We did get a new addition to our ‘family’… chickens!  All of the hens we have right now are still young, but they should start laying eggs in another month or so.  I have wanted to have chickens for a long time and not sure why it took me so long to do it.  I LOVE them!  We set up the coop so that we can move it around the yard so they’ve got a variety of weeds and grass to eat along with their regular food and treats.  As much as I’d like them to be true ‘free range’ chickens..there’s just way too many hawks and owls around here to let these little chickens loose on our property.  We have talked about getting some larger, hardier chickens in the future to create a free-range flock that would be more adept at avoiding predators because chickens really control the bug population and I’d love to have a flock out there destroying the bugs in the summer

Here’s a few photos of the new additions…we are probably picking up a couple of other hens this week too.

Alfredo – Silkie Rooster

Henny Penny – mixed breed hen

Blackie Chan – mixed breed hen

For example, this photo below would be tagged:   circle b bar reserve, lakeland, florida, polk county, duck, bird, flight, black bellied whistling duck, juvenile.

I’ve got the location covered, the type of animal it is, the specific name of the animal, and also the fact that it’s a juvenile and in flight.

That way, should someone be looking for a Florida duck in flight, or some sort of wildlife from Polk County, this image would be returned in their search on flickr and possibly through a google search as well.

Also, make sure that there’s a way for someone to contact you other than through flickr messages.  Some of these companies or individuals looking for images don’t have a flickr account.  Update your flickr profile to include a way for them to contact you outside of flickr, such as a link to your contact page on your website or blog.  I have my flickr profile updated and I also have my website address right in my watermark that I place on all of my photos.

That’s about it for tagging.  For me, it’s important.  It helps me locate my own images on flickr and it helps other people find my images on flickr.

I have also started my journey to quit smoking.  Yep…during my flare up.  What was I thinking?  A friend of mine tried, The Safe Cig.  It’s an electronic cigarette.  You smoke it as if it were a real one but you’re not getting the damaging smoke in your lungs, you’re just taking in the nicotine.  It’s similar to the patch, the gum, etc…. except it looks (and acts) like a real cigarette.  I’ve been on it a little over three weeks now.  The first two weeks I fell off the wagon several times, but now I’m at the point where I haven’t had a real cig in over a week.  I’m very happy with it.  If you’re interested in which one I use…it’s The Safe Cig Micro and it can be found HERE.  The refills I’ve tried are Classic and Turkish, both are great.  Classic is kind of like your typical Marlboro and Turkish has a flavor closer to Camels.  Both are really good.

Here’s a photo of me holding the actual e-cig, with the box it comes in to give you an idea of the size and how it looks.  If you’re looking to quit, I highly recommend this brand.  Plus, it’s cheaper.  A refill pack runs $16.95…that’s the equivalent of 7 packs of cigarettes.  Normally, down here in Florida 7 packs would probably run you around $40.00 or more.

Recently, one of my Florida Panther images was used in a brochure for the FWC.  We picked a few of them up at the Florida Panther Festival last weekend.  Here’s a photo of me with the brochure and my photo

The other day my husband took Earl outside to play fetch and I decided to grab the camera (which I really haven’t done much with lately).  So, without further ado… here’s Earl doing what he does best:

This is my first flare up in over seven years.  The first time I got sick it was pretty bad (back around 2001 or 2002) and lasted quite awhile.  I lost 50 pounds that first time.  This time, since I know what to avoid eating and other things to do to get my body back on track I’ve only lost around 15 pounds.  I was able to go through my closet and my dresser and remove all the clothes that no longer fit (were too big) and it was fun for awhile..like a few minutes.  Then, you realize you’re sick, you feel like crap, and don’t care about fitting into those skinny jeans and going out to do something fun.  With the gout I got in my right ankle I couldn’t drive the Jeep so that was a little upsetting.  Not that I WANTED to go somewhere, but just the fact that I knew I couldn’t just grab my camera, hop in the Jeep and go out for a few hours to do some wildlife photography was pretty sucky.  Another thing that sucks, is I LIKE to eat, I LIKE to cook, I just LIKE food.  When you’re sick, every single bite you take you wonder, “Is this going to cause me pain?”,  or “Is this going to make me throw up?”.  It’s amazing how your attitude to food changes so suddenly.

My ankle is feeling better now (although still swollen), and I’ve been able to drive.  I’m hoping to try and at least get out and do a little wildlife photography this weekend.

I’ve been going through my EHD’s and found some printable posters I made awhile back and figured I’d share them.  I got the ideas from some prints I’ve seen on pinterest and figured I’d make my own.  They are all sized 8″x10″, 300dpi and in JPG format.  You can print them out on your home printer or send the files off to your favorite lab.  Whatever you’d like.  These are FREE and I ask that you do NOT sell them or use them commercially in any way.

The download link is below the preview!

Download all four of the printables —> HERE <—

Enjoy!