A super moon only happens like once a year… when the moon is full and closest to the earth. The next super moon is scheduled for Nov 14, 2016.
Even more rare is when a super moon is in full lunar eclipse, making it appear red in color, i.e. it’s term ‘blood moon’. The next blood moon isn’t expected until 2033.
We haven’t seen a lot of elk this year. I’m not sure where they have been. We’ve had enough rain perhaps that they have found their food and water elsewhere.
Even more rare, are seeing elk bulls together, particularly as we go into rut season. But we were thrilled to get these two young bulls strutting their stuff, and learning how to ‘do the dance’.
These two boys were sparring with their single spikes, horsing around, and checking out their gear.
They never got too serious about it… but it was fun to watch.
We are fortunate enough to have become used to seeing deer and elk… but Yellowstone / Grand Teton showed us a whole new level of animal. Seeing elk and deer side by side, you get a gist of how great the size difference is. I thought elk were big… that was until I saw buffalo up close… and moose.
.. and BEAR ( a little TOO close for comfort).
(admittedly a little blurry, but I was scrambling up the rock ledge)
Nice bear.
We get a little bit of everything here. Yesterday, we saw this little family of turkey’s strutting their stuff. They were pretty elusive and spooky birds. These were Merriam turkey’s, popular in northern AZ ponderosa pines. We don’t see many, so it was pretty cool to see them fluffing their feathers and teaching their little ones.
I freely admit I like to enjoy a nice dinner out. It’s gotten a little harder now that we live off the beaten path. So I have to rely on my own cooking skills.. which is something I can easily live with.
The best dinner out we enjoy these days… is the one we take with.
We pack up our grill and our picnic basket, our cooler, the dog (Journey), and the camera… and we’re off. It doesn’t much matter where we go… it all in the journey… and the views.
This evening we watched the sun set over Mogollon Rim. I think we had the best view in the house.
I thought it was an eagle… but apparently, after closer inspection it’s an osprey. We did manage to capture this large bird sitting on it’s nest. Unfortunately I never saw any little head bobs. This large bird of prey is a hawk with a diet of primarily fish.
You know what they say… when given lemons make lemonade…. or something like that.
I would love to have bear and mountain lions to photograph (or even elk and deer), but with all the rain we have had, the big animals have lots of options for food and drink, making them harder to find.
So, in attempt to keep up my wildlife photography, I did a session with this little squirrel (and a few birds).
This little squirrel seems to be quite content to not be sharing his space with big animals.
Finch
Grosbeak
Woodpecker
My www.krittersmenu.com has a category, It’s What’s For Dinner. In the terms of my foodie blog… it’s what we have for dinner and recipes and ideas worthy of sharing.
On this photography blog, it’s not so much what we had for dinner… but what our fair weathered friends did, making for a photographic story of nature and the food chain. Case in point, this blue heron in search of a meal.
The hunt
The target identified
The catch
Gulp!
It’s What’s for Dinner.
Who knew you could take great photos in pitch black night? Scott Stulberg carefully made sure everyone in his workshop knew how, and got THE shot. We got moving clouds, star lit skies, and milky way magic.
Check out my other Sedona pix on http://www.kritterspaw.com and http://www.kritterspix.com/photo-musings.
It’s not like I frequent cemeteries, but there is something nostalgic and eerie about old London graveyards. It’s like something out of a movie. The tombstones are of another time and place… a totally different era. One can serenely walk through a quiet graveyard and imagine stories and lives of another time.
These photos were taken in Guildford, England, just outside of London, circa 2000, recently scanned from 35mm negative to digital.
