OT: saw an octopus today...

[morna]

Yup! in real life... from shore. He was bright red. I try to walk each morning and we live a couple on blocks from the sea, there's a breakwater that's half a mile long and the whole walk is just over 30 minutes if I'm brisk about it. I have seen amazing things but the best is the octopus! This is the eighth time I've seen them out there. So I thought I'd start a little nature sightings thread where we can share anything like that... a great storm or a kool animal or anything really that inspires or amazes. More on the octopi later as I'm on lunch and haven't time to do him justice :)

[icbm1987]

Cthulu?

Did it inspire a new piece of glasswork?

Cool...

[Hellmistress]

The best thing I ever saw was Humpback and Minke whales off Cape Cod a couple of years ago. Astounding. The 'harrrumpppppphhhhh!!!' they make as they dive, and the silence of those HUGE flukes as the tail slips beneath the water. The bubbling noise as they force fish to the surface usinfg expelled air, and the enormous, pleated throat expanding as they take a ton of water and food in at one mouthful. Then the hiss of water being expelled through the baleen as the whale presses its tongue up to squeeze food from the water in its mouth. Amazing.

Oh, and I have pheasants in my garden that try - without success - to get onto my tiny bird table. Hilarious.

HM

[zefo]

one day a saw a giant black squirrel.....

a month later they were every were.

some one was busy

walking home from school, if i go through the tree farm i like to chase the rabbits and pheasents.

and there once some cows got out and were roamin aorund. so funny, one was hiding behind a bush and when a kid got off the buss it started chasing hima round it.

[Tad]

Quail crossing the street in a line.
Woodpecker in our back tree.
And smelled Mr. Skunk while I was trying to watch the meteor shower.
One meteor. Thick marine layer. Little sleep.

[Otto66]

Rick Cortes haunts my dreams. Does that count? :evilsmile

[Myron L]

Was chased out of the woods as a young teenager by something I can only possibly compare to a bigfoot...scary shit...and I'm not kidding...I still remember the feeling,....

[Lobster Johnson]

one day i was smimming on the shallow part of the aegean sea, and a small baby octopus (yep, red) swam right under me! i couldn't find it again, but it was cool.

[Hells Orc]

I was out for a run one day and...does road kill count?

[Petersen]

I saw Otto last year

[Shadowfax32]

I've seen hammerhead sharks and dolphins out in the middle of the ocean. I saw an alligator. My dad and I fed it bread and he didn't bother us at all. I walked through a cave full of bats in Martinique. Awesome.

Michelle

[Lobster Johnson]

I saw Otto last year

the horror!

[Ken O]

Come playoff time I hope to see lots of Octipi.

[HBMomma]

Today I saw my husband's pet praying mantis eating ants.

That's about as wild as things get around here. Occasionally a coyote will run across the highway in front of my car. And I saw a great horned owl sitting on a power line at dusk one night, that was really cool.

I actually grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. We frequently had close encounters with moose, and occasionally bears. Moose are cool in that they are totally dorky-looking and people think they are dumb like cows, but actually they can and will totally kick your ass if you piss them off.

[Otto66]

I saw Otto last year
And if yer not careful you may see that mythical creature
roaming around Novi in the Fall. ;)
I when to Red Lobster once. And ordered the lobster. :eek:

[morna]

one day i was smimming on the shallow part of the aegean sea, and a small baby octopus (yep, red) swam right under me! i couldn't find it again, but it was cool.
Hey kool! You know I kinda think those small Agean species are highly toxic... It's a good thing you didn't find him again! I LOVE the cephalopods!

[morna]

icbm: ummm... not really - at least not in a literal sense... my work is more about my feelings, though an experience like that might show up as a colour or a peculiar line or an odd juxtaposition of shapes. I might not realize what it actually is for two years - or never.

Hellmistress: KOOL !!! We get Orcas here but rarely one of the big baleen guys! How magical!

Zefo: Ya those black squirrels (actually a black morph of the grey squirrel)are here too. Another usurper species displacing our native and WAY cuter Douglas squirrel

Tad: I LOVE quail we have California Quail up here - they were introduced but I'm ok with it. I only stayed out long enough for two meteors lying on my back on the deck in my housecoat very soft air. nice - no marine layer

Otto: Cortes counts!

PsychoFyre: Kool! We ran all the way down a mountain once 'cause a bear looked at us!

Hells Orc: Road Kill can be fascinating!

Petersen: Wow that's a rare one... did he have a mouth full of cake?

Shadowfax: Kool!

T-wyrm: OOOOoo I hate it when they do that. What a waste of a beautiful and intelligent ( and I have to admit delicious) creature. But I love Hockey! ;)

HBMomma: Praying Mantids ROCK! I can't believe how BIG mooses are. We were driving late at night up near Kenora (Ontario) and one walked across the road right in front of the car... I SWEAR I could have driven right underneath it no problem. Immense animals! And yes not to be triflied with!

Isn't nature awesome!? :)

[Otto66]

I was a Joe's Crab Shack once and ordered crab legs. :eek:

[HBMomma]

We were driving late at night up near Kenora (Ontario) and one walked across the road right in front of the car... I SWEAR I could have driven right underneath it no problem. Immense animals! And yes not to be triflied with!

Were you in a VW? ;)

Seriously, though, you guys were lucky. I've seen some moose-vehicle accidents and they are usually really ugly. Fatalities are quite common.

[Ose]

I have a few interesting critter stories. Living in northern Ontario, run-ins with critters is a given.

Over the years I've nearly become foster mommy for three nests full of baby squirrels. One year a nest was made under the barbeque cover. Last year it was a nest made in the back porch, where the mother had chewed up half of our box of work gloves. This year, it was a nest full of squirrels in the ceiling of the carport.

Last summer there was a hurt raven that walked through my back yard, down the hill, and started plucking wild strawberries. It's one of the most memorable moments I had. It was a big raven, and wasn't really scared of me. It just looked me in the eye and went on eating. It's amazing how much those eyes can convey intelligence. Unfortunately, I don't think it survived more than a day after that. I had tried to see if the MNR could do something for it since its wing was wounded (probably some dumb kid with a pellet gun or something...), but they wouldn't do anything. I never saw it again.

This summer there was a pair of merlins (at least I think that's the species, I never got a good enough look to get a positive ID) nesting across the street. The resident flock of ravens took to harrassing the birds of prey - which was a bad idea. One day I was witness to the pair of merlins, which are a bit bigger than half the size of a large raven, making mid-air war on the ravens. The ravens smartened up and got out of there awfully quickly, but it was an amazing thing to see.

[JohnThompson]

Once I saw Finding Nemo. There's a whole mess o' fish in that one...

[hellboyone]

When I was about 10 I went to Aspen with my Boy Scout troop. We did all sorts of Boy Scout stuff...building our own shelter, stalking a mountain lion, etc. In the middle of the night as we all slept, a pack of wild horses ran through our camp. It was entirely scary and also quite exhilerating. The next day, a watermelon we kept in a nearby stream to keep it cold was completely eaten, presumably by a bear.

R.

[Jan Bentzen]

A few days ago we (wife - kids and me) had a barbeque (grill - you know?) in our garden. A flock of seagulls (!!) flew over on their way to the nearby lake.
Well - thank God we were allmost finished eating. You get the picture ?

- Jan (now looks up when eating outdoor)

[Lobster Johnson]

I when to Red Lobster once. And ordered the lobster. :eek:

You fiend! Actually, lobster is pretty good.

[King_Vold]

I saw Otto last year

That's just an urban legend, there's no such thing as Otto.

[Hells Orc]

Once I saw Finding Nemo. There's a whole mess o' fish in that one...

Yea but they're not real! Not like that shark in jaws, he was real! :p

[Myron L]

And if yer not careful you may see that mythical creature
roaming around Novi in the Fall. ;)
I when to Red Lobster once. And ordered the lobster. :eek:

Get fotographic evidence..then he will be mythological no more!!! Hahah !

[Tad]

Was chased out of the woods as a young teenager by something I can only possibly compare to a bigfoot...scary shit...and I'm not kidding...I still remember the feeling,....

Okay, we've been patient. But nothing.

So this is a HELLBOY board, dedicated to an investigator of The PARANORMAL... and stuff.

Let's have the story.

[HBMomma]

Okay, we've been patient. But nothing.

So this is a HELLBOY board, dedicated to an investigator of The PARANORMAL... and stuff.

Let's have the story.

NO NO, wait, let's just start a whole new thread! Please? :D

[morna]

Was chased out of the woods as a young teenager by something I can only possibly compare to a bigfoot...scary shit...and I'm not kidding...I still remember the feeling,....
I didn't mean to imply that your sighting was just a bear...and ya out with the story!!

[Hells Orc]

Would be cool to hear about it, not really fair to bring up something like that and not share :cool:

[Petersen]

Here is an artists rendering of my otto sighting

[morna]

* chuckle** (needs cake?)

[zefo]

a pair of brown egals have resently moved into the woods.




we dont see alot a dead animals out here. thats cause the cyotes will come up in our yard and drag the carcass away...

they don't bother us though.

but i was wandering in the woods and i found...

1) the bones of half a wild turkey
2) the bones of half a wild cyote
3) a patch of fur and the smell of death

that was only a few feet in too.

and once i saw a half eaten racoon.

stupid racoons! dont even get me started on them!

[Otto66]

Get fotographic evidence..then he will be mythological no more!!! Hahah !
Picture taken is bad Juju. Steals soul. No Otto photo.

Once, I went to Sam's Shrimp House, and ordered shrimp. :eek:

[Otto66]

Here is an artists rendering of my otto sighting
Not even close. I have more hair and was wearing my tye-dye potato-cloth
moo moo.

