Sunday, March 28, 2010

Like Deer in Headlights

When I went for my run Saturday morning, I was a little disappointed not to see more wildlife. I've seen cranes and herons and wild turkeys while running in Florida. Around a deserted, overgrown, brushy area, I'm always a little concerned about the remaining Florida panther jumping onto my back. I've even seen snakes slithering on the road. Yesterday, though, I saw only a few mockingbirds and backyard dogs. The statuary animals are plentiful though. That's when I decided to do a fake animal tour.
This woodpecker is in my parents' backyard. One day I called the kids to quietly come look because I thought it was real. Okay, I was at a bad angle at the time. He looks quite wooden now. This fish mailbox isn't pretending to be a real animal, but he is pretty awesome.
Why the fake duck? Are we really a country in need of more ducks or geese. In some business complexes they are poisoning the geese or letting dogs loose to get rid of the geese. Do we need more fake ducks and geese?
Bunnies in the garden? Really? These homeowners would probably go crazy if some real bunnies hopped into their flower bed. My mom, who used to have a lot of cats that hung around outside, says they now have a rabbit that sticks close by. As soon as we got out of the car the other night, a little bunny came dashing through the front yard followed by a big white cat with a black tail. These bunny statues are going nowhere.
I always have trouble remembering which is which, but egrets are tall white birds and herons are gray, I think. I'm guessing these guys are egrets. They look kind of regal don't they?
Pink flamingoes used to be ubiquitous in Florida. Now all I could find was these wooden versions with wings that flap in the wind. If you look to the right of the flamingo, you'll see a gray blob that turns out to be an actual animal. A cat that stood up and stretched in these weeds after I took the picture.
The pelican is an impressive Florida bird. He was going extinct not that long ago but now you see squadrons of them swooping over the Gulf of Mexico and diving down with a splash.

My final fake animal picture isn't of a fake animal, but a warning to a real animal. A man who lives not too far from my parents put up this sign and I love the fact that it is addressed directly to the animal, who we hope can read and heed the warning.
With threats like this, maybe that explains why there are so few real animals around for me to take pictures of!

3 comments:

Stephanie said...

Love the fake animial tour! I thought that woodpecker was real at first too!

Linda said...

I love that mailbox. Someone has a great sense of humor-and loves fishing if I'm not mistaken.

A Fake Animal Lover said...

Hilarious more enjoyable than a not fake tour.

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