Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

I’m visiting The Romance Studio – the Rainbow blog – and talking about the setting for Seeking Kokopelli, which is out in print this week. I hope you’ll visit because I’ve included some of my holiday snaps.

Here’s the link to The Romance Studio

This week my Camera Critter is an elephant seal. We stopped at Point Piedras Blancas when driving from Monterey down the Big Sur in the US. The male elephant seals look really weird with their “trunks”. They’re definitely not attractive animals. They hang around the beach with harems of females and fight each other. The seal pups are often crushed by the adults who are very large. They’re unpredictable in behavior–definitely not animals to approach on the beach. We kept a healthy distance!

To view more animal photos visit Camera Critters

I took this photo of a labyrinth at The Village Green Resort in Cottage Grove, Oregon. It’s a simple turf labyrinth and is a replica of one from 9th century Aachen in Germany.

I didn’t realize there was a difference between a maze and a labyrinth and learned differently during my visit. A labyrinth has one entrance and one exit. It doesn’t have any dead ends. A maze has a high hedge (or corn in modern mazes) and is actually a puzzle because it contains lots of twists and turns and dead ends. Mazes are used for entertainment such as the one at Hampton Court near London. I’ve explored the Hampton Court one and managed to get lost but finally made the center with hubby’s help. Labyrinths are used as a compliment to meditation or prayer. I walked this one and found it very soothing. I think it would make a good spot for plotting a book or for pondering plot problems.

Have you ever explored a maze or walked a labyrinth?

My husband took this photo of the saddle broncs at the Cody Nite Rodeo. The night rodeo was a fun event and we enjoyed it very much. My favorite event is the bullriding. One day I might get to the PBR finals at Las Vegas.

To see more animal photos visit Camera Critters

We came across these mountain goats on the side of the road near Mt. Rushmore. Hubby and I were more excited about seeing them than the president’s faces. The animals ignored us as they took a drink from the water that trickled down a rock face.

To see more photographs of animals visit Camera Critters.

This photo was taken at the Rocky Mountain National Park. As you can see, the elk is wearing a tracking device. We saw quite a few elk during our travels.

To see more photographs of animals visit Camera Critters.

The Columbia River is a huge river and we spent some time driving beside it, driving over it on the Astoria Bridge (longest bridge in the USA) and looking down on it. No doubt about it, the river is impressive. So is the wildlife. This is a heron fishing in the Columbia River.

To see more photographs of animals visit Camera Critters.

One of the animals Mr. Munro most wanted to see during our last trip to the US was a bull moose. We came across this one while driving in the Grand Teton area. It was a hot day and he was ambling down the small waterway, ignoring all the tourists taking photos of him.

To see more animal photographs visit Camera Critters.

This photo was taken at Bear Country in South Dakota, USA. Mr. Munro and I loved watching the bears because some of them were real characters. This one wasn’t letting any traffic past.

To see more photos visit Camera Critters.

Photobucket has a new feature called scrapbooking. Here’s my first attempt…

They had lots of different themes for days out at the zoo, Christmas, Halloween and birthdays. Go and check them out if you have a moment. It wastes time.