The Legend of Ratty and the Raccoons

It was a day like any other as I embarked on a leisurely stroll through our local nature park. The chirping of the birds and the rustling of the leaves provided a calming soundtrack to my thoughts. Just as I was lost in the serene ambiance, a soft patter of footsteps caught my attention.

To my astonishment, a group of friendly raccoons emerged from the underbrush, their curious eyes locked onto mine. It wasn't just one or two, but a whole family! They approached slowly, their bushy tails swaying with each step, displaying a mix of caution and curiosity. I couldn't help but stand still, captivated by the unexpected encounter.

But here's where the story takes a twist. While these raccoons seemed friendly, my instinctual reaction was to make a swift exit. And by swift, I mean I channeled my inner Olympic sprinter and bolted for a solid two miles! Who knew the sight of fluffy raccoons could turn a leisurely walk into a full-blown marathon training session? As I caught my breath, I chuckled at my own antics, thinking, "Well, that's one way to get some cardio in!" Lesson learned: always expect the unexpected in nature, and maybe pack some running shoes, just in case.

You may think that I made all of this up because these aren't real pictures. But no! This all really happened to me several years ago. And I really do have the pictures to prove it. But you say, "Why don't you share them here?" Well, I did. You can find the pictures of the actual encounter in my blog archives right here on The Everyday Adventurer. I made these new pictures because I wanted to illustrate the actual chase scene. I hope you like it. I'll talk to you later.

The Eclipse From Where I Live

What you see above is about as much of the eclipse as we got around here. It wasn't the complete and total thing, but it was a very interesting experience anyway. And as usual, I don't just have pictures. I will describe my pictures in my little story because that is the best way.

I was lucky just to see what I got to show you here. The weather forecast said it was going to be cloudy here with probable thunderstorms. I planned to try to see it even though I figured I'd only see clouds. But when I went outside the sky was very clear. I was extremely lucky.

I had already planned out my viewing location. I went to a very quiet place I often visit in North Sioux City, South Dakota. I chose it because it is surrounded by cornfields with nothing to obstruct my view. And very few other people ever visit this place.

After I got there I did a few other things for awhile because I was kind of early. But when I finally got into position to look for the eclipse to begin, I saw that it was already well underway. The picture above is one of the first I took after getting my phone camera adjusted enough to see it well enough.

I used my phone camera because I had a filter for it to see the eclipse through. I think it did okay for just a phone. I did have to manually adjust some of the settings though. Maybe I could have gotten it a little better with some practice, but how often is there time to practice this?

It was right after I got that picture at the top that the expected clouds moved in. Now I couldn't see anything through my filter, so I took it off. The sun was now dim enough through the clouds to see with the naked eye. So I took a few pictures before the clouds hid everything all the way. What you see above is the moon moving the other way across the sun. The eclipse was now ending.

It didn't get very dark here, but the light did dim quite a bit. It kind of looked like the day at sunset. As I was driving home the clouds turned almost black, and the sky opened up and we had a huge thunderstorm. I almost couldn't see the road as I traveled home.

I delayed my post that I usually deliver Monday just so I could bring this to you today. I hope you like it. It's not something you see every day. I'm sure you've seen better pictures of this eclipse on the news. But these pictures are from someone just like you. I'll talk to you later.

Ratty And The Raccoons

I'm back from a little time off I decided to take. None of my little adventures were inspiring me to write about them so I just decided to wait until something struck me. It didn't even occur to me until now to just maybe post the pictures by themselves. I guess that's because the important part to me is the writing.

Anyway, I decided to bring with me this little blast from the past. Not many of you who are reading today know about my adventure with the raccoons. This was one of my most exciting adventures because it was the closest encounter with wildlife that I ever had.

It started out as an ordinary day at one of my favorite nature and hiking parks back in Michigan. I never expected anything odd to happen. I was just hoping to maybe see a few turtles in the pond at the back of the park.

When I stepped out into the clearing at about a quarter of the way I was shocked to see six raccoons up the trail from me, and they were headed in my direction. I figured they'd run off as soon as they saw me so I naturally began taking pictures. But then when they looked up and saw me they came running right for me!

I can admit that I was more than a little afraid at this point. The only thing I knew to do was to stop right where I was. I thought if I ran then they might just chase me, and I was sure at the time that I couldn't outrun them. I also didn't want to try to scare them because I didn't think that was going to work at all. I just had to hope for the best possible outcome to this encounter with these wild animals.

