Ok, so I FINALLY finished uploading those Costa Rica pictures…
Costa Rica 139, originally uploaded by Kari_Marie.
These are leaf cutter ants, quite possibly one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. Seriously.
I finally finished uploading my Costa Rica pictures, and blog posts will be forthcoming (no, seriously–they will! I just don’t know when!) Right now though I’m working on more photo processing–I have the use of a micro four-thirds camera for the week (an Olympus Pen EP-1) so I’m taking every chance to play with that and see what I think.
And I’ll get those pictures uploaded too–I promise. :-)
I caught you a partridge, but I eated it
In case you don’t get the reference in the post title, it’s this internet meme.
A veterinarian friend of mine is holding a 12 Days of Petmas roundup on her blog, and I volunteered to take Day 4 (4 calling birds, in case you don’t remember the song.) So this evening I decided to take some pictures… I’m not sending her this one, but it’s my favorite of the outtakes… The aftermath.
Cat + Christmas Tree = bad news. The white thing he's munching on is a twin of the white bird in the foreground.
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So much for that partridge in a pear tree.
My crazy-colored cat
Alert kitty is alert, originally uploaded by Kari_Marie.
I had another post all queued up for this blog earlier this week, but it broke my HTML, and until I get around to figuring out WHY, this ridiculously cute cat will have to suffice. :-) She was sitting up on my bed, staring out the window at the birds on the telephone wire outside… So cute. :-)
Oh, and this was taken on my new phone. The color originally wasn’t great (I had to do a bit of tweaking in Flickr) but it’s nice to get something that can focus for a change! :-)
My leopard, let me show you him
Randomness 015, originally uploaded by Kari_Marie.
I went to the Sac Zoo again this year for Smithsonian’s Free Museum Day a couple of weeks ago, and took this. Isn’t he gorgeous? I love this shot. :-)
Camouflage
Look closely. See anything interesting?
Reeds in the duck pond at McKinley Park
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Look again. Maybe try clicking on this picture to see a larger version.
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Do you see it now?
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Now do you see her?
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I was walking along the shoreline at the duck pond at McKinley Park last week, looking for some baby wood ducks who will make an appearance in a later post, and somehow, the faintest bit of movement in the above-pictured reeds caught my attention. I looked, and there she was, nesting away. Neat.
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The peace of wild things
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water,
and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief.
I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light.
For a time, I rest in the grace of the world,
and am free.
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~ Poem by Wendell Berry
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Same thing every morning
This is generally the first thing I see when I open my eyes every morning.
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A day at the races
Ok, so I was there in the evening, I was only there for a bit, and there were no Marx Brothers anywhere to be seen. But it was $1 hot dog night at Cal Expo, and there were horses to take pictures of, so despite the brisk, chilly wind, I hung out next to the track fence and had fun shooting the horses taking pictures.
If you've never seen a harness race, they use a mobile starting gate. I don't know why, but every one I remember seeing has been attached to a Cadillac, which I find oddly amusing.
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View from behind the gate
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This ended up being a photo finish. The horse closest to the camera won.
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The reason I went, besides that it was $1 hot dog night, was because I was invited by some friends of mine. One of them has a coworker whose daughter owns Mack N Black, the horse in the following picture. Click on this link to read more about her and her horse–it’s a neat story!
Flying horse. This was a split second after he crossed the finish line. He won.
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Click here for a gallery of more pictures
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Ladybug!
The other day after I finished taking pictures of the CDF CalFire planes, I went to get back into my truck and was distracted by movement and color in the dirt. Now, I tend to get distracted fairly easily (and those of you who know me are going, “Gee, ya THINK?”) so within a minute (and after a quick lens change) I was on my belly in the dirt, taking pictures of the ladybug that had caught my attention.
Look--it has a heart! I didn't even notice this until I got the picture onto my computer. So cool.
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I like the angle on this one.
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One more picture.
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One of the reasons I love Sacramento
One of the reasons I love Sacramento is the relative proximity of everything. We’re about an hour and a half from Tahoe/snow/skiing, an hour an a half (ok, or longer depending on traffic) from San Francisco and the coast, we’re a decently large city but can easily get to the Bay Area if we want a larger city, and we’re also close to the mountains if we want wilderness. I live in midtown Sac, which means I’m close to the Capitol and pretty much smack dab in the middle of everything, but in only 10 minutes, I can drive to where I’m out with nature.
I took advantage of this a couple of weeks ago when I made two trips (one sunset, one sunrise) out to the Vic Fazio Yolo Wildlife Area, about ten miles from my house. The entire Sacramento Delta area is part of the Pacific Flyway, so tremendous numbers of birds pass through here on their way north and south, making for some fun bird photography. I’ve driven over this particular stretch of land many times while taking the Yolo Causeway, AKA I-80, west from Sacramento to the Bay Area, and I’ve always admired it because of its wide-open space, rice fields, and wetlands. It’s especially beautiful at the end of the day, when the setting sun reflects off of the shallow, standing water and tens of thousands of birds (no, I’m not exaggerating) swoop and settle in for the night.
I went for sunset, and I was so blown away that the next morning I dragged myself out of bed in the dark and cold hours and went to watch the sun rise as well. I wasn’t disappointed… In fact, the worst part of the whole experience was trying to figure out how I was going to delete some truly awesome shots (since I really can’t and don’t need to keep everything…)
As always, a few shots :
Day 1: Sunset
Dried star anise. It smells like black licorice!
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Mallards!
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You really need to click on this next one to enlarge it.
Red-winged Blackbirds swarming and then settling in the reeds for the night.
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Collision course.
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Egret silhouetted against the sunset sky.
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Day 2: Sunrise
Sunrise over the Sacramento River delta.
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Red-winged Blackbird.
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Red-tailed hawk.
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I was carefully walking closer to an egret, trying to get a good shot, and inadvertently flushed out this blue heron. Sweet. Check out those wings!!
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Great egret.
[Gallery of more pics can be found here]
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