Old Neighbors Return ~ CREATIVE ARTS THURSDAY/FRIDAY
This CATBIRD pair returns to my back yard on May 1 … year-after-year
A family of RED FOXES den in the tunneled-out soil of the roots of an ancient, fallen tree in the woods adjacent to my back yard … year-after-year
One of this years FOX KITS
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Love the photos of the returning critters.
So beautiful ! They like your energy.
Great photos, Mac. The little foxes are just adorable. They, and the other animals and birds, know your love and respect for Mother Nature and Mother Earth, and that they will be safe being near you.
A/noon Raven...Dare I say it but we shoot foxes here..I know they look lovely but the damage they do to our Fauna is horrendous..They are not Native to Australia and deemed a pest and can be shot on sight....They are getting so cunning they are even roaming around during the day and quite a few do get hit by cars...They culled 10,000 in my District alone and did not even dent the population...They have no predators here other than man...
Hi shona,
All living things can become a pest if they create havoc and danger to any given environment.
The Everglades here in Florida has been over run by invasive huge pythons, and created a dangerous environment for the natural animals and plants that live there. So there is always a group who hunt the pythons to remove them from the Everglades.
Good to see you with us again.
Evening Raven..Been a bit of a rough ride I am afraid. Spent 3.5 weeks in Melbourne and came home Saturday..Only had two nights at home and had to go to hospital in my town as I had uncontrolled vomitting..Not sure what the upset was but I just got back home this morning..Feeling very tired but happy to be home...thank you everyone for your good wishes...Oh and I am saving money on shampoo and conditioner and on hair cuts...because I don't have any hair at the moment...
Good to hear from you Shona. As my wife’s caregiver, I certainly can relate to your circumstances, After losing he hair from chemo & her stem cell transplant, once it started to grow back, it did so completely, curly at first which as not the way it was throughout her life, and is now straightening.
Please keep us updated & I wish you well.
I am soo sorry to hear of your rough go, dear shona. Hopefully, the vomiting was only due to your body readjusting itself. I can imaging you are exhausted, and losing all your hair is not uncommon for cancer patients. But, it will eventually grow back. And likely more than you had before. (grin)
I am glad that you are back at home now and can get the rest you need. And never forget, we are always here for you.
YOUR stuff is always great to see.
Great shots Mac!!! You know how I love birds!!!
Hi Nona! Great to see you here again. You have been missed.
Awww, Thanks RW . Things have been crazy here. I hope everything will be calm from now on.
((((((((((((Nona)))))))))))
Thanks RW, I needed that.
A couple of birds I saw on a walk the other day.
I want to see some shots from you when you riding your scooter...We could call it Scooby Doo in flight.
It's actually has to be nice enough when I'm off work to do that. I took Monday off (and the forecast says warm and sunny) so maybe then if I can talk B into taking some shots somewhere.
Sounds good. In Minnie sota anything about 40 degrees is considered warm. Hot is above 50. Yabetcha.
True. We've had a bit of wind off the lake and rain during the weekends here the last few weeks. This week will be no exception. I was hoping to get more work done to get the gardens ready for planting this weekend too. I'll get some fence repair done Saturday morning before the rain starts hopefully.
Photos by Conrad Tan.
Bafflehead in flight
Great Horned Owl
Hoopoe
Wow!
I just discovered Conrad Tan and his photos about a month ago. His work is amazing.
The Bafflehead and Hoopoe are birds I have not seen before. They are really beautiful, their coloring and patterns are truly unique. Thank you for sharing the photos with us Kavika. Conrad Tan does do amazing work.
WOW Chief !! Great job!! I have never seen the second bird. Thanks for sharing these awesome shots.
Here is something to share.....
Feathered friends and sacred feathers.
Thank you Buzz. It is our Sacred and Spirit animals that helps us to face unafraid those challenges that sorely tests our courage and determination.
How absolutely beautiful RW...I can't get over your creative talent.
Thank you so much, Nona.
Looking to the sky....
An ancient astronomical instrument:
The astronomer who used it:
Those photos were taken in the Henan Provincial Museum in Zhengzhou, about 13 years ago.
Wonderful photos Buzz. Do you by chance know the name of the astronomer who used that amazing instrument? The early Asians of what later became the great dynasties were truly very inventive, and astronomy was among their greatest gifts to the world. Native Americans were also very knowledgeable in astrology and astronomy. While Mother Earth taught them the many secrets of our planet, it was Father Sky who helped them learn how to read the heavens that allowed them to survive during the many centuries that they migrated throughout the world and adapted to the many ever changing environments.
