OT: saw an octopus today...

[Maija]

You have the coolest nature walks, morna.

And that silly bear is comedy gold.

So is this (http://www.komotv.com/news/story.asp?id=27113), though it wasn't the poor bear's fault that morons had bright ideas for getting him out of a tree.

But speaking of strange animal sights...

I went for a bike ride this evening to blow off the stress of a really hectic week. I went pretty far along the river valley pathway, and I was thinking maybe I should turn around because the sun was setting, but then I thought, nah, I should go just a little bit farther--I'll go as far as the next pedestrian bridge over the river.

So a little farther on, I saw an elephant.

I saw his big trailer and thought maybe it was for a crew shooting a commercial near the river, but then I noticed a little crowd of people and kids near a café by the pathway. According to a fellow in the crowd, the elephant stars in movies and was either coming from or going to a film shoot somewhere, and the elephant's owner knows the owner of the café, so they stopped for a visit and the elephant got out and had a stroll to stretch his legs.

It was the weirdest thing.

You never know what you might see if you go just a little bit farther.

[morna]

WOW an elephant! that's way too kool!!

Ya you know, if you want to see stuff you just have to look.....and go a little farther

dumb humans...poor bear landed right on his nose

[Otto66]

It's amazing that this thread is still going. Amazing.

[petriacce]

Holy Cow! It's been a while since I've been able to post. Life has kicked my butt big time in keeping me so busy I don't know whether I'm coming or going. I just finished the hardest week ever at my current job and I am on serious burnout. So, we took a nice little vacation to see family. While visiting my parents and doing a little geocaching we discovered a neat little Observatory in Carson City, Nevada.

A lot of our solar system's popular bodies are represented by carvings in rocks along a simple pathway. I didn't expect something like this in Carson City at all.

[petriacce]

More of the same as above.

[petriacce]

The remaining pics.

[Mike Cross]

That's very cool...

[kid cthulhu]

Giant squid found off Tokyo

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-09-28-japan-giant-squid_x.htm

[gary bolt]

...we discovered a neat little Observatory in Carson City, Nevada.

A lot of our solar system's popular bodies are represented by carvings in rocks along a simple pathway. I didn't expect something like this in Carson City at all.

Wow, those are cool displays. Most science displays are kind of sterile but those ones are great. I love the fact that they are permanent outdoor displays and the use of rock feels right for the subject. Sorry I missed your post, Patrick.

[gary bolt]

Giant squid found off Tokyo

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-09-28-japan-giant-squid_x.htm

I think this is a scientific milestone. I wonder what else is down there.

[gary bolt]

Morna and I spent a few days outdoors last week and saw some nice stuff. There's a small pond created by a beaver dam that we see frogs, ducks, turtles and dragonflies at. I also have been trying to photograph the moon at night. Here a couple of shots where you can see craters.

[morna]

Giant squid found off Tokyo

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-09-28-japan-giant-squid_x.htm


damn I love the internet! thanks kid c

dabblers heh heh - silly ducks

[morna]

... went for a long walk in the park and through the graveyard kicking as many leaves as we could find to kick - and there were a lot of them! I found my first Blewitt under some rhododendrons! The blewitt is a really beautiful and distinctive mushroom and listed as edible/choice in my mushroom books. So we are going to eat it in a few minutes.. but before we wreck it I wanted to show you a picture of it. The colour may not come off with the vagaries of digital photo and colour monitor technology but it is a gorgeous powdery lavendar and is one of the most fragrant mushrooms out there - a major identifying factor! I can't describe the smell... it's not like anything else. Light and pleasant but not at all floral. The fungussy version of a rose.

anyway we have eaten these before and I am completely convinced of its ID so I will eat it ... but never eat a mushroom if you're not educated about them and are not completely sure!! blah blah blah end of PSA

[morna]

well we just ate our blewitt... he was just lovely! delicate and fragrant still in it's drowned in butter state. some pics to whet your appetites! This is one of the nicest edibles I've ever had the pleasure of eating!.... one of the pleasures of fall!

[KoryBing]

Those look a bit like squid legs.

[Mike Cross]

Will someone PLEASE buy that girl a steak?

[gary bolt]

Morna and I went to visit her aunt who lives on a back road half way up Vancouver Island a few days ago. It was dark by the time we headed home and as we were making our way back to the main highway I thought I could see a dog running out of a dark driveway on the drivers side. I slowed down in anticipation of it chasing the car and barking at us but it didn't bark at all because it was a black bear! It ran right in front of the car and headed into the forest on the other side of the road. As he passed in front of our head lights you could see the pale soles of his feet as he ran away from us. He was probably only 15 or 20 feet away from the car. I don't think he was fully grown but he was much bigger and more massive than any dog.

[Maija]

I saw a bald eagle nesting today...

...and you can too! (http://www.infotecbusinesssystems.com/wildlife/default.asp)

She's just sitting there right now, as the eggs were just laid last week. Incubation is 35 days.

The nesting pair is on Hornby Island on the British Columbia coast.

(Mac users: be patient. As long as you're on OSX and have Windows Media Player installed it should work. There's a note there for Mac users about downloading something, but I waited a few seconds and eventually the sponsor's ad began steaming and then it cut to the eagles).

[Maija]

Cool! I just saw the Mom and Dad shift change (no idea who is who). There are two eggs. :)

[hellboyone]

This is a live cam? Best one I've seen! Great subject, too.

R.

[Maija]

I wasn't 100% sure, but the sun has set there and it's getting dark on the webcam, so I guess that confirms it's live.

There's audio too, I noticed. I didn't notice right away because it's quiet most of the time. Then I thought my hard drive was making some freaky noises. Then I realized it was eagle squeaks.

Pretty good stream, although it hangs every now and again. I see many minutes of my life being wasted watching eagles shuffle twigs around over the next several weeks.

I think their names are Doug and Suzanne. That's what I'm callin' 'em anyway. :)

...and the current sitter just tucked his/her head under his/her wing and has gone to sleep. Hee. Goodnight Doug or Suzanne!

[hellboyone]

I think their names are Doug and Suzanne. That's what I'm callin' 'em anyway. :)

...and the current sitter just tucked his/her head under his/her wing and has gone to sleep. Hee. Goodnight Doug or Suzanne!

Only a matter of time now before John Cougar Mellencamp writes a little ditty about those two. :)

R.

[morna]

wow ever kool

ditto on the many hours thing :)


edit: oh, you said minutes :o heh heh

[morna]

just witnessed the switcheroo... two eggs - confirmed

awesome

[Maija]

ALERT! The eagle eggs are expected to hatch some time in the next few days, possibly even hours!

Eagle cam (http://www.infotecbusinesssystems.com/wildlife/default.asp)

And their server is having the crap knocked out of it because of people like me sharing links like this :p so don't be surprised if you can't connect, unfortunately. I connected moments ago (no eaglets so far), left the cam, and now when I try again I'm getting nothing.

You may have better luck after sunset (which is about 8:20 Pacific time) when they re-run the day's tape. So it's not live, but it's still neat to watch.

[Maija]

Contrary to what the CBC is reporting, an eaglet did not hatch yet.

I haven't been able to connect to the webcam since I made my last post, but a good second-best to seeing it live are the screen caps on the eagle cam forum:

http://forum.infotecbsi.com/viewforum.php?f=7

There are also clips being posted on YouTube of significant webcam moments. This one shows that what was thought to be a little head poking out is actually just a little piece of fluff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e-WHu8Lw7E

For piles of other clips, see the sidebar.

[morna]

ya I saw the eggs last night, albeit VERY briefly ... no sign of holes or cracks on the sides I saw - definitely still intact!

[Kelly Tindall]

Ah, I figured this thread was now about eagle hatching.

I'm deliberately avoiding any and all eagle whatnot because a) I've seen many a creature be born, be it mammal, reptile, or bird, b) I don't want to buy into the hype, and c) I'm drunk, and I need to find something fun to do before my buzz wears off.

K.

[Maija]

Some sad news, one of the eggs is now gone and the other one is overdue. If it's going to hatch it has to be in the next day or two.