As they were quickly moving closer to me, I noticed that the majority of them were only juvenile raccoons. They were not full grown yet, and they were only about half the size of a full grown raccoon. I watched to see which one was the mother, but I quickly realized she wasn't there.

That was a  little bit of a relief. I didn't want to deal with an angry protective mother raccoon. Raccoons can be very dangerous animals. Probably the most dangerous I've met yet. Their teeth and claws are very sharp, and they like to use them.

The closer the little raccoons got to me the more I began to see that they weren't going to rip me to shreds at all. They were just curious and maybe wanted to make friends with me. They quickly swarmed around me and hugged up against my legs.This time I was very relieved. This could have turned into a very bad situation for me.

I realized how sharp their claws really were when a few of them began to try to climb up my legs. Those claws went right through my jeans. I had to shake each one of them off, which wasn't an easy task at all. I didn't want to hurt them, but I didn't want them to hurt me either.

I then began thinking about the mother raccoon again, and wondering if she existed and where was she. I didn't want her to come looking for her little ones and maybe getting angry with me. Then I thought maybe I should just leave the park for now. That's when I decided to walk away.

These little raccoons were having none of it. They wouldn't let me leave! They were all curled up around my feet, and they moved with me every time I tried to take a step. Then I realized I couldn't go back to the parking lot. They would follow me out there where it would be much too dangerous for them. I'd have to go deeper into the park. But how would I get away from them?

So I started to walk down the trail, and the little raccoons followed close at my feet. They were still closely surrounding me. I had to be careful where I stepped so I wouldn't hurt one of them. This was way out of hand now! I had to do something, and I had to do it now!

I quickly moved away from the crowd, and they came right back to me! I moved one direction and then another but they still kept coming! I finally stomped my foot at them in a threatening manner, but that didn't work either. They liked me too much now. I even growled and hissed at them to no avail.

So you know what I did? I did what I had to do. I ran! I ran as fast as I could go! The raccoons ran too! They were right behind me! I kept running until I began to pull away from them. I had never run so hard in my life! Up and down hills, and probably halfway through the park.

I stopped to rest once. I turned to see if they were still coming, and off in the distance I saw them running towards me! So I turned and ran again even farther and faster than before. I ran down a huge hill to the creek, and then up the other side with equal speed!

From the top of the hill I turned around again, and to my relief they were nowhere in sight. I had finally lost them. I have to admit that I felt bad about it, but it was the best thing to do in that situation. I couldn't lead them through the park only to have them get lost from their mom. Yup, I was finally away from them and I felt like a jerk for it.

I went all the way to the back of the park and waited for a long time hoping that they'd get distracted by a new adventure. Luckily there were two trails going through the park for part of the way, so I took that second trail on my way out. The only problem was that where the trails met toward the front was where I first encountered the raccoons. I was relieved to find no trace of them when I got back there.

After I left the park I checked with some park officials down the road a ways to have them check on the little critters. I wondered if maybe someone dumped off some tame raccoons or maybe if their mother had died. I wish I could end with some happy news, but I never found out another thing about the little raccoons.

This all happened to me about six years ago. Nothing quite like it has ever happened to me again. Almost all of you who are reading this today are different than those who read it all back then, so I guess it's all new to you. It seems like things have changed here so much since then. It's nice to sometimes look back. I hope you liked it too. I'll talk to you later.

Towers In Time

I have something for you that I never thought I might see. These stone monuments were a completely unexpected discovery. I found them at the entrance of Ponca State Park in Nebraska. The only other thing I know of in the world like this is Stonehenge.

I know there are other places in that area that are similar to Stonehenge, but none are as famous. I'm sure this place wasn't thinking of Stonehenge when they came up with it. Only I was. This place is impressively big, so I feel satisfied with seeing it.

I should have shown you the carvings on the stones up close. They show the natural and human histories of this place. You get to see everything from dinosaurs to humans carved on these stones. I took pictures of everything, but I just didn't know how to share it all with you.

This stone above tells the story of the monument. I won't tell you everything it says, but I will tell you that it names the stones as the Towers In Time. They really do fit that description as I described to you before.