It wasn't until later that I started photographing the plaques in front of the displays so I failed to take note of that early astronomer. In most cases the plaques were in Chinese and English, as you may have seen from some of my other photo-essays.
As I am not at all fluent in Chinese, knowing only a few words that I have learned thus far, it helps when they add the English to the plaques as well. I am also learning a bit of Mandarin and Korean from the subtitles.
Notwithstanding my many years here, I was really lazy about learning Mandarin, but I rarely needed to have to know it. In so many cases, such as street signs, subways, train stations and trains, airports and airplanes, department stores, banks, hospitals, major institutions, many restaurant menus etc etc - English is used as well as Chinese. For many years English was China's second language so many people, especially young people, speak at least a little English so I didn't really need to learn Chinese. My wife and I can communicate on everyday matters but if it's something more important and complex, I'll use the computer and Bing Translator. I know many individual names of things, and certain everyday phrases, but no way could I carry on a conversation in Chinese.
That's pretty much what I do with Chinese. And some other languages that I am still learning and not at all conversant in.
Keep 'em coming … I have a number of "FOX" and other pictures to post tomorrow.
Ring Necked Ducks
Great photos EG.
Beautiful photos EG. Love the pair of them in the bottom photo.
Let's keep the thread going!
The Papa (DOG)
© A. Mac/A.G.
Now that is one stunning photo, Mac. What a great shot.
That is a really great looking Fox. love the mixture of coloring.
Mangelsen could not have done better.
Here is my Friday artwork...
A perfect pyramidal composition with great humanity and feeling.
I second that observation.
Thank you Mac. I try to be very careful not to over-do the techniques, so as not to take the focus away from the primary image of the artwork. Yet, I want to the overall artwork to have a unique look and quality to it that will help make the primary image grab the eyes and stand out first, the the surrounding background to enhance the meaning and essence of the overall artwork.
However, that is not always easy to accomplish. Your words of encouragement are gratefully appreciated.
Thank you as well Buzz.
I finally did it. Finally captured it on camera.
I captured on film the ever elusive suburban Chocolate Lab in his natural habitat.
Caught the majestic animal going about his daily business.
Haha. Sorry, wanted to add a little humour.
This is my cousin's dog. Loves to chase squirrels and birds.
And of course play with his Frisbee.
At times, getting the picture is a crap shoot!
What’s happening that I have to log in every time I try to access the site on my iPhone?
Even happens when I’ve checked the remember my login box?
Same thing is happening to me. It has been that way all day, and usually I stay logged in until I actually log out. I have sent TiG a PN asking him to check it out.
I'm experiencing the same thing. I'm having to log in on a constant basis. Something I never had to do before.
I sent TiG a PN explaining what is happening, and I;ll let him know I am not the only one. Hopefully, he will be able to get it fixed soon, it really is a PITA to have to log in every time, even when you have the 'Remember me' box checked. I never log out of the site unless I am working or helping another Member on the site and need to log in as them. But, that is very rare.
Kavika, TiG has sent a message that Jamroom has fixed the problem with the log in. It is now working properly for me. See if it is working OK for you as well.
Hi Mac...Got a message from TiG that Jamroom has fixed the problem. The log in is now working for me and I am staying logged in like it should be. See if it is working for you now as well.
NOT working for me. Will turn my phone off then on to see.
Yes, I had to close my browser and then log in again. Then check the box for Remember me and then close out again, but, not logging out, just closing NT. Then it worked OK.
"And she feeds you tea and oranges that come all the way from China" (Suzanne, by Leonard Cohen)
I admit their tea is very elegant and tasty. A couple who lived next door to me several years ago were from China and became US citizens. But, they still got their tea from China. I don't know if it was in how it was brewed, or how the tea itself actually tasted, but, it was the most delicious tea I ever tasted. And I am not a big tea drinker.
There are so many kinds of tea here, but I'm not a tea drinker.
I could likely appreciate it more if I were a tea drinker, but, for me it is just "not my cup of tea."
Another photo of a Hoopoe by George Scharf. Ya gotta love the hairdo and coloring.
Indeed you do! And its regalia is really is beautiful. I have never seen one of them before now. The lighting behind it really shows off the colors and patters on his crown and wings elegantly. It really is an amazing bird.
I wonder which Tribe it belongs to. (big grin)
The Hoopa Tribe of northern California. (Humboldt County)
The bird is their resident ''Fancy Dancer''....
Thank you for the clarification on the Tribe. I can see why they call him their "Fancy Dancer." I would love to see him dance.
More FOX!
© A. Mac/A.G.
I love the way the rocks act as a frame around him.
Yes they do, Kavika. And the photo is so clear and realistic that it looks like a real Fox is standing there.
