Just once, part 42

It’s been a while since we’ve had a mammal, hasn’t it? That’s because I have very few candidate mammals in the Just Once list, and too few mammals overall, really. But since the posts have been lean, we’ll have a video for this one.

Those are Asian small-clawed otters (Aonyx cinereus,) and were found at the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher, a new brood that had hatched read more

Just once, part 41

Hmmmm, what do we have here? I was just about to do this week’s Just Once post and decided on the specimen below, in honor of Halloween (which is when it originally posted nine years ago):


… which you gotta admit is a nice, ominous image, and as I said then, I wanted to do this in the yard some Halloween, or perhaps up on the rooftop. I never did get around to it, mostly read more

Cut it out, brain!

A bit over a week ago I guess, I woke up here at the new Walkabout Manor during the move-in process, which meant a fitful night on the air mattress while we waited for the trailer with most of our belongings to get delivered. Whether this had anything to do with it or not, I arose quite anxious, because I was acutely aware that I had to change the address on my business cards and get more ordered. read more

Don’t move!

Seriously, don’t move it’s a pain in the ass, takes forever, and results in far too many aches and pains. We’ve still got far too much to go, and Walkabout Studios is going to take a while to be in proper shape. So I haven’t much time to devote to posting, but I’ll slip in here and there as I have a few moments. And in like vein, I snag the occasional read more

Just once, part 40


While this week’s image was taken back in 2010, it wasn’t actually used until last year for one of the Profiles of Nature posts, which was actually the weekly topic for the previous year – I was just throwing more down as I felt like it. This is a cownose ray (Rhinoptera bonasus,) photographed at the NC Aquarium in Fort Fisher I believe read more

September toddles off

And so, we reach the end of September, or at least will in about 23 hours. This means we must, by tradition, leave it with an abstract image, though tradition has nothing to say about how abstract or what the exact definition of that word is, thank dog. Because that allows us to use things like this:


Obtained just two days ago, this was one of two contenders for this vaunted position read more

Slow, but progress


The function of getting established at the new Walkabout Estates is going much slower than intended, primarily not our fault – we’re still waiting for the truck with most of our belongings to arrive. Until that time, we’re bouncing back and forth between minor repairs/improvements and exploring the area, but this has included going down to the waterfront soon after read more

Just once, part 39


This week’s only-seen-here-once-before image is from 19 months ago, February last year, and I couldn’t tell you why I’d never photographed a yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) before, or since, but here we are. I would have liked to have gotten closer, or a clearer view at least, but this guy disappeared before I could do much more, read more

Not a long time but, you know, a long time

So this isn’t really a proper holiday today, but we’re celebrating it all the same, and by “we” I mean, “The Girlfriend and I,” though you’re welcome to celebrate it too if you like. I can finally break the big news that has been brewing for a while and announce that Walkabout Estates is now in a new location!

Actually, we wouldn’t be anywhere near read more

Plans to be a postal carrier

Early the other morning I went past the Japanese maple that has been hosting the newborn Carolina anole (Anolis carolinensis,) only it had been misty-raining overnight and I didn’t really expect to see the little lizard, since the species seems quite sensitive about rain – I’ve spooked them for cover on hot days when I just played the mist sprayer across them, and this read more

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