Marty’s photo of the day #4227: So yesterday’s photo of the day generated some unexpected controversy. That photo featured me holding a baby pygmy marmoset that a 9-year-old Yagua girl from a tiny village in the Amazon Rainforest had rescued after its mother died (the cause of death for the mother is unknown, but likely […]
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Category: Stories
Best campsite in Canada
Marty’s photo of the day #4216: I shot this photo from the best campsite of Deb’s and my adventure to the top of Canada and back. This short excerpt from my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, tells the story: The rest of our afternoon was uneventful—if you can call driving […]
Faro in the fog
Marty’s photo of the day #4215: Somehow, through the years, the file containing all the Sony Mavica photos from Deb’s and my 2002 adventure to the top of Canada disappeared from my computers. That old digital camera recorded onto mini-CDs. Even by today’s standards that camera took great still and macro photos (but lousy photos […]
Adventures in cold-weather photography
Marty’s photos of the day #4212-2013: Yesterday was a balmy 10 to 15 degrees below zero here at the Essen Wildlife Refuge. The clouds had moved out, and the sun was at the perfect angle to catch the snow glistening on all the trees with a tall mountain peak in the background. I’ve fallen in […]
Pure doggie joy
It has been a beautiful 10 degrees below zero day here at the Essen Wildlife Refuge. The clouds moved out, and the sun was at the perfect angle to catch the snow glistening on all the trees with a tall mountain peak in the background. I’ve fallen in love with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100 large-chip […]
L’Arena di Verona
Marty’s photo of the day #4211: Without intending to do so, it seems that this has turned into a week of posting photos of Deb and me all over the world. Well, since I have momentum. . . . This photo from December 2018 shows the two of us at L’Arena di Verona in Verona, […]
Inspired by the Yagua
Marty’s photo of the day #4195: Hanging out for a few hours with members of the Yagua tribe along a tributary of the Amazon River was a big event for both visitors and residents. Deb and I brought the children harmonicas, T-shirts, and bubbles, and in return we got to walk through their village and […]
Within Temptation in Milan, Italy
Marty’s photos of the day #4121-4123: This week I’m taking a break from wildlife photos to post some of my favorite concert photos. Today’s photos are of Within Temptation in Milan, Italy. Yes, my wife, Deb, and I actually flew to Italy to see a concert! This short excerpt from my book, Hits, Heathens, and […]
Orphaned by palm oil plantations
Marty’s photo of the day #4112: For part of my time on the island of Borneo, I stayed in a cabana at the edge of a rainforest, while Deb scuba dived off a smaller island. A short distance away was the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. After dark, I headed out on my own for a […]
Hamster guts
Since I became an author and college speaker, newspapers and magazines have published countless stories about my books and college shows, and that doesn’t include opinion pieces and articles I’ve written myself for those publications. I used to save physical copies of all those newspapers and magazines for posterity or something to read in my […]
Dad! Dad! I can herd them!
Marty’s photo of the day #4100: “This is the moment I’ve been training for, Dad! I can herd them. Just tell me where you want them to go!”—Nellie Since Nellie is one-half Australian cattle dog, she practices herding me all the time. But with real live range cows in the American Prairie Reserve, she really, […]
Nellie and the prickly pear
Marty’s photo of the day #4092: Two years ago, before Deb’s and my first visit to the American Prairie Reserve (now officially called “American Prairie”) in central Montana, we were concerned about our newly adopted dog, Nellie, stepping on the cactus there. So months ahead of time, we patiently tried to get Nellie used to […]
Evanescence with 25,000 of my closest friends
Marty’s photo of the day #4088: During the first part of September, Deb and I enjoyed an unusual split vacation that included six days in the American Prairie Reserve of central Montana, two days at home, and then three days in Utah that included exploring the Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area and Antelope Island. Those […]
Aw! It’s a baby yellow-bellied racer.
Marty’s photo of the day #4087: Aw! It’s a baby yellow-bellied racer. I shot this photo two weeks ago, while on vacation in the American Prairie Reserve. Deb (wife), Nellie (dog), and I were near the end of a long hike—just at the point where we were hot, tired, and thirsty—when I spotted this snake […]
Rolling in cow shit
Marty’s photo of the day #4086: Remember the children’s stories about leprechauns and how they’d disappear if you blinked? Nellie has the same power when it comes to cow poop. Of all the dogs I’ve had over the years, Nellie rolls in shit less than any of them, so when she does it, she makes […]
Walking on water
Marty’s photo of the day #4083: Nellie thinks I can walk on water, and I think she can walk on water too. And when you both believe—anything can happen! My wife, Deb, shot this photo of Nellie and me a little over a week ago, at the American Prairie Reserve in central Montana. We were […]
Burrowing Owl
Marty’s photo of the day #4082: Our vacation is over . . . sigh. First, Deb (wife), Nellie (dog), and I spent six days in the American Prairie Reserve of central Montana. There we stayed in a remote yurt, with no running water, no phone, no internet, and limited solar power. It was awesome! Then […]
The bluff on the prairie
Marty’s photo of the day #4081: Deb, Nellie, and I just spent six days in the American Prairie of central Montana. On Sunday, we enjoyed a spectacular high prairie hike that climbed to an outcrop, which overlooked an entire valley. Nellie raced to the edge of the bluff and started barking and growling at something […]
Adventures in the American Prairie Reserve
Marty’s photo of the day #4080: Deb, Nellie, and I have returned home from the first six days of our nine-day vacation. We spent the previous days at the American Prairie Reserve (now officially known as just American Prairie) in central Montana. This was our second consecutive year renting a yurt there. The yurt sits […]
My forgotten first major adventure
Marty’s photo of the day #4075: I write both fiction and nonfiction. If you’ve read any of my nonfiction books, you know I’ve experienced some great adventures, from searching for venomous snakes in the Amazon Rainforest to hiking on all seven continents to surviving a hippo attack with my wife, Deb, in Zimbabwe to overcoming […]