Today, as we near the end of July we also coming to the end of our retrospective, of the wandering through my art gallery ~ my walk down memory lane.
Today is also the International Day of Friendship ~ so very appropriate as this month of looking back over years and years has refreshed my memory of so very much shared and the friends made through this little blog.
You ~ the beautiful people who have come into and become an important part of my life. You ~ lasting friendships. You ~ people who have made it better. You ~ who have shared good times and hard times, with smiles, with caring. You ~ who have shared your love of pets, a special bond between us. You ~ for whom I give thanks each and every day.
September 2012 through the following September was a time of great change for me, for my family. In mid June of 2013, a major move took place traveling from south to north, Florida to Maryland. Maggy and Zoey, the two little kitties of the Land of Zoolatry, though also moving, did not join me on my journey ~ each living happily ever after, for many years in their respective new homes, with new pet parents and fur-siblings. During this transition, the Zoolatry blog went silent for a time. This blog header and poem were published during the time we were offline.
~ WALK WITH ME ~
Throughout 2020 and into 2022, we published a random series of posts under the label "Walk With Me". As a newcomer to the city of Baltimore, I was learning about my new home, all it had to offer ~ and exploring (as best one could do during a pandemic!). I found beauty, old and new. Culture, great museums, history and architecture, hidden neighborhoods both ethnic and vibrant, things unexpected and all offering so much to resident and visitor alike. For years, this city has received what one would call "bad press", portrayed harshly in movies and television series, and like most cities even today, it does face huge social/economic/political problems ~ but my hope was that the "Walk With Me" series would show a different side, the good side, for it is here.
This year, 2023, I've not been able to enjoy as many walkabouts, nearby or in farther reaches of town. First a fractured ankle put me down temporarily, and now a torn meniscus is taking its time to heal ~ and as with many of you, our spring into summer has had an excessive number of hot, humid or stormy days, and others with orange-to-red smoke filled skies. None of this is very conducive to being a walker ... but I am hopeful for the time to come soon when each week will find me walking-about.
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Here, a few images ~ all within blocks of where I now live, the Mount Vernon Cultural District.
~ Random Retrospective ~
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Going back, way way back ~ as best I remember pre-2010, I had a companion blog to Zoolatry ~ titled My Mind's Eye, Zoolatry II. There's no recall as to just when it began, or when it was officially closed. But while open and posting, it was devoted exclusively to family images, and to images where I'd "practice, learn and use" Adobe Photoshop tools to alter original photographs.
The ones shown here are among my favorites, the technique generally to convert the photograph to black-and-white and then to "paint" it with color. Trying to achieve the impression of soft pastels or watercolors. Only the first picture, and last diverge from this somewhat by use of more vivid colors.
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Once upon a time in Florida, summer 2013 ~ my home had been sold, plans made to move North. Sadly, Maggy and Zoey would not make the move with me. Each would be going to new ~ but wonderful and loving homes.
So many stories could be told about the years that followed ~ Zoey's amazing times until she crossed her Rainbow Bridge in April of 2020, but here we'll just share a little about Zo and her "best brother, Pip".
And though Zoey now lives in our hearts and memories, it is with smiles and love that we can say that handsome Pip is still with us, living the good life ... a "snow-cat", wintering in Florida and spending his summers here in Maryland. Below, Pip and Zoey, and just a few of their times together.
Down Florida way, watching geckoes.
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THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER . . .
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NO MEOWING ~ NO BARKING
Although there's little question that cats and dogs have filled the pages of this blog for most of its for years, "zoolatry" is defined in this way: 1) the worship of animals, and 2) extreme or excessive devotion to animals (especially pets). It derives from the Greek word zoon for animal, and the Latin word latria, for worship.
Given the chance, I've always enjoyed photographing all ~ any animal, and given a second chance, taken the opportunity to work with that image in photoshop. Here, from our archives, assembling some old favorites into montages.
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Photographs originally taken at the Smithsonian National Zoo, Washington, DC
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Photographs from a visit to a rural Maryland farm and petting zoo for children.
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If you don't have much visiting time today ~ then skip along to another friends blog post, seriously! Does anyone remember the days of Thursday Thirteen? When we'd all post thirteen images, maybe on a single topic, or maybe just random stuff!
Yes, seriously! We've gathered up a collection of thirteen posts from 2008 through this year. Cartoons, comments, conversations, comedy ~ cat, of course ~ and more. With Angels Mag and Zo, Angel Brandy, our two grandboys (at younger ages), Chewy and Angel Dio .. and of course, June. Sit back, scroll down, here we go!
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