Category: Wildlife
Power Puffins
The story behind the photo: This one was really lucky, LD got us tickets aboard a puffin cruise that goes out of Maine near Booth Bay Harbor that circles a little island in the Gulf of Maine where scientists have been slowly getting the puffin population to return to nesting sites there. We thought this trip might be a bust but then all of a sudden a bunch of these birds just came flying out and all around us. It was one of the best experiences I can remember and a memory I will always treasure. Side note is that puffins are my favorite bird – I just love the fact that these little tiny fighters live in such a cold harsh and arctic environment for much of their lives. A true testament to the force of nature.
And also thanks to Maine Magazine for the feature!
Positive Vibes
My mantra for today and moving forward: Letting go of negative thoughts. I highly recommend it. Here’s a shot I took a few years back of some seals lazing on a spit. It’s actually a much larger landscape shot with more seals and details but I cropped it for Instagram. I especially like the little baby in the background. I also have some cuter shots of him in other shots. I will probably make the large version available for purchase soon. Anyways my mantra appears to be paying dividends already as today we were able to set up some things and I put the fire pit (which I cannot wait to start using) together. Still more stuff to get done but it is happening little by little.
Backyard Bunny
More later…
Hello Deer
The story behind the photo: Just tooling around various parts of Maine a couple of years ago and must have went down some forestry lanes and somehow or other these two were just moseying along. The day this was taken was probably one of the best I ever had in life as I saw them, various water views, greatest puffin shots I ever took, and a cool lighthouse visit with amorous skunks.
As for me right now I’m going through my budget items and trying to figure out how I’m going to get through the year ahead. I’m finding it a little bit stressful at the moment, but I just have to take things one at a time and remember to breathe.
Juvies
The story behind the photo: I really like this one. Reminds me I need to get back into birding more. Anyways, we had taken a boat cruise around the harbor in one of the Cape towns last year, I think it might have been in Dennis or somewhere around there. And we just happened to pass by this osprey nest. Thankfully I had the foresight to bring my complement of lenses so I switched to one where I could get a closer shot of them. I actually have a bunch of different shots from this but I felt this was one of the better ones. I remember having to try to brace myself as the boat kept wobbling over the waves. I assume they were waiting for their parent although they looked like they were just about ready to head out on their own. The fact that their eyes are still brown rather than yellow also signifies them as juveniles. I like how the two on the right appear to looking directly at me.
Today was the first day I ever applied for unemployment in 30+ years. Hopefully that won’t take too long to start kicking in. Crazy. Mulch arrived but although sunny today it’s kind of chilly – maybe I’ll start putting it down tomorrow or Friday or maybe even over the weekend – days really have no meaning lately so everyday is like a weekend day I guess. Gonna Zoom meet with some friends tonight – not the same as in person, but something nonetheless.
Happy Easter!
Pipers
Spent some of the afternoon down in Scituate today, had to get out of the house for a little bit. Also checked out how the gym out friends are starting out is coming along. It’s going to be pretty spacious!
Christmas Eve Eve
I read this interesting article in the paper yesterday that a bunch of states were re-instituting the teaching of writing cursive. I mostly always wrote out everything in printed letters and still do so a while back I retaught myself cursive because I had found that I had actually forgotten how to form some of the letters like capital Q. The article said kids these days can’t even sign their signature, bad as I was I never forgot how to do that.
My sister is coming over for an overnight! So planning on having some nice meals and chat and games and downtime. Think it might be fun.
Pumpkin Treat
“Squibbs” the squirrel enjoying some pumpkin.
The other day we decided to put the pumpkins that Squibbs had starting boring into out in the back yard. This morning this is what we saw!
Later on went to the Xmas Tree store and got some red bows and then ties them to the lighted reindeers out front. Really brings them out more I think – looks pretty good. Unfortunately I had forgotten that the Patriots were playing at home today so getting through Patriot Place was a bit of a nightmare. After that spent a little bit of time at the Sanctuary – it was really quiet but did get to hang with a few animals for a while.
I’m sweating right now helping out the cooking of salmon, tofu, chicken soup, and chili. Yes, four different dishes so we’ll be all set for the week.
I bought a tiny Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Ellwoodii‘ (Lawson Cypress). Basically a little tiny Christmas-like tree in a pot. Says you can plant it outside at some point as it can grow to 20′ tall and 8’ wide. But right now he’s just a little tiny guy living on the windowsill.