But good luck getting a connection to the cam. They're now getting 10 million hits daily. I've only connected once since I last posted about connecting, and then the connection dropped after a few seconds.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/05/01/eaglecam060501.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQ0oYmw9wcw&search=Hornby%20Island%20eagles%20nest%20Hancock

[gary bolt]

It's too bad about the Hornby Island eagles. No chicks this year but apparently the same nest has been observed for something like 19 years and it's only been last year and this year that chicks were not raised and fledged. They are working on a new link to a nest that recently had chicks hatch.

In the mean time I have pics I took on the way to work today. There is a super tall totem pole in Beacon Hill Park overlooking the sea that is supposed to be the tallest anywhere. Who should morna and I see perched on top but Mr (or Mrs) Eagle.

[morna]

We just got back from Alberta a few minutes ago. I have a sore face... I'll get to that later. We had a triple purpose trip: first a 3 person show in Edmonton, then the Canadian Glass conference in Red Deer and finally a visit with our favorite Albertan red haired hellboarder... RUTA! She's a planner that one, so we had a full itinerary. Unfortunately the first thing we did was to screw up the plan and arrive a day early. (it's a long story) We got in late on Sunday night had a beer and crashed. Monday was low-key as she had to actually do some work and that making a living stuff but we had a great brunch and a walking tour of her very kool Calgary neighbourhood. The fun really began on Tuesday when we headed up to the mountains to immerse ourselves in the Canadian Rockies. We started with a hike through wild flower covered open woods up to a couple of crazy coloured small mountain lakes. We saw so many awesome wildflowers that we had to start a list. We called the list THE LIST.

[morna]

... yes there's lots

yes. my face is a sore swolen puckery mess - but you should see the cougar!
more on that later...:evilsmile

we saw vistas and waterfalls and several small furry animals...

and I'm afraid I have to go to bed now - more tomorrow



edit: the petroglyphs and the first Pika sighting go here too

[gary bolt]

Ruta showed Morna and I some amazing natural landscapes, plants and critters in our two action-packed days in Banff National Park. It is a spectacular place and she knows tons about it. Thanks ruta!

[Myron L]

WOW ! What amazing scenery...sounds like you guys had a blast !

[Gene Poonyo]

Since I like hiking, I really appreciate these wonderful and breathtaking images. Thanks for sharing.

[Gene Poonyo]

Can't wait to hear the cougar story...

[Neil Hill]

Consider me officially jealous!! :D That's beautiful country up there. Reminds me of Washington State a bit and the beautiful vistas found there. Glad you all had fun together.

[Otto66]

So... ruta is running a B&B now? (KIDDING):D

Glad you guys had a`great trip.

...and now the cougar story. Please.

[hellboyone]

I've emailed the icepacks to you guys. Have they arrived? Hope all your faces and such are healing nicely. And I'm glad you're not dead.

Great pictures! Why didn't that Big Horned Sheep attack you???

[morna]

... ok so that was the Grassi lakes hike. Next we went to have lunch at Lake Minnetaka (sp?) this is where we saw the big horn sheep Gary posted. We had begun a mamals list too and we were now on a quest for as many animals as we could find and identify (yes we three are nature geeks and this is what nature geeks do!) We saw a Columbia ground squirrel at the lakeside. He hung out with us as we ate lunch which, by the way, was yet another delicious meal planned and made by our ruta - we ate like kings all trip! As we left we noticed signs posted and went to check then out as we were keeping ourselves informed as much as possible about bear activity in the parks. It turned out to be a rabid Sea Otter warning that caused much speculation and amusement (as it was likely intended to). Then we headded out to check out the tourist haven known as Lake Louise. We ended up walking the whole lakeshore and saw a few more animals. The far end was actually the most interestring so I'm glad we went all the way out. As we left Ruta noticed the mud nests of some type of swallow tucked into the overhang of the stately Chateau Lake Louise. Nature persists!

oh yes and there's my face

[morna]

sorry gotta go to work ... rest of story tonight - I promise!

(heh heh :evilsmile )

[Maija]

Lake Minnewanka. :)

Gary and morna and I had a wonderful time and even the cougar incident was a kind of adventure, in hindsight. I wouldn't line up to take that ride again though. And I'll play the tease and leave it for Gary or morna to tell THAT story.

Right now I have to head downtown to the digital camera experts to see if they can recover all of my photos from our trip, since my stupid computer decided to cause troubles and I lost all my photos when I was downloading them. :(

Gary, you got great shots of the sheep! Everyone else: he has piles more Rocky Mountain animal photos where that came from. We had really great wildlife sightings, up until the last one. ;)

[Neil Hill]

*starts softly then builds* cougar story....cougar story....cougar story...cougar story...COUGAR STORY....COUGAR STORY!!! :D

[jnapper]

morna and gary, incredible photos! Wow, that's some scenery!! Wow!

I hope you heal up fast, morna-- rest easy.

[morna]

I've emailed the icepacks to you guys. Have they arrived? Hope all your faces and such are healing nicely. And I'm glad you're not dead.

Great pictures! Why didn't that Big Horned Sheep attack you???


They were seriously intent upon eating the gravel at the side of the road - it must have a lot of salt in it that they crave.

- ice packs working - swelling receding nicely Thanks darlin! ... and yes, being alive is all good!

[jnapper]

They were seriously intent upon eating the gravel at the side of the road - it must have a lot of salt in it that they crave.

Crazy... .

[Jake Capps]

Please tell the rest of this story. The pics look great!

*Ruta Canadian Adventure, trademarked by Bandit 37*:D

[Sparky]

Glad you guys are all okay. The photos are beautiful, especially that blue lake in BANFF! Hey, look, it's Nightcrawler!

And I now really need a sign that says: RABID SEA OTTER WARNING

[Ta2grrl]

Heard you guys had an accident...

Glad to hear all turned out for the best for you...even if it cost a beautiful animal its life...

XXX

[morna]

hey! spoiler tags please! ;)

ok on with the story...

but first an aside - my face is healing at a truly amazing rate. I don't usually bruise easily and I do heal well lately and haven't had a cold in two years or so but I am amazed at how fast this contusion is healing. The swelling is almost entirely gone and - disappointingly, it doesn't look like i'll even have much (if any) bruising. Damn I hate it when you go through a big trauma and have nothing to show for it!

Anyway... after Lake Louise we went to Moraine lake and visited the very spot where the mountain scene that appears on the Canadian 20 dollar bill was photographed. Again we were pleasantly surprized by the lack of tourist hoardes. We saw Pikas again - this time very up close and cute! But soon it became obvious that we were pooped and hungry and it was time to head off to the hostel and dinner and bed - a long day!

[gary bolt]

I just merged a couple of photos and googled a Canadian twenty dollar bill. There are more trees than there were when they produced the old twenty but it is definitely the same place.

[morna]

... we stayed at the Mosquito Creek mountain Hostel - Gary and my first hostel stay and it was really a lovely experience. Not 'cause we bonded with international hikers and like-minded nature geeks but because we got to have beer and Corsican stew!!!!!!!! ( http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showpost.php?p=2776927&postcount=191 ) (cue homer drool sounds) man that was SO good!! and with it, a lovely Tuscan loaf from the selfsame bakery where Gary and I were soon to have an uplifting MG experience! ... with butter! (sorry no photos - too busy eating ) and we fell exhausted into bed not long after. Gary and I slept "the-sleep-of-the-embarrasingly-unfit-suddenly-thrust-into-the-life-of-the-more-or-less-reasonably-fit" so we were dead to the world till morning. I was first up and got coffee started and splashed my face in the mountain (freezing cold) stream and was refreshed! We took off soon after an impromptu brekkie by me utilising fresh tomatoes and bacon and eggs. We skooted across the highway and walked to a pleasant little falls not far from the hostel and then embarked upon our (fateful!) day

[gary bolt]

Ruta took Morna and I to Bow Lake which if another turquoise beauty fed by melting glaciers. Later we got pretty close to a couple of huge Elk from the safety of our car. They are still moulting their winter coats and look a little ratty but their antlers are newly grown and covered with velvet.

[morna]

Ah too much to tell but I know you're dying to hear about the cougar so...
we were seriously looking now for wildlife and we were not disappointed...