I feel a little bit frustrated right now because I'm too busy to post as often as I'd like. It actually took me several days to get this one out. I did it piece by piece. When I don't post often I begin having trouble thinking up what to write. I'm having a little trouble right now.

I do hope to revisit these Towers In Time when the weather is better. Even so, I kind of liked the way the clouds were in these pictures. They gave everything a bit of a dramatic effect. I'm just glad the park was even open. Some aren't around here. I'll talk to you later.

There Are Dinosaurs Here

This dinosaur can be found not too far from where I live. Technically it's a stegosaurus. You may have guessed by now that it's not real. How observant of you! I have no idea how the dinosaur got there, especially since they died out quite a number of years ago.

Maybe there is a story behind the dinosaur being there but I don't really even know who to ask about it. It could be the mascot of some company right there or something like that. No matter the reason, it's F U N fun. I'll be you never thought a dinosaur could be found near all these Iowa cornfields. I'll talk to you later.

Motorcycle Parking

I came across this guy as I was driving around looking for something to photograph. I asked him if he needed any help, but he didn't answer me, so I figured he was fine. I wanted to tell him that there was a no parking sign there, but I saw that he was kind of busy.

He sure must have liked it there because he didn't move the whole time I was there. I see bales of hay like that all over the place around here, but I never knew they were good to rest in like that. I finally figured he didn't want to talk to me so I moved on about my business. It was a pretty good day.

I'll talk to you later.

Um, Snow Monkeys

I'm back! Did you miss me? ...Wait a minute! Didn't I say that last week? Why, yes I did! But this time you might have actually noticed my absence. So what happened this time? It was the computer again! This is why I had such trouble figuring out the problem before. The computer kept crashing and the monitor wasn't working right.

When the monitor finally went all the way I hoped the problem was solved, but I still had my doubts. I never believed the monitor could cause the crashing, but I also never thought the monitor was the problem until it died on me. It turned out to be two problems at the same time that seemed like the same one.

I also don't have most of my other computer equipment with me so I was very hesitant to mess with anything, so I was hoping I could keep the computer limping along until I could get my stuff here. But unfortunately the computer finally quit cooperating at all. It began crashing every time I tried to use it, so I had no choice but to reinstall the whole operating system. And it worked! The computer finally seems okay, so now I can show you a snow monkey! Get ready...

And here he is, in chair number 2, your dream gorilla! Not bad for a snow monkey, right? Don't ask what's in chair number 1 or 3. You really don't want to know! This guy here was really the most presentable of the three. You'd get night terrors if you were to see even one of the other two. I'm not so sure how you'll fare with this snowy dude in the dark parts of your memory.

Just think how I feel. I had to see those three weirdos sitting on stools in the middle of my street when I went out the door. They were really the ones Isabella was chasing. You should have heard the howl that came out of her when she saw this guy!

If that wasn't enough, the neighborhood children all came down to hoot and holler at the big strange looking snow monkey. I swear, after all of this I need a vacation! There's nothing better than all inclusive holidays at a time like this! You'd do well to follow me there while you're at it. All of those kids laughing at the silly monkey will drive you to it.

Eephus there in the middle is the handsome devil of the bunch. And Simon is the merry mischief maker. They always have something to say when there's a bit of strangeness in town. Those little rascals!

For some odd reason Isabella will have nothing to do with them. I always thought she liked children, but she always runs and hides whenever this bunch of bananas comes around. I usually find her a bit later whimpering under my bed. Strange.

Maybe Isabella needs a vacation too. I guess everyone needs to get away from that many rambunctious kids every once in a while. I guess it would help if their parents wouldn't send them down here ready for dinner with their knives and forks. I don't understand what they think I'll feed them.

I'll be back tomorrow with... something.


Nature Center Magazine - Your starting place for nature!

That Face! That Horrible Face!

You're not going to believe what happened to me when I went out to confront the orbs, and I don't know if I believe it either! I am shocked, I tell you, shocked! Poor Isabella not only refused to go out there with me, she tried to stop me from leaving the house. But did I listen to her? No! And now I wish I did! I'm not sure if I ever want to go back out there again!

When I got out there I heard a strange howling sound in the wind. No, it wasn't in the wind, it was part of the wind. This did not sound like coyotes. It sounded like voices! I was too stupid to take that as a warning, so I began taking pictures. I wish I hadn't done it!