(note to self: take Petersen out of the will.)

[Petersen]

How's this 'o secretive hunchback???


Back in the will?

[morna]

Hahahah..ahahahahahh haaaaa........ smirk

[Catlin]

The only excitement around my place is coyotes and skunks running around, and the ghost in the attic. I'm not kidding about the ghost.

[hellboyone]

A few days ago we (wife - kids and me) had a barbeque (grill - you know?) in our garden. A flock of seagulls (!!) flew over on their way to the nearby lake.


"AND I RAAAAAN.....I RAN SO FAR AWAAAAAAY....GOTTA GET AWAY..."

Sorry...it was impossible for me not to post that. :)

R.

[hellboyone]

The only excitement around my place is coyotes and skunks running around, and the ghost in the attic. I'm not kidding about the ghost.

Once again, like Tad said, let's hear the ghost story!

R.

[Tad]

New thread coming up.

[Petersen]

"AND I RAAAAAN.....I RAN SO FAR AWAAAAAAY....GOTTA GET AWAY..."


I picture Rick playing the keyboard spinning in a mirrored room.....
someone got the photoshop guts?

[Hawk_Eyes_324]

{//:Interesting....The weirdest aquatic life I've seen yet is a fish I caugh this summer...Ufgly little bugger he was too.:\\}

[Otto66]

How's this 'o secretive hunchback???
Humpback! Not Hunchback. Some people. :rolleyes:
Back in the will?
How do you spell condicil? ;)

[Erwin Heinek]

Once, I went to Sam's Shrimp House, and ordered shrimp. :eek:

Once I went to Quan's Vegetarian Eatery and ordered a Vegan.

[Catlin]

Once I went to Quan's Vegetarian Eatery and ordered a Vegan.

Eww, they taste so nasty though.

[Otto66]

Eww, they taste so nasty though.
Not gonna ask how you would know that. :rolleyes:

[el seth]

Octopi can open jars. Which means we have to take them out now.

Either that or not keep the secrets of world domination in jars.

[morna]

How do you spell condicil? ;)
Just like that but without the "n" (winky)

[hellgirl1886]

Octopi can open jars. Which means we have to take them out now.

Either that or not keep the secrets of world domination in jars.

Hey, if every dictator on the planet and in its history hasn't been able to then no need to worry about the octopi, but maybe the jars a well hidden and if we can't find them then no one can. (Insert sinister dictator/evil genius laugh here) :D

[morna]

Once, I went to Sam's Shrimp House, and ordered shrimp. :eek:

people who mock me don't get glass...just say'n.

[Hells Orc]

I did actualy see a badger close up when I was walking once, he was watching cars...then a whole big heard fo toads living in a big puddle in a corn field. I wonder where they'll go when it dries up...

[Otto66]

Once I went to Windsor, and they tried to sell me the whole
city for my US pocket change. :D

people who mock me don't get glass...just say'n.
Have I told you, lately, that I luv you? ;)

[HBMomma]

I did actualy see a badger close up when I was walking once, he was watching cars...then a whole big heard fo toads living in a big puddle in a corn field. I wonder where they'll go when it dries up...

Whoa, that reminds me; I saw a wolverine once! I was driving my truck up the mountain (seriously - I told you I grew up in Alaska) and saw it on the road in front of me. I slowed, and it looked right at me and said "Stop right there b**ch and wait for me to cross the road or I will stomp your obnoxious little truck to pieces and eat your guts." (I swear, that's what it was saying.) So of course I stopped, it crossed the road, looked back at me one more time and said "I'll let you live this time," and disappeared into the underbrush.

Honestly, that was the meanest, cockiest looking animal I have ever seen, including bears and wolves!

[morna]

Woohhh!!!! Awesome. I've never seen one but they are the biggest weasel and the meanest animal there is! Great story! thanks

[zefo]

i saw a catapillar migration and almost stepped on an albino possum

[morna]

quiet day out on the breakwater. and muggy for this early. We saw a Great Blue Heron, a pair of Black Oystercatchers, and nine blood-clot red dinner plate sized jellyfish.

[zefo]

i saw a blue harron once. and a grey one

[Otto66]

I went to a zoo once, the place was full of animals.
It was spring, and they were making romance.
Even, the elephants. :eek:

[Hellsaint]

Errr... Thats nice otto :rolleyes:

I went to zoo for the first time when i was seven and just to be greeted by a rhino pooping in front of me... Jeez.

[kid cthulhu]

Watched a dolphin race our boat between Hawaii and Lanai. It kept pace with us nearly the whole way. Totally cool!

Once when I was younger, I left my bike at this big gravel pit across the street where all the neighbor kids would ride their bikes. My mom told me I had to go get it and there was no way I was leaving it there overnight no matter how much I pleaded. For some reason I was totally freaked out about going over there in the dark that night, even though I'd done it a thousand times before.

Anyway, when I finally figured out where my bike was, I shined my flashlight on it, and there was some crazy looking white-furred animal leaning over it. It was four-legged, but it was up on it's hinds. It looked like a cross between a giant cat and a wolf. It looked right at me when the light hit it. I just dropped the flashlight and ran home screaming.

Never went back and missed my bike until I won a new one in a raffle.

[Hellsaint]

Does my avvy describe it? except for the cat part...:D

[Catlin]

Not gonna ask how you would know that. :rolleyes:

It's just a guess *looks innocent*

Oh had a coyote in my front yard this morning again. It likes to sleep in our flowerbed. Stupid coyote, I guess he does not mind being stabbed by rosebushes.

[Otto66]

It's just a guess *looks innocent*
You've told us too much about yerself to try the innocent bit. :D

I went to a Bar once, the place was full of animals.
It was spring, and they were making romance.
Even, the football fans. :eek:

[Lobster Johnson]

*falls out of chair* :D :D :D :D

[morna]

This picture is for Athena. It's a Moon Snail. They are fantastic creatures - huge - the whole animal when fully extended is head size or bigger, the shell is more or less fist size. Apparently they can squeeze everything into the shell but it takes a while and I have never had the heart to harrass them enough to make them do it. They inhabit the mid intertidal zone and live under the sand. In the summer they lay their eggs in these collar shaped masses made of sand, eggs and mucous and the collars persist for weeks before breaking down and releasing the eggs to the sea. They eat clams and other bivalve molluscs by drilling a perfectly round hole through the shell and ingesting the contents through it.

Ok I realize this detail shot somewhat resembles a breast but please please no purile comments or we'll loose our lovely moderator and have to put up with some nazi. Besides that I'll put you on my ignore list! :)

[morna]

Ps Otto ... love the new avatar Did JT draw it? Schweet!

[JohnThompson]

It's a Moon Snail.
Ok I realize this detail shot somewhat resembles a breast...
I think it looks more like some evil, unblinking eye of a Cthulu-esque creature. That, or a chickadee.
Ps Otto ... love the new avatar Did JT draw it? Schweet!
I just avatar-ized it. Tony Millionaire is the artist.

[Petersen]

I'm with ya on the unblinking eye....scary

[Ken O]

I caught a coral snake once on my way to school when I was in the 4th grade. Took him to school to show him off. Got my ass completely beat for that one...

[Otto66]

I went to Sid's SteakHouse once, and ordered the steak. :eek:

morna? Well, ya did request a change. I like it too.

No comments on the picture? Damn. :(

[morna]

I went to Sid's SteakHouse once, and ordered the steak. :eek: Is this one, perhaps, played?

morna? Well, ya did request a change. I like it too. Saw sock monkey at the comics store today! what're the odds!

No comments on the picture? Damn. :(
Comments welcome - just not purile ones - c'mon ott you can do it!

:) sigh .....

[Ose]

A couple days ago I went hiking with my family in interior of one of the many nearby Provincial Parks. We were treated to two neat creature sightings. The first was a pair of moose. Not that moose are anything uncommon up my way, but it was a mother and baby, which you don't see all that often. The baby was adorable. Moose all have big long legs, but for some reason the young ones just look that much cuter because of them.

The second was a Great Blue Heron, which was fishing for minnows in a tiny creek in the middle of the forest, which was a little odd. I always see them in marshes, not the forest. We managed to get really close before it flew off further down the creek and landed on a fallen tree.

[Otto66]

Just one more.
Once I went to a donut shop, and the local cops had just been
there so they were all out of donuts, so I ordered pie. :D

Try as I may, that pic just looks like... what it looks like. Sorry.

[hellgirl1886]

When I was eight my family took a cruise that went through the panama canal and down along the coast of South America, one of the things we could do was go to the Galapagos islands, and me being a big fan of odd things wanted to go. There we saw Iguanas and tortoises and tons of birds, which for the sake of Otto I will name because he was so crushed by the lack of comments on the snail. There were three varities on the island, Blue Footed Boobies(Plural for Booby), Red Footed Boobies, and the one that we didn't see, but heard about, Masked Boobies.
But living in Wisconsin, we see deer, coyotes, hawks, racoons, and roadkill. My Grandmother in Minnasota, has several racoons, that come to her house every night to be fed and has over the years raised about 12 of them in her down stairs bathroom.

[morna]

Muuuaaaahhaaa.... just when you thought this thing had died a timely death!

Written yesterday - having loads of trouble with our server and cbr forums but I'm here now so take that! (written yesterday morning)

We had to go to an opening in Vancouver Wednesday night and we didn’t have time to take the ferry ( the crossing takes about four hours altogether) so we decided to splurge and take the seaplane (thirty-five minutes) - a minor adventure in itself. I love the seaplane it seats about ten and is loud and stinky but really fun. It’s been raining – finally (thank god we’ve been having a drought) and it was kinda socked in but we flew anyway. A bit of a bumpy flight – turbulence is much more visceral in a small aircraft! Not a lot to see on the way over until we were coming into Vancouver. I looked down and there plain as day were two beluga whales shining pure white against the odd blue of the water. What a treat! Our flight path had taken us over Stanley Park, close the lovely Lions Gate bridge and…. yeah… we were seeing the belugas in the Vancouver Aquarium. But hey… a sighting’s a sighting!

