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Marty’s photo of the day #3692: This is been the summer of finding unusual owls and moths. So how about an owlet moth? Since my summer office is outside, I see wildlife every day. Consequently, after living in the same forest-surrounded Montana house for 25 years, when I see something for the first time I […]
Marty’s photo of the day #3676: This is a sweetheart underwing. Over the weekend, this moth was stuck in my garage before I convinced it to fly out the door. Then, last night, it showed up again. Sweetheart underwings are a type of sphinx moth, and, apparently, this particular species is rare in Montana. After […]
Marty’s photo of the day #3652: I took this photo while hiking in the rainforest of Malaysian Borneo. At the time, George W. Bush and the Republicans had led America into attacking Iraq without provocation, and only days earlier U.S. soldiers had ripped down Saddam Hussein’s statue. Back home, right-wingers were all over the media, […]
Marty’s photo of the day #3651: What makes a snake the “most deadly”? This is a fer-de-lance—a snake many consider the deadliest snake in the Western Hemisphere. Some snakes, such as a bushmaster, have more potent venom, but fer-de-lances are difficult to see in the rainforest and are easily stepped on. When that happens, their […]
Marty’s photo of the day #3548: This excerpt from the Australia chapter in my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, explains the shot: Earlier in this chapter, I promised to introduce you to a bizarre creature that would eliminate all reasonable doubts of evolution. I found such a creature—in fact, oodles […]
Marty’s photo of the day #3473: This is Alaska Highway, somewhere in British Columbia. Here’s what I wrote about the highway in my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents: An hour or so later we reached the town of Dawson Creek, British Columbia, and the official start of the Alaska Highway. […]
Marty’s photo of the day #3197: If you’ve read my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, you know the story of Deb’s and my near-death adventure backpacking with the Iban tribe on the island of Borneo. Later we spent a day at an Iban longhouse to rest and recover. The COVID-19 […]
I love writing the Time Is Irreverent series of novels, because the characters allow me to demonstrate how things would be different with a single change to history. For instance, in the first novel time-traveling protagonists Marty Mann and Nellie Dixon show how life today would be different if Christianity hadn’t taken hold, and in […]
Marty’s photo of the day #3184: This is Eve, my nineteen-year-old rainbow boa. I thought of her last night when I watched a BBC show about polar bears that have developed an unusual way to hunt beluga whales (they perch on big rocks at low tide and then wait for the whales to swim by […]
Marty’s photos of the day #3089: Pronghorns are the fastest land animal in the Western Hemisphere, reaching 60 miles-per-hour. I photographed these two in Yellowstone National Park.
Marty’s photo of the day #3066: Since I’m in New York all week, presenting Around the World in 90 Minutes at colleges, all my pictures this week will be from that show. This is Annie, a 16 year-old black flying fox that I got to hold while visiting a bat rehabilitation facility in Queensland, Australia. […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2969: Today is part two of my three-part series, “Inside Deb’s Lavender Patch.” Did you know that there are 28 species of bee in Montana? Of course, since President KKKlueless sees bees as a “liberal insect,” he is doing his best to reduce their numbers in Montana and everywhere else. […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2961: Okay, this is not the prettiest photo I’ve ever posted, but I think you’ll appreciate it more when you read this short excerpt from the Borneo chapter of my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents. (So you know: Stephen grew up in the rainforest and […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2952: I know what you’re thinking: “Oh, Marty photographed a chipmunk. It’s cute, but not unusual.” Actually this is not a chipmunk; it’s a golden-mantled ground squirrel. The two species look similar, but a golden-mantled ground squirrel doesn’t have face stripes and is quite a bit bigger. Now, aren’t you […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2938: I photographed this Orangutan on the island of Borneo. Here are a few orangutan facts from my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents: Orangutans are the world’s largest tree-dwelling animals. In the Malay language, orangutan means “man of the forest.” Considering they share 96.4 percent […]
Alabama’s new total abortion ban will require women who get pregnant as a result of rape to carry that fetus to term. Any doctor helping that woman end her pregnancy can be sentenced to 99 years in jail. Now before you blame this solely on men, keep in mind that the Republican sponsor of the […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2866: Greetings from Lynnwood, WA (just north of Seattle). Today I perform a 12:30 p.m. show at Edmonds Community College. Yesterday, I was on the opposite side of the Puget Sound for a show at Olympic College. To get where I am now, I had a choice of driving south […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2833: For most people, visiting the Amazon Rainforest during the rainy season is unthinkable. When I needed a very specific photo for my first book, “Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents,” Deb and I returned to the Amazon for a rainy season visit. In comparing our dry season […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2694: Fer-de-lances are the deadliest snakes in the western hemisphere, but they aren’t the most venomous. Others, such as bushmasters, have venom that is more potent. Fer-de-lances kill more people, because they blend in so well with the leaf litter on the forest floor and readily bite if stepped on […]
