A To Z of the Natural World – Finding Letterforms in Nature

Amur Leopard – For A!

It’s Aliiiive! The Nice Girls Writing Naughty Home on the Web

The Online Home of the Nice Girls Writing Naughty!

Luck O’ The Irish! Enter To Win $100 Gift Card and Other Prizes. Plus, Blog Posts from Noony!