[gary bolt]

Our last hike in Banff National Park took us into Johnston Canyon. Canyon trails usually take hikers along the ridge and provide occasional lookout spots where you can look over the edge. This unusual park has the trail running along the rivers edge at the bottom of the canyon and often there are steel-framed walkways mounted on the cliff face not too far above water level.

[morna]

But we had to call it a day all too soon and after going twice into a loosely restricted area which was purported to be crawling with bears (to and from Johnston Creek canyon (sp?) we were still skunked on the large predators section of the wildlife wish list - though we did see deer and elk galore. Oh well, we consoled ourselves with a giant Margarita and some half decent tourist trap mexican fare in "downtown" Banff. (sorry no photos - eating) Except ruta being a conscientious and wonderful host naturally declined the frosty alcohol as we were about to depart the mountains and head for home base - Calgary a couple of hours drive away. can you feel the suspense building?

[morna]

about 45 minutes into our drive to Calgary (ruta correct me if I'm wrong...) in deep dusk - only a suggestion of light in the sky and something like 11:30 at night and in the middle of nowhere in particular, we got our cougar sighting. Both ruta and i remember vividly a freeze-frame image of a tawny cat form in mid leap - fully extended - right across the windshield completely unannounced and BANG!


smoke and particles and pain and yelling and wow I'm alive and shit what's wrong with my face and pull over and holy shit we hit a cougar... get the door open so as to breathe and blood and quick put on the emergency brake and turn off the ignition ... are the flashers on ... shit .. what now


We hit a cougar

[morna]

so so sad...

[Gene Poonyo]

Good Lord...:( :( :(

I am really glad you guys came out in one piece though. It is good to know that your face is healing fast! Seems like Ruta and Gary came out unscathed.

[morna]

ya Gary was completely unscathed in the back seat but ruta who was driving sustained a small amount of airbag damage. We surmise that because I'm shorter I got it more full on in the face where she, being taller got less impact - dunno. It was quite freaky though the airbags deploying caused burns on each of ruta's wrists. Good thing she was wearing long sleeves 'cause the friction melted the fleece jacket she had on. She also had a bit of a sore nose. All my injuries are minor and were caused by the airbag. Gary posted a much more succinct version of the story over at the community forum. http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=127456

Thanks everyone for being glad we weren't hurt.

[Maija]

Ya, the melted fleece was rather freaky, but I'll take that and a story to tell over serious injury. I'm really glad to hear you're healing up fast morna. It's pretty freaky when some one in the dark says "I think I'm bleeding pretty bad". Sitting in the car in the dark waiting for the 911 contingent to arrive while an angry, injured mountain lion might have been looking for us was freaky too. Altogether freaky!

The car might not be a write-off, but the airbags might make it so, rather than the exterior damage. Apparently the cost of re-stuffing those and re-certifying them is more than repairing the external damage. We'll know Monday.

But enough about that, the rest of the visit was fantastic. We had a great time, great weather, great lack of tourist hordes (the trick is to go to major attractions outside of the 9-5 tour bus window), great abundance of spectacular wildflowers, great animal sightings (even including the last one, in a way; certainly a story to tell), great vistas, great food, great beer and great friendship. :)

I'll know by Tuesday if I have photos still on my camera card or not. Here's hoping.

[Jake Capps]

Great story! Your very lucky, I'm glad your getting better.

[petriacce]

What an adventure. Thank you all for sharing the events with words and pictures. I am SO GLAD you three are okay. Nature has plenty of mountain lions but we only have one of each of you.

[jnapper]

Morna, I am so glad that you guys are all okay. That must have been a draining experience for you all. I hope you all rest up and heal well.

(hug)

[Myron L]

OMG...you folks are VERY lucky that damage/injuries weren't FAR worse.....glad you all are well and on the mend !

[gary bolt]

Morna is a healing machine! The swelling in her face is all gone and the abrasion looks smaller every time I look at her.

[Tad]

Morna - healing power. In Canada. Hmmm. Any signs of blades erupting from her knuckles?

[morna]

not yet, but I dropped an anvil on my foot the other day and it bounced off

[Neil Hill]

Morna - healing power. In Canada. Hmmm. Any signs of blades erupting from her knuckles?

Only if the Canadian Government and Project X got ahold of her at some point. :D

[Petersen]

Having known most of the story before it was being posted, It was hilarious to watch it unfold in Morna's teasers (of course knowing you were all safe helped the hilarity)

Terrific pictures, and of course am very glad everyone is ok.

Any word on where the mountain lion is going? I hear it may be a part of the Ruta Adventure tour in years to come

[Neil Hill]

I finally got to read the Cougar story. So, you didn't get mauled by a Cougar Morna, Ruta, et. al, you ran into one with your car?! Holy Moly! I'm just thankful (as others have said) that there were no life threatening injuries in your party. Airbags save lifes, but I know they can sometimes cause injuries which aren't too fun.

Maybe you'll develop a cool small scar for your troubles Morna. :D At the very least you now have a cool story to tell!

[morna]

Jnapper, I would like to humbly request that you add this thread onto the octopus thread because it's pretty much all about animal experiences and so it doesn't get deleted in the purge - which feels imminent.

I was lying awake this morning re-living this experience, thinking of all the ways it could have been so much worse.

[Jankenstein]

Great story.....and glad to see everyone is ok afterwards. I visited Banff a few years back myself. I highly recommend to everyone that can possibly go to Banff to do so. It's breathtaking. I have some photos, but no scanner. Ah well.
The Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller is definitely worth checking out as well.

Octopus story? I took care of one when I worked in the Bio lab in college. :D

[gary bolt]

Morna and I recently had a little nature break and saw some nice critters. Here are some spotty fawns. Awww.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/spottyfawn1.jpg

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/spottyfawn2.jpg

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/spottyfawn3.jpg

[morna]

Gary didn't mention that these were shot out of our window!!! (and not with the zoom) This little family was there to greet us one morning. The mother deer ate the geraniums off our porch! It was a treat for me as I'd never actually seen spotty fawns before. Apparently it's rare for deer to have twins but this mother is on her second batch. Last year when we were at SDCC she had another set and our friend got a photo of one of the fawns licking a bunny AWWwwwww... !

[gary bolt]

We were fortunate to experience very low tides on our nature break and spent several hours out there in the muck looking for cool creatures. Here is a shrimpy little shrimp that Morna found in the eal grass bed.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/shrimp.jpg

And here are some Red Rock Crabs. I tried to get them to do some Mouse Guard poses but they were too crabby.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/crab2.jpg

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/crab1.jpg

[gary bolt]

Here is a frog we saw on the edge of a beaver pond. We also had an amazing experience in the trees near the pond one evening. We went for a walk at dusk and as we stood at the edge of the pond we could here strange hissy whistle sounds in the trees. When we went to investigate the source of the sounds and it turned out to be three owls. They allowed us to approach quite close (15 - 20') and kept making the sound that allowed us to find them. One of them flew up to a low branch in the trees and later did a silent pass over our heads as we squatted silently on the forest floor. All in all we spent about 20 minutes watching them. Sorry no pictures of the owls - it was quite dark by the time we were on our way.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/frog.jpg

And here are some quails.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/quails.jpg

[Sparky]

Great pictures! Quail are such funny little birds...the ones we have here let you walk right up to them. Guess they don't realize that people EAT quail.

Usually on our walks we don't see too many cool animals, especially when we bring the camera it's like they KNOW. Here's all we got last time - at least he was polite and didn't run away from us. Well, maybe he was running, it's hard to tell with a snail.
http://www.phobe.com/crap/snaily.jpg

[Jankenstein]

Quail are delicious if you have a decent cook.
And here in VA, the deer population is really ridiculous compared to even 5 years ago. I average seeing at least one every couple of days on the drive home from work.

Getting back to cephalopods, did everyone see the picture of a healthy adult Giant Squid that Japanese scientists took a while back?

[morna]

Quail never fail to make me laugh - they're adorably hilarious! These are WILD (raaaahr) quail and fairly timid... and fairly dumb we were out looking for them and there they were running toward us, no idea we were there. heh heh lovely snail shot Sparks!