It was only after the first flash that I finally knew something was wrong. I thought I heard my name coming from the wind, so I dropped the camera and looked up to see it floating there in front of me! It was an orb with a face! Upon seeing it I ran for my life back to the house.

When I got back in and gathered my wits I put the pictures onto the computer and found what I have here for you. You probably have to click on the pictures to see the face, but it's there floating in the air staring back at me.

This next picture above is the same face from the first picture. I cropped it out of the picture and expanded it so you can see it better. Again, you might have to click on it to see it better because it's so dark. For some reason I can only see it on my monitor when I look at it from the side.

After that night I don't think I'll ever be able to forget that face. that horrible face staring at me from out of the darknessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss...

...Wait a minute! I know you don't believe that outrageous story. You don't, do you? Because it's all a big stinking load of manure. The orbs from my other posts were real, but this face was made by me in an image editor. I thought the real conclusion of the story of the orbs was much too boring so I decided to give you something a little better. So what really happened since my last post?

What really happened since my last post is much more mundane. There is only one real mystery. Isabella. Late in the afternoon Isabella's mood changed completely. All of a sudden she came to me and enthusiastically wanted outside. She has been enjoying being out there much more than usual now. I even let her go out and play in the snow for over an hour one time. It's been hard to keep her inside now.

So when nighttime came we went back out to where I got the pictures of the orbs. I took extra pictures this time to see what might show up. I was hoping for something almost as provoking as that face, but you know what I really got? Nothing! No orbs at all. The orbs have completely vanished.

I have no explanation for why they were there, and I have none for why they are gone. I changed nothing with my camera and I didn't clean the lens until after they were gone. The most plausible explanation for them is dust either in the air or on my lens, but never rule out anything. Logic tells us to always first assume that whatever you see is already known, but it also tells us never to rule out the unknown. Until there is a real investigation, the orbs I saw could have been anything.

It may have been a little mischievous for me to play this little prank on you, but those who have been with me here since before my car accident know that I am fully capable of something like this and more. After all, this blog was once taken over by a squirrel named Mister Nutz. Stupid, I know, but it was funny too.

Even if you knew right from the start of the post, or you were completely fooled, I hope you liked this little bit of goofery. Goofery. I just made that up. Now I can't unsay it. I'll be back next time with something much more close to nature. In the meantime, watch those orbs very carefully.


Nature Center Magazine - Your starting place for nature!

Stupid Dog Scaring Orbs

I've been thinking about this situation with the orbs, and I'm sure there must be a logical explanation for them. I've seen many scientific theories for their existence from moisture to dust. I'm almost certain that there is no moisture or dust in the air. There may be something on my camera lens, which I have purposely not cleaned since the orbs appeared.

I did this to see if the orbs would appear in the same places in my pictures. The only problem with that is they haven't. These orbs show up in all different places in the pictures, and they also only show up at that one end of my property.

The first time I ever heard of orbs was a few years ago. Brian May, the guitar player of the rock group Queen, was having a very similar experience with them, but his orbs were in the daytime. He also happens to have a doctorate in astronomy. He also did his own investigation. He thought for quite some time that maybe he had found actual spirits until he finally determined that they were nothing more than dust particles. He was even able to reproduce them. I won't investigate that far, but I'm also convinced there is a very logical explanation.

My only real problem with this whole event is that my dog Isabella became afraid of something out there at the very same time I photographed the bright orbs. she rushed me back into the house, and she has been refusing to go back outside ever since. This is a dog that begs to go outside several times a night.

I've had to force her to go outside to use the toilet a few times, but she tries to run from me so she can stay inside. When she gets out there it is all very quick, and she's ready to go back in. I haven't found anything physically wrong with her. She just doesn't want to be outside right now. I still have to go out to refill the wood stove.

But let's move on to something else for now. How many of you have seen Blogger's new commenting system? I've been waiting for this change for years now. Blogger has made it so that we can now reply to individual comments! This is great for those of us who like answering comments. If you want this on your Blogger blog you have to enable embedded comments below the post. It's worth it.

I've been waiting to get that geeky information out for the past two days, but those crazy orbs have taken all of my focus. I plan on going back out at least one more time before my next post to get more pictures of them. If I get more I'll clean my camera lens and then see what happens after more pictures. If that doesn't work I'm going to follow the orbs into the darkness to see how far they go back there.

