20 posts tagged “all living things large and small”

I saw this dog at a pub accompanying her owners. I think she was a rescue dog. She had sad eyes...

I saw the headline this morning. Big Frown = Big Brown... I follow the major horse racings and yesterday was no exception. Everyone thought Big Brown was going to make the Triple Crown after 30 year drought! Not so... He was completely out of contention at the final stretch. I am disappointed that he didn't make it but I just feel bad for him. Horses know when they lose the race. (Of course they wouldn't know how much they lost!!)

Mr Martini and I bet against him, his odds were too much for us to bet any money. 1-4!? Wait a minute, they expect us to lose money!? So we bet for those horses that had bad odds. This turned out to be a good thing for us. We made $619 (Exacta 6-4). 

I'm relieved that Big Brown wasn't hurt. Maybe he should've been scratched. He could still race later. I feel so sorry for him to be surrounded by the first class assholes like Rich Dutrow & Co.. He deserves better.

One last thing - what Da'Tara (the  winner) did. He led the race from the beginning to the end (aka wire to wire). Do you know how amazing that is? Do you know how far the course is? When I first saw him jump out to lead the race, I thought he was done, meaning he wouldn't make the final turn. Ooh was I wrong or what!? He was simply amazing...

Living in New York City, the only nature I can come close to is Central Park. Thankfully I live nearby so I can see the changes in the season, enjoy the nature to a certain extent. 

I've never seen pelicans so close before. I've seen them flying by. They are rather particular-looking birds, aren't they? I don't want to use the word "ugly" but...

Mr Martini and I had a little incident with Purple martins while we were in the South. A baby martin accidentally came out of the nest and her claw got stuck in the little hole.  We managed to rescue her but put her in the wrong spot (we should've placed her in the middle box instead of the left side...). We heard a lot of chirping from the birdhouse but the papa and mama only went in and out of the middle box. Our little one was in the left box. As we got concerned, we checked the box and found the baby bird dead. I was pretty upset.

 

We visited Mr. Martini's hometown this past weekend. There we met lovely Kate. She is Mr Martini's parents' neighbor's dog. Sounds complicated?? She is a five-month old Yellow Lab. I was missing my own pups, so she became my surrogate! She was super fun and adorable.

 

It took a while for me to write this blog. This year's Kentucky Derby was a very sad time for me.

I love animals. And more so I love horses. As I live in a city, the only way for me to see horses is to watch horse racing. I rarely bet any money and at the end of each race, the only thing on my mind is that all the horses were healthy and safe. It is so wonderful to see those beautiful horses running their hearts out.

When I saw what happened to Eight Belles (the only filly in the race) last Saturday, my heart sank. It was beyond heartbreaking. They make this sports (aka horse racing) something of an elite and fancy event. The horses that actually run these races have no say in it. They  just run because they are told to.

This is an abusive sports just like other animal sports that have been long banned. I don't think the horse racing will be banned anytime soon. There are too many people who are making money from it. I wish it were stopped. I know these horses that make to the coveted Kentucky Derby are considered lucky. The rest that are not "profitable" are slaughtered. It's awful. Even when they make to this event, they are whipped and run with all they have... For what? So humans can make a lot of money from their efforts. Yeah, they get carrots probably.

These horses are sacrificed for humans' leisure. Nothing else. It ought to be stopped. We are too civilized for something like this.

It's so hard to capture the birds in action!  I hope I will get better  at it soon. Also I entered this picture in Central Park's Spring Photo Contest. I'd appreciate if you vote for this picture. :-) 

A white heron returns to Turtle Pond every spring. Also  a goose couple returned as well. Last year they didn't appear (thanks to the goose-chasing patrol). Hopefully I will be able to see their cute family again.