2019-03-27: Wordless Wednesday
2019-03-20: Wordless Wednesday
2019-0318: Monochrome Monday
Racing into another week – I hope it’s a good one!
2019-03-17: Signs of Spring
I have not photographed a single sign of spring this week, though I have been enjoying them immensely. I guess in some ways the topic, photographically at least, has been a fail, but it has been making me more aware, and more appreciative of the little signs that spring is on its way.
Today in fact, it really felt as if spring has arrived. Despite the lawn still being covered in snow, it was warm enough to sit on my front porch with an iced coffee and my knitting, and enjoy the warmth of the sun for awhile. Today, that felt a lot more important than rushing around trying to find an image that symbolized the change of seasons.
Instead, here is an image I just finished working on; a 3 shot panorama taken at Phinda Reserve, May 2017. Everyone knows elephants are my favourite, and they are a great stand-in whenever I need an image. This was another moment where sitting and allowing life to unfold was just perfect. Our guide knew the ellies would be heading for the dam, so we drove to it, and just waited. And they arrived shortly after, in groups of 2 and 3, until we had the scene here unfold. And then just as quietly, they all headed back into the bush, to carry on with the day.
Wishing everyone a fantastic week ahead.
2019-03-13: Wordless Wednesday
2019-03-11: Monochrome Monday
Some leopards to start the week! Leopards are definitely my favourite cats to watch (well, at least of the cats I have seen so far… once I have the chance to see tigers and jaguars, I’ll have to revisit this statement!)
The first image was taken in Botswana in the Okavango Delta, in a sighting filled will drama (for the humans involved). Several vehicles from another camp were following this leopard, who was doing what leopards do best, being elusive and sticking to the cover of the bush. There had been a lot of flooding in the area, and a vehicle got stuck while following this cat, and then a second got stuck, trying to help the first. Our awesome ranger saved the day and got the vehicles mobile again, but both stuck vehicles missed out on the few photo opportunities that were available, like this one.
This second image was also from the delta, and I have posted of this sighting many times before so I won’t go on and on. I think though, this shot is how people dream of seeing leopards, but the one above is a far more realistic scenario.
This final image was taken in South Africa; our guide took us to a sighting of a mama leopard and her two cubs in ravine, and we had a brilliant time watching the cubs playing on the fallen trees, scampering through the swamp, and wrestling with each other. The cub pictured here was just about to pounce on its sibling, who was a few feet below on the ground. This was one of those sightings where, as we drove back to camp, our guide told us “we probably should keep this quiet while there are other guests around”.
Just so you know, you can find lots of images like these over in my gallery page!
2019-03-03: Topic of the month – Signs of Spring
This week I have really been trying to look for signs of spring. Honest, I have. But waking up today, the temperature was -29C with a high of -12C for the day, and it really does feel like spring is far away. I have noticed a few things though. I can see about a 6″ band of shingles on the roof of my house, from the days when it has been warm enough for a bit of melt to happen. I noticed one lone willow tree, buried in about 4 feet of snow drift at the side of the road, starting to bud (despite the cold in was enveloped in). But mostly, I have noticed the trees.
It has been stark white for a very long time in my back yard, and over the past two weeks, between the strong winds and the the (slightly) warming days, the evergreens have shed the huge cloaks of snow from their branches. There are still bits of snow tucked into the crook of branches here and there, but finally when I look out my windows, I see a bit of green, rather than just white.
Pictures of bare branches in my backyard seemed a bit boring, but frankly, getting all bundled up to do a photo walk this weekend also didn’t hold much appeal. So I went out for a short time to photograph some of the birds feasting on the sunflower seeds. Today, only the chickadees were around, though usually there is a pair of red-breasted nuthatches plus the woodpeckers that pass through. The chickadees made a steady stream from branch to feeder and back again; I couldn’t count them all as they were constantly coming in from every direction.
As a bird lover, one of the sad parts about the temperature warming is soon the birds will have to fend for themselves, once it warms enough for there to be a threat of bears visiting the feeders. I think we have a ways to go before that is an issue though.
Here are a few chickadees for today; fingers crossed next weekend there are more signs of spring around.
2019-02-27: Wordless Wednesday
2019-02-20: Wordless Wednesday
2019-02-18: Monochrome Monday
I have been incredibly fortunate to see wild dogs on all the trips I have taken to southern Africa. My very first trip, when asked what animal I hoped I would see, it was the wild dog. I knew they were rare, endangered, and can be difficult to find, and when our guide Mike found them during our day trip to Chobe Park, I was beyond thrilled. And I have remained thrilled each time I have had the good fortune of spending time with these amazing animals.
All the images below were from my last trip, when we had wild dogs sightings over 3 days in the Okavango Delta.