On the way back this morning we were delayed twenty minutes and the flight before us had been cancelled but we did eventually go. It was an awesome flight. I love seeing the landforms from the air and because we were trying to keep under the heavy cloud cover we were unusually low. Leaving Vancouver we flew over the delta of the (muddy) Fraser River – silty fresh water making incredible patterns as it mixes with the dark seawater. There was a solitary harbour seal black against the silt-laden outflow. Closer to the Island you can clearly see how the tectonic action has crumpled and compressed the land into ridges and the effect is greatly enhanced by the water. There were a zillion sea lions piled up on the rocks. I saw a single dolphin and pretty sure I saw a BIG whale just going under. A good day.

[jambalaya]

i live in the woods, and we get all sorts of wierd shit. we get mutant cats (missing eyes and parts), TONS of frogs (which leads me to suspect we gotta sadu hem around some whare. varmints...) and i mean BIG frogs. and small ones. and in betweeen. or what have you. we also get big spiders. seriously huge spiders. as in 5 inch longers. and my friend's dad has some pretty wierd paranormal stuff. like big footies and such. not to mention the deer head that keeps popping up around my place, and the fact that i see faces in the windows when no one is out there... seriously, i hate the woods.

[morna]

Dude ! Ya gotta lay off the nyquil!

[jambalaya]

hey, dude, that was like, one time. i was sick. i think. i don't remember much... but the deer heads and ghosty faces are real. and i am more than serious about the frogs. you walk outside, and almost step on a frog. you take another step. WOAH!! a frog. not to mention the big ass horse flies. the woods are a magical place, spewing forthe both radiationesque wildlife and spoooooky paranormal stuff.

[zefo]

i love the woods.

i have a nice colletion of bones and half eaten thing ive colloected from there, all within sight of home too.

we were working on the worch nect door and we so no less then 15 giant toads living there.

and 2 itty bitty ones that are the size of the tip of your pinky.

:p

those woods reak of death...

[zefo]

and horse flies.

arg.

THEY JUST WONT STAY DEAD!

[morna]

Instead of horseflies we have deerflies. Just as vicious but smaller and quieter. The stealth version, if you will... very nasty!

[myname_is_ben]

Ugh. Horseflies...

I had to go fishing with my mom, my aunt and uncle. It was in some sort of man-made lake, whatever.
BUT THE HORSEFLIES.
MY GOD!!
There were millions upon millions of them! They wouldnt leave us alone! And every time I tried to get one, the boat shook a little, and my mom told me to stop it. That boat was soo small!

Also, my mom had this coat on, and the horse flies were flocking to it!! And then they were sinking their evil little teeth in it, so I tried to smack one of them off, and my mom just went insane!
Not to mention I was also being forced to fish(my LEAST favorite 'sport'/'thing in the world')-net fishing, nontheless.

All in all, we got NO fish(I was glad about that part), wasted 6 HOURS, I killed 9 horseflies, got fly-bitten twice, and killed a giant spider that was living in the boat.
Oh yeah, and sunburnt my whole face, too.

I never plan to fish ever again.

I don't even like fish.

Except maybe smoked salmon sometimes.

I'll just buy it from the stores.

[Otto66]

Horseflies? Deerflies? And folks say I go Off Topic. :rolleyes:

And wasn't this thread dead once already? :confused:

So I went to Kabuki Sushi, and ordered the sushi. :eek:

[Hellsaint]

And otto strikes again :rolleyes:

[morna]

Horseflies? Deerflies? And folks say I go Off Topic. :rolleyes:
how are flies - of any sort off topic on a nature thread
And wasn't this thread dead once already? :confused:
so... when is a thread considered dead... it was on page three. I guess my art thread is a gonner then.
So I went to Kabuki Sushi, and ordered the sushi. :eek:
that's just damn irritating...no glass for you

Wow I'm not sure if this post makes me angry or hurts my feelings...

FINE IT'S DEAD

[Otto66]

morna. There is a PM for you.

[Hells Orc]

Instead of horseflies we have deerflies. Just as vicious but smaller and quieter. The stealth version, if you will... very nasty!

Oh just go driving in a big four wheel drive truck, that'll take care of that species easily :D

[Maija]

Since I have nothing wild to report on besides squashed squirrels and the magpies who eat them, I'll roll out something truly alarming--a bit of poetry. I don't write much and this doesn't even have a title. I wrote it after finding a nest of chickadee hatchlings killed by an early spring frost.

-------------------

silent frost has crept in stealth
to steal the breath of these who slept

upon my hand so soft a weight
bereft but not of beauty stolen yet

gentle, gentle, rest (so small!)
they fade while others take to flight


-------------------

[morna]

Damn Ruta That's a lovely thing. It very clearly recalls me to times when I've held a dead small bird. Almost nothing... too soft for buried nerve endings.

sniff.. sigh

[jambalaya]

i hate the woods. if it weren't for the horseflies who HUNT YOU DOWN, it would rock. because of the toads. we get the pinky size ones here too. they are so cute!

[HBMomma]

and i am more than serious about the frogs. you walk outside, and almost step on a frog. you take another step. WOAH!! a frog.

I have no trouble believing you about the frogs. The whole "plague of frogs" concept always reminds me of something that happened my first year in Arkansas. I was delivering pizza (yes, it's a recurring theme in my life) one night and I had to drive through this swampy area because they'd just built a subdivision on the other side. It was raining, and suddenly there were toads EVERYWHERE. There were literally hundreds. I was trying to slow down and avoid them and it was simply impossible. They were going splatsplatsplatsplat; I probably killed 5 every couple feet I drove, plus some of them were jumping and splatting onto the front of my car. I was so upset I was crying! It was just really gross.

[morna]

Hmmm... Now this reminds me that Gary and I, when we lived south of Barrie in the country, had a mass frog experience... actually they were more like tiny toads. We were driving home and about two blocks from our place all of a sudden there were thousands of teeny tiny - size of a dime- toads everywhere. We were crushing hundreds driving but to get out and walk would have meant stepping on them. There was literally nowhere that wasn't covered in these little doomed guys. Disturbing. We assumed a mass hatch-out, there was no rain and it was pretty localized. Never seen anything like it - before or since. We tried to identify them - 'cause that's what we do but no luck with that either. Very strange.

[zefo]

every year we get a great catapillar migration and just south a rattle snake migration.

(haha, a few years ago a friend was going camping and he wondered why it was so empty...)

[jambalaya]

did anyone else get the cicadas? the "x brood?" i got hit in the face with them when i went outside. i will stop making posts here now. i keep getting off topic about the plague of vermin tha happens so frequently..

[Ose]

Plagues? The only time we get anything like that up my way would be the occasional tent caterpillar problem. That hasn't happened in quite some time, so we've been spared the caterpillar-goo on the highway.

And to add a bit more - I went out for a walk a couple hours ago and was not 3 meters from a skunk. It didn't seem threated by me or my dog, but just stood there looking at me with "what are you looking at?" kind of expression. I never realised how adorable skunks could be when they're not threatening to spray you.

[hell_punk]

i live in the same town as jambalaya, and we hang out, and TRUST ME- he is NOT lieing about those damn horseflies. they are HUGE. and SCARY. they chase my dog. it is at the point where i have dubbed mine fly swatter excalibur and have to hang up my cellphone when outside with the excuse "sorry, a horsefly is following me. gotta go." there are plenty of frogs too. but they are cute.

[Hells Orc]

You know a place has a bug problem when people and pets live in fear of them...yeesh, That's pretty bad. Only bug problems around here are...well misqoutos, but those are everywhere anyway.

But lets see...what animals have I seen lately...5 dead frogs, 1 dead turtle, 1 dead possum, 1 dead thing with brown fur...could'nt tell what it was once. One dead deer, two dead raccoons...and a patridge in a pair tree! Or perhaps it was a crow...

...and it was dead.

[morna]

Dude you're crackin' me UP !

So what do misquotoes do ... fly around and slander you to death. Wish I was an illustrator. I'd have Hellboy swatting at the things and them saying something like "ah carp" ... or... "I'm gonna be store in the morning"


Sorry - unable to resist... ;)

[Maija]

... yesterday, actually.

I was coming back down Mt. Rundle in Banff and was shouting for pal Scott and this mountain goat looked up, not a half dozen metres from me. "Ohmigod! Scott's been turned into a goat!" But no it was just a goat.

Anyway, it's a bit Mignola-esque (is that better, Robert? ;) ) in that one of his lords of Hell has a goat head, but unfortunately I couldn't photograph this particular goat head as he turned and began ambling away before I could get my camera out.

It was cool to see a mountain goat, though, as they are not all that common, and keep to the heights.

The other photos are of a dragonfly chowing down on a bumble bee on my friend's back. He ate the whole thing, licked his fingers and flew away. Pretty neat to watch... chomp chomp chomp...

[morna]

Ruta I now realize that I had intended to respond to your post there but looks like I got side tracked. Dragonflies are surprizingly voracious! Gotta love 'em!

Anyway... Gary and I just got back from a few days away. We have recently succumed to the techno-acquisition craze and now have a good digital camera... to go with our new laptop (ya I know die Yuppie scum) We took over 500 photos in three days and NO FILM I may be a convert! I thought you guys might appreciate the jellyfish die-off we experienced there. I will write about the phosphorescence soon too - mind blowing!

