Last night’s contributions

I actually have photos from three different sessions to get to, but we’re only going to feature one right at the moment, from early last night as I stepped out to do my routine patrol of the yard. After having not seen much of the bebby Carolina anoles (Anolis carolinensis) since the heavy rains a few days ago, save for a token appearance on a decorative sweet potato leaf, I finally read more

Just gonna duck right between ya here

It has been a week without posts, which I don’t even do when I’m traveling, always having a couple of even token posts appear to keep from announcing that the house is empty. Yet I’ve been here in Walkabout Studios and the environs the entire time, just wrapped up in projects, to say nothing of it being ridiculously hot out there and not only is it uncomfortable to be read more

Garden finds


The other day I went out to the NC Botanical Garden for the first time in ages, to see what could be found. Notably, this was the first time in several years, I think, that I found no Carolina anoles during my visit, though we’ll make up for that shortly. There were enough other things to photograph, but like read more

Birds and snakes, an aeroplane…

… and Lenny Bruce is not afraid.

Now that I have that earworm firmly established, let’s get to the pics.


A few days back we got a ton of water dumped on us here in central NC, like most of the country I believe, right after temperatures had gotten above 25°c, then dropped precipitously (sorry) during and after the rains. Yesterday, with the sun out and the temperature read more

A test of patience

Not much of one, but enough, anyway. You’ll see what I mean.

So in checking out the back twenty of Walkabout Estates today, I noticed that the sound of a leaf fluttering in the breeze was being remarkably persistent, and I looked down to find a sizable black snake stretched out across the dried grasses and leaves, vibrating its tail in a warning manner. It’s not just rattlesnakes that read more

Just because, part 41


I’ve had this one sitting in the folder since before the trip to the (one and only) beach, and that was a month ago, so it’s ancient and decrepit, in internet terms. But I need a buffer again.

We have a handful of American five-lined skinks (Plestiodon fasciatus) that live near or under the front steps and thus bask on them when the weather’s good, invariably getting read more

Reptilian buffer

Gotta have something between the birds…

On an outing along the Eno River a couple of days back, the trails we usually take were closed down for utility work, so we traipsed up over the hilltops on the ridge trails, usually well away from the water and thus with fewer subjects to be found. Spring has finally taken a good hold, however, and that means being able to find a few more species with read more

In local news…


I finally got out and did a couple of shooting sessions, all local (meaning the front and back yards and the pond nearby,) so I have a few photos to post – no real theme, so these will be all over the place. The most recent is above, a very young eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) sitting motionless in the back yard as I did a little nighttime exploring, about read more

On this date 14


Eight years ago this very day, I was endeavoring not to get bitten while attempting to actually photograph the bitey bits. I succeeded in the former but failed in the latter, still producing this enigmatic (so I say) portrait.

Those red marks are a clue of course, and the fact that they’re mark and not A mark tells you this is the northern variant – specifically, a read more

Drawn to scale


I’ve mentioned in two previous posts about a trip to the NC Botanical Gardens, a session The Girlfriend and I did before their closing, and I would have warned you about the closing had I had more than a day’s notice myself. Note that this just applies to the gardens proper the nature trails out back remain open.

Anyway, I was hoping to see at least a Carolina anole (Anolis carolinensis,) read more

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