Overdoing It and Goat Love
What the hell happened to my right forearm? Woke up this morning with it feeling really sore. I suspect it had to do with the shoveling from two days ago, but I usually feel the effects of activity such as that the next day, not two days after! Must be a part of getting older? Also, strange that that’s the only part of my body that’s sore, everything else appears fine to me. Must have twisted it in some way while I was doing it is the only thing I can think of. I think I might have to actually ice it, or place something warm on it, as I prefer that better.
Lately I like to post a photo to go along with the blog posts. I don’t really have any at the moment to reflect the status of my arm (it’s not swollen or anything), so I’m transitioning to an enjoyable pic of Bean and Buckley from the sanctuary! They have interesting stories, as do all the animals there.
Bean came to the farm at two weeks old. He was rescued from slaughter. He needed to be bottle fed when he first came. He is a mischievous little boy, liking to chew on visitor’s shoe laces. Bean doesn’t seem to realize he is a goat. He is being socialized with the other goats nowadays as before he was actually living in the owner’s house. He probably thought he was either a human or possibly a dog for a while.
Buckley, as a baby, was rescued from slaughter too. He was cared for and when his rescuer could no longer care for him as he got older, he was brought to the farm. He is very attached to the volunteers, following them around, and visitors too – especially if he senses a snack around! I find he can be a little pushy. He’s been known to butt me and others at times, but not in a malicious way. Those horns are killer! It’s just the goat way. He and Bean, as can be seen in the photo, have become good companions.
I consider these two to be rather handsome goats! I’ve grown to have a fondness for goats in general now. Growing up in the city, I didn’t have many opportunities to hang out with animals like this, and I find them to very soulful animals.
Happy National Jukebox Day
I know I’ve posted this before but it being National Jukebox Day and all I just had to get it up again. Yes, we will most likely be using this tonight as we prepare for the gathering tomorrow. We need to create some kind of database to keep track of all the records we have and their condition. It would be good to get a census of what he have versus what we’d like to get in there, and could help with rotating the songs in and out. I’ve written the story about how we got this machine before so I won’t rehash that here. Needless to say it’s a great conversation piece and we love it – even if the technology is so mechanical and freakin’ heavy! Moving this thing is a beast!
Made a quick visit to the market this morning, mostly getting some different fruits and veggies, planning on making some kind of cute looking turkey things out of them, much like we made the vegetable skeleton for Halloween a while back. Naturally I’ll be doing all the prep work on that. If it comes out well I’ll take a pic and share it with everyone. Sometimes those things can come out hit or miss, but either way I’ll be eating it anyway. Good to get those things already as the store although wasn’t too crazy, it will probably get worse as the day progresses in terms of activity.
I went ahead and put up the light-up reindeer on the front lawn this morning. I’ll have to consult with LD as to my placement of them but I’m pleased to report that they all move and light up still. Always a challenge trying to figure out the placement and the electrical outlets. Since it’s kinda warm today I figure it’d be good to get them up and out of the basement. I didn’t put them up last year but since we’re having guests tomorrow thought it would be nice to show the setup. Definitely getting into the holiday spirit early this year. Does this mean the tree will come down before February ala last year? Probably not! While I was out there I scared “Squibbs” the squirrel away from his ‘mealtime.’
I was going to work a half day today but lately since losing the contract I was on I haven’t been all that busy so I decided to take the day. Just as well too, it’s amazing how much one can actually get done when you don’t have to spend most of your nine to five someplace else. More updates as the day progresses perhaps, stay tuned…
Strutting My Stuff
I was pleasantly surprised this morning when I saw that Mass Audubon decided to use one of my photos for their Strut Your Stuff article about wild turkeys! I was going to save this one for reposting here actually on Thanksgiving, but here it is a bit early. The story behind this photo is pretty simple. LD and I were driving through Westwood when along the road on someone’s property LD spotted a bunch of turkeys walking around. Believe it or not, this is how a lot of my shots actually happen. So she stopped, I got out, tried to find a good spot real quick, and snapped a few and this was one of them that I thought was the best of the bunch. Just a spontaneous shot that came out pretty well I think. So, I am the cameraman but she’s the director a lot of times!
