Tuesday, February 27, 2024

The Wood Frogs Have Arrived


I was walking the path through the woods off of Ship Road near our house today and I could hear the wood frogs calling.  They have a cackling sound - sort of like chickens in the yard.  I slowly made my way through the thick brush to a vernal pool where there must have been at least 100 frogs all doing their wonderful mating dance.  They stopped cackling when they sensed I was there.  I circled the pool to get in the right light and settled down along the pool.  Nobody said a word.  No sound at all.  So I decided to play the sound of wood frogs on my cell phone.  It took a few minutes but the frogs listened and got comfortable and before I knew it, they were all cackling away again.  The boys blowing up their air sacks and chasing the girls around the pool.  Here is a beautiful male floating on the pool - in the first photo he has not blown up his air sacks.  In the second one - he's blown up.



 

Tuesday, February 13, 2024

I'm Back from Tanzania with Lots of Baby Pictures!!!

As I write this we are having a wild, wild blizzard outside our window in Charlestown Meadows.  Yowza!!  I've just returned from a magnificent trip to Tanzania with Todd Gustafson and friends.  It was the birthing season and the baby wildebeests and zebras and gazelles and giraffes were being born at every turn in front of our very eyes.  I have hundreds and hundreds of photographs to go through, but here are a few just to get started.

Sunrise on the Serengeti

The Sunbird

Baby Lions Loving Their Mom

Mom and Brand New Baby Grant's Gazelle

Brand New Baby Giraffe

Breakfast in the Field

Brand New Baby Wildebeest

 

Elephants of the Tarangire

I declare you the Winner!



Todd Gustafson had heard there were two cheetahs (mother and cub) hunting.  We got to their location and stopped to photograph them when the cub ran towards us, jumped on board, walked across the side and plopped down on the roof.  After initial shock, I took a selfie.  A few minutes later the cheetah and his mom took off like a shot and grabbed a baby gazelle. 

Lots of Paws

Lots of Zebras

Spotted Eagle Owl

Mr. Corey Bustard, all dressed up and ready for Love