Jankenstein: find that photo and post it!!!!!! we loves us some giant archeteuthis around here!

[Jankenstein]

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/12/photogalleries/top_ten_pictures/images/primary/squid1.jpg

That's from the National Geographic site; there are more photos there, and also over at www.tonmo.com, which is a dedicated Cephaolpod news/research site.

That was the very first time that a healthy adult Giant Squid had ever been photographed at the depth they usually dwell in. IIRC, that one was around 25' or so. Not exactly a huge specimen for that species. :D

[Maija]

I'm glad you had such thorough cute animal sightings on your holiday, Gary & Morn! Even the shrimp is cute.

Mmmmmmmm, shrrrriiiiiiimp.

I had some great animal sightings last weekend at the Columbia Icefields but unfortunately my camera doesn't have great zoom so I hardly bothered trying for photos. We saw a nursery of mama big horn sheep and their lambs frollicking in a high valley. I got a long shot of them and then my battery died. :( We sat on a little hill over looking their meadow to eat our lunch and they came closer and closer to us. Apparently we didn't register as a threat. There were a couple dozen moms and about a dozen lambs. They'd get it in their little beans that they needed to be on the other side of the creek with the other half of the herd and leap and splash and sproing like it was the funnest thing ever to cross a creek.

In the same valley we saw two ptarmigan (VERY hard to see) and their wee chicks. And we also saw the tiny, tiny chicks of some kind of tiny sandpiper-ish shorebird. SOOOOOOO cute.

The following day we saw BIG big horned rams on Wilcox Pass above the Icefields. One of them was just a couple of metres from the trail on the way up but I was conserving the 6 photos I had left to get a picture of the icefields and also he seemed annoyed that we were so close, so we hurried past. You don't mess with something that can hit you like a truck. I did get a picture of one of them on the way back from futher away.

[morna]

under the heading of science is kool:

check this out

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2006/08/21_ant.shtml

ps thanks for the pic and link Jankenstein

[Tad]

Gary and morna start a cult, here. (http://www.cyrune.com/(Argosy1932Jan.JPG)

[Neil Hill]

Well, maybe he was running, it's hard to tell with a snail.
http://www.phobe.com/crap/snaily.jpg

He's actually travelling super speed in this picture (I can almost make out the dust trail left in his wake). You must have an extremely fast shutter speed on that camera of yours, Sparky. :p

[gary bolt]

This slug looks like he might be going faster. Maybe we could arrange a race.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/ypljuly06147.jpg

[Neil Hill]

And Snail Trail is leading the race by an antenna! I don't know for sure, but it looks like Snail Trail may take this one folks! Uh oh, it looks like Slug Slime is coming up on his tail! Who's going to win it?! It's anybody's race at this point. *spoken in best race announcers voice*

[Neil Hill]

*Edit- Duplicate info. removed (double post)*

[gary bolt]

Okay, it's not an octopus but I took a photo of sea cucumber today.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/IMG_0342.jpg
Fear the cucumber!

[TBolt]

On a daily basis at work, I see Sand Hill Cranes, Quail, Gopher Tortoises, Swans, Squirrells, Heron, Indigo Snakes, and much more.

[Tad]

Then snap a few pics for us! :)

[Sparky]

Can you make sea pickles out of sea cucumbers?

[morna]

yes, but they'd be quite... untasty

[Maija]

Ewww, Gary, you might want to have a doctor check that out.

[TBolt]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v330/tboltcustoms/94f9ca0c.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v330/tboltcustoms/6a69f577.jpg

There's a swan, and Bok Tower. I work in the surrounding gardens.

[gary bolt]

There's a swan, and Bok Tower. I work in the surrounding gardens.

The Bok Sanctuary looks like a nice place to work. Do birds stop in there during migration season? Here on Vancouver Island we get large populations of Trumpeter swans in the winter. The black swan is an exotic imported bird that lives on a public pond nearby. I think they are from Australia.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/ypl037.jpg
Trumpeters.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/ypjuly07143.jpg
This guy tried to chase us.

[TBolt]

The swans are pinioned so they stay put. We get migrations of wood ducks, sand hill cranes, robins, and cardinals during the winter. Not to mention lots and lots of snowbirds. :D

[Maija]

Heh. My parents were among those snowbirds last winter. I recognized the tower from their photos.

Here are some sea otters rafting up so that they'll be more stable while they sleep, but from a human point of view it looks like "AAaaaawww, they're holding hands! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epUk3T2Kfno)"

Note how they can't get to sleep because of all the "AAAAAaaaaAAAWWWWWS!" :p

They are darned cute though.

[hellboyone]

Heh. My parents were among those snowbirds last winter. I recognized the tower from their photos.

Here are some sea otters rafting up so that they'll be more stable while they sleep, but from a human point of view it looks like "AAaaaawww, they're holding hands! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epUk3T2Kfno)"

Note how they can't get to sleep because of all the "AAAAAaaaaAAAWWWWWS!" :p

They are darned cute though.

We do love it when animals do human things.

Ugh....it is cute. But I just wanna punch all those "Awwww" people. :)

[Bailzzararco]

Me and my friends had just finished eatting lunch when we went to the Petco nearby. One of my friend had her dog with her and needed a new collar. SO we go in and I catch up with one of my friends who is looking at the fish. The very last tank we see has two different puffer fish in it. One of them is called a "dog-faced" something or another, but it wasn't facing our way until later, and seriously, it looks like a puppy head with fins. It was really really cute. The other puffer fish has some seriously weird-looking eyes. For one thing they looked metallic green, like a peacock feather, and hairy. So, imagine green metallic fuzz underneath a clear orb and you will have this thing's eyes. It looked so alien, and puffer fish are sort of chunky fish, not like the kind that look like they might have been pressed in between the pages of an unabridged dictionary, so it had these weird eyes and also it sat on the bottom on top of the gravel looking a bit like a creepy head with flat spines on it. Okay, okay, the last thing was a hermit crab. No, not so odd by itself I know, but the pet shop had made this nice little habitat for them, inlcuding a sort of plastic tree thing, and darned if one of those crabs was actually perched up in the tree! I didn't know they could even climb! Did anyone else know that? My friend, however, apprently knew they could climb, he said "sure, they can climb!" I was really surprised. Next I will see lobsters swinging on vines in the jungle. Yeah, right!

[Tad]

Because Morna, Gary and Maija are always seeing cool creatures.

Okay, this evening we took an impromptu drive up the Angeles Crest Highway to go to Newcombs Ranch Restaurant and Bar, about 27 miles out of La Canada where I live (next to Pasadena).

On our way up we saw a very tiny ground squirrel, then farther on a fox darted across the road. We ate outside and watch some tall crested Mountain Jays which we'd never seen before. Then on the way back down to home a bat swooped at our windshield just before we saw a FREAKIN' MOUNTAIN LION strolling by the road, not bothered by us at all and only about 8 miles out of town. Finally, we saw a skunk just three blocks from our house.

The night's not over. I'm on bear look out tonight. Just a little wilderness fun in the wilds above Los Angeles.

[morna]

NO WAY! What an ever great wildlife sighting day! And a cougar!!!! That's so kool! ... and rare especially where you are.

I dub thee an honourary Canadian.

[el seth]

This thread is immortal. Like The Highlander.

[gary bolt]

Tad, that is so cool that you can still experience that so close to a big city like Los Angeles. Go mountains!

When we were up north recently I took this picture of a Ptarmigan in summer dress.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/Atlin457.jpg

[Maija]

That's an impressive array of wildlife you saw, Tad! I'm glad the cougar stayed by the side of the road and didn't go on it, like one we once knew.

It's not so unusual that you should have seen a cougar though. It's possible you might one day see one wandering on your street. Their population is exploding in California and it's a cause for concern as you might imagine. The Beast in the Garden (http://www.beastinthegarden.com/)is all about the return of the mountain lion to its habitats now occupied by people.

I was in the mountains all weekend and I only saw a golden-mantled ground squirrel, an osprey and a bunch of ravens. All the other aminals are in the high valleys doing last-minute face stuffing before winter hits I guess.

Gary, I've never seen a ptarmigan in a tree before! Cool!

