Bunny Rabbit Hare

1. Lop-Eared Rabbit
2. Bugs Bunny
3. Flemish Giant Rabbit
4. Arctic Hare
5. Lionhead Rabbit
6. Rabbit Balloon
7. Tortoise & Hare
8. Cute Bunnies
9. Chocolate Bunnies
10. Eastern Cottontail

  This Easter weekend we thought it would be a good time to take a look at our top 10 bunny encounters.  Here they are in no particular order.

1 ) Lop-Eared Rabbit

A friend of ours used to care for a very cute lop-eared bunny.  A lop-eared bunny is a bunny whose long ears hang (we guess you could say lop) down.  You will notice all of the other bunnies in this blog post have ears that stand straight up or sit back on top of their heads. 

2)  Bugs Bunny

One of the all-time favourite bunnies is Bugs Bunny from the Looney Tunes cartoons.  He is among a short list of animated characters to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The outline drawing of Bugs Bunny (above) was in the Warner Brothers Studio's Museum.

3)  Flemish Giant Rabbit

From Bugs Bunny we go to Big Bunny.  A Flemish giant rabbit can weigh up to 10 kg and grow to about 30 inches long.  It is one of the largest domesticated rabbits.  The bunny above was at the Toronto Zoo for a short time and shared an enclosure with the wombats and wallabies.  Perhaps it had outgrown its previous living space.

4)  Arctic Hare

While we were in Churchill, Manitoba we spotted this hare just across the road from our lodge.  While it may not be the smartest thing to do in polar bear territory at night, we headed outside to try and get a closer look.  Luckily, he stood still long enough for us to get the picture above.  It took us some time to determine if this was an arctic hare or a snowshoe hare as both inhabit Churchill. We read about one having bigger feet or ears than the other.  Some reports said that one has bigger eyes or fluffier fur.  We made our determination by the black on the ears.  As far as we can tell arctic hares (like this one) have black just on the top tip of their ears while snowshoe hares have a black edge that may cover the tip, but runs further along the ear as well.

5)  Lionhead Rabbit

A lionhead rabbit is bred to have a mane around its face like a lion.  They end up looking like little balls of fur with ears. We wondered how they can even see where they are hopping.  When taking pictures, the bunny below did flash us a look from beneath all that fur just to let us know he was in there. The lionhead above is from Prickly Ball Farm and the lionhead below is from Far Enough Farm.

6)  Rabbit Balloon

Artist Jeff Koons had a piece of his art appear in Toronto's Nuit Blanche 2009.  It was simply named Rabbit Balloon.  It featured a giant shiny silver bunny that was floating inside the Eaton Centre.  This bunny also once floated in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2007.

7)  Tortoise & Hare

In Boston's Copley Square is a sculpture of a tortoise and a hare.  It was installed as a tribute to runner's of the famous Boston Marathon. It is based on the popular fable of The Tortoise & the Hare. The fable tells the story of a rabbit who was so confident in his ability to outrun the tortoise that during a race he ran ahead and took a nap.  While he napped the tortoise passed by heading for the finish line.  The hare finally awoke and tried to catch up, but it was too late.

8)  Cute Bunnies

We think that all rabbits are cute.  There is something special about a tiny bunny that you can pick up and hold in your hands while it sits quietly twitching its little nose.  These cuties are from the Toronto Zoo kid's section and from Jungle Cat World.

9)  Chocolate Bunnies

Chocolate shaped like eggs is good.  Chocolate shaped like bunnies is good.  This bunny above is a box from Teuscher Chocolates and hides a chocolate truffle in its belly.  We like chocolate.

10) Eastern Cottontail

The one rabbit that we have encountered the most is the eastern cottontail.  Actually we have eaten more chocolate bunnies and watched more Bugs Bunny cartoons than we have had encounters with eastern cottontails.  Let's try that again.  The eastern cottontail is the wild rabbit that we have encountered the most.  Sometimes when you least expect it you look out into the yard and there is one munching away on something.  Here comes Peter Cottontail hopping down the bunny trail!