So these jellyfish are all dieing off and washing up on the beaches. They are the poisonous ones but I'm pretty sure all these are completely tapped out. They are actually quite amazing... you can see structure in some and this one was really just liquifying in a most gruesome fashion!... enjoy!

also... the shot I'm gonna post of several of them on the sand reminds me a lot of the old Startrek show - the classic fried egg episode where Spock gets blinded .... so cheezy!

[hellgirl1886]

Very Beautiful pictures, some what odd, but still very beautiful, thanx for sharing them, they may become new desktop. :D

[morna]

oooooo... kool

If ya pm me I can send bigger sexier copies via e-mail. I had to hack and slash to get 'em to fit!


and of course there's at least twenty more!

[gary bolt]

Here are a couple of photos I took early yesterday morning. I watched this heron catch about 8 little fish.

[Maija]

Oooo, jellies. They're beautiful and freaky. I love looking at them but wildly afraid of being stung by one, even though I never have been.

Tidal pools are cool too. I hope you got some shots of the intertidal citizens.

[JohnThompson]

Oooo, jellies. They're beautiful and freaky. I love looking at them but wildly afraid of being stung by one, even though I never have been.

Tidal pools are cool too. I hope you got some shots of the intertidal citizens.
If you've seen Finding Nemo, you know you can't get stung if you bounce on the tops. :D

[gary bolt]

As previously mentioned Morna and I saw all kind of cool sea life over the past few days including seals, a sea lion, shrimps, crabs and all kinds of sea birds. Here are a couple of the more bizarre critters we saw. I've seen pretty big jellyfish swimming rhythmically in the water but this is the biggest "high and dry" jelly I've seen. The moon snail isn't the biggest one we've found but he's a beauty. We find them in the sand at very low tides. They make little mounds that make them easy to find. They dig down and find clams, which they actually drill into to open and eat. Gruesome little guys!

[el seth]

This reminds me: I was watching CNN a month or so ago, and I found out that the term for a group of jellyfish is a smack.

How awesome is that?

[morna]

NO WAY!! are you kidding - that's nutz... I love it! A smack !

[gary bolt]

Morna and I saw phosphorescence in the sea three nights in a row!

I don’t know if you’re all familiar with phosphorescence but that’s the word used to describe a phenomenon where the sea is filled with thousands (or millions) of tiny organisms that can produce light. Morna and I have seen them in July when the water warms up around here but we were surprised to see the glow in late September. The first night we thought there was something unnatural about the light on the waves but when we walked down to the waters edge we could see all kinds of little points of light that were faint and random in general but brighter and more frequent where there was activity in the water. The next night it was unmistakeable. It was a windy night and all of the white caps on the waves glowed with phosphorescence. We found a tide pool and discovered that it came alive with light when we stepped in it. Splashing our feet in the shallow water made concentric ripples of light. On a nearby beach we learned that scraping your hand or foot across the moist sand near the water left trails of faintly flashing points of light. In the summer months we’ve seen it strong enough that when we look off the edge of a high dock we can see trails of light behind fish below us. One time we saw geometric shapes of light in the lee of a dock and it turned out to be the glowing rims of phosphorescent small jellyfish all pressed against each other and distorting their outer shapes. Last summer Morna went swimming in the phosphorescent sea and she was surrounded by swirls and eddies of light.

In the past I’ve seen good displays of fireflies. I’ve also heard of phosphorescent mushrooms. If anyone has any stories of phosphorescence they’ve seen in nature please share them.

Gary

[Maija]

I've always wanted to see ocean phosphorescence, and though I've thought I've seen it, it was too faint to be sure.

The coolest display of natural phosphorescence that I've scene is glowworms in New Zealand. They are a big part of the hype of going to the caves in the Waikato in the North Island (and I've never been in one-- always flooded out when I'm in the neighborhood) but they can be found anywhere there's a shady undercut in a damp forest area that they can hang from. They're not actually worms, but larvae that "fish" for insect prey much like deep sea fish do-- with a little dangling lantern of light as big as a pinprick. In the bush I've seen them along trails that have been cut deep enough in the loam that there's a little undercut on either side so it looks kind of like emergency track lighting on an airplane!

But the coolest was when I was at a wilderness hostel near Raglan and went for a walk on the road at night. It was pitch black and I was walking with my flashlight off so as not to disturb the wildlife. All of a sudden I had vertigo because I was looking down at the night sky! It took me a few minutes to figure out what I was looking at: it was just like someone had leaned a mirror at the side of the road behind the ferns and it was reflecting stars... but it was glow-worms. Really, really cool.

[Maija]

(For JT! :) )

Finally made it out to Dinosaur Provincial Park after delays last week.

Let me tell you, it's a damn cool thing to be walking over a rise, scrutinizing the ground for little bone fragments or bits of turtle shell or teeth or something interesting and then you discover a bone as big as your leg sticking out of the soil!

Wish I could have taken a "souvenir" but it's a federal offense to do so, (and anyway, I think those bones weigh as much as me) so you take only photographs. The first one is of the general moonscape terrain of the badlands. Unfortunately I didn't provide any objects for scale, but the tooth (Ankylosaur-- big armoured guy with a club tail) is about the size of a dime and the bones are BIG-- several feet. They're likely from a hadrosaur of some kind (eg. duck-billed dinosaur) because there are piles of hadrosaur fossils all over the park. It's the predators, like T-Rex and Albertosaurus that are more rare. Didn't see any sign of those dudes, I'm afraid.

p.s. the second bone may be harder to spot-- just the two ends of it are sticking out. Each end is about the size of a large grapefruit.

[gary bolt]

Wow, that is so cool! I had no idea you could go to Dinosaur Provincial Park and see bones exposed like that. Just seeing the badlands is an awesome experience but I just have to go there next time I drive out to Alberta.

[JohnThompson]

Finally made it out to Dinosaur Provincial Park after delays last week...
Wow, that IS cool! Thanks for posting these. Someday I'll get to a site like this, but until then pics like these will do!

Hmm... a tooth the size of a dime, just lying there out in the open.... surely you could have pocketed that, eh? Sure, it's a "crime" and all, but they wouldn't put you away for something that small, would they??? ;)

[Maija]

Wow, that is so cool! I had no idea you could go to Dinosaur Provincial Park and see bones exposed like that. Just seeing the badlands is an awesome experience but I just have to go there next time I drive out to Alberta.
Well, you can't go to Dinosaur PP and see bones exposed like that unless you go on one of the guided tours into the protected area. Much of the park is off-limits precisely because it has bones exposed like that. Everywhere in the Badlands that is eroded to the level of fossils would have fossils laying all over the place but for the phenomenon of "fossil evaporation"-- folks picking them up-- which is illegal anywhere in Alberta if you don't have a special permit to collect them, but that doesn't stop people...

Hmm... a tooth the size of a dime, just lying there out in the open.... surely you could have pocketed that, eh? Sure, it's a "crime" and all, but they wouldn't put you away for something that small, would they??? ;)
... so yeah, even though I broke traffic laws to get there in time for the tour :rolleyes: I'm a goody-two-shoes when it comes to respecting heritage resources in parks and protected areas. The philosophy is, leave no trace and take nothing away with you but memories and photographs. If everyone takes just one thing, then it becomes like the unprotected part of the park.

I pointed the tooth out to the guide. Cooler than having a random fossil to take home is possibly finding something scientifically significant. After I pointed it out, it's a bit conspicuous if the guide goes back to that spot and it's gone. Also there were two little girls with us-- 5 and 6 years old. They got to "discover" the tooth too (with the guide pointing them in the area) and they wouldn't have been able to do that if I pocketed it.

I find the photos more interesting than a bit of out-of-context bone chip anyway. :)

[JohnThompson]

You know I was only kidding, right? I firmly believe in respecting fossil sites, and am actually a little disgusted by all the fossils constantly on eBay. I'd much rather have a replica in resin than own a rare fossil that would then be out of the hands of scientists.

[Maija]

You know I was only kidding, right? I firmly believe in respecting fossil sites, and am actually a little disgusted by all the fossils constantly on eBay. I'd much rather have a replica in resin than own a rare fossil that would then be out of the hands of scientists.

I know, I know, but I was speaking to my own temptation as much as I was replying to you I guess, I just didn't put it in there... I won't deny that the thought you described crossed my mind when I found the tooth. Then later, I was walking around in the unprotected area later and and I thought that if I came across a tiny little insignificant bone fragment I might pick it up, because everyone else does it in the unprotected area, like that makes it "okay"... but there is seriously *nothing* to be found outside the protected area because everyone else has already scoured it clean. It's really a dramatic illustration of what happens if everyone takes "just one".

By the way, you don't need to buy a cast-- plenty of legal fossils are available for purchase. If you're good I'll pick something up for you the next time I'm in Drumheller where all the fossil shops are. Fossil collectors get licenses to collect fossils, but they have to turn certain ones over and they can't take things like whole skeletons of animals.

[zefo]

i have a few rocks with skin imprints on them. it looks like snake skin.

[morna]

In Oregon they have several interesting animals that we don't get up in BC. One of our favorites is the Scrub Jay. He's like the Stellers Jay but no crest and brighter blue with some grey...very lovely! We saw another rare sight yesterday! Petriacce! What a treat.

[jnapper]

Morna, when you get a chance will you email me your mailing address for the Felix the Cat ornament at admin @ hellboy. com? I sent'cha an email note, but I don't know if it went through. Danks!

Great pictures!!