[Todd H]

I went for a walk last night and saw 8 turtles swimming in a pond under a bridge I crossed. As I watched them (they obviously get fed a lot since they all came right over to the bridge and swam around looking up at me) a rather largish catfish kept surfacing under one of the turtles and bumping the bottom of his shell. It was quite a site. I'll have to go back with some bread tonight.

We also get quite a few fox running through the back yard at night thanks to overdeveloping in the area. When I first moved into the house I kept hearing this strange yipping/howling noise at night. I was quite creepy.

Took me a while and a few trips with a flashlight to figure out what it was.

Hopefully I'll get to see the Octopus who plays with the Mr Potatoe head at the Baltimore aquarium in a couple of weeks :D

[Todd H]

Went out for a bit of hiking today...didn't come across to much in the nature department. I'm no Gary with a camera, but I did manage to snap these:

A Hawk that landed about 10 feet away from us while we were on a break
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/028.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/030.jpg

Can you find the deer in these next shots? I tried to get closer but they got nervous so I decided to back off before we startled them to much:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/043.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/042.jpg

[Todd H]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/041.jpg

A tree had fallen across the path and I was the only one man enough to tackle it and clear the way:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/045.jpg

[Hellbaby]

The coolest nature thing I've experienced was a herd of manatees in the Indian River. I got close, maybe 6-10 feet. It was awesome!

[Asa]

Can you find the deer in these next shots? I tried to get closer but they got nervous so I decided to back off before we startled them to much:AWWW He is cuuuutttte.Great to have a camera on hand.

My picks to big for me to post on this forum

[morna]

The coolest nature thing I've experienced was a herd of manatees in the Indian River. I got close, maybe 6-10 feet. It was awesome!

wow manatees! That would be so kool, what an unlikely creature. I don't suppose you have any pictures??

[gary bolt]

Gary, I've never seen a ptarmigan in a tree before! Cool!

The ptarmigan was in the tree because Morna and I scared the crap out of it. We were hiking through the trees and startled it as is was foraging on the ground. I waited for a while expecting it to return to the ground for better food opportunities but it stayed in nervous-mode and clung to the branch it had claimed.

Went out for a bit of hiking today...didn't come across to much in the nature department. I'm no Gary with a camera, but I did manage to snap these:

A Hawk that landed about 10 feet away from us while we were on a break
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/028.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/030.jpg


Wow, you are lucky to have a hawk land that close to you. How long did it stay on that branch?

Thanks for the photography compliment.


A tree had fallen across the path and I was the only one man enough to tackle it and clear the way:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/045.jpg

You intimidate me.

The coolest nature thing I've experienced was a herd of manatees in the Indian River. I got close, maybe 6-10 feet. It was awesome!

I would love to see a manatee!

AWWW He is cuuuutttte.Great to have a camera on hand.

My picks to big for me to post on this forum

I post all my images through Photobucket. It's free, fairly quick and you don't have to re-size.

[hellhound777]

my grandparents who live in northern Montana have a heard of dear that live on there property, they come up to the house at down and dusk to feed on grain and left overs from the house, it started with one fawn who's mother was killed and so my grandparents fed it and now, there is always a small heard of dear in the field next to the driveway as you drive up to the house.

[Todd H]

my grandparents who live in northern Montana have a heard of dear that live on there property, they come up to the house at down and dusk to feed on grain and left overs from the house, it started with one fawn who's mother was killed and so my grandparents fed it and now, there is always a small heard of dear in the field next to the driveway as you drive up to the house.

That's awesome.

There are actually three deer in the pictures I took...I only posted pics of two because the third was to blurry.

Those pics were taken at a flower preserve. The woman at the information hut told us that a group of deer had gotten in and eaten the tops of a lot of the wildflowers. She said they wanted to get them out of the park but no one could find them.

I of course had to go back and show her :D

[Asa]

I post all my images through Photobucket. It's free, fairly quick and you don't have to re-size. Thanks. I have spent many nights up trying to figure out how to resize. I will give them a try.

[Maija]

A tree had fallen across the path and I was the only one man enough to tackle it and clear the way:

Heh, I saw a Cheat! ;)

I went backpacking on the long weekend in an area known as Skoki (http://www.greatcanadianplaces.com/AB/Skoki/index.html). For those who know the Canadian Rockies it's in behind the Lake Louise ski resort. We saw deer on the way up the Lake Louise service road (the trail starts at the ski resort). At Ptarmigan Lake we saw about eight ptarmigan. Gee, I wonder how that lake got its name? :rolleyes: We also saw quite a few Pikas at the base of Pika Peak. There seems to be a pattern forming...

We also saw quite a few fat marmots lounging around on the rocks, as well as chipmunks, golden mantled ground squirrels and a jack rabbit. I think I might have heard a porcupine chewing on the nearby outhouse the first night. Something was chewing not far away! The outhouses back there are covered in metal wire to discourage this. You're also advised to stow any rubber away because they like to chew on that too (eg. boots!).

At the second campground we were at, we took extra care to cache anything remotely smelly because we were right at the crossroads of a couple of grizzly freeways as well as in the neighborhood of wolverines. We didn't see any signs of the latter, but we did see the footprints, fresh scat and fresh diggings of grizzlies on the trails. We made lots of noise and sang every song we knew (and a lot that we didn't).

I've attached photos of a few of the sightings. The ptarmigan is doing a good job of demonstrating its camouflage.

[Maija]

When I was out the other evening I saw a bunny. This is remarkable because I usually see jack rabbits in the neighborhood, not cottontail rabbits.

Someone has been feeding this one because he let me get awfully close before he hopped away.

I wanted to hug him and squeeze him and call him George.

[gary bolt]

Heh, I saw a Cheat! ;)

I went backpacking on the long weekend in an area known as Skoki (http://www.greatcanadianplaces.com/AB/Skoki/index.html). For those who know the Canadian Rockies it's in behind the Lake Louise ski resort. We saw deer on the way up the Lake Louise service road (the trail starts at the ski resort). At Ptarmigan Lake we saw about eight ptarmigan. Gee, I wonder how that lake got its name? :rolleyes: We also saw quite a few Pikas at the base of Pika Peak. There seems to be a pattern forming...

We also saw quite a few fat marmots lounging around on the rocks, as well as chipmunks, golden mantled ground squirrels and a jack rabbit. I think I might have heard a porcupine chewing on the nearby outhouse the first night. Something was chewing not far away! The outhouses back there are covered in metal wire to discourage this. You're also advised to stow any rubber away because they like to chew on that too (eg. boots!).

At the second campground we were at, we took extra care to cache anything remotely smelly because we were right at the crossroads of a couple of grizzly freeways as well as in the neighborhood of wolverines. We didn't see any signs of the latter, but we did see the footprints, fresh scat and fresh diggings of grizzlies on the trails. We made lots of noise and sang every song we knew (and a lot that we didn't).

I've attached photos of a few of the sightings. The ptarmigan is doing a good job of demonstrating its camouflage.

Great pictures! That ptarmigan is amazingly patterned. Have you ever seen tracks or other signs of wolverines?

[Todd H]

Oooh I missed Gary's reply and question!

The hawk stayed on the branch for a good five to seven minutes. Then he flew over to another tree about five feet away. We watched him there for a few more minutes and then left.

To be honest hawks are pretty common around here. As they develop Jersey more and more the hawks are being pushed into rural areas. Every spring we have one that visits my Mothers back yard for a week. He'll kill a few birds (gross) and then move on. He usually sits on the fence directly outside my Grandmothers window.

I'll have to see if my Mom still has the pictures of him on her PC.

Is it wrong that I'm jealous of Maija's marmots?

[Jankenstein]

I'd really like to get back to Banff someday. Beautiful place! :)

[Maija]

Is it wrong that I'm jealous of Maija's marmots?
No, I am jealous of them too. They spend their days layin' there, warming their bellies in the sunshine and gazing out at fabulous mountain vistas, just takin' it easy, not getting too upset about anything. They are like nature's Dudes.

[Sparky]

I'd really like to get back to Banff someday.

Have you ever seen tracks or other signs of wolverines?

