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A Rude Awakening

A Rude Awakening

Marty’s photo of the day #4807: She’s so cute and fuzzy and . . . dusty! Yesterday, I used my battery-powered leaf blower to clean off the side porch. When I aimed at all the balls Nellie (the dog) stores in a corner, I startled a bat that was sleeping among them. The bat wasn’t […]

The Once-In-A-Lifetime Dog

The Once-In-A-Lifetime Dog

On August 3, 2020, Deb and I adopted Nellie from the Bitter Root Humane Association. The moment I saw Nellie there, I knew she was the one. And for some reason, the woman who assisted us did everything she could to keep us from adopting her (I think she wanted to adopt Nellie too). But […]

Photographing a Nighthawk

Photographing a Nighthawk

Marty’s photo of the day #4791: This has been the “Year of the Bird” at the Essen Wildlife Refuge. I’ve known for years that we have nighthawks here, but since they’re active at dusk and dawn, I’d only hear their calls and glimpse them zooming through the dark forest. Until yesterday, I’d never had the […]

Pure Joy

Pure Joy

Marty’s photo of the day #4787: I call this photo “Pure Joy.” Deb, Nellie, and I had a picnic last night on the Bitterroot River. Activities included lots of stick keep-away, Nellie’s favorite game. When my wife and I adopted Nellie from the animal shelter nearly five years ago, the dingo in her didn’t like […]

Creativity Via Dog

Creativity Via Dog

Marty’s photo of the day #4757: I only occasionally talk about cameras on social media, because when someone says, “That’s a great picture! You must have a great camera,” it’s kind of like saying to a chef, “This tastes wonderful! You must have great pots.” Nevertheless, I have fallen in love with my new Olympus […]

The New Ball

The New Ball

One of the reasons we humans love our dogs so much is that they retain adorable, childlike qualities throughout their lives. A few years ago, I got Nellie a soccer ball with handles. Even though she bit a hole in the ball long ago, she doesn’t care and still loves to play with it. That […]

The Charging Moose

The Charging Moose

I’m typing this with an icepack duct taped to my shoulder. Deb and I have lived in the middle of th,e Essen Wildlife Refuge for 29 years, and it wasn’t until 2 years ago that a moose charged us (the one in this picture). At least that moose gave us enough notice to dive out […]

The Lion Knows You Are There

The Lion Knows You Are There

People can spend a lifetime outdoors in Montana and never see a mountain lion. But as my motion-sensing camera proves, the mountain lion knows you are there. These photos are just a few minutes apart. In the second photo, the lion is looking exactly where Nellie and I are coming from. This was not unexpected. […]

Where’s Wilson?

Where’s Wilson?

Marty’s photo of the day #4649: Nellie has a variety of balls, and she chooses one to play with each time we go outside. This photo shows her on a summer day, chasing her volleyball, Wilson. Unfortunately, she lost Wilson in the deep snow earlier this winter. With the recent warm weather, Wilson should be […]

Snow Dog

Snow Dog

Marty’s photo of the day #4627: We got about 16 inches of snow over the past several days, and Nellie is ecstatic! In some places, where the snow is past her chest, she dives right in. And when she runs up the steep hill below our house—snow flying everywhere—I can almost hear her bionic rear […]

Crows and the Owl

Crows and the Owl

Marty’s photo of the day #4577: Yesterday, I took my dog, Nellie, out for her morning security sweep of the Essen Wildlife Refuge. We followed some shrieking crows to this great gray owl. I hurried back to the house for my camera and captured this image moments before it flew away.

Nellie and the River

Nellie and the River

Marty’s photo of the day #4442: Nellie looks like a black lab, but she’s actually half golden retriever and half Australian cattle dog/dingo. When Deb and I adopted her, she didn’t want to have a thing to do with water. But eventually her golden retriever side won out over her Australian side. Now she loves […]

Four Years With Nellie

Four Years With Nellie

Marty’s photos of the day #4827-4831: On this date, four years ago, Deb and I adopted Nellie from the Bitter Root Humane Association. She was a stray, approximately 10 months old, weighing just 42 pounds. She now weighs 63 pounds, which is down from a peak of 70 pounds, after three months of inactivity due […]

Dogs and cactus

Dogs and cactus

Marty’s photo of the day #4824: The prickly pear cactuses were in bloom at the American Prairie earlier this month. Our dog, Nellie, has accompanied my wife and me on all three of our American Prairie visits. The first visit was nerve-racking for me, because I was constantly worried that Nellie would step on a […]