[petriacce]

In Oregon they have several interesting animals that we don't get up in BC. One of our favorites is the Scrub Jay. He's like the Stellers Jay but no crest and brighter blue with some grey...very lovely! We saw another rare sight yesterday! Petriacce! What a treat.Shortly after our encounter I was attacked by one of Oregon's most elusive creatures, the peapod tentacle monster. It wrestled away my secret treasure. Luckily someone showed up to help me out, although he doesn't care all that much for Portland.

[petriacce]

Moving the subject from the ocean to my yard, these arachnids are all over the place at my house and they are the biggest this year than I have ever seen before.

Just for size reference the blind slates behind the spider in the second photo are two inches tall. Now the spider is slightly in front of the blind but not by that much. The spiders are all anywhere from two inches to about one and a half inch from leg tip to leg tip. No wonder we don't have any mosquitos around here.

[Maija]

We saw another rare sight yesterday! Petriacce! What a treat.

Yay!! I've said it before and I'll say it again: Hellboarders are good lookin' folk.

Cool beans, Patrick! And cool bean-monster! :D

And that is a big-ass spider!!

[morna]

jnapper: Just got home - found e-mail and have replied. Thanks!

ruta: He's not only cute but a real sweety! ... but we knew that already didn't we!

pets: Too bad we missed the tentacled pod monster... we saw some scarlet runners but they appeared completely benign. Good of your friend to save your little glass! Those look like the bigest orb-weavers I've ever seen.. I have to admit to being a bit creeped out by big spiders.
it was great meeting you!

[petriacce]

Yay!! I've said it before and I'll say it again: Hellboarders are good lookin' folk.

Cool beans, Patrick! And cool bean-monster! :D

And that is a big-ass spider!!:D I must say that Morna and Sir Edward are very kind people and you have hopefully seen the post showing off the wonderful gift that was bestowed upon me. I got glass! It was great to finally meet other hellboarders and sorry that it went so quickly.

[morna]

:D I must say that Morna and Sir Edward are very kind people and you have hopefully seen the post showing off the wonderful gift that was bestowed upon me. I got glass! It was great to finally meet other hellboarders and sorry that it went so quickly.

Mee too. Way too fast. Here is a shot of the super thoughtful and treasured gift that was bestowed upon us by petriacce. :p

I had planned to tell you all about how much I have enjoyed the Criminal Macabre... I bought it and read it but was saving it for our trip to thank you for the recomendation... and to say that you were absolutely on the money when you wrote that I'd like Mo'lock (sp?) ...he rocks!

[petriacce]

Mee too. Way too fast. Here is a shot of the super thoughtful and treasured gift that was bestowed upon us by petriacce. :p

I had planned to tell you all about how much I have enjoyed the Criminal Macabre... I bought it and read it but was saving it for our trip to thank you for the recomendation... and to say that you were absolutely on the money when you wrote that I'd like Mo'lock (sp?) ...he rocks!I'm glad you enjoyed Criminal Macabre. Everyone needs a friendly ghoul to hang out with.

Hope you both enjoyed the coastal drive.

[gary bolt]

Morna and I drove along the Oregon and Washington coastline yesterday. We saw tons of beautiful scenery and some cool critters including cormorants, loons, pelicans, bald eagles and an orca. Here are some pelican pics.

[icbm1987]

Uh... I'm not sure if it's good that I thought of the Map "Death Island" from Halo when I saw what you titled "haystack"... I swear there's a rock formation exactly like that on the map...

[gary bolt]

Uh... I'm not sure if it's good that I thought of the Map "Death Island" from Halo when I saw what you titled "haystack"... I swear there's a rock formation exactly like that on the map...

Whoever made Halo probably used to live in Oregon. :)

[morna]

I just had to share this! I went walking out on the breakwater in the early morning light. It was SO beautiful...soft air, calm sea, subtle colours, enough warmth in the pale sunlight to fend off a chill on my bare arms. I was thinking of making a post simply for the beauty of it all and heard a soft exhaling snort. There were at least three HUGE sea lions swimming along beside me. These guys are WAY bigger than me and were surfacing and diving and cruising quite fast and looking at me curiously. After a few breaths I waved at them - that always creeps them out - and poof they were gone. They are prodigous swimmers and divers and breath-holders but it still amazes me how they can just be gone like that. Miles and miles of visibility and no sign of 'em.
I also saw two great blue herons, a bunch of cutey little sandpipers, a harbour seal, three black oyster catchers, a small smack of jellyfish, and a few starfish.

...a lovely day

[gary bolt]

Morna and I went for a walk yesterday and saw salmon spawning in a local stream. It's an awsome spectacle to witness, full of all kinds of symbolism regarding the great circle of life, death, and rebirth.

The numbers are down this year but there are still thousands of fish in the stream.

Here are a few pics.

[Maija]

Cool! That first close up shot of the dead salmon is down right freaky! It would make a good drawing study.

[Hells Orc]

Wow, this topic is still going? Damn...

Well, I haven't really seen that many interesting wildlife since I mentioned all the road kill...have seen alot of catapillars however. Yes...a whole mess of...slowly...crawling...catipillars.

I hate where I live

The sea lion thing sounds interesting though.

[Maija]

Hey Hells Orc, welcome back. :) A lot of folks who had wandered away for a while are returning.

We get massive infestations of forest tent caterpillars which just carpet EVERYTHING-- they've even been known to cause accidents on the highways because there are so many of them. Brrrrrr. Infestations are supposed to occur every 10 years which means we're way overdue. During the last infestation, I went to get my hair cut at a salon in a neighbor's basement. Their house backed onto parkland and forest. She told me to come around to the front door instead of the back. When I got there she showed me why: the whole back of the house was black with caterpillars. EEeaaarrg!

[Hellsaint]

Ugh... That sounds so much worst than the camping trip i had three yrs ago, all i had to worry were snakes and mosquitoes buzzing around my ear.
About the infestations, do they occur by season or something? :confused:

[Tad]

When I got there she showed me why: the whole back of the house was black with caterpillars. EEeaaarrg!

Yeah, but you gotta admit it looked cool when the formed a mound, then lurched to their feet in a quasi-human form.

Well, until that woman set fire to them.

I didn't see her strike a match. Did you?

[morna]

ooooo.. I hate it when they do that quasi human thing - you just KNOW there's gonna be a big mess somewhere.

tent caterpillars... ick

[Maija]

Yeah, but you gotta admit it looked cool when the formed a mound, then lurched to their feet in a quasi-human form.

Well, until that woman set fire to them.

I didn't see her strike a match. Did you?

Was it a woman setting fire to them or a gang of seven year olds stomping it into green mush?

In my day the gang of seven year olds was the mortal enemy of the lurching humanoid blob of caterpillars. The object is to get maximum spurtage and loudness of popping sounds.

EEeeeeeeeewwww!!! :eek:

[el seth]

Yeah, but you gotta admit it looked cool when the formed a mound, then lurched to their feet in a quasi-human form.

Well, until that woman set fire to them.

I didn't see her strike a match. Did you?

You know, I didn't. But there must have been one, right? Yeah.

[morna]

... just a little fall beauty for you all. I love the fall and I'm sure a big part of why it's my favorite is all the gorgeous colour...and the more angular light I think too!

[morna]

Well we saw another octopus on Tuesday - that makes nine for me! This one was HUGE! A real Pacific Giant, I would not be surprized at all if his arm span was six feet. His head was bigger than mine. He had one of his tentacles cut off and you could see the white of his flesh under that amazing photoactive (I made that word up) skin. BIG suckers. He obligingly changed colours and textures a couple of times before slipping into a ridiculously tiny crevice in the rocks. It still amazes the heck out of me that they can be seen so regularly from the shore. AND the whole rare display was timed perfectly for my best bud Hilary to see. Magic!

[Ken O]

Yeah!!!! Rock out with your ock out.

[Maija]

Man, I wish octopi roamed the prairie in majestic herds. I want to see an octopus in the wild!

All we have are elk (seen this weekend):

[ReptileJK]

Well we saw another octopus on Tuesday - that makes nine for me! This one was HUGE! A real Pacific Giant, I would not be surprized at all if his arm span was six feet. His head was bigger than mine. He had one of his tentacles cut off and you could see the white of his flesh under that amazing photoactive (I made that word up) skin. BIG suckers. He obligingly changed colours and textures a couple of times before slipping into a ridiculously tiny crevice in the rocks. It still amazes the heck out of me that they can be seen so regularly from the shore. AND the whole rare display was timed perfectly for my best bud Hilary to see. Magic!

That really is awesome, Morna! I love cephalopods (especially cuttlefish)! I'm lucky enough to know the curator of reptiles and fish at the Milwaukee County Zoo here in WI.. He took me on the catwalks over the aquariums once to see the set up. When we got over the Giant Pacific Octopus tank, it crawled up to the surface (thinking it was going to be fed, he said). He told me I could go ahead and touch it. Was so amazing! Feeling those tiny little suction cups as the tentacles wrapped up around my forearm. This was a pretty small guy, but my friend said: "Don't let him get too high up on your arm. I was nearly pulled in by one this size once." :eek: Really neat. Then he said: "He's getting mad because we aren't feeding him. Watch, he'll squirt water at us." Sure enough, a surprisingly large plume of water shot up and it was gone.

Speaking of their size, he said that when they acquired it, they though it was female (which they were hoping for as females are smaller). Now, however, he said that they're pretty sure its a male, and that the "arm"-span of male giant pacific's can attain 30 ft :eek: . He said they'd have to move it to a new aquarium in a few years.

Here in the Badger state we unfortunately don't get to see these critters in the wild :( , but being able to touch that captive one was pretty darn cool. You guys living on the coasts are very lucky in that regard.

Reptile

[Tad]

Man, I wish octopi roamed the prairie in majestic herds.

