Monday, October 30, 2017

S.O.A.R. (Save Our American Raptors) at Dollinger Family Farm


 Wesley and I decided to take a little road trip to see some raptors (the birds, not the dinos, lol)...
S.O.A.R. is this wonderful non-profit organization that dedicated to the welfare of Illinois's native birds of prey. The founder/directors of S.O.A.R. are licensed master falconers, rehabilitators, falcon breeders, raptor banders, and educators. They have NO paid staff or adminstrators, it is strictly volunteer! 100% of any donations goes to the care and rehabilitation of the birds. They bring birds for programs, and let me tell you, you'll most likely never see a bird of prey this close otherwise. I highly recommend attending one of their programs. Watch for them to be at Starved Rock State Park in Illinois in February.
S.O.A.R. was having a program at Dollinger Family Farm so we decided to check it out. After the program we walked around a bit and it was pretty neat. I'd like to go back next season for sure (as of the writing of this, today is the last day of the 2017 season). There is plenty to do and see for families, and it's spread out nicely, I never felt crowded even though it was busy (they had a trick or treat just before the bird program). I included links for both SOAR and the farm at the bottom of the page..

First to come out was Deshka. She's from Alaska and was found in the Deshka River. Here right wing was hurt and never healed properly, so she became a SOAR ambassador. She's absolutely beautiful... She is also much bigger than eagles you might see in the lower U.S. 
I love to photograph her...














Next we have Bashful the turkey vulture, with Berni (The Executive Director and founder of SOAR, she also a Falconer). Sorry, I think he's cute. But he can be a bit stinky (I won't tell you that story, lol)




Then George (also a director of SOAR, as well as founder and falconer) brought out Dickens the owl. Dickens is a bit of a celebrity. He was in promotional posters for the first Harry Potter film!! (With a little digital enhancing, of course)

  



Dickens showing off a little...


 Bashful didn't feel the need to show off, much.. He did take a couple of bows though, lol...


After the program, we wandered around and checked out a few things. I think we found Bubba's (my yorkie/poodle) soul mate in a young mini donkey...











S.O.A.R. (Save Our American Raptors)

Dollinger Family Farm

** ALL photos on this blog are property of Christi Bushby, copyrighted and protected as such by law. Please see my copyright page for details and/or permissions of use. 


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Friday, October 27, 2017

HairMania at Hard Rock Four Winds Casino



HairMania... I think the name says it all. I knew by the name that I wanted to go see this band play, and I was right! As a teen of the 80's (and a rock chick), this of course, is some of my favorite fun music. And these guys do it right! So if you're lookin' for Nuthin But A Good Time and want to do more than just Turn Up The Radio, I suggest you catch the Crazy Train and go see HairMania!!

My only issue is that they are based in Kalamazoo Michigan, and I am in Griffith Indiana, so I don't get to see them often enough. Needless to say, I am very thankful for the Hard Rock at Four Winds pretty much being a half way point and I do my best to keep my eyes out for these guys! I've seen them twice now, and I knew I was going to take my camera after the first time.. The lighting at this Hard Rock is really good for photos, so much so I took over 300 as I rocked out, and worked my way down to the best 70 of them.. lol 
Even with that, the drummer of the band is always the hardest to photograph, and they put them behind a plexiglas wall here (they use mics on the drums), so unfortunately, I wasn't able to get very many of him. 

HairMania

J Saint James ~ Lead Vocals
Dr. Scary ~ Guitar, vocals
Trixxy Gunnz ~ Bass, vocals
Mk RoXXX ~ Drums, vocals














I couldn't decide which one I liked better of the following two, so I just included them both, lol...






























































I just loved the smirk on his face in the next one... lol






















HairMania


Hard Rock Four Winds



** ALL photos on this blog are property of Christi Bushby, copyrighted and protected as such by law. Please see my copyright page for details and/or permissions of use. 


Please feel free to share my blog! There are social media buttons on the bottom left for your convenience!

Support local music and the arts!!

"The earth without art is just eh..."