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Winter is back!

Winter is back!

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 […]

Even sweet Nellie can be naughty

Even sweet Nellie can be naughty

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 […]

Pure doggie joy

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 […]

Wild turkeys vs Trumpers

Wild turkeys vs Trumpers

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 […]

Canada lynx

Canada lynx

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 […]

Loving the cold weather

Loving the cold weather

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), […]

A good year for moose

A good year for moose

Marty’s photo of the day #4035: It’s another good year for moose on the Essen Wildlife Refuge—lots of tracks, several moose out of effective camera range, and others documented in a somewhat blurry way by my motion-sensing camera. Since I don’t yet have a post-worthy moose photo from this year, here’s one of a moose […]

Stashed fawn

Stashed fawn

Marty’s photo of the day #4013: It’s baby animal time on the Essen Wildlife Refuge. Yesterday morning, a doe ran right up to my dog, Nellie, and me, trying to distract us, and then last night, my wife, Deb happened to step outside just in time to see likely the same deer stash her fawn. […]

Flowers of waves

Flowers of waves

Marty’s photo of the day #4010: All the rain this year has made for spectacular waves of wildflowers at the Essen Wildlife Refuge, surrounding Deb’s and my house. A few weeks ago, the white flowers of the serviceberry bushes were everywhere; then they were replaced by the yellow flowers of arrowleaf balsamroots; now they are […]

Peacocks in Montana

Peacocks in Montana

Marty’s photo of the day #3988: Peacocks are not native to Montana, but they sure do well here. For fifteen or more years, Deb and I have enjoyed catching glimpses of the elusive peacocks that live in the Essen Wildlife Refuge that surrounds our house. And each year we collect the feathers they leave behind.

Not so exotic

Not so exotic

Marty’s photo of the day #3982: If you follow my posts, you know that I often post pictures of exotic animals I have photographed all over the world. Today is dedicated to one of the least exotic animals I’ve photographed. But she’s soooooo cute! (Photographed on the Essen Wildlife Refuge in Montana)