A-Z 2014 Reflections

Wildlife Safari  April 29, 2014

Q= Did I accomplish my goals?

A= I am not sure if I really had any "goals"

other than to thematically blog each

day and to answer each commentor by

visiting and commenting on their blogs.

I had fun chosing what Spanish word 

I would use each day!

Q= Did I post every day?

A= Yep-I did. I managed to post each day

early enough in the day to enable 

visiting blogs I had chosen to follow

without being online too long.

Q= Did I make new friends?

A= Yep- I did. I enjoyed talking back and

forth with a few bloggers I discovered

during this years Challenge, plus a few

that I had gotten to know last year that I

had continued to visit since then.

This year I added a sidebar on my blog

that listed what A-Z'ers I was following.

At the end I did delete those blogs that

ended up not appealing to me or that

stopped blogging before the Challenge

had ended.  

Q= Did I enjoy the Challenge?

A= I sure did! I enjoyed last years Challenge 

which is why I participated this year. 

I think though that I'd like to read more blogs,

 but not am sure how I could do that without 

spending more time online...and I am not willing

to do that. I do have a busy life!

Here are a few suggestions for my fellow bloggers:

1. I am not interested in "commercial" blogs.

If you are selling/advertising etc I am not

going to read your blog. I am not 

talking about books that bloggers are 

writing, but rather hard goods that

are being sold. When I go on sites like that

I make note of the site name and will

not access that site again. I also do not

need that vendor to use my email for

commercial use. I mark those as spam.

2. If someone makes a comment on your 

blog, try to take the time to visit them and

leave a comment. It's a two way street

and also it's good manners. A large part

of blogging for me is the community

 one builds by personally interacting with

other bloggers. I have learned so much about 

life in other places. What's the point otherwise?

I myself do not like blogging in a vacuum.

Last but certainly not least- blue ribbons to 

all our hosts who worked so hard to bring

us such a great A-Z 2014 Challenge.

Thanks to all of you!

Dogwood Blossom, Weed, CA , April 2014

A to Z 2014 Challenge Z is for Zebra

Z is for Zebra

Ok I am cheating here....

Zebra = Cebra in Spanish!

Who knew? Certainly not me!

Look where I had to go to get

this photo! 

April 29, 2014

Wildlife Safari !!

Canada Geese and Zebra

April 29, 2014

I convinced Russell to stop on our

way home to drive through this 

wildlife park. Their purpose is:

Wildlife Safari is dedicated to conservation, 

education and research of native and exotic wildlife.

 It is our commitment to educate the public

 about the status of animals around the world.

Besides the Zebras and geese we saw

lots of other animals from all over the world.

Here are only a few of the photos I took.

Enjoy!

Watusi Cattle

 Watusi Cattle April 29, 2014

I could not get over the size of the horns

on these cattle and how heavy they must be.

The cattle did walk rather slowly. 

Scimitar Oryx
April 29, 2014

Giraffe in conversation with one of the handlers.

April 29, 2014

American Bison

April 29, 2014

Quite tame Rhea also looking for a hand out

They sell food at this park so you can feed the animals.

Some animals....not the lions, tigers, cheetahs nor cougars!

April 29, 2014

White Fallow Deer 

April 29, 2014

The deer are quite sweet 

April 29, 2014

Last, but certainly not least

the Brown Bear! Having  lovely time.

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Thanks to all the A-Z Co-Hosts-

especially Alex and Tina

and all 2018 fellow participants!

Click HERE to see everyones blog links.

See you all next year!!

A to Z 2014 Challenge Y is for Yanqui

Y = Yankee

Yogi Berra 
One of the greatest baseball players !
I love baseball!
Famous Yogi quotes
and

Stats

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And hit a home run HERE

to see more A-Zers!

A to Z 2014 Challenge X is for Dos Equis

Dos Equis = Two X's

Since "X" is another letter that has few true

 words in Spanish I chose the Mexican beer 

Dos Equis for todays A-Z post. 

Most Spanish "X" words 

have prefixes of foreign origin

 such as "Xeno", "Xero" and "Xylo".  

Cheers! Have a great Monday!

To access more A-Zers click here Cervesa !!

A-Z 2014 Challenge W is for Wheels

There are no actual Spanish words that begin with the 

letter "W". There are a few words used in Spanish 

that begin with "W", but they are words borrowed

 from other languages such as English. 

For example: "winsurf","walkman" and "western". 

Because of that I will be using an English word today!

W is for Wheels

While driving north on I-5

we pulled off the freeway 

and stopped so I could get

these farm photos. 

By the way the Spanish word

for wheels is "rueda".

Farm photo #1   April 23, 2014

 Farm photo #2  April 23, 2014

 Farm Photo #3  April 23, 2014

Farm Photo #4  April 23, 2014

Farm photo #5  April 23, 2014

Farm photo #6  April 23, 2014

Someone spent an enormous amount of 

time and most likely money to amass

this wonderful rusting collection.

Have a lovely day and don't forget to

Click on Wheels to see more A-Z's!

A to Z 2014 Challenge V is for Viento!

Viento = Wind

Paraguas son inútiles en el viento

( Umbrellas are useless in the wind )

~~~~

Go here for more A-Z's:

Wind

A to Z 2014 Challenge U is for Util

Util = Useful

Un paraguas es muy util!

( An umbrella is very useful )

~~~

Go here for more A-Z's!

RAIN

A to Z 2014 Challenge T is for Trafico

Trafico = Traffic

Loreto, Baja Sur, Mexico

March 2014

No hay trafico aqui.

