Just once, part 4


I find it hard to believe this myself, but not only have I featured a skunk only once here on the blog, I think I have just one other set of images in my entire stock, from many years ago, of a juvenile that had been live-trapped.

For reasons unknown and completely perplexing, skunks are incredibly scarce in this area of North Carolina, and bear in mind that I used to work with both animal rescue read more

Be quiet out there

Going out onto the back porch the other night, I heard a significant racket coming from either just outside the back fence, or just inside it. While I always have a pocket flashlight on me, the view in that immediate direction is blocked by the greenhouse and the shed, so I had to creep down there, to be greeted by no fewer than eight white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) read more

The debt we all owe

One of the things that we get to do here is recognize the unsung heroes of our world, the ones who by all rights should have a holiday of their own but have somehow been missed. And today, on the 75th anniversary of the first time he was laughed at in public, we review the contribution of Bumfester Chugtrollop, the inventor of the photographer’s vest.

First, we need a little history of the read more

Just once, part 3


There are probably going to be a lot of arthropod images showing up in this topic, because there is a much wider variety of species than anything else, and I was going to say “in this area” but I think that holds true around the world. I’ll mix it up as much as I can but, you know, nature of the beast…

And this one I’ve definitely only photographed once, because I think read more

What are you doing out?

Was out in the yard yesterday, trying to oxidize some old deck boards, and as things were smoldering I wandered around a little bit. On the wall right near the access door that has served as an anole hideyhole, I found this guy enjoying the sunlight.


Now, the temperature when I spotted this Carolina anole (Anolis carolinensis) was roughly 12°c, but that was the absolute read more

Just once, part 2


That our next entry has only been featured once is no particular surprise, since it was found during my couple of years in Florida and wasn’t common to see then. But while poking around in the Indian River Lagoon, occasionally I would spot a long narrow fish darting away, always a fleeting glimpse, and eventually I managed to get a couple of ‘ehhh’ images read more

Just once, part 1

So with the new year we have a new weekly topic, which I really just decided on yesterday: ‘Just once,’ featuring the various species that I have only photographed once (so far) in the 15 year span of the blog, and perhaps even longer as I dig out some of the older digital or even slide images. The slides are a little harder because I can’t search through that read more

Too cool, part 52: Falcon transit

The latest ‘Too Cool’ entry comes from Astronomy Picture of the Day again, but wonder of wonders, it’s not a composite edited photo – I was starting to think this was a requirement for them. Instead, this is a carefully planned and timed shot, one that took a lot more effort than it might first appear.


read more

Many birds, one mammal, two… things

And now, we return to Beaufort, but only in the bloggy sense, because we’re still right here vegetating in front of the computer. Because I know you’re not doing something insanely silly like trying to view this on your toy smutphone…

The day we arrived was ridiculously rainy, but in the late afternoon it stopped without really clearing, so all we did was grab a meal and do a little read more

Tripod holes 53


N 36° 3’59.06″ W 75°41’23.29″ Google Earth location

Another where it doesn’t matter a whole lot where you are, but it represents something that I thought I’d accomplish more often in the intervening years. Bear with me for a second.

When I determined that I’d have 53 Tripod Holes posts this year and that the last would fall on December 31st, I slotted this read more

1 2 3 4 5 6 199