SUNSET

Sunset.

That is my submission to Photo Fryday.

Photos by Carlos A. Mascaro

FLORA, MY DEAR FRIEND

This week's Photo Friday theme is Friend, so here is my great companion and lovely friend Flora!

Flora was born in 1997 and was rescued by my daughter Sofia at the Universidade Estadual Paulista, in Rio Claro's city. Her mother was a stray dog.

Flora loves a piece of meat

Flora enjoys to stroll around Enseada Azul with my husband Carlos

Since she was a puppy she loves to play with balls

Photos by Sonia and Carlos Mascaro

You can see another Flora's photos here and at Modern Pooch

Click on photos to enlarge

FLOWERS BLOOMING IN MY GARDEN

The weather had been beautiful. Blue skies, the sun is shining and it is pleasantly warm!

A nice day to take photos.

Orchid

Little Daisy

Orchid

Orchid

Orchid

Bauhinea variegata (cow’s paw )

You can see this flower on my experience about scanning flowers, here.

Photos by Sonia de Amorim Mascaro

Click on photos to enlarge

FOUR

This is my submission for today's Photo Friday

Luz Station in São Paulo (Light's Station)

The first railway station built in São Paulo in the XIXth century

Shopping Center Iguatemi São Paulo

Shopping Center Iguatemi São Paulo was the first Shopping Center built in Brazil, in 1966.

All photos was taken by Carlos A. Mascaro

Click on photos to enlarge

BURROWING OWL

Burrowing Owl (Coruja Buraqueira) is my submission for today's Photo Friday theme Private.

Photo by Carlos Alckmin Mascaro

I wrote about Burrowing Owl (Coruja Buraqueira) Athene cunicularia (aka Speotyto cunicularia ) here and here, where you can see anothers photos. My husband took these pictures near our house. A couple of beautiful owls just stared at him straight from the top of the kiosk.

I summarize some interesting information about Owls. "The Owl is any of some 200+ species of solitary, mainly nocturnal birds of prey in the order Strigiformes. Owls mostly hunt small mammals, insects, and other birds, though a few species specialize in hunting fish. They are found on all the Earth's lands except for Antarctica, most of Greenland, and some remote islands."

Owls are far-sighted, and are unable to clearly see anything within a few inches of their eyes. Their far vision, particularly in low light, is incredibly good. Many owls can also hunt by sound in total darkness. Different species of owls make different sounds, and a variety of other barking calls and screams. One of which is the recognizable "hoo-hoo” Look on this site, search to find Athene cunicularia Burrowing Owl and click to hear his “hoo-hoo”.

"The Burrowing Owl is an owl of dry, open habitats such as “cerrado” and savannah while it is often found in cities, golf courses and other similar areas. It nests in the ground usually in a burrow excavated by another animal such as a skunk or armadillo."

"Most owls are nocturnal, but several, including the pygmy owls (Glaucidium), are crepuscular, or twilight active, hunting mainly at dawn and dusk. A few owls, such as the Burrowing Owl (Speotyto cunicularia) and the Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus), are also active during the day.