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But I’m not done sharing wonderful photos from Joel Sartore because he has another book.
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Great Blue Turaco
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A book full of birds.
Northern White Faced Owl
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Our fine feathered….
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Baby Golden Parakeet
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And not quite feathered yet friends.
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Golden Pheasant
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Being an avid bird watcher and feeder, this book warms my soul.
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Kea
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I’ll try not to overshare.
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Andean Cock of the Rock
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But look at these beauties.
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Vulturine Guineafowl
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It’s going to be tough.
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So seriously, that after filling the feeders and scattering seed on the ground for the cardinals during a snow storm?
He repeatedly chased off the interlopers.
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And threw bare handed snowballs at them to boot.
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He even followed them down the hill to the woods to make sure they were gone.
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Did I mention it was a little cold that day? Well, it was.
And just so you know?
This was the third of five hasty retreats the turkeys beat, only to come back and nosh happily on spilled seed when my husband gave up. (And no, I didn’t tell him.)
Turkeys – 1.
Husband – 0.
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Yes, these are the last photos I’ll post from this truly wonderful book.
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Malay Tapir
But look at that face! I couldn’t help myself.
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Sulawesi Stripe-faced Fruit Bat
I’m so very glad Joel Sartore followed his dream.
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Victoria Crowned Pigeon
The wonderful and wacky diversity of nature should be celebrated as well as protected.
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Watusi Cow
So that’s where the Watusi dance craze came from…. who knew?
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Varied Capuchin
I think we’ve all been there.
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Spix’s Macaw
Sadly, this lovely bird no longer exists in the wild.
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Florida Panther
And this graceful cat is hanging on by a thread.
We share our world with some fabulous creatures… please respect them and their need for a small corner of it.
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Sadly our snow is all gone, but here are a few pretty pics from our last storm.
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We have a few cardinals visit our feeders now and then…
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But it always surprises me that they show up en masses during a blizzard.
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Perfect winter scenes if ever I saw one.
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They spend most of their time huddled in the small apple tree.
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But every once in a while make a dash for the seed.
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With light fluffy snow? It doesn’t always end well.
🤣
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A few more pictures from my camera last month.
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Look at this beautiful juvenile red tail hawk.
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Just hanging out on the bird feeder pole waiting for lunch to drop in.
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We see him cruising over the property now and then…
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But he rarely perches so close to the house for an extended period of time.
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Heck, he was even comfortable enough to take a bath.
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They really are spectacular creatures.
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Thanks for dropping by big guy.
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And if you happen to see a mangy little red squirrel wandering the roof line?
Please don’t miss.
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More fabulous photos…
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Black and Rufous Elephant Shrew.
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Of more fabulous creatures.
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Himalayan Moran.
And look how happy some of them are to have their picture taken.
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Northern Tamandua.
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No, this isn’t a Rorschach test, but it could be.
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Atlantic Sea Spider.
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I see my late Mother in Law there, but you probably won’t.
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Hispaniolan Hutia.
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Bet that Hutia could make short work of momma red squirrel. Anyone know where I can rent a few?
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Waxy Monkey Frog.
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Damn, I wish my legs were that long.
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Platypus.
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Platypuses are proof positive evolution has a sense of humor. And a slight drinking problem.
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Red Celestial Eye Goldfish.
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Imagine how effective my eye rolls would be with those peepers.
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Horned Screamer.
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That fellow’s horn required a two page centerfold. Men? You should be so lucky.
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African Moon Moth.
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I am completely in love with this moth. He has attitude to spare….
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While downloading photos from my big camera the other day, I came across these that were taken at the end of autumn.
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Evening grosbeaks are a bird we rarely have visit our backyard.
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But that day a large batch of them dropped by.
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They’re pretty little things…
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And made short work of the sunflower seed buffet.
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Now is it me….
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Or do they look like the original angry bird?
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One of these things is not like the others.
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Which makes me wonder what that poor bird did to be ostracized.
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And speaking of wild turkeys, did you know they make excellent snow shovelers?
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We cleared the path but they’re enlarging the dining room.
And speaking of paths…
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Now that the man cave is being readied, more shoveling is required after every storm.
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Welcome… one and all.
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Aside from the wreaths on our home’s windows, this was the extent of my lackluster Christmas decorating this year.
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Snowflakes lights in the Barn Mahal. Battery powered and on a timer.
Ho! Ho! Hum…
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And while Christmas will feel a lot different this year, there are some things to look forward to.
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Mother and Bambi are chowing down regularly and trying to lay on extra winter pounds.
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But sadly I was right about the blue eyes fading. Once this little one grows up we won’t be able to distinguish him/her so easily.
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But look who’s made our backyard his new hunting ground….
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A juvenile Coopers Hawk.
He perches on the bird feeder pole and waits patiently for lunch to drop in.
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I got excited when I saw this:
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And was seriously hoping mother red squirrel had met her doom…
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But unfortunately it was a dove.
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Better luck next time guy.
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Birds.
You never know who’ll show up.
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Turkeys on Thanksgiving Day? That takes balls.
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They’re even pushing the envelope by ripping up every scrap of weed block landscaping paper I laid under our tree.
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And blue jays.
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All of a sudden, a large flock of blue jays.
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There were blue jays everywhere.
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And the greedy little devils wiped out four feeders in no time flat.
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Birds.
Sometimes annoying, but always photo worthy.
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