Marty’s photo of the day #5129: This is a ruby-topaz hummingbird. Depending on the angle of the sunlight, this bird’s feathers change from extremely bright to almost black. (Photographed on the island of Bonaire.)
Ruby-Topaz Hummingbird
Coming Ashore
Marty’s photo of the day #5128: A large green sea turtle (perhaps 350 pounds) comes ashore, earlier this year in the Galapagos Islands.
The Cleaning Station
Marty’s photo of the day #5127: This photo may fool your eyes. You are looking at a yellowmargin triggerfish being cleaned by other fish. (Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)
Looking for Love
Marty’s photo of the day #5126: This is a male magnificent frigatebird, looking for love. (Photographed in the Galapagos Islands.)
Humpback Whale
Looking into the Eyes . . .
Marty’s photo of the day #5124: Looking into the eyes of a maroon stone crab. (Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)
Is This My Good Side?
Marty’s photo of the day #5123: “Is this my good side? I can turn, if you want me to.” The mockingbirds of the Galapagos Islands never failed to put a smile on my face. They had no fear of humans, and it wasn’t because they expected food. Feeding was not allowed.
On Your Mark, Get Set . . .
Marty’s photo of the day #5122: This is a Jesus Christ lizard, just seconds before making its run across the surface of the water. (Photographed in Costa Rica.)
Get Out of the Way!
Think about how much religion and its accomplice, conservatism, have held back progress. Science is hundreds of years behind where it would be if it wasn’t stunted by belief in gods invented to control people and stymie critical thinking. Hell, Star Trek and its values might already be a reality. Even in present time, religion […]
Snake in the Dark
Marty’s photo of the day #5121: It wasn’t easy to take a photo while holding a camera in one hand, with a venomous snake crawling on my other hand, in the rainforest, in the dark, but I did it. This little cutey is a brown blunt-headed vine snake. Its venom is potent enough to immobilize […]
Mother Nighthawk Protecting Her Chick
I took Nellie out for a walk this afternoon and routed us past where I had seen a nighthawk multiple times. All of a sudden mother nighthawk blasted out from under a pine tree and did her wounded bird act. At the same time, her chick flew off in the opposite direction. I moved away, […]
Flexibility and Balance
Marty’s photo of the day #5120: Yesterday, I watched this great blue heron scratch and fluff just about every part of its body—all while standing on one leg. What amazing flexibility and balance! (Photographed in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana.)
Dragonfly
Marty’s photo of the day #5119: Dragonfly, photographed this morning in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana.
Warp Drive, a Bionic Leg, and a Woodpecker
Marty’s photo of the day #5118: Nellie’s recovery from getting her second bionic rear leg will take at least 8 weeks, so I must restrict her to leash walks to keep her from engaging warp drive too early. Because of that, we are covering every inch of the 25-acre Essen Wildlife Refuge. And since Nellie […]
The Red Writing Chair
One of Nellie’s jobs is to protect my red writing chair when I’m not in it. Few people understand how important a chair can be to an author. I bought this chair more than 20 years ago. It’s not a high-quality chair, and it was never intended to be the chair I wrote 10 books […]
Republicans Scream WNBA Racism
Years ago, I lost all interest in the NBA, but I really enjoy the WNBA—especially the Minnesota Lynx. The talent the women have is amazing, and their version of basketball is uniquely entertaining. It’s also the most politically liberal professional sports league in America. Deb and I stream the Lynx games, and we are often […]
Mudskipper
Marty’s photo of the day #5117: This is a mudskipper, a fish that spends more time out of water than in it. They breathe on land by absorbing oxygen through their moist skin; they propel themselves by using their fins as legs; and since fish don’t have eyelids, they keep their eyeballs moist by periodically […]
Sunset on the Raja Ampat
Marty’s photo of the day #5116: Sunset over the Raja Ampat of New Guinea. Shot last year while sailing on the wooden pinisi ship the Katharina.
The Bitterroot Valley
Christmas Tree Marine Iguana
Marty’s photo of the day #5114: This is a Christmas tree marine iguana (also known as Española marine iguanas). It is a subspecies marine iguana, found only on Española island. While most marine iguanas are black to absorb sun heat, the males on Española turn brilliant red and green to attract mates—an adaption believed to […]