Many of you enjoyed the last collection of animal images (Animal Kingdom 1), so here’s another, this one including African and marine wildlife. Enjoy!

It’s been a while since I posted a gallery of critter images. Barbara sent this collection, some cute, some artistic and some downright funny. Enjoy!

Literally.

“Sometimes they catch me, sometimes they don’t,” says the 28-year old performance artist who approaches strangers on the spot — usually a bar — and literally hurls her body at them. Hilarious and poignant, the resulting photographs make you wish you had been there to see what happened after the shutter release.

A tour of her web site includes several such “moments” along with video montages of her hugging strangers or protecting a chalk drawn box on a busy city sidewalk from passersby who might otherwise step inside. It’s an unusual art form in which McElroy is expressing herself… and making people laugh.

One of the great things about Americans is the way we all get cranked up for Independence Day. It’s a big event for most, with parades, BBQs and spectacular fireworks shows!

Californians for the most part stayed away from “real” fireworks this year because of the extreme fire danger — we’ve already had more than 1700 wildfires throughout the state precipitated by dry lightening and high winds, so our Governator asked that we not buy fireworks in order to help prevent even more. But many of the usual controlled exhibitions went off as scheduled including northern California’s largest at Cal Expo in Sacramento. Here are a few more images (click to enlarge):

We were blessed this year with cooler temperatures — we call anything less than 106° “cooler” — so Dawn and I took in the annual East Sacramento “Fab 40s” parade followed by lunch on the patio at Rio City Cafe in Old Sacramento. There was a nice breeze and we relaxed watching the boats cruising the Sacramento River. What began as a lousy day for me turned out to be a pretty darn good Independence Day!

This is my final “official” Patriot’s Journey post for 2008 although I’ll continue to photograph and write about this great land of ours as the mood strikes me. If you’d like to re-read any of my previous “Patriot’s Journey” posts, click on “archives” in the navigation bar on the right, then click on “Patriot’s Journey” and you’ll be directed to all of them. And I’m sure my fellow journeyers — Drumwaster, Larry at The Bastage, the folks at The Line Is Here and Shortbus from The Edge of Reason — would appreciate a visit, too. I’ve enjoyed participating in this year’s journey with some terrific bloggers and hope to do it again next year. ‘Til then, God bless America!

Something that never ceases to amaze me is the level of photographic talent shown by our military combat photographers, particularly those serving or who have recently served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Besides giving us a first hand, front line look at what our fighting men and women do and see, some of their work has to be be described as fine art.

During two tours in Iraq, one of the best was Staff Sergeant Russell Lee Klika (he goes by “Klika” - gotta love that name). In 2004, he accompanied the 278th Regimental Combat Team of the Tennessee Army National Guard, serving as a member of the public affairs staff. In 2006, he returned, this time with the 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment of the Tennessee Army National Guard. During that second tour he worked with the 101st Airborne’s 3rd Division Rakkasans, a unit in which his 21-year-old son, Zachary, now serves. He occasionally sent photos of what he saw and I posted them on my old AFP website and later reposted them here.

Klika believes military photographers should not only document wars and battles, but also preserve and humanize historical events. So in capturing images in war-torn regions, he endured the same hardships and experienced the same risks as the warriors he photographed.

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Some of you know that Dawn and I live in a nice area between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe, much of it undeveloped and unspoiled. It’s one of the fastest growing cities in the tri-counties, yet local government and developers have managed to set aside a generous amount of land as natural habitat. For example, our home backs up to a natural creek, part of a protected strip of land that runs from high in the hills to the valley below providing refuge for a variety of wildlife. So it’s not unusual for us to see foxes, raccoons, wild turkeys, owls and an occasional coyote or deer in our yard. It’s what attracted us to the area — nice neighborhoods close to the city, yet still part of nature.

But every once in a while, nature interrupts our regular routine and last week was a perfect example. From our upstairs bedroom window, we’d been hearing “sounds” late at night and in the pre-dawn hours in our back yard, sounds we couldn’t identify. One night we thought we heard an animal attack and quickly dispose of another, not unusual in nature but something we weren’t used to hearing in our yard. Then, Saturday before last, while moving a deck chair from the garage to the back yard, Dawn heard something she hadn’t heard before — a sort of “growl”! She dropped the chair and raced into the house, but caught a glimpse of a dog-sized animal jumping from a tree near the creek at the rear edge of our property. I mistakenly assumed it had been a fox and dismissed it.

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In 1810, English poet William Wordsworth described a “sort of national property in which every man has a right and interest who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy”. Painter George Catlin, in his travels though the American West, wrote in 1832 that the Native Americans in the United States might be preserved “by some great protecting policy of government … in a magnificent park … A nation’s park, containing man and beast, in all the wild and freshness of their nature’s beauty!”