Seriously, this is one of the more unsettling, eerie images that you've ever conjured. Imagine them slightly floating off the ground as if in an invisible tidepool.

Creepy.

[yukon]

I haven't seen any elk or octupi.
Reptile, I LOVE CUTTLEFISH!! amazing patterns and textures. we have tons of squid, which are pretty cool people fish for them off the warf. we also have tons of seals, and cetaceans! oh and coyotes. here are some pics. first is a adolescent harp seal,( we get tons of grey seals but I don't hav any pics). the second and third are two sides of a fin whale ( second largest animal alive today) They are interestingly enough asymetrically colored, which is really rare in nature. Please note that in the photos its the same individual. Finners always have that bright white lip on the right side and are dark on the left. neat huh? and the final photo is a humpback whale. I'm pretty sure thats Lavelair. I got to see tons of whales, last season b/c I worked for a local coastal conservation group. anyone interested in marine life definately needs to visit cape cod!. If you come in early spring you can watch north atlantic right whales ( These guys are super endangered only about 300 left!) from the shore of the beach!
you know I'd love to have elk though
I love elks ;)

[ReptileJK]

Go Team Cuttlefish! (or as T-wyrm said: "Rock out with your ock out!" :D )

Gotta Love 'em. I've only seen them a handful of times at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, but I'm continually impressed with their ability to change color. I've read that their chromatophores (pigment controlling cells) are the most advanced in the Animal Kingdom (ie, they're better chameleons than true chameleons ;) ). Have this great quick time movie clip of an octopus changing color that I use when I talk about Molluscs in class. I tried uploading it onto this message for folks to see but couldn't figure out how :( . Does anyone know if we can upload mpegs, etc. to our messages?

Yukon, Cape Code sounds awesome. Wish I had the time and money to visit some of these places. Great pictures, BTW.

[Maija]

Seriously, this is one of the more unsettling, eerie images that you've ever conjured. Imagine them slightly floating off the ground as if in an invisible tidepool.

Creepy.
I wish I had time to try drawing it.

Cool octopus story Reptile JK. And those photos are great, Yukon. I've seen sperm whales and a juvenile humpback in New Zealand and minke and killer whales off Vancouver Island, but none that close.

[Hellsaint]

Speaking of their size, he said that when they acquired it, they though it was female (which they were hoping for as females are smaller). Now, however, he said that they're pretty sure its a male, and that the "arm"-span of male giant pacific's can attain 30 ft :eek: . He said they'd have to move it to a new aquarium in a few years.

About octopus sizes... They consume anything, even their own kind. The bigger they are, er... the more of their own they eat?
Anyway the last time a fisher caught an octopi, it slithered out of its outrageously small tank, across the deck and... PLOP!! Its home free!

[Ken O]

I wish I had time to try drawing it.

Cool octopus story Reptile JK. And those photos are great, Yukon. I've seen sperm whales and a juvenile humpback in New Zealand and minke and killer whales off Vancouver Island, but none that close.

Even better, cowboys riding on Octipi.

[Bailzzararco]

The last crazy thing I saw was when I was driving home from work a couple weeks ago. I am stopped at a red light when I see something flying overhead. It looks like a bird carrying something pretty heavy. I thought it looked like a fish, but I also thought the bird carrying it was too small, like pigeon sized. Sure enoug it WAS a pigeon, and what was it carrying in it's mean little feet...but another pigeon, a LIVE pigeon, a full sized adult pigeon. I don't know if it did this on porpose, or it lost it's grip on the other bird, but it droped the pigeon right in the highway intersection. I had to drive off because the light turned green, but the bird that landed did get right back up,shook itself off, and that was all I could see before I drove past it. I am guessing the dropped bird just flew off before the traffic ran over it. But it was defintitely the most uncanny thing I have seen in a long time...where mother nature is concerned anyway.

[Maija]

Um, they probably weren't fighting just like that dog isn't trying to push that other dog home.

(I know way too much about pigeon behaviour from observing the ones on the roof next door all day. They're... um... "busy" birds and sometimes they get airborne while they're at it)

[ReptileJK]

The last crazy thing I saw was when I was driving home from work a couple weeks ago. I am stopped at a red light when I see something flying overhead. It looks like a bird carrying something pretty heavy. I thought it looked like a fish, but I also thought the bird carrying it was too small, like pigeon sized. Sure enoug it WAS a pigeon, and what was it carrying in it's mean little feet...but another pigeon, a LIVE pigeon, a full sized adult pigeon. I don't know if it did this on porpose, or it lost it's grip on the other bird, but it droped the pigeon right in the highway intersection. I had to drive off because the light turned green, but the bird that landed did get right back up,shook itself off, and that was all I could see before I drove past it. I am guessing the dropped bird just flew off before the traffic ran over it. But it was defintitely the most uncanny thing I have seen in a long time...where mother nature is concerned anyway.

Cool story, Bail. Not sure if this is true of pigeon's or not, but many birds copulate while flying. Maybe that's what you saw. Were they facing eachother when in flight?

Neat.

RepT

[ReptileJK]

Um, they probably weren't fighting just like that dog isn't trying to push that other dog home.

(I know way too much about pigeon behaviour from observing the ones on the roof next door all day. They're... um... "busy" birds and sometimes they get airborne while they're at it)


Oops. Ruta beat me to it!

:D

[morna]

My thought, when I read this, was that you might have seen one of the small falcons - like a kestrel or a merlin or a sharpie (sharp shinned hawk) who do prey on birds and pigeons being just so dumb are a great target. I believe the merlin ( who is pigeon sized and grey like a pigeon) used to be called a pidgeon hawk because of it's main prey... maybe?

T-wyrm: how about heards of octopusses...... with monkeys riding them!!!

Yukon: like ruta said we get lots of orcas and dolphins and minkes and stuff but we don't see the big ones too often in Victoria. I did once see a ( I think) grey whale from shore in Tofino. He was HUGE and all barnacly and he looked at me with his eye. I was totally amazed and awed 'cause he was only like fifteen feet away. All I coul;d do ( after a second to wrap my brain around why the rock was moving) was point and gasp out "whale... whale" Thank god Hilary and Greg and Gary were there 'else I'd still wonder if I really saw him - but they all saw him too. Awesome. I want to go to Cape Cod now!

RepJK: I LOVE cuttlefish - and all the cephalopods. I remember going often to the Aquarium (we got a pass one year) in Vancouver and spending most of the time plastered to the cuttlefish tank mesmorized with the chromophores flashing and the texture changes... they're SO responsive to their world - I hate to see them locked up. I was thinking about the size thing too. They're so gooey and stretchy that I don't know how they decide on an arm span. I was thinking of him just reaching out in a kinda relaxed manner. I have seen images of ones that're considered very large and they weren't a whole lot bigger than this guy we saw the other day. *shrug* kool stuff!

[yukon]

that definately sounds llike a grey whale morna. You folks are right on their migratory route. you probably also have pacific humpbacks that travel through on their way from their feeding grounds in alaska and their breeding grounds off hawaii. I'd love to get out to the west coast to see the different cetacean species that occur there. I'd love to see orcas, they very rarely show up off of cape cod; however alot of the humpbacks here have rake like scarring on their flukes from getting attacked by orcas. and sperm whales! that is so cool! they don't come here because they prefer deeper waters, ( deep divers that they are). I'll make it out there at some point!

[Ecoman]

Yup! in real life... from shore. He was bright red. I try to walk each morning and we live a couple on blocks from the sea, there's a breakwater that's half a mile long and the whole walk is just over 30 minutes if I'm brisk about it. I have seen amazing things but the best is the octopus! This is the eighth time I've seen them out there. So I thought I'd start a little nature sightings thread where we can share anything like that... a great storm or a kool animal or anything really that inspires or amazes. More on the octopi later as I'm on lunch and haven't time to do him justice :)

I think that one of the coolest experience I ever had was when my wife and were camping on Maria Island, just off the coast of Tasmania, Australia. It was beautiful out there and ther were wallabies and kangaroos everywhere. As long as we weren't too rowdy they'd come right on up to us which was fantastic. There was also a bunch of wombats out there and kookaburras everywhere. Native Aussie animals like these are everywhere though due to the urban sprawl of the mainland you don't see them too often unless you truly go bush. So, yeah... that was fun.

[Ken O]

T-wyrm: how about heards of octopusses...... with monkeys riding them!!!


Can they have little cowboy hats?

[Bailzzararco]

Cool story, Bail. Not sure if this is true of pigeon's or not, but many birds copulate while flying. Maybe that's what you saw. Were they facing eachother when in flight?

Neat.

RepT
Well, I can't be sure, because I was witnessing this from what would have been behind them, but I am pretty sure the one being carried, was being carried in the other's feet, but I could be totally wrong. I didn't know birds did the nasty in mid-air. Seems very dangerous.

[yukon]

ok I've been eves dropping. total silliness

[Ken O]

ok I've been eves dropping. total silliness

Wow. There is a story with potential if I ever saw one.



Sheriff John T. Squirt was always slow to anger, until being jumped by the Krill in the Trench gang and left for dead at the ocean bottom. Only a wondering Octipi who had happened to just jump the fence at a ranch found him and carried him back to town. But the town isn't what it was mere days ago. The KitT gang has taken over, unless one lawman and his faithful stead can turn the tide.....

[morna]

Can they have little cowboy hats?


Of course darling !

[zefo]

if you ever wonder why a popular camping place is empty, you best ask why.

rattle snake migrations...

nuf said

[gary bolt]

Morna and I went away for a few days with our business partner for a planning retreat. We worked our asses off but still managed to see these guys.

We're going back to the same place, just the two of us, on Sunday and won't be back for five whole relaxing day.