Maybe the Amazing X-Marmot and friends?

http://www.phobe.com/crap/Xmarmot.jpg

[Maija]

Hehe. I'm trying to think of what The Marmot's mutant powers would be. Maybe the ability to morph into a cushion or hat? They whistle really well. Hmmm.

I didn't answer Gary's question: no, I've never seen signs of a wolverine. They are notoriously elusive and poorly understood because they are so rarely observed. Most trails have notices about watching for and reporting evidence of wolverine activity (mostly tracks). Their tracks are easier to see in winter (they don't hibernate).

We did see a hole in the side of a slope that could have possibly been a wolverine den just because the hole seemed too large for a ground squirrel, but we weren't inclined to get any closer to find out (the hard way) if it was home to a wolverine. They're very territorial and are known for taking on other predators many times their size.

Plus, you know... those adamantium claws. :eek:

[Maija]

Heh, the Latin name for the wolverine is Gulo gulo gulo (European subspecies). The plains bison is Bison bison bison. Those were some lazy taxonomists.:p

[Jankenstein]

Sparky makes my sides hurt! *LOL* :D

I guess said taxonomists watched the movie "Tora Tora Tora!" one too many times and couldn't come up with a better word pattern.


And getting back to the topc of the actual thread title, I bet you didn't see an octopus do THIS today:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7004909622962894202

[gary bolt]

Thanks for the great and topical link Jankenstein!

[batmanosaurus]

Cool thread! There's a lot of inspiration in real world critters.

This morning for work I had to take some pics of trails so I went out walking the trails that surround this place. I heard a Pileated Woodpecker and saw a Rough Legged Hawk and a family of Trumpeter Swans. Nothing spectacular but no complaints for a Monday morning.

[Jankenstein]

Octopi are usually rather timid, but that guy must have been HUNGRY! :D

[gary bolt]

Morna and I went up island for a nature fix last week. I managed to take some decent jellyfish pics from a dock. They were just below the surface in direct sun with shadows from the dock behind them.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/Jelly2.jpg

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/Jelly3.jpg

[Maija]

Beautiful photos, Gary.

[morna]

speaking of cougar sightings in urban areas, a friend in Vancouver mentioned a cougar had been spotted on Granville Island this week. Granville Island !!! I mean how urban can you get!

WTF

[Jankenstein]

Gary, what kind of camera did you use to take those photos? Those turned out rather nice! :)

[Sparky]

Sweet pics! I've never seen a jellyfish that up-close-and-personal.

Did step on one once while swimming in the Atlantic -- OW -- but said jellyfish fled the scene of the crime.

[Maija]

When I was little we spent our summers on Prince Edward Island. We'd go to lobster dinners, naturally, and my brother and I would save the long plastic forks specifically for the purposes of stabbing the evil jellyfish that washed up on the beach. Of course they were already dead, but we had to be sure.

Jellyfish, I held you close,
and told you I love you.
But then the ocean took you back,
and now I just hold goo.


-The Simpsons

[Maija]

speaking of cougar sightings in urban areas, a friend in Vancouver mentioned a cougar had been spotted on Granville Island this week. Granville Island !!! I mean how urban can you get!

WTF

That's crazy! They're predicting that we'll be seeing them in the city more often here. We've already had a slew of bears through town. One paid a visit to the hospital. (http://www.660news.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20070917_160304_5416)

[gary bolt]

Gary, what kind of camera did you use to take those photos? Those turned out rather nice! :)

Thanks. We have a Canon PowerShot S3 IS. It's a big point and shoot with a zoom lens. The conditions were perfect for the jellyfish pictures. The water was calm, they were right at the surface in full light and the background was in shadow.

I took this creepy spider picture at sunrise.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/yplSept07107.jpg

[gary bolt]

When I was little we spent our summers on Prince Edward Island. We'd go to lobster dinners, naturally, and my brother and I would save the long plastic forks specifically for the purposes of stabbing the evil jellyfish that washed up on the beach. Of course they were already dead, but we had to be sure.

Jellyfish, I held you close,
and told you I love you.
But then the ocean took you back,
and now I just hold goo.


-The Simpsons

We find them on the beach too. I saw this one last week and it was about the size of a dinner plate. The swimming ones I posted earlier are a differnt species and only get 2 or 3 inches in diameter.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/yplSept07185.jpg

[gdeo]

Wow Gary...your photos just get better and better:D

[Todd H]

Wow Gary...your photos just get better and better:D

Seriously. You ever think about trying out for National Geographic?

[Hellbaby]

That's crazy! They're predicting that we'll be seeing them in the city more often here. We've already had a slew of bears through town. One paid a visit to the hospital. (http://www.660news.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20070917_160304_5416)

My city has wild bulls roaming through downtown!

Well, actually, there was an accident with a livestock truck, and all the cows got loose. :D


But those jellies are mad cool!

[Jankenstein]

Wowwwwwww. That spider picture is superb!

The dead jellyfish looks like it's made from resin. I gots to get me a camera.

[gary bolt]

Seriously. You ever think about trying out for National Geographic?

Wow,thanks for the compliments everybody. I think some of my pictures are pretty good but the quality is not National Geographic material. I would love to get a DSLR and fancy lenses for it but I don't have the bucks.

[Todd H]

While you may not have the equipment you certainly have the eye for it.

[Todd H]

In honor of Morna and Gary I now bring this thread full circle:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/Octopus.jpg

I went to the Camden Aquarium today. Thought I'd share some of the better pictures. I really need a better camera. The zoom on mine is horrible.

This turtle was awesome. He just kept swimming by letting people take his picture. He was huge too. Had to be at least 4 feet from head to tail.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/Turtle3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/Turtle5.jpg

These little guys were really interesting to watch. They had their tails burried in the sand and they just waved back and forth like sea grass.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/WeedFish.jpg

[Todd H]

This is my little buddy. Prisoner 120.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/Penguin.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/Penguin3.jpg

A menacing bird
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/BirdofPrey.jpg

And the sign below him
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/Poop.jpg

[Todd H]

Little gator
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/Caiman.jpg

Lobster Johnson tryouts. He's got the color down but is lacking in the claw dept.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/Lobster2.jpg

The Ray tank
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/Rays3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/Rays1.jpg

[Todd H]

They had this awesome shark tunnel. Unfortunately not many of the pictures came out because of the angle of the tunnel glass.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/Sharks6.jpg

And last but not least...Hippo party!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/Hippo2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/Hippo3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/Hippo4.jpg

[gary bolt]

In honor of Morna and Gary I now bring this thread full circle:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/Octopus.jpg

I went to the Camden Aquarium today. Thought I'd share some of the better pictures. I really need a better camera. The zoom on mine is horrible.

This turtle was awesome. He just kept swimming by letting people take his picture. He was huge too. Had to be at least 4 feet from head to tail.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/Turtle3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/Turtle5.jpg

These little guys were really interesting to watch. They had their tails burried in the sand and they just waved back and forth like sea grass.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/RavenTwyst/WeedFish.jpg

Those are awesome pictures! It's amazing how capable digital cameras are. That's an awesome octopus photo! Isn't it amazing to watch them up close like that? Their ability to change texture and colour constantly is truly alien and mesmerizing. I love those little eel-grass guys too. What a cool adaptation! Camden Aquarium looks like an amazing place to visit. Thanks for sharing your photos.

[Todd H]

Those are awesome pictures! It's amazing how capable digital cameras are. That's an awesome octopus photo! Isn't it amazing to watch them up close like that? Their ability to change texture and colour constantly is truly alien and mesmerizing. I love those little eel-grass guys too. What a cool adaptation! Camden Aquarium looks like an amazing place to visit. Thanks for sharing your photos.

We seriously must have watched the octopus for 20 minutes. He was extremely active (usually when I go to an aquarium they're just hiding) and his tentacles were swirling around grabbing onto the rock and glass as he moved. It was incredible to watch. I was mesmerized by it.

I only took the one flash picture of him because he seemed to get upset by the light. His tank was incredibly dark and back lit by red. I didn't want to be the idiot tourist upsetting the creatures.

The hippo's were really playful and fun to watch too.

Camden is actually a pretty great aquarium. Last time I went it was mostly brown river fish so I was really impressed this trip. No more river fish! I would venture to say it's slightly better then Baltimore's Aquarium.

