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Southwest Florida Pet and Wildlife Photography

Tag Archives: Music

Odd Duck Day (Two)

Thursday, August 12, 2010 Posted in Wildlife

Shhhhh! Getting close to butterflies is difficult and it is even more difficult to photograph them. Over time, I’ve learned that I have to approach very quietly if a butterfly lands on a flower, like this one here:

Luckily, this one (a Swallowtail) hung around and sniffed the flowers for quite a while. I was able to get quite a few shots with several wing poses. That way, I could admire the beautiful colors on his immense wings:

If you want to capture butterflies in flight, you’ll need a fast lens. In the past, I’ve managed to capture some with a shutter speed of 1,000 and a decent range in my depth of field. Today’s cameras offer high ISOs with little or no noise so, it’s much easier to capture these dancing sprites. I’m dreaming of the day when I’ll have such a camera with a 3,000mm lens that weighs an ounce!!!! Yeah, laugh all you want!! I CAN dream, can’t I? Meanwhile, take a look at these lovelies that were shot at a shutter speed of 400–hence the blur:

Look at this little one here–its antennas (sorry, cannot remember the correct term :{-) are so cute:

Butterflies love Lantana and Porterweed, so if you can, grow some in a pot or in the ground and they’ll come! Monarchs are very drawn to Tropical Milkweed, too. As I write this, I can see 4 or 5 wafting around my butterfly garden. I try to capture them backlit if the moment arises, like this one here:

So, everyone, I hope you have a lovely weekend and manage to see some butterflies along the way! Here’s a little music to inspire you

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The Othello Tragedy, as Told by Maya the Great Egret, Part III ©

Wednesday, April 21, 2010 Posted in Music, Wildlife

[caption id="attachment_1937" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Mac and Apple the Great Blue herons"]

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Hello, by now y’all MUST know that I’m Maya the Great Egret and I’m here to continue with the tragedy of Mac and Apple the Great Blue Herons. If y’all want ta catch up, jest crawl down the page for Part II. Now let me see where we all were last time I was here:

Oh yes, we ended the last time with Cassio doing a “come on, y’all”… What Ms P? Oh, yes, forgot there for a while—was using my own dialect. Yes, it appeared to the observer that Cassio was trying to court the lady Apple, didn’t it? Well, actually, Cassio the Great Blue Heron was as devastated as the rest in the rookery about the loss of the three M’s. The news had spread all the way up to Tallahassee and so, Cassio decided to fly down and offer his condolences:

But to others, and to Mac in particular, it looked like he was trying to woo the heart-broken Apple. While out taking his own solitary stroll, he stopped to get a drink from the little creek. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Cassio:

What was going on? Was Apple responding to Cassio’s overtures? In THEIR love nest?? In the nest where the 3 M’s came into life??? In the nest where the three M’s died???? Near the nest where they did the watch and wait for the three M’s to fly over with new wings????? In the nest where they turned back into each other and let the grief wash over them! In THAT nest?

He was so shocked at what he saw that the first ever tear came and then another and then another until he had filled the little creek to overflowing:

And it was at that very moment that the inhabitants of the rookery gave the name of Desdemona to Apple and Mac took on the name of Othello in their hushed, shocked conversations!

Feeling betrayed and lonely, Mac took off for the barrier islands, this time not caring where he went and spent his days in despair.:

He didn’t even have an interest in fishing anymore. When he was hungry, he picked up the fish the humans had discarded and would morosely carry one and take a nibble here and there.

Tanzania the Gopher Tortoise advised him to pick HIMSELF up—so distraught was she to see a magnificent Great Blue Heron –the king of the wading birds—reduced to such a pitiful mess:

[caption id="attachment_1949" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="“Go home, dear boy and make peace with your soul.”"]

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A trio of Ibis flying by at dusk told him to hurry back and make amends with Apple:

[caption id="attachment_1950" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="“She cries out day and night with loneliness for the three M’s and her love, Mac""][/caption]

When a bunch of white pelicans threw their 50cents into the mix, he’d had enough. He decided that he would confront the pair and tell Apple how much he missed her. When he got to the rookery, he was not pleased to find that rascal Cassio STILL in the nest:

So, he swooped down and confronted Apple:

[caption id="attachment_1952" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="“How could you do this to me??? "How could you betray me? I will kill you and strangle your new lover Cassio!!"]