I feel a strong need to find the solution to the orbs with my limited knowledge and resources. Whatever happens, there will be only one more post dealing with orbs. I'm guessing that they're just a trick of light, but some other possibilities are more fun. I'll be back Monday with my findings. Wish me luck.


Nature Center Magazine - Your starting place for nature!

More Orb Strangeness

I hate to dwell on the idea of the orbs, but I have something new and unexpected for you. I took these pictures within an hour of writing this post. Yesterday I showed you a picture from the same general direction as the one above. It showed perhaps dozens of orbs floating around. I purposely did not clean my camera lens since then because I wanted to see if I could reproduce the same results tonight.

I couldn't reproduce the exact same thing. Instead of so many orbs, there was only this one very bright orb floating in a very suspicious place. This time instead of the gray color of all the others, this one is a tan color. It's hovering right in the same direction of a tree we cut down last week. I'm not sure what to make of that. We cut down that particular tree to make room for my neighbor's future garden. I felt bad about it when we did it, and I'm feeling superstitiously strange about it now.

this orb was so bright that I saw it on my camera's display screen after I took the picture. There are no light sources from that direction, and it is a cloudy night. It was very dark out there tonight. I was thinking that the orb effect from last night was possibly being caused by moonlight, but I don't know where this very bright orb came from. I am mystified.

The first picture was taken as I faced eastward. In this second one I am facing south. As you can see, there is another orb that is suspiciously close to the same area of the picture as the first one. That could indicate that it is the camera lens after all. But I examined the two over and over, and they are not really in the same spot. If you enlarge the pictures you'll see they aren't as close as they look in the post.

Plus if you take a closer look at this second picture you will see that this orb has a bit of motion blur. Either it was moving or my camera was moving. I don't think a spot on my camera lens would show motion blur even while moving the camera. Trying to take pictures at night can easily produce motion blur while trying to focus on still objects, but nothing else in the shot is blurred. This could be easily explained, but not by me.

Another thing I want to add is that Isabella seemed to be in an unusual hurry to leave this area of the property. On most nights she likes coming down here to look around. Usually I have to pull her away, but on this night she kept trying to pull me away. There could have been many reasons for this, but I don't know what they might be in this case.
 

I took this last picture toward the east again. I tried to get a similar perspective as the first picture in yesterday's post. There are no orbs in this one, not even in the same area as the other two above. There is a distant light source to the middle left in this picture, so that light is not an orb. I took some other pictures, and they also showed no orbs. Some were before, between, and after the two pictures that do have orbs.

I had so much I wanted to write about this time, including Blogger's new commenting system where you can reply to other comments, but this new orb development is too fascinating to just gloss over. This story has to be told until I either find a solution or the orbs finally disappear.

I haven't gone back to that end of the property since I took these pictures because Isabella now refuses to go back outside. Her nightly pee walks are the reason I've been going out there. And I think I don't really want to go out there tonight if she's not with me. I don't know what's going to happen next, but I'm very curious about it.


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The Mystery Of The Orbs

I've been taking pictures these last few nights to try to encounter a nocturnal animal or two, but instead I encountered something very different and mysterious. Orbs! This is the next best thing to getting a Bigfoot on camera! I'm not the first person to capture these mysterious objects on film, but this is the first time for me.

You may have to click on the pictures to get a better look. I still have the originals on my computer, which are the best quality at 4000x3000, but I had to shrink them down to 800x600 to save space for the blog. I wish I could show you the originals, but this is the way it has to be. I do have a better version of the first picture over at Nature Center Magazine today that we're featuring as a Free Wallpaper.

So, what are orbs? I don't know if anyone knows for sure. There are plenty of scientific explanations for orbs. some say they are artifacts caused by digital cameras, but others say a digital camera would make these artifacts more squared off. Some say they are nothing more than dust reflections, but others ask why then are they not seen all the time in the same spot. Just for fun, let's take a look at the less scientific reasons now.

Many people believe that orbs are actually floating ghosts or spirits in the form of balls of light. Others believe that they are not spirits at all, but that they are really a strange kind of energy being. For more of this type of explanation of orbs, go here. I don't know what I really believe because I don't have enough information to make a definite conclusion.

What I do know is that I've been taking nighttime pictures at the edges of my property for several nights now and I never saw these orbs in my pictures until last night. Have I done something different? No. I've taken the same pictures as always.