You can almost reach out and touch him. Where did you take these fox photos? They are simply amazing.
These are indeed amazing photos. You'll have to ask A Mac where he took them, as he is the one who took the photos.
My back yard is adjacent to a forested area. This family of Foxes has used the soil around the roots of an ancient fallen tree as a den for years. Lots of deer and other wildlife as well.
It is a real fox.
True, but, I meant that it looks like you can actually reach out and touch him. (smile)
If you reach out and touch him he will bite.
In gigabytes
Yeah? But...I byte back. (hee hee hee)
There ya go!
One of the Fox Kits … a digital art work
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Very nice work, Mac.
All the Little Foxes - you're being so literary.
Another "Little Fox"
© A. Mac/A.G
An adorable little one. What a cute little face. So happy.
THEY'RE BACK!!! Just got my first shots of this year's Hummingbirds. These are shots of the same bird, looks like a young male.
Lots more before the summer's over.
These are special and not easy to capture as you have done! Excellent work, significant achievement.
I JUST DISCOVERED THAT THE LOGIN PROBLEM I HAD ON MY iPHONE, I'm now having on my computer!
Mac, use the same process you did on your phone. Log in. Be sure to check the Remember me box. Then close out, don't log out. Then log in again and then close NT again, don't log out. See if that will work to keep you logged in. Let me know if it works. If not, then TiG needs to look at it.
Raven, it might also be what Perrie and TiG have always told me to do whenever changes were made on the system and I was having problems, "Clear the cache on your browser". For some reason I've never quite figured out, it seems to work pretty well.
Actually Mac, it's not as hard as you might think. Since I'm baiting them in with the feeder, I have a dependable spot to focus the camera on. On nice days, I just sit out on the porch with the camera zeroed in on the feeder and wait quietly. Since the feeder is only about 25 feet from the camera, I can use a lot of optical zoom without degrading the picture. I could use a lot more digital zoom (enough so I could focus on the little guy's eyeball) but that would mean pixellation. All I have to do then is keep my hand near the go button so he won't see the hand move, and wait.
Notice, however, that the wings are blurred. My goal is to freeze the wings in one position and still have a sharp shot. Haven't figured out how to do it with this camera yet. I know that I need to increase the shutter speed up to ten times faster than it is now, without making the picture glare on bright days, and then, possibly, snap a series of ten pictures with each push of the button. Sooner or later, I'll figure out the right combination of settings. Meanwhile, when the Hummies aren't around, I'm perfectly placed to get pictures and videos of my grandsons riding their bikes. Also, the two Maple trees in front of the house have at least one pair of Cardinals, a few Blackbirds, several Sparrows and a bunch of Robins who seem to consider the worms in my front yard to be of very high quality. I also can get occasional shots of dogs, cats and horses. To get shots of cows, I have to go about 50 yards outside the town's borders. While no one objects to people riding horses in town, the village council would probably not be very happy if someone drove a herd of cattle through.
Indeed that will work for some types of issues, the problem with the log-in was caused by Jamroom doing a core update, according to TiG. When I kept having to log in again after each time I closed NT I sent a PN to TiG and he checked it out and found the cause. Then JamRoom did a quick fix and it was working fine again. But, in order to get the fix to work, I had to do the steps that I gave to Mac to see if that would work for him, as it did in his Iphone, and for Kavika as well, as both of them had the same problem of having to keep logging in again. So I was hoping the steps I gave Mac would work for his computer as well.
I know about clearing the cache in order to correct some issues, but, when the problems are caused by a system change on either NT's end or JamRoom, it usually requires more than clearing the cache. So if clearing the cache does not work, then there is another fix that is necessary and TiG or Perrie are the ones to notify.
Thanks for the extra help with advising Mac about clearing the cache.
For anyone that may need it - If you've gone through the browser cache cleaning steps and you sill have issues, download and install ccleaner. I've had some issues where website code changes just wouldn't show up in certain browsers and multiple browser cleaning didn't work until I ran ccleaner. REMEMBER to go through the settings before cleaning and tell it not to delete saved passwords.
Thanks EG.
How is ''Big Dog'' doing?
He's getting along. We have to start crate training him. He's got horrible separation anxiety. Last night we had to leave him home for an hour. The old crate didn't hold up and he was out in minutes getting doing things he shouldn't be doing. We have a new one ordered online for curbside pick-up after work.
Otherwise he's a big baby laying on top of me as often as I'll let him, which is a lot. LOL
What a great photo EG...Love it.
Thanks. On another note with Kobe here. I don't think he's Am Staff. I think he's Boxer/Boston Terrier mix (mini boxer). I've seen some images online of others that look identical except for color.