Plus I got to touch a jellyfish and an anemanie (sp?) which was awesome.

[Asa]

Thanks for sharing Bellygrub, The hippo is freakin kool, first weekend I get time, I will make my way there. I took my group of girls for an overnight sleeping with sharks, They thought that was way kool. When the sharks went to sleep the turtle came out to hang out with the girls. This turtle was 8 feet from head to toe. The girls were spooked more by the turtle that the sharks.:D

[petriacce]

Wow! my window at work on the 5th floor is currently being bombarded by beetle bugs. Tons of them are flying around and landing. They look like slightly larger version of the typical red lady bugs. They have black spots and burnt yellow/orange bodies. I wish I had my camera.

Found a picture:
http://bugguide.net/images/cache/C04Q105QZSZKCK4KVKMKVK5KDK5K30WQV0ZKUKPQ9K4KHS7K30 GK304K30AQBKXKCK1QTK7K6KPQC05Q6K2Q2K6Q.jpg

A new kind just showed up:
http://www.uksafari.com/jpeg2/lady2sk.jpg

[Maija]

Cool! I wonder if we might get a rash of ladybugs or their cousins because we sure have a mess of aphids at the moment.

[petriacce]

Yeah, no kidding. I would love to have this many at home where I have a lot of plants. At work it's just metal and glass. Hello ladybugs!?!

[Jankenstein]

Every year around April or so, some species of orange ladybugs moves into my area just like clockwork. I'm not really sure which species (don't have a camera to take pictures of the little buggers), but they do have a rather peculiar smell.

[Jankenstein]

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/10/photogalleries/marine-pictures/images/primary/1_461.jpg

Not my photo, but I thought it was a rather good one!
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/10/photogalleries/marine-pictures/index.html
Several species that may be new to science.

[Asa]

Wow! my window at work on the 5th floor is currently being bombarded by beetle bugs
http://bugguide.net/images/cache/C04Q105QZSZKCK4KVKMKVK5KDK5K30WQV0ZKUKPQ9K4KHS7K30 GK304K30AQBKXKCK1QTK7K6KPQC05Q6K2Q2K6Q.jpg

A new kind just showed up:
http://www.uksafari.com/jpeg2/lady2sk.jpg
Late october, that time of the year. I was up in Vermont staying at Smuggs, and we were swormed with them inside the condo. From wall to wall seiling to seiling it was a sight to see. It took hours for them to vaccume them up. We ducked (duct) taped the back door were they were coming in. The weather is cooling off and there looking to keep warm.:D

[Maija]

You don't expect to encounter wildlife when you go down to check the mail.

In my building there are floor-to-ceiling windows at each of the landings in the stairwell. The front entryway has a concrete roof over it that is at the same level as the last landing (it's like the landing carries through to the other side of the window and sticks out over the door). Immediately on the other side of the glass was an owl sitting there. It was staring at me.

My building manager has put up Halloween decorations so my first thought was that someone had taken one of them and thrown it up on the roof of the entryway, or it was one of those fake owls that people use (unsuccessfully) to keep pigeons away. But nope, it was a real owl, looking really startled, although I think owls look like that all the time.

So I turned right around and ran back upstairs to get my camera. When I came back down it was still there, staring at me, but I went one step closer and... it flew away. :( Ah well, I was worried that it had hit the window and might be injured so just as well that it was not.

Unfortunately I didn't get a good long look at it so in my memory the markings are of a Great Horned Owl (which are common in the area) but it seemed too small for that. It might have been a Long-eared Owl, but I don't really remember long ears and those aren't very urban. I'm pretty certain that it was a small Great Horned Owl.

Anyway, it was a really odd and amusing sight. I wish I had gotten a photo though.

[gary bolt]

You don't expect to encounter wildlife when you go down to check the mail.

In my building there are floor-to-ceiling windows at each of the landings in the stairwell. The front entryway has a concrete roof over it that is at the same level as the last landing (it's like the landing carries through to the other side of the window and sticks out over the door). Immediately on the other side of the glass was an owl sitting there. It was staring at me.

My building manager has put up Halloween decorations so my first thought was that someone had taken one of them and thrown it up on the roof of the entryway, or it was one of those fake owls that people use (unsuccessfully) to keep pigeons away. But nope, it was a real owl, looking really startled, although I think owls look like that all the time.

So I turned right around and ran back upstairs to get my camera. When I came back down it was still there, staring at me, but I went one step closer and... it flew away. :( Ah well, I was worried that it had hit the window and might be injured so just as well that it was not.

Unfortunately I didn't get a good long look at it so in my memory the markings are of a Great Horned Owl (which are common in the area) but it seemed too small for that. It might have been a Long-eared Owl, but I don't really remember long ears and those aren't very urban. I'm pretty certain that it was a small Great Horned Owl.

Anyway, it was a really odd and amusing sight. I wish I had gotten a photo though.

What a treat! Those surprise! contacts with nature are precious and rarely suited to taking pictures. You're lucky to have been there when the owl was. Perhaps it was your spirit guide.

[morna]

wow!!! KOOOOL. Gary and I had the unfortunate experience of finding a Short Ear roadkill in Alberta - he didn't have any visible ears at all. The large owl we get out here is the Barred owl. The only time I saw a great Horned was in Alberta. Darren Petersen a glass artist and friend took me for a bird drive after we did a bit of (unsuccessful) fly fishing and we saw many! Very exciting. Big Owls are SO kool.

[Todd H]

Going on a bit of a morbid track for a moment but all this talk of owls reminded me of my last encounter with one.

My Grandmother is very superstitious. I swear she makes some of the old wives tales she tells up. One of her main tales/fears has always been owls. Her Grandmother used to say that If an owl lands in a tree outside your window and hoots three times someone close to you is going to die.

I pretty much grew up on my Grandparents farm house and we would get owls out by the barn all the time. Granny would curse at them and throw sticks to chase them away.

Fast forward to the year 2000. My Grandfather was in the hospital fighting off cancer and recovering from a heart attack. It was about 4am and I couldn't sleep (Pappy was my father figure since my parents were divorced and my Mom was working three jobs. He and Granny raised me) so I was out back having a smoke (I've quit now! 3 years running!) and an owl landed in the tree about 5 feet away from me.

It sat for a moment and ruffled it's wings and looked around. Then it seemed to focus in on me. It let out a soft hoot. I shook my head, tears starting to well up a little, and told it to go away. It hooted again as if in response. I screamed "no" at it and threw my ash tray at the tree. The owl spread it's wings...let out a final hoot and then flew off.

I cursed at it (oh the neighbors loved me that morning) and ran back into the house sobbing like a five year old.

The phone rang not ten minutes later. Pappy had passed.

Ever since then I have an unnatural fear of owls in the wild. They're beautiful birds in captivity but if I see one in the wild I move away from it as quickly as possible. It may only be a freaky coincidence but I swear that sucker came to tell me my Grandfather was gone. I still get chills.

[Maija]

The Daily Coyote (http://dailycoyote.blogspot.com/)

[Rachel Edidin]

The Daily Coyote (http://dailycoyote.blogspot.com/)

I've been following that one for a while. He's marvelous, and so is the writing.

[Maija]

The photography is beautiful too.

[SpydaWeb]

Not as exciting as orphaned Coyotes, but here's my visit (http://s60.photobucket.com/albums/h18/spydawebm/zoo/?action=view&slideshow=true) to the Atlanta Zoo a few weeks ago.

[Hellbaby]

You don't expect to encounter wildlife when you go down to check the mail.

In my building there are floor-to-ceiling windows at each of the landings in the stairwell. The front entryway has a concrete roof over it that is at the same level as the last landing (it's like the landing carries through to the other side of the window and sticks out over the door). Immediately on the other side of the glass was an owl sitting there. It was staring at me.

My building manager has put up Halloween decorations so my first thought was that someone had taken one of them and thrown it up on the roof of the entryway, or it was one of those fake owls that people use (unsuccessfully) to keep pigeons away. But nope, it was a real owl, looking really startled, although I think owls look like that all the time.