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Map of Our World
Toronto Zoo (Australasia Pavilion) , Toronto Zoo (Kids Zoo) , Jungle Cat World Wildlife Park , Prickly Ball Farm , Lazy Bear Lodge , Far Enough Farm
Teuscher Toronto
Tortoise & Hare , Eaton Centre
Hollywood Walk of Fame

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Post # 171

Mama's Fish House

Location: Maui,Hawaii,USA
Address: 799 Poho Pl.
Date: Feb 2017
Website: www.mamasfishhouse.com

   Mama's Fish House is rated as not only one of the top restaurants in Hawaii, but in the USA.  We have been lucky enough to eat at Mama's twice during our Hawaiian vacations.  What makes Mama's so special?  Well, for starters it is located on the beautiful island of Maui.  Even the Jack In The Box in Kahului gets extra points for its island location.

  Mama's Fish House is also situated on a small, secluded section of beach with a light breeze and the soothing sound of waves.

  The first time we visited Mama's we had a reservation.  If you want to ensure yourself a good table we recommend that you reserve before you even arrive in Maui.  We had a lunch reservation on the last day of our trip before heading to the airport.  We were earlier than our reservation time so we had to wait for our table.  While we waited we enjoyed the view and even spotted sea turtles in the water below.  Before we knew it our table was ready.

  We were lucky enough to be seated with a beach view (below).

 

  Mama's always has great food, great atmosphere and great service.  One thing they do on their menu is print both the fisherman's name and the location where the fish was caught.  They do the same thing with farmers to show their support of the local industry and how fresh their food is. 

  On our second visit to Mama's we did not have a reservation, but we got lucky.  Parking spaces are limited so there is only valet parking.  We drove up to the valet and they asked if we had a reservation.  Just as the valet was telling us "Sorry", a spot opened up at the bar.

  The bar is a small section where you could eat, but it is not as nice as having a proper table.

  After leaving our car with the valet we walked down the stairs and across the front of the restaurant.  On the way we were greeted by a brown anole before arriving at the hostess.  We were lucky again as now the hostess informed us that a table had just opened up.

 

  From appetizer to dessert everything was always delicious and perfectly prepared.  It is well worth the higher price tag.  Their signature dish is crab stuffed Mahimahi with a macadamia nut crust.  It was delectable.

  After enjoying our dinner we headed back out to the beach. 

  A group of people had gathered near the water's edge.  We then noticed that two of the rocks seemed to be loose.  On closer inspection we realized that once again we had found green sea turtles off of Mama's Maui shore.  These two turtles were enjoying a feast of their own.

 

  A Hawaiian green sea turtle is called a honu and is said to be good luck.  Getting a table at Mama's Fish House is also good luck and a delicious meal you won't soon forget.

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Map of Our World
Mama's Fish House

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Post # 166

Maui Releasing The Sun

Location: Maui, Hawaii, USA
Address: 1 Keolani Pl
Date: Feb 2017
Website: hawaii.gov/ogg

  Maui is one of our favourite places in the world.  When your vacation is over and you are reluctantly departing from the Kahului Airport you can see a statue of Maui.  It is located in a small garden area just before the security check.  In Hawaiian mythology, Maui is a powerful man who is responsible for you throughly enjoying your vacation.

  There are many myths involving Maui, but here are two of the most popular.  The first myth has to do with the creation of the Hawaiian islands.  It is said that Maui used a special fish hook and caught the bottom of the ocean floor.  He then told his brothers to row their boat with all their might.  They rowed and rowed as hard as they could.  Behind them an island rose out of the ocean.  Maui did this several times to create the Hawaiian island chain.

  Maui is also said to be responsible for the sun moving so slowly across the Hawaiian sky. His mother complained to Maui that she was unable to get anything to dry as the days were too short. Maui climbed up Haleakala which is a dormant volcano that rises 10000 feet at its peak.  As the sun appeared over the clouds Maui lassoed the sun and captured it.  We also went to the top of Haleakala and captured the sun, but only with our cameras.

  The sign as you enter Haleakala National Park shows Maui with the sun in his grasp.  In order to be released again, the sun agreed to shine longer over the Hawaiian islands each day.  The statue at the airport is called Maui Releasing The Sun and depicts Maui letting the sun return to the sky.