The reason I took the pictures you see here is because I heard some strange rustling sounds in the weeds so I pointed the camera in the direction of the noises hoping to get something good. I didn't get the wild animal I was expecting, but I think these orbs are even more fun.

So what do you think these orbs are? Did I go out at night and find glowing spirit forms coming close to investigate me? Or do you think a more scientific explanation makes more sense? Maybe they are fairies? Will I go out one too many times only to find myself mysteriously transported to another world where these orbs came from. Maybe I'll be trapped there forever. I guess we'll find out.


Nature Center Magazine - Your starting place for nature!

Children Of The Night

At night I hear sounds; strange sounds I've never heard before coming from out of the darkness all around me. When the darkness comes, it's time for me to go outside and walk my dog. I do this a few times every night. Why would I do this with such odd sounds floating to me from out of the night?

I do it because my poor dog has a bit of a weak bladder. She knows when she has to go, and she lets me know that it's time to go out. But when she has to go, she really has to go. So I get out her leash and go outside into the night, and into the midst of the sounds coming from the darkness.

"What kinds of sounds are they," you ask. Well, they are sounds I've never heard at night near my home before. To be more specific, some are the sounds of howling, and there are also other animalistic sounds. "Aaawww," is the shouted sounds I hear coming from the south.

So do I know what is making these strange sounds? Well, of course I do. Some of the howling sounds are being made by coyotes. There are coyotes in this area. Most farmers around here hate them very much, especially if the farmers have chickens. Coyotes will mostly stay away, but I don't really want to encounter them.

The other sounds that come from the south are actually quite a bit more ordinary. Those sounds are being made by cows. Most of us, at least us here in America, think of the sound cows make as, "moo", but they really sound like what I described above.

All of these sounds are very different from the sounds of the city that I'm used to. In the city I would hear the sounds of cars going by instead of cows mooing. Instead of the howling of coyotes, I would hear the occasional sound of gunfire. And now instead of seeing other houses all around, I see trees outnumbering the houses by quite a bit.

Now when I take my dog out for a walk late at night I very rarely see another person out there. I go out to the end of the road and look up at the stars. Even with the occasional sounds of animals in the air, the night is such a peaceful place to be.

"Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make." - Dracula

I Found Frogs!

Just like it says in the title, I found frogs! I'm really excited about this because these are the first frog pictures I've ever had. As a matter of fact, these are the first frogs I've really even seen on my everyday adventures.

I've had plenty of toads before, but no frogs. I know toads are really a kind of frog but a little different, but finding real frogs has been a goal of mine. I never thought I'd be able to see any frogs because they are almost always in the water. Let me tell you how I found these.

I was walking across a small footbridge, and I was looking down into the water when I saw little bubbles in the water. I was expecting to find a crayfish, but when I looked closer I found this frog above. He looked to be about as long as one of my fingers.

I did the second picture with the flash on because it was dark. It makes the frog look very different. I don't normally use a flash, and I was experimenting with it a bit. I found two frogs near each other, and I took pictures of each one with the flash off and then on.

While I was taking the pictures, a dragonfly kept flying near the frogs, and the first one jumped at it and tried to catch it. But I didn't get any pictures of that. Such a shame. Now I'm doomed to a life of utter misery.

Let's pause from the frog talk for a minute so I can share a couple of blogging tips, as I promised. Most of these will be more closely related to Blogger because that's what I use, but some, like today's are useful to everyone.

The first little tip I want to share is a Blogger related thing. Many of you may have noticed problems with Blogger and the comment system. I'm guessing that you are using Internet Explorer. If you switch to either Firefox or Google Chrome your problems will go away. Don't worry, you can use all of these browsers at the same time if you like. I use five different ones. This problem is Blogger's fault, but that is the solution.

I also recently found out some information about Picasa, the service where all of our Blogger pictures are stored. As many of you know, we have a total of 1 GB to store our photos. After that, we're either out of luck or we have to purchase more. But Picasa has given us a workaround.

They say if your pictures are 800 pixels or less, then they don't count towards your total 1 GB storage limit. So I am now making my pictures 800x600 or less. I may be wrong, so I'm going to monitor my amount used to see if I'm right. Here's a link to their post about this info. See what you think.