Years later, in 1864, the first steps toward creating what would later become our national park system were set in motion by Congress and President Abraham Lincoln. Yosemite Valley, seen as an important national treasure, was set aside by the federal government and ceded to the state of California. In doing so, it was agreed that the state would preserve these lands for public use, resort and recreation, and that no corporate development would be allowed in the protected lands. Eight years later, Yosemite Valley, along with Yellowstone, became the world’s first National Parks.

Dawn and I are fortunate to live close enough to Yosemite for regular treks. With each visit, we marvel at its splendor, its magnificence, its massive beauty. Its sheer enormity provides a cornucopia of hiking and photographic opportunities, far more than we could hope to experience in a single lifetime.

It’s been said that one cannot visit Yosemite and not feel closer to his creator. For us, it’s true.

This is a Patriot’s Journey post. Remember to check out the other Patriotic Journeyers: Drumwaster, The Bastage, the folks at The Line Is Here and Shortbus from The Edge of Reason…

Today is Memorial Day, first observed on May 30, 1868, declared a national holiday by Congress and, since 1971, celebrated on the last Monday in May. It also marks the unofficial beginning of summer when families enjoy a long weekend of outdoor activities. In the process, I hope you’ll all remember what it commemorates by remembering and honoring those who gave their lives defending our freedoms in the service of country.

While preparing this post, I thought about the 272 words so eloquently delivered by President Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg when he paid tribute to the honored dead who had made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. In that memorable address, he summarized what we today celebrate as Memorial Day.

I thought, too, about my family’s long history in this country. Our ancestors arrived in the Massachusetts colony around 1630. That an ancestor of ours has fought in nearly every conflict in which this country has engaged is highly probable. It is documented that one ancestor fell at Gettysburg, so Lincoln’s words hold special meaning for our family.

I thought of my father who, though still with us, served proudly as a B-29 pilot during WWII. It was my pride in him and his service to country that made me want to follow in his footsteps. I thought of my brother, Ken, and my daughter, Shannon, who served in the U.S. Navy, and how proud I am of them both. I thought of all my ancestors, known and unknown, who have served in the fight for freedom…

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Proving that photographers will do just about anything (and, apparently, assume any position) to “get the shot,” here’s one taken by Dawn during our long weekend with friends in Stinson Beach. On the left is our friend, Rob, grabbing some shots of a beautiful sunset. In order to steady his camera, he assumed this, uh, “unusual” stance and Dawn couldn’t resist capturing it for posterity.

Of all their long experience, National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence Dereck and Beverly Joubert consider their two years with the lions of Duba the most exciting, important research they have done. The internationally acclaimed naturalists and cinematographers produced Relentless Enemies: Lions and Buffalo, a companion volume to their National Geographic film, providing an unforgettable once-in-a-lifetime glimpse of the world’s most awe-inspiring hunters, the lethal and beautiful lions of Duba.

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The rich surroundings and unique environment of the Okavango River Delta have morphed these lions into huge, thick-necked beasts. Far more aggressive and dangerous than their cousins on the Serengeti, they defy what we thought we knew about big cats. They are larger, more fearsome and more innovative than your typical lion, and of necessity they have learned to hunt places big cats normally avoid.

Trapped on an island only five years old with these giant killers are thousands of cape buffalo, forced to develop their own strategies for survival.

The book is illustrated with 100 amazing photographs of the lions in Botswana’s Duba Plains and their long, lethal relationship with the region’s buffalo. “The back-and-forth interplay between two of Africa’s giants is eternal, harsh, and at the same time quite beautiful and essential,” writes Dereck Joubert, who provided the text for the book. Beverly contributed the 100 vivid, gripping images.

A great read for wildlife photographers and enthusiasts. Truth be told, if I could have my “dream job,” this would be it.

A follow-up photo album of 44 images taken during our getaway to Stinson Beach with friends Michael & Sisko and Candy & Rob. All were taken with the Nikon D2Xs and Canon Digital Elph pocket cameras. Although Dawn was a little under the weather, this was one of the most relaxing getaways we’ve enjoyed. Heartfelt thanks to Sisko and Michael for making it possible.    (See also Part 2 and Part 1).

You don’t have to look far to see signs of spring. From the budding of trees and the warming of temperatures to the animals coming out of their winter hideaways, the promise of new birth and fresh color fills the springtime air. In our area, signs of the change in season have been popping up for weeks. La Niña provided a mild winter with above normal rainfall, and we’ve enjoyed some wonderful early spring-like weather.

The first day of spring is usually March 20 but sometimes, like last year, it falls on the 21st to correspond with the vernal equinox when the sun rests directly above the equator on its apparent trip northward. As the earth revolves around the sun, the Northern Hemisphere tilts more toward the sun as winter turns to spring. Conversely, the Southern Hemisphere tilts more away from the sun ushering in the beginning of autumn for people in that hemisphere.