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Apple was so shocked, furious, relieved, happy, unhappy, angry, sad–all these emotions came rushing in at once after the weeks of feeling just emptiness so that she, like Mac, exploded in anger:

[caption id="attachment_1953" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="“What do you mean—betray!!!!????? How could you believe I’d EVER betray you. Cassio is your friend and came here to comfort us. You betrayed ME by leaving me alone after all we went through!”"]

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But Mac wouldn’t listen. He was on a roll after the weeks of desperation:

[caption id="attachment_1954" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="“Ha! I saw you responding to him when he was trying to woo you. Don’t talk to me about being alone!!”"]

[/caption]

Now, Apple was totally baffled until she remembered back to that day weeks ago:

[caption id="attachment_1955" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="“But I was describing the watch –how long it took for them to fly over and how at times we had to stand up and pay attention. Tell him, Cassio!”"]

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And back and forth they went until they both were so tired, so empty, so bereft…..so exhausted from loneliness and grief that they finally couldn’t resist the pull that loneliness had created and they kissed:

So all was well again. Or was is? Will they ever find the way back to harmony after this? We’ll have to see. For now, here’s MY music selection from The Boss—no, not Ms P—THE Boss-the Bruce.

Note from Ms P. –It’s ALWAYS darkest before the dawn, so stay tuned for Part IV . Thank you, Maya for another splendid narration. I’m so proud of you. Now– Here’s Bruce

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Contest: What on Earth Is This?

Friday, April 16, 2010 Posted in Contest, Music

Before I continue with the Mac and Apple saga, I thought we’d have some fun and have you guess what the image below entails:

Is is a plant–cactus, perhaps? Is it some form of exotic fungi? A mangled ball of yarn? Give it your best guess. Let’s have some fun, y’all! Submit a comment, or go to FaceBook or Twitter (by clicking on the word “links” to the left of this page). Or just send me an email at downeypatricia85@gmail.com. IMPORTANT : Please include your email address so that I can contact YOU and get your information if you guess correctly.

The first person to guess correctly will receive a box of my wildlife note cards (a $38 value).

I’ll give you the answer on Tuesday. Meanwhile, listen to the boss and CLICK HERE. C’mon, kick up those heels, y’all

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The Othello Tragedy, as Told by Maya the Great Egret, Part II ©

Tuesday, April 13, 2010 Posted in Music, Wildlife

I’m back with Part II. Y’all will hafta bear wif me–it’s very sad for me to be doing this narration but like my heroine Nellie (more about that in a few days) I must be professional–after all the show MUST go on!

[caption id="attachment_1896" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="Maya the great Egret"]

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The morning of that deadly storm crept in softly and wrapped its golden fingers around every leaf and blade of grass. The dew and waterways winked like diamonds in candlelight. Mac the Great Blue heron stretched his massive wings and faced into the rising sun, ready to go for a day’s fishing.

The great egret dance of romance continued without interruption.

Shineybeakgret on her way to visit with Apple took a few moments to dance in the sky and sing (read squawk) with all her might about the joys of flying on such a lovely day.

As the light crept over the bushes and onto Apple’s nest, MawK woke up and wanted his mullet-yes-ma’am-mullet NOW! Even though his grip was fierce, instead of howling with the pain, she gave thanks, yet again, for her wonderful life.

And then, the sunny skies started to choke up with dark clouds the likes of which had never been seen. Shineybeakgret was puzzled to see the sudden, dire change in the morning skies:

[caption id="attachment_1903" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="“No, it can’t be! It’s too early for hurricanes!”"]

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Gelato swore off white meat with feathers that very instant. She had a premonition that something was up. Some bad, sad chill made her blood even colder and she knew, just knew that this was a portend of some mighty tragedy to come.

[caption id="attachment_1904" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""No more white meat with feathers, No more white meat with feathers,No more white meat with feathers,No more white meat with feathers,No more white meat with feathers,No more white meat with feathers,No more white meat with feathers,No more white meat with feathers,No more white meat with feathers,No more white meat with feathers,No more white meat with feathers,No more white meat with feathers,No more white meat with feathers,No more white meat with feathers,"]

[/caption]

In some places, the storm tore every leaf off the bushes and flung massive tree limbs to the swampy ground. This was nothing new for the critters in and around the rookery. They and their ancestors had survived many a fierce summer hurricane that would sweep through and mangle everything in its path. No, they were used to this kind of cleanup that nature would impose upon them. By sunset, all was relatively calm again. Mac came back with lots of fish to share and they all went to bed happy to be alive.