Back to the frogs! I can remember hearing frogs croaking at the edge of most ponds I've been to, but I never see them. Now I'll know to look for those bubbles. That's one more little nature thing I've learned now. Now I can find frogs easier. Maybe I can even learn to con them into liking me, like I do with deer.

I'd show you a picture of the bridge I was on, but it's only a couple of pieces of plywood nailed to some four by fours. Really not much of a bridge at all, but it does the job. Otherwise I'd have to walk into the creek and get eaten by alligators. Well, maybe only imaginary-gators. But those kind are sometimes just as dangerous if you walk around the woods in a giant rat suit.

You don't believe me about the rat suit? I'll leave you with one last picture then.

It's only because the zipper's stuck and I can't get out.


Nature Center Magazine - I've done a total redesign of Nature Center Magazine. Come over and take a look at the new Nature Center Magazine!

A Perfect Pose

I told you before that my next subject stood there posing patiently for me, and that's exactly what he did. The only thing you can depend upon to be that patient is a snowman. I usually ignore things like this but somebody did an exceptional job on this snowman.

Oh sure, some of you say that he doesn't look very human or anything like that. But he doesn't have to because he's a snowman. You can see his eyes, nose, and mouth very clearly. He even has hair on the top of his head. That's something that not even all humans can say they have. And even though they're not much to look at, he has arms of a sort. Can you see any more cool things about him?

The amazing thing about him is that you can still see all of his features clearly from the side view! I walked over here just to see if I would, and I was kind of surprised. Then I began to hallucinate that he might be alive, so I said hello to my new pal. But this cold hearted snowman just stood there ignoring me. That's when I stormed away in a huff.

That's all okay though because this guy will melt away soon enough, and then I'll have the last laugh... uh, and the first one too. Hey, so I'm a bit off. My head still hurts a bit, so I have a good excuse for being one card short of a full deck. But there's one thing I can absolutely guarantee. SPRING WILL BE HERE IN LESS THAN A MONTH. I have spoken!

Nature Center Magazine - Come over and see the new redesign of your starting place for nature!

Flynn The Conqueror

Hello. I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Flynn. But I'm sure you've already heard of me. I'm famous all over the world. Every squirrel knows who I am. I'm their hero, fantastic Flynn. I'm the daring superstar who performs feats of bravery like no one else ever before!

Maybe you human giants don't know me quite so well, yet! Just to give you an example, That guy Indiana Jones aspires to be the human version of me. He gives a good try, but he's not even close. I bet he never rode on a dog's back before! That was an amusing little stunt that I did on my off time.

And I'm sure you've seen me on your primitive television at one time or another. I sometimes like to go and run around on the playing field at your sporting events. It drives you giants crazy but it sure is funny sometimes. Just think of all of those giant sports players chasing me around and around! They never catch me though. Never!

Oh, you probably want to know exactly why I'm here today. Well, there is this strange guy you all know as Ratty. I've been seeing this weirdo in the forests for the past few years. He wanders around taking pictures of all the animals, and a few other things. Last year I thought it would be funny to run right up to him and pose for a few pictures. That got old, so to really freak him out I stole a camera from some giant's attic and decided to do it right back to him. You wanna see?

Here he is looking highly surprised at the sight of me standing there with my own camera! He was just strolling along when I popped out there and began taking pictures of him! Take a look at him! That guy is a strange one. He actually walks around out there with a mouse costume on! I know a few real mice, and he is no mouse. They would be highly insulted! I gotta admit that it's kinda funny though.

Just think of what all you other giants think when you see him! You'd run away as if you saw a squirrel with a camera or something! I know you wouldn't want to meet him in the woods! And you don't know how many of my fans were just rolling on the ground laughing when he saw me standing there waiting for him!

I thought he was going to run away. But then he looked at me for a second and yelled some gibberish at me about not taking his picture because he was too embarrassed to be seen in a rat suit. You think he was embarrassed? You should have seen the poor squirrel that fell out of the tree because he was laughing so hard! That's something to be embarrassed about!

I'd stay a little longer and tell you a few stories about my favorite subject, me, but I know that I need to keep it short. I told that kook Ratty that I wasn't going to share these pictures of him, but would you keep these to yourself? I couldn't pass up an opportunity like this. This was pure gold!

I'll say goodbye with one last note. I'm sure you giants will be seeing me soon. Whenever a squirrel gets into your house, it's me. If one of us runs right at you to scare you, it's me. It's not because I'm a bad guy. It's because I'm a daring adventurer. You will soon become one of my many adoring fans, just like the squirrels and everyone else. See you soon!