 
  So as the sun sets out over the edge of the Pacific Ocean and you settle back in your chair lulled by the sound of the crashing waves you should be thankful for another beautiful day in Hawaii.  Whether it be because of the man or the island, you owe it all to Maui.

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Map of Our World
Maui Releasing The Sun , Haleakala National Park Sign
Haleakalā National Park Visitor Center

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Post # 164

Wild Roosters

Location: Daintree, Australia
Address: Mount Alexandra Lookout
Date: May 2012
Website: www.npsr.qld.gov.au

  Jan 28, 2017 is the start of Chinese New Year.  This year is the year of the rooster.  On our travels we have seen many different types of chickens, but this blog is about feral chickens.  Feral chickens are chickens that have left domesticated life behind and taken to the wild.

 

  In Hawaii, the road to Hana is a winding right of passage for many tourists.  The road has many twists and turns as you make your way along the beautiful Maui coastline.  We encountered some Red Junglefowl at one of the first parking lots we stopped (picture at top of post).  The  roosters had beautiful feather combinations of red, yellow, orange, green and white.

 

  While in Australia we took a tour that brought us into the Daintree rainforest.  The Daintree is Australia's largest tropical rainforest.  At Mount Alexandra Lookout we encountered another group of feral chickens.  An Australorp is a special Australian chicken that is usually black with a red beak and a red comb.  The comb is the part on top of the rooster's head.  Again these chickens were just roaming the parking lot without a farm in sight.

  Instead of calling these wild or feral chickens we think there should be a new classification called Parking Lot Roosters.  While in the Daintree we noticed a small little fruit stand at the corner of the parking lot.  It appeared to be operating on the honour system as no one was around.  We wondered if it was the result of entrepeneurial chickens or if they were secretly the security guards.  Happy New Year roosters!

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Map of Our World
Mount Alexandra Lookout , Hana Highway

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Post # 159

Santa Barbara County Courthouse

Location: Santa Barbara, California, USA
Address: 1100 Anacapa St.
Date:  Feb 2014
Website:  sbcourthouse.org

  If you find yourself in court, you could do far worse than the Santa Barbara County Courthouse.  The courthouse was built in 1926 and is a great example of Spanish Colonial Architecture.  We spent some time enjoying the building as well as the surrounding grounds during our visit.

  As you approach the courthouse, an archway states "Dios nos dio los campos El arte humana edificó ciudades".  This means "God gave us the country, the skill of man hath built the town."

  Two figures sit above the archway.  The figure in the photo above looks like a male version of the familiar Justice statue.  He appears to be holding a sword in one hand and scales in the other.

  Next to the archway is the Spirit of the Ocean fountain.  This is a hand carved replica of the original  courthouse fountain.  The original had deteriorated through the years and it was decided that it must be replaced.  The replica was unveiled in 2011.

The inside of the courthouse is equally impressive with its long hallways.  Even the "Quiet. Court is in session" sign is unique.

 

  Intricate mosaic tiles adorned benches and stairwells.  The courthouse truly is a work of art inside and out.

  One court room which is a popular wedding spot is the Mural Room.  All of its walls are covered with a giant mural.

  No trip to the courthouse is complete without a trip up the clock tower.

  Just before reaching the viewing area at the top of the tower is the clock room.  This houses a Seth Thomas tower clock which ticks away the time.

  You can also see bells hanging from the ceiling inside to save space. This way everyone can visit the top of the tower and enjoy the view.

 

 

 

  From the top of the tower you can see the red tiled rooftops of Santa Barbara. You can tell that the Spanish Colonial style is popular all across the town.  Behind the town you can see the Santa Ynez mountains.  Out across the ocean you can see oil rigs trying to hide behind the hazy sky.

  As you look straight down from the tower you are looking into the sunken garden on the courthouse grounds.

 

  We descended the tower and headed out into the gardens.  We were glad that we were only visiting as tourists. If we found ourselves on trial at this courthouse at least there would be many beautiful distractions.

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Map of Our World
Santa Barbara County Courthouse

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Post # 143