Howdy!

This is the All Creatures Great and Small blog, and boy, did my husband and I ever get to see some wonderful creatures this past week!  We went on a cruise from Miami to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands with a group of writers, but before leaving Miami we went on an Everglades tour.  I’d expected the Everglades to look like the bayou near New Orleans, but the two are very different.  We loved the alligators–and as you can see, I even got to wrestle one.  <g>  Actually, I just got to gently hold him for a quick photo.  But look at the photo of the giant alligator that suddenly climbed out of a canal and approached a man waaaay too closely.  I was using a telephoto at the moment–I’m glad I was farther away! Luckily, the ‘gator turned and went back in the  canal.  Whew!

On Grand Cayman, we went on a boat tour to the Stingray City Sandbar–way out in the Caribbean, in an area where the beautiful, crystal clear  aquamarine water is just waist high. Flocks (herds? Schools?) of stingrays gather there, knowing that they’ll receive treats, and they are amazingly gentle.  They brushed up against us, let us stroke them, and one even let us hold him for a photo.  The stingray in the photo was actually resting on my outstretched arms, and the underbelly felt like wet rubber–a lot like a dolphin!

We went to The Dolphin Experience next, where we got to play with dolphins–sadly, I have no photos of that wonderful afternoon.   What beautiful creatures they are!

Last stop–a sea turtle breeding facility, where they raise turtles to be released into the wild.  The little ones in the photos are just two weeks old.  Aren’t they adorable?  When I gently held one, it rowed vigorously with those long flippers–almost like a baby bird trying to fly.

We’re back home now, and though the trip was incredible, I’m so happy to be back to crisp fall weather, with our dogs and cats, and the horses whinnying  over the fence.What are some of your favorite experience with animals–the most memorable?  I’d love to hear about them!

Blessings, Roxanne