Nature Center Magazine - Did you ever wonder if humans were the only creatures that could laugh? Well wonder no more! Apes giggle like humans! That's our Cool Nature Video for this week.

A Dark Threat Of Evil

I recently found a new trail to hike while I was down near Lake Erie. After enjoying looking out at the water of the lake, which is so big that you can't see the other shore, I searched to see if there were hiking trails at this new nature park. I was very happy when I finally found them at the last place I looked.

I had a smile of anticipation when I got out of my truck and entered the trail. The trails were twice as wide as any I've seen before, so I wasn't really expecting a lot. A little too civilized I guess. I still didn't mind because it was an all new trail to search and discover. I was in heaven!

There was a long foot bridge I had to cross as soon as I entered the trail. The whole place is very wet because of its proximity to so much water. No matter because I like bridges of any kind. As soon as I got across the bridge though my smile was wiped away.

At the end of the bridge the small trees and large shrubs that edged the trail curved over the top to envelop the rest of the path in darkness. Right before I entered that darkness I saw something strange far down the trail. It was a huge dark figure of an animal standing there lurking in the darkness staring at me!

Startled, I stopped dead in my tracks. This thing had seen me before I saw it. Why wasn't it moving? The whole scene felt dangerous. As I focused my eyes to try to make out the identity of this dark creature, I began to realize that it appeared to be a very huge black dog.

The first thing that came to mind was that the sign at the front said there were no pets allowed here. And then in that same split second I began to wonder where the owner was. This was not a very good situation for me to be in at all!

This dog was much too big for even me to fight off. And anyone can instinctively know that when they see an animal of this kind standing so still, staring at them, there is a very good likelihood that it is about to try and kill them. This felt like a scene straight out of a horror movie.

I knew I couldn't outrun this animal, and it still was not moving. I would not turn my back on this beast, so instead of turning and leaving I moved slowly forward hoping that the owner was there but just momentarily unseen. That's when I found out the awful truth.

The awful truth was that this evil nightmare beast, this hellhound was in fact not real at all! I was fooled again by a statue!

But why is it there? Are they trying to give someone a heart attack!!! I exaggerate my fear a little bit for this story, but the fear was indeed there. I can imagine that many others didn't react as well as I did when they saw this hellhound at the end of this dark path.

I can imagine many other people turning and running from the trail in utter terror. What were they thinking when they put this beast here? Did they think it would be funny? Was there an actual good reason, like keeping people from running on this trail. The rules on the sign say no running. Maybe it's not humans that it is there to frighten. I wonder. I'll ask if I ever get to go back.

Here are a few more pictures of this hellhound so you can get a better look at him. Notice that it has a small clearing on the trail set out especially for it. I call it a hellhound for a very good reason.

Definition of Hellhound: A hellhound is a supernatural dog, found in mythology, folklore and fiction. A wide variety of ominous or hellish supernatural dogs occur in mythologies around the world, similar to the ubiquitous dragon. Features that have been attributed to hellhounds include black fur, glowing red or sometimes glowing yellow eyes, super strength or speed, ghostly or phantom characteristics, foul odor, and sometimes even the ability to talk. In cultures that associate the afterlife with fire, hellhounds may have fire-based abilities and appearance. They are often assigned to guard the entrances to the world of the dead, such as graveyards and burial grounds, or undertake other duties related to the afterlife or the supernatural, such as hunting down lost souls or guarding a supernatural treasure. In European legends, seeing a hellhound or hearing it howl may be either an omen or a cause of imminent death. - Wikipedia

This dog fits the description well, doesn't it? I don't know about the omen of imminent death being true, especially since this beast I encountered is not real, but I can say for certain that I haven't felt quite right since that day. I feel as if there is a black cloud over me. I never associated this strange feeling with this hellhound until this second, but I wonder...

And that's all for this strange, superstitious sounding post. I keep imagining that things haven't been going quite right for me since that day. I still hope to change this strange feeling though. Maybe I just need to get out more. In the meantime I hope you all have a nice day.


Nature Center Magazine - The Nature Site Of The Week must be an excellent one this time because Emma keeps urging me to go take a look. I will as soon as it comes up today. I urge you to do the same.