So I turned right around and ran back upstairs to get my camera. When I came back down it was still there, staring at me, but I went one step closer and... it flew away. :( Ah well, I was worried that it had hit the window and might be injured so just as well that it was not.

Unfortunately I didn't get a good long look at it so in my memory the markings are of a Great Horned Owl (which are common in the area) but it seemed too small for that. It might have been a Long-eared Owl, but I don't really remember long ears and those aren't very urban. I'm pretty certain that it was a small Great Horned Owl.

Anyway, it was a really odd and amusing sight. I wish I had gotten a photo though.


Owls are awesome! I live in a urban area, so there is a big telephone pole right next to my house. As I was walking in my backyard one night, I heard a Hoot Hoot noise. I looked up there was an owl on top of the pole.

But the best part was when it rotated its head 360 degrees, then flew off.

[Asa]

here's my visit (http://s60.photobucket.com/albums/h18/spydawebm/zoo/?action=view&slideshow=true) to the Atlanta Zoo a few weeks ago.
Meerkats, I love meerkats, They have them there in atlanta, the only place that I have seen Meerkats was at the Jersey Zoo. I must make my way to see them.

[SpydaWeb]

Meerkats are definitely cool to watch.

Personally though, I was in awe of the Orangutan they have there. He was about the size of a Morris Mini and had this really shaggy rastafari fur-do.

[morna]

Thanks for posting this Maija:

The Daily Coyote (http://dailycoyote.blogspot.com/)

how did I miss it! Gorgeous photos. I'm so tempted to subscribe, but SO broke. sigh

Maybe I'll get Gare the calendar for Christmas!



Kool zoo pics too Spyda!

[Maija]

Oh no, a zebra escaped at the Tokyo zoo! (http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=76526&src=vidAd1) :D

[Maija]

speaking of cougar sightings in urban areas, a friend in Vancouver mentioned a cougar had been spotted on Granville Island this week. Granville Island !!! I mean how urban can you get!

WTF
How the hell did I miss this?!

That's crazy. It would have had to have travelled through miles of solid urban landscape to get there!

[hellboyone]

I can't take animal pictures for shit. (They are so damn uncooperative!) But I took this one a few years ago that turned out okay.

http://www.rickcortes.com/photography/crestline3.jpg

Don't know what kind of bird this is. At Lake Gregory in Crestline, near Lake Arrowhead.

[gary bolt]

Don't know what kind of bird this is. At Lake Gregory in Crestline, near Lake Arrowhead.

That's a Cormorant.

Morna and I took my nephew to a favourite seashore place a couple of days ago and we saw these guys.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/PointNoPoint204.jpg
Otter. He was pretty unconcerned about us (we think he might have been sick).

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/PointNoPoint137.jpg
Bloodstar. These guys are usually only seen at extremely low tides but we lucked out and found one in a tide pool.

[SpydaWeb]

Bloodstar? That's a beaut. I'm suddenly hungry.

[Erwin Heinek]

I don't have any photographic evidence but last week a moose wandered into the city and spent the day in my neighborhood. At one point after school had been let out, my daughter saw it take a step or two up the ramp in front of the house and proceed through our front yard. Unfortunately I had my back to the front window when it happened. :(

[Maija]

That's pretty cool, Erwin. I hope it was moved out of town safely. Moose are a handful and dangerous in an urban environment (and even in the wild).

Today I got to pet red pandas and get slobbered on by camels. :smile:

I ran into a classmate from college last week and learned that she works at the zoo. I got a membership at the zoo last year with the intent of going there to sketch (which I do, though not as much as I should) and to be involved with zoo goings-on, conservation news, etc. So she invited me to contact her before my next visit and she would show me behind the scenes. Today was the day!

First I met her at the Japanese macaque ("hot tub monkeys" as I like to call them) house, but the macaques fled out into their outdoor enclosure as soon as I came in. Apparently, more than one person in the room means "They are going to try to catch us!" So we left them to their monkey shenanigans and went to feed the red pandas.

The red pandas are one of the few animals at the zoo that get direct human contact in order to make it easier for them to be handled for procedures like ultrasounds during pregnancy since they are part of a breeding program (they are endangered). There are three of them: mom, dad and a young one. I fed them all grapes which they were remarkably gentle about taking, though the young one tried to climb my leg! Then they got apples which they hold with their opposable thumbs. While they ate those I got to gently stroke them. Then we fed them bamboo. It was quite a thrill!

After that we gave snacks to the Bactrian camels (ie. the kind with two humps). We fed them through the inner fence but apparently they are being trained for riding and are already used to wearing a halter. (The only other animal at the zoo that gets such contact is the Asian elephant). They have prehensile lips: their upper lips are split in the middle so that it's like two fingers that can grasp things. Really neat! But they have horrible, fart-like breath! :tongue: I only got a couple of pictures of them because I didn't want to get smelly drool all over my camera. It was still a really cool experience though.

There are also a couple of enclosures at the zoo that the public can walk right into where raptors who are too injured to return to the wild are kept. All the owls are nesting up a storm right now. I got a cool shot of a great grey owl peering out at me.

[The Xenos]

As someone with an octopus keychain in my pocket that I got at the Harvard Museum of Natural History (http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/plan_your_visit/plan_your_visit.html), cool place btw, how have I kept missing this ages old thread?

Meanwhile, I should dig out some photos I have. I took some from a class visit and when I was working at Woods Hole, MA. Even had one teacher perform a porpoise necropsy for a class. Though those photos are not for the light of stomach.

Also. Those red pandas are adorable.

[The Xenos]

Here are some various shots from a college class trip to Woods Hole, MA.

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/5343/copyofp1010055wg9.th.jpg (http://img514.imageshack.us/my.php?image=copyofp1010055wg9.jpg) http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/7593/copyofp1010049ae4.th.jpg (http://img141.imageshack.us/my.php?image=copyofp1010049ae4.jpg) http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/486/copyofp1010051nr6.th.jpg (http://img141.imageshack.us/my.php?image=copyofp1010051nr6.jpg) http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/5729/copyofp1010041hr3.th.jpg (http://img141.imageshack.us/my.php?image=copyofp1010041hr3.jpg)

The first three are from the aquarium down there. That last one is from a tank in the lobby of a WHOI building that we visited. I ened up working in that building for a semester.

[gary bolt]

That last guy is pretty cute.

Morna and I went camping for a few days this week and we went to Botanical Beach for low tide. We like to go camping in early June because the weather is decent and there are no kids and families clogging up the parks. For us the whole point of going to Botanical Beach is to get out on the rocks during low tide and check out the tide pools and look under rocks, crevices and seaweed. Morna is particularly good at finding stuff. This year we lucked out because we were there for a -0.1M/-0.3ft tide, which means things were exposed that are almost always under water. We didn't find and octopus but Morna did find part of one!

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/BotanicalBeach257.jpg

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/BotanicalBeach262_0_1_tonemapped.jpg

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/BotanicalBeach274_2_3_tonemapped.jpg

We took a lot of close up pictures and some of the suckers were moving! I don't know if that is because it was fresh but it was a little bit eerie.

[gary bolt]

Here are some close-ups that Morna took.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/BotanicalBeach451.jpg

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/BotanicalBeach457.jpg

[Kees_L]

Wow guys, great thread. Nature is great really, beit in or outside 'the wild' and if not comics or art than nature will drive me to your parts one day.
I must go seek if I have stuff to share here.

[gary bolt]

We were at Botanical Beach on Morna's birthday and she loved it. Here are some of her other finds.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/BotanicalBeach307.jpg
Porcelain Crab

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/BotanicalBeach318.jpg
Proboscis Worm

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/BotanicalBeach276.jpg
Gumboot Chiton

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i14/mornagary/BotanicalBeach147.jpg
Brittle Star

[Sparky]

Great pictures, Gary & Morna. That wee little crab! The brittle star! And it's good to see our old friend Gumboot Chiton again.

[Mike Cross]

Next to my uncle Bruno, that Proboscis worm is the ugliest thing I've ever seen.

[jnapper]

Thought of morna when I saw this:
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2008/06/octopus_tentacle_ring.html

--------

edit:
Rick, I missed this earlier! GASP!
http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=223735