It was the two weeks of freezing weather in the storm’s aftermath that did the damage. The interminable cold laid its murderous fists upon the earth and nothing that was vulnerable could survive that icy grip. One of the many devastating after effects of the freeze was found underwater. Thousands of prized Snook died in the bays and along the gulf shores. Grown men and women wept at the state of the sad fishing situation. The Anhingas were the first to discover the grim state of affairs:

[caption id="attachment_1906" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="“All the Snook are dead and there’s very little mullet.”"]

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And the unimaginable happened to Apple and Mac. They lost the three M’s (MiK, MeeK and MawK). They were too small to survive. One morning, after Apple set out for a morning’s fishing Mac was surprised to see that all three were still asleep at midmorning. He put his beak closer and nudged them.

[caption id="attachment_1907" align="aligncenter" width="1024" caption=""Hey, MiK, MeeK and MawK: Time to get up and greet this beautiful day, .""]

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No cries of “I want my mullet-yes-ma’am-mullet NOW! Nothing. Such cold, cold feathers, the few that were! No sign of life! What??? WHAT????? He shrunk back in horror:

He was so appalled, so broken. He let out a great big wail of terror and grief. Billiebird a Great Blue cousin—now all grown up with a chick of his own–came at once and told him that he should not allow Apple to see them like this. “Let her hold on to the image of them being alive”, billiebird said. By then, many of the rookery’s inhabitants had approached and all agreed that it was the best thing to do. So, they called out to a pelican in the neighborhood to come take the wee M’s in her pouch and gently take them over to Lake Okeechobee where the Shaman would know what to do. Then Apple returned at noon all excited to present a little snook that had—miraculously—escaped the freeze. Mac had to break the bad news to her:

[caption id="attachment_1909" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Whaddya mean--they're gone?????? I just brought them a nice juicy snook. Move over!""]

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Apple was stunned and searched everywhere in and around the nest. This must just be some terrible mistake, she thought. This went on for hours until finally, Mac held her in a fierce embrace:

[caption id="attachment_1910" align="aligncenter" width="672" caption="“Apple, mon ange, they are with the Shaman over on Lake O. They are getting new wings now and we must wait and watch for them to fly over on their journey.”"]

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Then she and Mac sat for days, huddled together, baffled and in shock at what had happened. They were doing the watch:

When the watch was finally over and the three M’s flew over with their wispy wings of lace tinged in gold by the setting sun, Mac and Apple could finally let go and turn into each other again and let the grief wash over them:

The whole rookery was in shock and mourned the passing of the three M’s.

It didn’t help matters much when BillyBob (Billybird’s first born) the juvenile Great Blue suddenly discovered that he had a voice and felt the dire urge to bellow and screech that he wanted mullet-yes-ma’am-mullet! And he wanted it NOW!

[caption id="attachment_1914" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="“Dad, why is everyone telling me to shush?”"]

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A few weeks later, life took on its usual routine for most. The recently arrived Great Egrets found each other.

[caption id="attachment_1915" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Yummy, Mmmmmmm, Yummy, Mmmmmmm,Yummy, Mmmmmmm,Yummy, Mmmmmmm."]

[/caption]

BecRouge the Moorhen, took to traveling around the pond once again and visiting with the other Moorhens.

BibbyBob the Great Blue heron juvenile discovered that he had wings and found the answer to what had been bothering him for days and nights. When he squawked on and on about this amazing phenomenon, no one shushed him anymore. In fact, his babbling helped to alleviate the terrible weight that the mantle of grief had laid upon them.

[caption id="attachment_1917" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption="“For flying", it says--Oh, so THAT’S what you do with these things.”"]

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And then, something else happened: Apple was taking a stroll down the bushes pondering her vast and empty future when she felt someone standing behind her:

[caption id="attachment_1918" align="aligncenter" width="900" caption=""Good afternoon, Fair One. I’m Cassio the Great Blue heron and why so sad, bella mia?”"]

[/caption]

“Oh, Ms P –I can’t go on. Can I take my bow now and come back later?”:

Thank you, my dear brave Maya. You did an amazing job. So, everyone if you will just CLICK HERE for more of the awesome Mark Knopfler, I, too, shall take my bow and see you in a few days.

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