Dogs and Bison and Elk, Oh My!

Posted photos from Fleming Park, October 2011

Dogtoberfest at Last!

YAY!!! Back in the car!!!

    My lil' mix-up with dates yesterday didn't dampen my interest in heading back out to Blue Springs to attend Dogtoberfest today! Tomorrow the weather is supposed to cool significantly, and it looks like rain this week, so it made sense to maximize the outdoor time this weekend...

   Kelly and the pooches and I jumped in the car and we were off! We grabbed lunch at one of the stands, then watched a sheep-herding border collie, a dock-diving Boston terrier, and a mixed breed snatching Frisbees from the air. There were many breed rescue groups, and we saw many greyhounds, Frenchies, shaggy mutts, an Aki, and one other Shiba. (In addition to hundreds & hundreds of other dogs.) This is the place where Aki & Tay accepted their Good Citizen Awards last year. Click here for last year's photos.

   After we got our doggy fix, I drove back to where we were yesterday—I really wanted Kelly to see the buffalo and elk. I had packed a few apples to entice them, and they were as game to greet us as they were yesterday. Buffalo Number 136 was a bit of a bully, hogging the apples, shooing away smaller buffalo, and head-butting the fence in the pause between apple slices. Brat.

The elk were slightly less pushy, but equally hungry...

Bowing to this little boy = adorable

To the victor goes the spoils... err, carrots

Blue Springs Elk

   Not to be outdone by the friendly buffalo, a herd of young elk crowded the fence to snatch some carrots from a group of kids who came to see them.

Ready for my close-up:

Tired of being bullied by the young females, he gives up:

The rest of the flock:

 The Shibas pick another fight, with a 500-700 lb. animal:

Uh-oh... we'd better get out of here!

   On the way home, a female white-tailed deer crossed the road right in front of us, and we passed a pasture full of cattle. So Sawako & I got to see a lot of Missouri wildlife today!