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I’ve never been without insurance, but insurance companies piss me off nevertheless. About a month ago, Hartford Insurance sent me their annual home and auto insurance bills. The auto stayed about the same, but the home increased from $3,600.00 to $7,728.00. I’ve had Hartford for many years, and the only claim I’ve ever made on […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4981: A group of Galapagos tortoises (also known as giant tortoises) that has stopped at a waterhole on their migration from the highlands to the lowlands. I really like the reflection on the water in this shot. (Photographed last month in the Galapagos Islands.)
If you have to ban books on behalf of your god, your god does not exist. If you have to speak on behalf of your god, your god does not exist. If you have to deny critical thinking on behalf of your god, your god does not exist. If you have to judge the personal […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4980: An exhausted green sea turtle makes it ashore after hours of “waterbed sex.” (Photographed last month in the Galapagos Islands.)
Marty’s photo of the day #4979: This is a finescale triggerfish. They can swim forward, backward, or hover by rippling their dorsal and anal fins. They have 8 strong teeth in each jaw, allowing them to crush sea urchins, crustaceans, and mollusks. Their teeth grow throughout their lives, requiring them to chew hard materials to […]
I never expected to see snakes on the Galapagos Islands. In fact, one book I read before the trip said the islands had a few small snakes but seeing them was extremely rare. As I’ve learned during my travels, I seldom find snakes when looking for them and often find them when I’m not. Consequently, […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4978: The Galapagos Islands reminded me of my visit to Antarctica, because the wildlife of both places have no fear of humans. I was sitting on a beach when this yellow warbler approached within inches of me. (Photographed last month in the Galapagos Islands.)
This photo is only possible in the Galapagos Islands: a brown pelican, next to Galapagos penguins, next to Sally Lightfoot crabs.
Marty’s photo of the day #4977: It’s Monday, and the Middle Eastern religions are fighting each other again. One would think Darwin and critical thinking would have ended this madness. So while the religions do what they’ve done since humans invented them, how about if the rest of us enjoy a little booby? This is […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4976: This was my favorite moment of last month’s Galapagos Islands trip. There are strict rules about not touching wildlife. However, the animals don’t have any rules. I was on my knees, photographing a group of Galapagos sea lions, when this pup grew curious about me and crawled across the […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4975: It doesn’t matter whether I see American oystercatchers in the Galapagos Islands or somewhere else, they always catch my attention. They are such beautiful birds. (Photographed earlier this month in the Galapagos Islands.)
Marty’s photo of the day #4974: Despite shooting more than 3,600 photos earlier this month in the Galapagos Islands, I thought I had fucked up and failed to get even one quality photo from multiple encounters with white-tipped reef sharks. Then I discovered I overlooked this one. Which, I must say, isn’t too bad.
Marty’s photo of the day #4973: The Galapagos Islands are home to three species of boobies: the blue-footed booby, the Nazca booby, and the red-footed booby. When Deb and I were there earlier this month, we spent time with the first two boobies. This photo features a Nazca booby.
Marty’s photo of the day #4972: Earlier this month, Deb and I spent the night in a treehouse along the migration route of the Galapagos tortoises (also known as giant tortoises) on Santa Cruz island. Their migration from the humid highlands to the dry lowlands is only about five miles, but that’s quite a feat […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4971: Look closely. The lighter-colored center of this photo is a pacific leopard flounder! At about 15 inches full-grown, these fish can instantly change their color and pattern to match sandy or rocky seafloors and can even become nearly translucent in open water. They start life with eyes on both […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4970: Look closely. It’s a lava heron on lava, and it just caught a fish. (Photographed earlier this month in the Galapagos Islands.)
Marty’s photo of the day #4969: The Galapagos Islands have land iguanas and marine iguanas. Both evolved from a common ancestor some 8 million years ago. This is a land iguana, of which there are 3 distinct species. With a lifespan of up to 60 years, they primarily eat prickly pear cactus pads, flowers, and […]
On one of our days in the Galapagos Islands, Deb and I enjoyed a kayak outing. I didn’t want to bring my good Canon camera or risk losing my favorite underwater camera, so I grabbed my backup underwater camera, so at least I’d have something to shoot. Near the end of our outing, several Galapagos […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4968: While the Galapagos Islands didn’t have the underwater species diversity of other places I’ve snorkeled, it made up for less diversity by producing massive schools of fish. Of my many “wall of fish” experiences there, this one with razor surgeonfish was the most beautiful. (Photographed earlier this month in […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4967: Normally, I wouldn’t go out of my way to photograph finches, but on the Galapagos Islands, Darwin’s finches (more closely related to tanagers than true finches) are special because they helped Charles Darwin formulate his theory of evolution by natural selection. There are 13 to 18 recognized species (depending […]