Chicky Mama
Yup. Went to the Sanctuary today for a little bit again. I happened upon this scene of a mother chicken tending to her chicks. I find it interesting that they are so different looking color wise. We also hung with a cat named Grayson, where there could be the possibility that we could have him, if we so wanted. He’s very sweet. We’ll see about logistics moving forward to see if it’s a real possibility. Then I had to get back for a work meeting that took and hour and a half.
Chicken Foot
Went to the sanctuary for a little bit today and to soak up some sun. This city boy got to hold a chicken. Hey, I never held an actual chicken before! Not just any chicken though, this one lost his foot in infancy. Miraculously enough though, he is getting a prosthetic foot made that will fit over his stub! His name is Petey and he is the chillest chicken I ever met with a bit of spunk.
Alpacas
Had a lot of fun doing yoga with Alpacas for the 2nd time in my life. This time it seemed a lot better because the weather was better, the class was smaller, and we all got access to snuggle with the alpaca babies. I’ll try to get some more pictures up later.
Fall is in the Air
Waking up this morning, one could definitely tell that fall is in the air, as it’s starting to get a bit chilly. It’s supposed to be hot this upcoming weekend though. Pretty soon the leaves should change and be starting to fall off the trees. Not sure if the colder weather is doing anything great for my gimpy knee. I’ve been trying to work it out slowly. Seems to be getting a little better – mostly going down stairs is the toughest part right now.
Anyways, about this shot – how many creatures can you spot in it and of what species? There’s quite a few! I believe this was taken from a water body alongside a major road in Braintree of all places – proving to me that you can pretty much find beauty in most places if you just take the time to look!
Brazen Bunny Chronicles Continued
So this morning I decided too sit out on the patio early this morning, just sipping my coffee and chilling out when I turned my head to see Brazen Bunny staring back at me from the concrete patio stairs. “Come to get seconds?”, I thought to myself but ignored him basically and went back to my crossword puzzle. Over time I notice this bunny filling its mouth up with grass and straw and running over the the corner of the deck back and forth next to the hydrangea that is there. I believe it is building a nest! Strange thing is this nest location is not all that hidden, basically in a corner just a bit under the hydrangea but in an easily photo-graphical location. So in a couple of weeks or so we may have some more babies to check out!
While cleaning out my stack of old CDs I happened across a classic I had totally forgotten about. It’s the soundtrack to the movie classic “Better Off Dead.” I’m going to listen to this again and re-live the magic.
Brazen Bunny
Woke up this morning, and as I like to do, grabbed my coffee and headed out to the back deck to enjoy the cool morning air. I noticed something stirring going up the stairs, at first I thought it was squirrel – they’ve been known to climb up there. Once I even saw a chipmunk or two climb them. But lo and behold to my eyes it was neither of those. It was this little guy, who I’ve chosen to name the Brazen Bunny. Needless to stay he didn’t hang around long, but I watched him silently sniff around, take a taste of a few things, and then hop back down the stairs and take a bath. And then he was gone. I looked at what he was attempting to investigate but I didn’t see any damage to anything so maybe he was just nosy. Never a dull moment around here.
The cookout went pretty good I thought. I grilled up some chicken, hot dogs, burgers, and corn. Nothing too extravagant. I was pleased that my items come out pretty good – grilled to perfection if I may be so bold to say. I’ve become quite the grill master over the last year or two. LD put together a wonderful salad to go with. My mom was very appreciative and enjoyed the little break and change of scenery and conversations. I also had a good time last night at my belated birthday dinner. We had a lot of laughs – especially over things that we had said and done over the last week or two in catching up.
For the Birds
I decided to ride the newer bike into work today. I can’t believe it’s been over a month already since I last rode in general. Schedule just didn’t allow it, either due to weather, or other things I had going on. Anyways on the way back I happened to stop by one of those Little Libraries near Davis and scored by picking up a little book on how to repair bicycles. Might come in handy one of these days. Then after getting back on the trail I happened to notice this birdhouse just hanging in a tree. It’s probably been there for quite a while but I just noticed it today. I was rather impressed with it. Whoever built it did a really good job!
Noon Trip Out to Brant Rock
We were hankering for a monstrous lobster roll at this place down in Marshflied called the Green Harbor Lobster Pound. It didn’t disappoint – the thing is freakin’ huge!
Later in the afternoon I went down to the summer concert series to try to win the raffle to some restaurants but as usual I came up empty. Too win you have to be present so I need to stick around while the band plays their first set (lasts about an hour) – usually after I find out I lost I take off though and don’t stick around for the 2nd hour set. Big band is okay but not enough for me to stick around.
