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Marty’s photo of the day #4430: For the last couple of weeks, I have been learning a lot about water rights in Old West Montana. I say that because as near as I can tell they haven’t evolved since the 1800s. Deb and I have 25 acres, “The Essen Wildlife Refuge,” on a private mountain […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4428: “Dad! What do I do with this thing? I can’t chase it, like a squirrel, but I can’t really play with it, like a dog, either.” In my book, Hits, Heathens, and Hippos: Stories from an Agent, Activist, and Adventurer, I have a story about Buddy, a cantankerous Saint […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4405: Here’s another elk photo from my motion-sensing camera. I always aim my camera low—in hopes of capturing wolf, fox, and mountain lion shots―so up-close elk have to be positioned just right, or the camera decapitates them. This is the tail end of the herd, which was following about 15 […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4404: During the past few weeks, we’ve had a ton of wildlife action at the Essen Wildlife Refuge, including moose, deer, wild turkeys, wild peacocks, nighthawks, foxes, and even a probable fisher. We also have a large herd of elk hanging around. This elk, photographed last week with my motion-sensing […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4394: While I’m always respectful of animals, sometimes being a wildlife photographer/writer doesn’t go as planned. Over the years, I’ve been stung by the world’s most venomous insect, bitten by a venomous snake, and attacked by a hippo (the hippo bit through the center of Deb’s and my canoe and […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4386: Arrowleaf balsamroots are blooming all over the Essen Wildlife Refuge this week.
Marty’s photos of the day #4383-4385: These photos are from Deb’s, Nellie’s, and my adventure last night. As we do every evening, we walked the path that follows the perimeter of the Essen Wildlife Refuge. We were on the far side, when this moose burst through the trees and cut onto the path―just in front […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4323: I bought a new Canon R50 camera and three lenses to go with it. I’m eager to fully test my new equipment, but the changeover from winter to spring in Montana is the worst time of the year for photography. The lighting is poor, the wildlife numbers are down, […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4297: A few weeks ago, I shared a story and photos of a bull and pregnant cow moose that were visiting the Essen Wildlife Refuge. Here’s another of the bull from that photoshoot. He’s a big boy! With any luck, I’ll be able to photograph the babies (moose often have […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4289: Pileated woodpecker, photographed at the Essen Wildlife Refuge, Montana.
Marty’s photo of the day #4266: Hey! It’s me, Nellie, taking over Dad’s morning post. I’ve been looking at the photos of the day Dad has been posting lately—residents of the Essen Wildlife Refuge, exotic animals from all over the world, and even a dog who lived at my house before me who could jump […]
Marty’s photos of the day #4259-4262: We could have a baby moose at the Essen Wildlife Refuge this spring! Every morning my dog, Nellie, enters my writing room and stares at me until I take her outside to play. Yesterday morning we followed our usual routine. In addition to playing ball, Nellie thoroughly sniffs and […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4249: Winter is back! I was so tired of the upper-thirties melty-rainy shit. Yesterday, five glorious inches of snow arrived, and this morning it was a proper five degrees below zero. I shot this photo from my writing room window, a little before sunrise this morning. Dropping below are the […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4243: Sometimes even sweet Nellie can be a bad girl. Because we live on 25 acres of protected mountain forest (affectionately called the Essen Wildlife Refuge), we have mountain lions, wolves, coyotes, porcupines, skunks, and other animals around that Nellie shouldn’t mess with. And the only safe way for her […]
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 […]
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 […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4187: Wild turkeys aren’t native to Montana, but they certainly do well here. The same goes for the wild peacocks that frequent the Essen Wildlife Refuge. While sometimes I fret about how humans have moved so many animals out of their natural range, I know it could be worse. Instead […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4183: I seldom do “cheat shots,” but when a friend offered to bring her semi-wild Canada lynx (used for education in the schools) over to the Essen Wildlife Refuge for a photo session, I couldn’t resist. And by semi-wild, I mean the lynx only threaten to rip my leg off […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4182: I mostly enjoy winter—the colder the better—but I know many people can’t wait for spring. With that in mind, I dedicate today’s photo—from last spring on the Essen Wildlife Refuge—to all those counting the days until spring comes around again.
Marty’s photo of the day #4180: Nellie and I love the cold weather (anything below 20 degrees Fahrenheit), and we are disappointed that the temps are predicted to rise above freezing later this week. Cold weather means packed snow on the gravel roads for my early morning bike rides (instead of ice after a freeze-thaw), […]