( There is no traffic here )

College Ave, Weed California
March, 2014

No hay trafico aqui tabien.

( There is also no traffic here )

~~~~~

To see more A-Z drive AQUI

A to Z 2014 Challenge S is for Sobrina and Sobrino

Sobrina = Niece

Sobrino = Nephew

My wonderful niece and her sweet husband 

They live a wonderfully balanced life.

Working hard, but also knowing when

to take time off and just have fun.

Now married 20 years with two children.

No small accomplishment these days!

And their two very nice children. 

Smart, sassy and very fun!

Resobrina and Resobrino

Great Niece and Great Nephew

And they are great- that's for sure!

Lisa, Annabelle and Maddie

April 2014

Here's another Sobrina and her daughters.

I am so proud of all my nieces and nephews!

( sorry for the blurry photo )

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To see more A-Z blogs go Here

A-Z 2014 Challenge R is for Rabano

Rabano = Radish

Radish by ceramic artist Deb Norby, 2000

Carved Radishes

Night of the Radish,  Oaxaca City, Oaxaca, Mexico 

Every year on December 23rd in Oaxaca City

the Night of the Radish is celebrated.

To learn more click here: Radish

And click here to see more A to Z

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It's Three in One Day!! A to Z, Six Words and Shadowy Shots April 19-20,2014

Q is for Quietud

Quietud = Stillness

My Garden Window  April 18, 2014

Hay una quietud en las sombras

( There is a stillness in shadows )

~~~~~~

Have a great weekend and

 click on these words to see more

Words , Shadows and A-Z's

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A-Z 2014 Challenge P is for Poco

Poco = little

a smidgen of wine  April 17, 2014

Yo tengo muy poco de vino en el cristal.

( I have very little wine in my glass)
And a special toast to Robin who sent me 
this hilarious YouTube
Thanks Robin- I am still on the floor..
not from drinking wine, but from laughing!

~~~~~

If you would like to see

more A-Z players just 

link to this POCO !!!

A-Z 2014 Challenge O is for Olvidado

Olvidado = I forgot

Finger of Forgetfulness  April 17, 2014

From the Spanish verb olvidar.

Have you ever tied a string 

on your finger so you don't forget?

Go AQUI to see more A-Z players!

Don't forget!!

A-Z 2014 Challenge N is for Noche

Noche = Night or Evening

 Church of Santo Domingo de Guzman 

Oaxaca City, Oaxaca Mexico 

May 2009

Church of Santo Domingo de Guzman

After the sun sets the peaceful evening begins....

Buenos noches = Good evening.

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Go AQUI to find more A-Z participants!

  

A-Z 2014 Challenge. M is for Mesa!

Mesa = Table

 Electronic Conversations with Laptops

 Loreto, Baja Sur, Mexico March 2014

Fine Dining with the Olsons!

Loreto, Baja Sur, Mexico, March 2014 

We are all guilty of this new

practice- electronic conversations

while sitting together! Fortunately 

we do know when to put them away!

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To see more A-Z's go AQUI!

A-Z 2014 Challenge! L is for Libras

Libras = Books

 

Book Club Poster  April 2014

Books and reading have been a very

important part of my life. 

I love to read!
What were some of your favorite 
books as a child? I read and re-read
Tom Sawyer, Little Women, Alice in Wonderland,
Secret Garden and Winnie the Pooh.
~~~~~ 

To see more A-Z Challengers

go Here! 

Have a great day and go read a book!

A-Z 2014 Challenge K is for Kilo!

Kilo = Kilo

There are very few words in Spanish that

begin with a K that need translation. 

My Spanish dictionary only has 33 words

that begin with a K and most of them

 are from the English language.

 A kilo is 2.2 pounds.

Thank goodness my bathroom scale

 is in pounds not kilos! 

I had a few pounds to lose after our lazy days

in Mexico eating and drinking with abandon!

Facing the truth after a vacation

April 10, 2014

To view more A-Z Challengers

just click Here

A-Z 2014 Challenge J is for Jugo!

Jugo = Juice

Two Tequila Sunrises 

March 16, 2014

Loreto, Baja Sur, Mexico

Much more than just orange juice...

It was an afternoon that required

Tequila Sunrises!!

After all we only had two more days

before we had to leave..... 

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To see more participants in the 

A-Z 2014 Challenge go here:

Ole!

A-Z 2014 Challenge I is for Iglesia

Iglesia = Church

Loreto Mision  March 13, 2014 

Mision de Nuestra Senora de Loreto Concho

Loreto Mision at Night  March 17, 2014

Go here to learn more about the Loreto Mision

And go here to see more A-Z Challengers 

A-Z 2014 Challenge H is for Helado

Helado = Ice Cream

I needed some ice cream after this hike!

Yesterday I took a hike up

Black Butte- I've been wanting

to do this for ages!

We first walked by Mt Shasta-

it has a bit more snow now...

Past the Eddy mountains...

Above is the summit ....

Ahead is the boulder strewn path...

On my left is a long drop....

I turned around at this point on the trail-

I wimped out! It was another 1000'

to climb and not quite a mile to the top.

But as my hiking friend said when

he got back from going to the top-

"I should have stopped too"

I guess the path didn't improve and was

pretty difficult coming back down.
We both needed ice cream....two scoops!
Maybe a triple scoop ice cream cone!

~~~~~~~~~~~

Go here to see more A-Z players.

A-Z 2014 Challengers

and here's more info on Black Butte !