Chasing the Great Blue Heron
About a year ago, we happened upon this majestic creature just hanging out in a marsh in Chatham. I had taken pictures of herons before but for some reason this one really stands out – he didn’t seem as skinny as a lot of the other ones I had seen, and now that I look at it, maybe it’s a bit older than them as well. A grizzled veteran I would say. These birds don’t seem to be bothered by anything. I once saw a red winged blackbird pecking at one and squawking away, probably had a nest nearby, but the heron acted like it wasn’t even there. Totally ignoring the pecking and all, seemingly insignificant.
I plan on going to see the rock band Damone tonight – it’s been 10 years or so since they disbanded but now they are a doing a show down in Harvard Square. One of my favorite local bands from back in the day when I actually went to shows. Let’s hope I can stay up that late!
Back to Reality
Back at home base for a few. It was a very good week though, hanging out at the complex, taking shots at Paine’s Creek, sunning at West Dennis Beach, going on a seal cruise and catching sunsets at Linnels Landing, Rock Harbor, Harding Beach, Crosby Landing (location of the original “Brewster Buds!” – LD and I’s first photos together at the Cape), cruising around Eastham and gorging ourselves at Arnold’s, having a nice dinner at Pate’s and swimming at Skaket Beach at high tide, hanging out with M&M in Yarmouth and then at the pool for a few hours, hitting the Chocolate Sparrow and Jo Mama’s Bagels a bunch of times (and visiting the Hole In One for breakfast once), exploring all over Truro into unexplored territory for us, doing a little shopping, yadda yadda yadda. Finished reading some books and getting a lot of new ones in Little Libraries we visited all over (Chatham had the best, IMO). Hanging by the fish pier in Chatham to catch some seals just hanging around the dock. A playful calf was nice enough to give us a little show while it’s mother watched by patiently). Visiting Nauset and Highland Light and checking out the waves along the Cape Cod National Seashore. Seeing varied bird life including plovers, herons, egrets, sandpipers, turkeys with babies, and juvenile ospreys almost getting ready to lave the nest.
SO after driving home (but stopping by Lemon Tree before heading out – a place that has some cool statuary for gardens and such – would love to get some giant lions someday but probably won’t ever happen) we got some grocery shopping done. Also all the blinds and artwork ordered before the trip for the remodeled bedroom have arrived, so we’re going to need to put those up. In the meantime finally got to watch the documentary I Love You, Now Die, about the girl who texted her boyfriend to commit suicide and did. Fascinating from a psychological and legal perspective. Was also nicely surprised to see that all the plants around here actually fared really well while we were gone, as the stargazers are ready to pop, the fire lilies are STILL blooming, the balloon flowers are showing, and Sean the Pumpkin is actually growing with huge leaves!
I literally took over 1,000 photos in total from the week. Perhaps I’ll get around to putting more up as the days and weeks go by. But I also have to be getting ready to plan the next vacation in couple weeks! I do need to get some work done beforehand however, bah!
Skaket Beach/ Chatham Time
So it was nice to just float in the water this afternoon at Skaket Beach. I like this beach because there’s no rocks, and the slope is extremely gradual and calm. You have to get there at high tide though or you’ll be walking for miles to get to some water. After soaking in the water for a while, we took up some sun sitting under our umbrella enjoying the day. I think I may have even fell asleep briefly. We plan on returning there tomorrow, possibly, when our other couple friends come down to hang out for the day.
After coming back and showering, we were hankering for some dinner, so we headed out to another place we visit down here, Pate’s. Then after that we decided to head down to the working fish pier because we’ve had lots of luck there seeing seals just hanging around – just down the road from the Chatham Bars Inn. There appeared to be a mother and her young one frolicking around. I also spotted a snowy egret looking for food, kicking it’s legs in the water trying to stir up things – it caught something too and downed it quickly, whatever it was.
Then we headed over the Harding’s Beach in Chatham to catch another sunset – even though it was covered by some clouds the sun finally peaked out toward the very end. Finally it was off to Chocolate Sparrow for another hot chocolate with soy milk and chocolate syrup – I can’t get enough of that stuff! Must be the way they froth it or something but it’s delicious. Now it’s time to just chill, maybe watch a little television or read a little, and then get ready for another day tomorrow.