[Ken O]

Great shot of the Bald Eagle. Big birds of prey are amazing to see up close. There is a rescue down here that just works with them, even does little tours. Some very cool stuff.

[morna]

T-wyrm ... I counted 21 eagles that day. There was a fishing boat and it must have been throwing some fish parts overboard 'cause the eagles were everywhere. We had to go outside 'cause they were squawking and landing in the trees surrounding the cabin. Young ones were crashing into tree branches - general eagle pandemonium. People we were talking to went out in a kayak towards the boat and they counted over fourty!!

[Ken O]

Thats awesome. The Birds of Prey center used to have the hawk from Lady Hawk. That was pretty cool to see, not sure if its still there or not.

My parentals are beach people, used to take me out to the cape all the time growing up. Cape Canaveral when they are shooting things into space also is a wilderness perserve. Lots of Bald Eagles out there too. And of course tons of gators. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

[morna]

Gators! kool. One place I REALLY want to see- in the Americas - is the Everglades! Manatees more than 'Gators to be honest... and the smaller creatures. The transition from the swampy areas to the sea seems like a fascinating place. Completely outside my experience. Careful or we'll end up haunting you

[Maija]

My mom and dad are there right now and sent me an excited email about seeing an alligator but they got no photos. Other crazy wildlife they might have seen but haven't so far: wild boars, armadillos and panthers. The friend they're staying with makes it sound like any one of these could wander through your backyard in Orlando.

Eagles: they migrate through here in the spring into the mountains. It was only discovered in the last few years that eagles migrate at all. Because they fly so high, no one noticed them. Now there's a big spring and fall eagle count in Canmore (near Banff in the Rockies). They count hundreds of bald eagles and thousands of golden eagles.

Last May I was driving back from Banff and saw a bunch of huge, rather ungainly white-headed birds waddling around in a pasture. I realized that it was eight bald eagles. I didn't know they travelled in groups or waddled around on the ground, but I guess in a landscape devoid of trees there's no other option. It was cool to see them though.

Here is an Australian wedge-tailed eagle that I saw at a wildlife centre near Melbourne. The leather thongs brushed over my head. I'm amazed I was able to catch this picture.

[yukon]

geez that looks like that eagle is about to clock you! quite a shot, I probably would have been to busy running away to snag such a shot ;) very jealous of everyones raptor sightings. I've never seen a bald eagle out of captivity, only ospreys

[zefo]

my sister just left for austrailia on the 11th. i hope she brings back pictures of the wild life.

but, knowing her, sh'e more likely to bring back pictures of boys :rolleyes:

[Ken O]

Gators! kool. One place I REALLY want to see- in the Americas - is the Everglades! Manatees more than 'Gators to be honest... and the smaller creatures. The transition from the swampy areas to the sea seems like a fascinating place. Completely outside my experience. Careful or we'll end up haunting you

Careful? I'd love to play tour guide for you. Manatess are around the water ways near me and I live maybe 15 mins near the lake that has the highest population of gators per square foot. There are also a few springs that are full of wild monkeys cause of all the Tarzan movies filmed here.
The Everglades is crazy. About a days drive from me. That and you go a little further South and you hit the Keys. Most beautiful water I've ever seen. The water could be way over your head and its still so clear you can see the bottom.


Now in Australia, I would die. I'd end up chasing something into a bush and never come back.

[gary bolt]

Wow, T-wyrm, it sure would be cool to check out Manatees with you.

Morna and I pulled some long hours a couple of weeks ago so we took the last five days off and relaxed by the sea. When we weren't in our room reading comics we were outside surrounded by beautiful rocky shorelines, sea birds & eagles and sun (in February - in coastal British Columbia - which is not the norm).

Due to developments in the BPRD comics I feel almost on topic posting these pictures I shot from a dock of water jellies. They are about 2" in diameter. We saw some larger moon jellies but not close enough to photograph.

[Maija]

Cool! When I was little we used to go to Prince Edward Island every summer to visit family and since there was no bridge then, we took the ferry. There were many jellyfish in the channel that would get stirred up by the ferry. They were white around the edges and rusty brown in the middle. From high up on the passenger deck of the ferry I thought they were used coffee filters that Maritimers had thrown into the Gulf of St. Lawrence! I thought it wasn't very nice that they should litter with their coffee filters. It was a while before I finally connected the inert, rust-coloured jelly blobs on the beach with the "coffee filters".

What can I say? I was little! :p

[Tad]

You should post this pics in a UFO forum with no explanation. ;)

[Maija]

..........

[gary bolt]

Cool! When I was little we used to go to Prince Edward Island every summer to visit family and since there was no bridge then, we took the ferry. There were many jellyfish in the channel that would get stirred up by the ferry. They were white around the edges and rusty brown in the middle. From high up on the passenger deck of the ferry I thought they were used coffee filters that Maritimers had thrown into the Gulf of St. Lawrence! I thought it wasn't very nice that they should litter with their coffee filters. It was a while before I finally connected the inert, rust-coloured jelly blobs on the beach with the "coffee filters".

What can I say? I was little! :p

Some of the larger jelly fish are quite complex and colourful, even reminiscent of the big jellyfish that creates the cocoon thing that Caul retrieves from the ocean bottom in BPRD: Plague of Frogs. We haven't seen coffee filter jellies but there are a couple of frilly, messy big species here on the west coast that Morna has christened "Snot Balls" and "Blood Clots". Maybe once the weather warms up we can get decent pics of them too.

I really find it quite cool that we share our world with such strange and alien life forms. I'd love to learn more about them but haven't found a good book so far.

[morna]

..........
ahhahahahahaha! nice one!

[Maija]

there are a couple of frilly, messy big species here on the west coast that Morna has christened "Snot Balls" and "Blood Clots".
Yum.

Yeah, there's some crazy, weird, cool stuff in the ocean. There are jellies with cascading disco lights on them in the deep deep.

[gary bolt]

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!

I'm a believer! :D

[morna]

Actually you don't even have to go deep. Last July, in the same place we saw some comb jellies and sea gooseberries with the cascading rainbow effects... small ( size of my thumbnail or so) but pretty spectacular. I love the sea.

[gary bolt]

Morna and I went for a bike ride today and passed by a major heronry that is 4 or 5 blocks from our house. At first we saw many of them in the sky. Most settled onto a few apartment buildings across the street from their nesting grounds in a big park. I guess this is their season of courtship. Most summers a nesting pair of Bald Eagles sets up shop nearby and help themselves to fresh heron so they can feed their young.

[JohnThompson]

Thought this may be of interest to the octopus fans: Bipedal octopi!

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2005/03/24_octopus.shtml

[Ken O]

That is so freaky looking.


I love it.

[morna]

That is just WAY too kool! Thanks John. Aren't octopusses the koolest guys on earth!
I recommend trying to see the little film on that link - it's awesome. I totally would have been stydying the cephalopods if I had made it through all the math and become a marine biologist. oh well .. glass is kool too.

[Maija]

That's bloody cool. Thanks, John.

I especially like the octopus disguising itself as seaweed and strolling along nonchalantly. I'd like to edit some nonchalant whistling into that Quicktime movie.

"Don't mind me! I'm just seaweed! Dooo dodo dodoooo..."

More proof that someday octopuses are going to become the dominant species and make us their puny slaves. :evilangry

[Ken O]

BTW determined while drinking Friday night, if the NHL ever gets its crap together for next season; the night the puck drops I'm getting an octopus holding a Red Wings logo inked on my body. :D

[Maija]

A question for Sir Edward: what's the story behind the neat rocks in your avatar? Are they things you've discovered on the beach? Man-made creations? The first one you had looked like the closed eye of a whale. The current one looks like an ancient artefact.

[gary bolt]

They're rocks from a favourite rocky beach that Morna and I go to. There are all kinds of round rocks embedded in a sandstone matrix. Erosion has exposed them to various degrees. Some are sheered off flat; others protrude from the surrounding material. Some are embellished with lichen, others with barnacles. I'm drawn to the richness and variety within the common form.

[morna]

Gare...I think it would be worth posting these as big as you can get 'em. People will see them all in the fullness of time avatar-sized, but they're SO gorgeous it would be worth the effort. IMO :D




nevermind :o

[Hells Orc]

Is this thing still going? I've skimed over the last few replies and I can't even figure out what's going on with it anymore. But I've just stoped by and I can't think of anything else to post a reply in!

[Bailzzararco]

I was in my back yard heading to my utility shed to look for some screws when I heard some rustling in the leaves at the bottom of a tree. I thought it might be a snake, and curiosity got the best of me and I had to look. There I saw two lizards biting each other in the mouth. They looked for all the world as if they were French kissing. They dind't even let go when I was towering over them. I like catching lizards, and I couldn't resist, and I was able to easily pick up one of them, and the other one seemed sort of stunned, and didn't move. I probabaly could have picked that one up, too, but I was holding a sling shot in the other hand. Anyway, I thought it was pretty neat, as I have never seen lizards do that before.

[Petersen]

Saw a 3 legged cat last night.

Julia and I had been out, but drove seperately. When we got home, I was 1st, so I sat in the street waiting for her to pull in (wanted my car in back 'cause I was leaving earlier in the morning than her) Auggie out little black mutt was in the car with me. I had my lights off, as to not blind anyone. I saw something rummageing by the garbage bags at the curb. Thoight it was a skunk..turned on the lights and saw a cat. Auggie went NUTS!!! he jumped up to the dash and hit his head on the windshield.

The cat ran off rather ackwardly...and I saw why...3 legs.

Julia said she saw it a lot last fall, so it's doing well to have survived a Michigan winter

[petriacce]

I saw several small squids today and I ate them all. YUM!