The word “equinox” is derived from Latin and means “equal nights.” Around March 20 (or 21st as the case may be), sunrise and sunset are about twelve hours apart everywhere on Earth. Because of that, some folks mistakenly believe that day and night on that date are of equal length. In reality, though, the day is a little longer and here’s why. Sunrise occurs when the top of the sun rather than its center is on the horizon. But the sun actually appears to be above the horizon when it is in fact still below it. That’s because the earth’s atmosphere refracts, or “bends,” light coming from the sun, so we “see” the sun a couple of minutes before it actually rises over the horizon. And if you add the daylight that persists after sunset, you’ll find the day on the equinox is several minutes longer than the night.

Spring is a time of transition, not only for plants and animals, but for the weather, too. It can mean weather extremes from very cold and snowy days to humid and stormy days. Some of the country’s biggest snowfalls have occurred in March and the period from March to May brings severe thunderstorms, hail and tornadoes to much of the south. In the Sacramento region, spring is my favorite season. It means hiking and other outdoor activities, longer days and warmer nights, and myriad opportunities for landscape and wildlife photography.

And let’s lay to rest the myth about your being able to balance a raw egg on end on the first day of spring when, supposedly, the pull of gravity is more equal because the sun is more directly overhead. There’s simply no scientific support for this.

The balancing egg legend apparently got its start in 1945 when a reporter for Life Magazine wrote a story about a Chinese ritual in which people stood eggs on end on the first day of spring. But the Chinese recognized the first day of spring in early February, or about six weeks before the spring equinox! Hmmmm…

Later, in 1983, a hundred New Yorkers got together on March 20 to balance eggs and an article about the event appeared in the New Yorker magazine. A year later, five thousand New Yorkers repeated the tradition on the first day of spring, and the egg legend grew. The truth is that if you can get a raw egg to balance upright on the spring equinox, you can get it to balance any other day of the year. The pull of gravity or the position of the sun in the sky has nothing to do with it.

But balancing egg or no balancing egg, by all means embrace spring! Get outside, listen to the birds and smell the flowers. Take long walks. Explore. Immerse yourself in the newness of the season!

Today’s post is a photo album of more images taken during our getaway to Stinson Beach (see Friday’s post). I haven’t processed all the images Dawn and I made - I’ll post another album this week.

Thanks to all of you that commented about Friday’s images. I hope you enjoy these as well.

“Forgive me, gentle readers… it’s been seven days since my last post…”

It’s true. We drove to Stinson Beach last Thursday with four dear friends for a long weekend and some much needed “R&R”, and it’s taken me most of this week to catch up with myself and get back in the swing of things. Obviously, the decompression worked!

For those of you unfamiliar with Stinson Beach, it’s a little beach community in Marin County, California, with about 750 residents. A popular day trip for people from the San Francisco Bay Area and for tourists visiting northern California, it’s near such attractions as Muir Woods National Monument, Muir Beach, and Mount Tamalpais. It has a long beach with occasional opportunities for surfing, although the water is cold and fog is common throughout the year.

In 2002, a surfer was attacked by a 12-15 foot great white shark while surfing off Stinson Beach. The young man survived, but received more than 100 stitches to close his wounds. The attack was the second in Stinson Beach since 1998 and the 13th in Marin County since 1952. The surf off Stinson Beach is within an area known as the Red Triangle, where there have been an unusually high number of shark attacks. Needless to say, we stayed out of the water!

Our friends had the use of a beautiful beach house and invited us to share the weekend with them. What a rare treat! I won’t go into detail about what its owners refer to as their “beach house” — a luxury home by most people’s standards — but we enjoyed a panoramic view of the ocean and fell off to sleep every night listening to the surf just 16 steps from our back door!

Needless to say, Dawn and I took a lot of photos of the beach and the little towns of Stinson Beach and nearby Bolinas. We even visited the Point Reyes Lighthouse. It was a wonderful, relaxing weekend with good friends, no cell phones and no itinerary. I’ll try to get more images posted once I’ve had time to process and assemble them into an album. Meanwhile. I hope you enjoy these. Click on the thumbnails to enlarge.

This May, CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the most powerful particle accelerator yet created by humans, is scheduled to start smashing protons into each other with unprecedented impact speeds. The LHC will explore the leading explanation that mass arises from ordinary particles slogging through an otherwise invisible but pervasive field of virtual Higgs particles. In this image by Maximilien Brice, a person stands in front of the huge ATLAS detector (center, near bottom of frame), one of six detectors being attached to the LHC. This was the February 25, 2008 Astronomy Picture of the Day.