[JohnThompson]

I haven't seen any real squids lately, but I'm in the middle of a huge illustration project to create cut-away art of several squid-shaped lures for a big game fishing supplier. :(

[gary bolt]

Can we see what you're talking about please, JT?

[Maija]

Momma octopus has baby octopods!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7502647

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/2005/April/050413/050414_octopus_bcol_11a.standard.jpg

[gary bolt]

Kool! That little tyke is cute and evil looking both at the same time.

[morna]

oh my god he's adorable!

[Tad]

Yes, but now Aurora will wither away, energy spent defending her eggs. Cool attached article. Thanks, ruta.

[morna]

Ya it sucks that female octopuses have to die after reproducing. We found two huge ones on a beach once near death I assumed had just had their young hatch. sad

[petriacce]

Ant Wars! (see attached photos)

And, you want to see adorable...

http://home.earthlink.net/~petriacce/otr/otr35.jpg

http://home.earthlink.net/~petriacce/otr/otr36.jpg http://home.earthlink.net/~petriacce/otr/otr37.jpg http://home.earthlink.net/~petriacce/otr/otr38.jpg

[Maija]

*sees Orrin*

aaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWW!! :)

*sees ant hordes*

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeew!! :eek:

*clicks back to see Orrin*

aaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWW!! :)

*clicks on another picture of ant hordes*

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeew!! :eek:

and repeat.

[petriacce]

Whew, I'm glad it wasn't...

EEEEEeeeeewwwww...

aaaAAAAAWWWWW...

and repeat

;)

[zefo]

wow

ive seen ants fight before, but never on such a massive scale.
.
.
.
.
.
......0__ .'

[Maija]

Whew, I'm glad it wasn't...

EEEEEeeeeewwwww...

aaaAAAAAWWWWW...

and repeat

;)
Heh. :)

So what's the deal with the ants? Are they at war with each other or at war with you? If it's the latter, how goes the battle?

[morna]

wow are those ants all hanging out at your house Pets? scary

and.... holy-! Look how big Orrin is already - he's practically ...a boy!

[Celtic_Fiddler]

Octopi can open jars. Which means we have to take them out now.

Either that or not keep the secrets of world domination in jars.

Mmmmm... world domination in a jar. Tasty!

Andrea

[petriacce]

Heh. :)

So what's the deal with the ants? Are they at war with each other or at war with you? If it's the latter, how goes the battle?They're at war with each other. Two separate colonies were close together and I guess they decided the driveway wasn't big enough for the both of 'em. It was kinda sad to see all of the dead ants being carried off by the victors...down, down, down into the colony where their substance will be used to feed the next generation of larvae. Ants are cool.wow are those ants all hanging out at your house Pets? scary

and.... holy-! Look how big Orrin is already - he's practically ...a boy! Yeah, they decided to take refuge in the cracks of my driveway.

Orrin is growing quickly. He'll be eight months already next week. :( I am happy to see him grow but the baby is disappearing. He is freakin' AWESOME though. I love rushing home every day to my wife and son. Joy of joys.

[JohnThompson]

I am happy to see him grow but the baby is disappearing.
Don't worry about that yet. I've got a 5 year old who still needs to be "babied" at times, when he's sad or hurt, or just wants to pretend he's a baby. You'll have little glimpses of the baby in Orrin for years. :)

[zefo]

Mmmmm... world domination in a jar. Tasty!

Andrea


yes! this will make things so much easier for me. no more plotting, doom comes in a jar now!

[icbm1987]

Someone's been threadnecromancing I see...

Sir Petriacce.

You have a most aesthetically appeasing child...

And the ants... they rock.

[kid cthulhu]

It's definitely ant season.

My best friend's house is being overrun by them, and it seems like there's a different colony claiming victory every other week.

Totally fascinating, but a little much. Gotta love nature.

[gary bolt]

Morna and I just got back from our morning walk and saw all kinds of great critters. The tide was quite low and the first thing we saw when we got to the sea was an otter rooting about in the shallows. A few feet away was a great blue heron trying to catch fish. We saw gumboot chitons, jellyfish, leather stars and schools of flashing tiny fish. The highlight was another octopus sighting. He was right on the waters edge as we walked along the breakwater. We stopped and watched him for at least five minutes. He was a smallish one (head about the size of a grapefruit) and was working his way around rocks with his curling, tentacle covered arms. He changed colour and texture continually and at one time got his head mostly out of the water as he reached between the rocks on the waters edge. It was the best octopus sighting I've ever experienced.

[morna]

( seal - he forgot to mention the seal)

longest octo sighting yet and #10 for me!!! yaay

[Ken O]

Animal Planet has been running a show called Killer Squid. I had no idea an animal like that existed, but I think I want one. :D

[Maija]

One of the most gripping documentaries I've ever watched was "In Search of the Giant Squid" on the Discovery Channel. These guys were going down to the bottom of the Kaikoura Trench off the coast of NZ in a submersible-- deepest human dives ever-- each with their own strategy for spotting a giant squid, as a live one has never been seen. Watching these guys freaking out as they're trapped alone under several miles of water in absolute darkness was spooky enough without the prospect of possibly seeing an eyeball the size of a dinner plate go past the window. The crazy thing is... THEY NEVER SAW ONE!! So the entire documentary was about an animal that you never see. Still really cool to watch though.

As for otters, there was an article online this past week about a baby otter rescued near Seattle, I think. I saved the cute photos. Otters are so freaking cute. When I'm in Victoria I almost always see one on the docks around the houseboats moored under the Johnston Street Bridge, or down in front of the Empress. I wish I could see otters every day.

[petriacce]

Otters are so freaking cute. **pictures**Aww, CUTE! They're like aquatic cats without the attitude.

[morna]

ruta: I LOVED that show - though I don't think it would work as well on the second viewing somehow. I am really blown away - still - after seeing ten of these guys - that one can actually see them from shore just walking along with some degree of regularity.. I love where I live !!!

Those guys are sea otters - which I've never seen here. We have seagoing river otters which are more sleek - less grizzled looking less cute in that teddy bear way but more lovely in the catlike sinuous way - the ring of bright water guys. Old sammy down by Barbs is a harbour seal - but he IS cute!

TW: keeping my eye out for Killer Squid - tho' I don't have cable - therefore no TV so maybe I should just buy the durn thing

[F.K. Soft]

I've heard that otters are a lot like koalas in that they're cute to look at, but they're pretty aggressive...I'm just sayin.

[Ose]

I have a bit of an odd critter story to tell now. My parents, my boyfriend and myself went to see my brother and go out for supper. The weird sighting happened on the way back.

It was after dark, and we were keeping an eye out for moose. We didn't see moose, but at one point we saw an eye glow moving across the highway. We all figured it was a fox, and when we got close enough to get it fully in the headlights, that was indeed what it was. But I certainly wasn't prepared to see a white-furred fox.

We don't get arctic foxes here, only red foxes. The body build was that of a red fox, but it had snow-white fur. It wasn't alibino either, because the eyes weren't red. That was really weird, because I have never heard of naturally occuring wild white-furred red foxes that aren't alibinos - and even alibino red foxes are nearly unheard of. White-furred non-alibinos are only supposed to exist on fur farms and at places where they're doing experiments with domesticating foxes.

So yeah, I got to see something that must be one heck of a rarity in the wild.

[morna]

wow Ose that's kool.

We are having our first really low tides of the year this week. I was out this morning - not early enough - and got a few preliminary shots of things. G and I are going out for the main event tomorrow. Minus.2 (-.2 metres) woo hoo! Nice and EARLY so we don't miss a minute of the peak low.

This first one is a gumboot chiton - related to ... um... other chitons. They're a bit like a limpit but they have their shells in plates under the skin. This guy was a moderate sized one about the size of my hand. He curled slowly when I picked him up. Nice animals. The starfish is a very brightly coloured individual of his species. I can't remember what these are called right now and I'm too lazy to look it up. The first shot, #13, is just in sunlight and shows the crazy colouration best and the second, #14, is in my shadow - better for form and surface details. Enjoy! I'm sure there will be more tomorrow.

[Tad]

Wow! Field trip to Morna's house! Thanks for the pics.

[Petersen]

hmmm....those images look familiar Morna...

[morna]

HA ahhahahahahahahaha!!! *sigh* that's awesome We are just heading out so more fun coming up - maybe! minus tides rock!


Bleeeearg!

[HBMomma]

I've heard that otters are a lot like koalas in that they're cute to look at, but they're pretty aggressive...I'm just sayin.

I can attest to that! In high school I worked at a vet clinic that cared for some of the zoo animals. They brought in the sea otters a couple of times and they were NOT happy to see us. Not that I blame them, of course, but it was so disappointing to learn that the adorable little cuddlies that seemed to adore human attention so much at the zoo were more than willing to rip your fingers right off!

[Maija]

hmmm....those images look familiar Morna...
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Those are awesome low tide photos, morna! Cool starfish.

Otters: yes, sadly most wild animals look cute but will rip your face off, given the chance. Well, maybe not really "sadly" since I don't like to see wild animals turned into pets, so any way they discourage the practice is fine with me.

Wombats, my favourite marsupial, are the same way.

Heeheeheehee! (http://www.wombadilliac.com.au/)

They have the best name of any animal. Wombat wombat wombat.

[Ken O]

They have the best name of any animal. Wombat wombat wombat.

Even better then the titmouse?

[morna]

Wombats are great - they have loads of kool animals in australia with kool names. I like the planigale (sp?).

Gary is in a healing bath (sleep heals me , baths heal him) - we (he) had a little mishap and ended up in the water. I'm not sure if we'll have any pictures to show you cause