Naturally Artificial – corrosion, metal, rust & decay.
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How easily the ripe grain
Leaves the husk
At the simple turning of the planet
There is no season
That requires us
....
- W.S. Merwin
and a bit of intense music to go along...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHyHxply7Js
it really looks like we 're going to have a pink fall, yes!
For Macro Mondays - Wavy Lines
Two leaves on our Pittosporum Tree. The leaves measure around 65 mm (~2 1/2 inches)
Thankfully we had a little bit of sunshine this morning so I was able to use the light the way I wanted.
Happy Macro Monday!
There are two shells here, but compositionally I preferred the second one to create a background shape.
HSoS!
Lézard Vert
My best photos are here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/ticino-best-photos-of-southern-...
Western green lizard | Lacerta bilineata | adult male | Ticino (Switzerland) | 05-2022
More TICINO/TESSIN Wildlife Photos (all taken in my garden in Monteggio/Ti, Switzerland): it.lacerta-bilineata.com/ramarro-occidentale-lacerta-bili... (the website exists in ESPAÑOL, FRANÇAIS, ITALIANO, ENGLISH, DEUTSCH)
My latest ANIMAL VIDEO (warning, it's a bit shocking): www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2-Xszz7FI
In case you're interested, you'll find a less cropped version of the photo above: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/western-green-lizard-lacerta-bi...
The story behind the photo:
For the most part, I try to show photos here that come with an entertaining anecdote that my fellow Flickerites can identify with and enjoy; the world offers enough misery as it is, so my goal is to cheer you up, not to drag you down. But here for once I feel I have a responsibility to share with you what I see as a cautionary tale - and I don't blame you if you turn away now, because what follows is not a pleasant read.
But before I get into that I want to say that the year 2022 was - at least as far as my photographic endeavors were concerned - an amazing one, and I'm very grateful. It was a year of many firsts for me; I managed to produce my first acceptable bird photo; I was for the first time able to capture a roe deer as well as a swallowtail, a mantis and even a fox (which I can't wait to show you): all from within my tiny garden in Ticino.
But while there were many wonderful encounters with the fascinating creatures that share "my" vacation home and its adjacent garden with me that I was only too happy to show here, you might have noticed that the lizard species whose Latin name is my alias on Flickr and that - still - "kinda" serves as the main focus of my gallery, has been absent for a long while.
One of the reasons for holding back on new Lacerta bilineata photos is obviously that I decided to widen my focus a bit and that I now concentrate on all the species I manage to capture in my garden and its immediate surroundings.
But there is another reason I haven't uploaded any western greens this summer. Even though I shot dozens of photos of some of the most gorgeous individuals of the species I've ever seen (many of which you can also find here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/western-green-lizard-lacerta-bi... ), those were all taken on the other side of the village, and not in my garden.
The beautiful male above was in fact one of only 3 western greens I found (alive) in the vicinity of my garden between May and October in 2022 - and out of those he's the only one I was able to photograph.
So what happened? Well, a year ago the neighbor to my immediate left got a young cat, and at the same time, the neighbor to my right also adopted two kittens. Before I continue, it is important to me that you know that I myself am very much a cat person: I adore felines of any kind, and in our own household (though not at our vacation home) we've always had generations of cats, and they were and are as dear to us as our human family members.
So I have no interest in pushing any sort of "anti-cat agenda"; I'm just telling you what happened. By the time spring 2022 came around, my neighbors' cats were almost fully grown and had developed their hunting skills. Between the three of them, they killed up to a dozen western green lizards every day once the reptiles started re-emerging from their winter hiding places which is when they generally are at their most slow and vulnerable.
It was easy to count the dead lizards, because the cats didn't eat them, and whenever I was outside rarely an hour passed without one of the cats showing up with a lizard or some other animal in its mouth. They also killed most of the snakes, even the slightly longer ones at 50-70cm.
Within only a few weeks, the entire Lacerta bilineata population in and around my garden was gone, and the same was true for the population of green whip snakes, while even the number of common wall lizards, which were extremely abundant before, markedly went down during that same time period.
There had always been cats in our village, and I was aware or at least suspected that the ebb and flow of the bilineata population in the past was somewhat tied to how many cats were permanently present at any given time, but my immediate neighbors had never had cats before (which is probably why a tiny population of this protected reptile species had managed to survive around my house).
Now experiencing up close what an impact only 3 cats can have on an isolated, small reptile population was absolutely shocking. What I witnessed made me sad, but I'm not angry at the cats - nor do I hold a grudge towards my neighbors, who are kind, generous and all around lovely people.
And while I don't want to lecture anybody, what I would like to do is offer a few ideas how we as cat-lovers can help mitigate the averse effects our beloved pets' predatory nature (which is nobody's fault: least of all the cats') has on the ecosystems around our homes.
If we live in areas where there's threatened/protected species close to our homes that our cats will prey upon, the time when we let our pets out of the house can already make a huge difference. For example, western green lizards are at their most active between 8am and 11am, and not letting our cats out during that period can already increase the lizards' chance of survival.
If you're a cat lover like me but you also want to protect your local fauna, knowing when during the day birds and reptiles are the most active as well as knowing their breeding/nesting cycles is crucial, and by adjusting the times or time periods when you let your cat out of the house (or not) accordingly will make a vital difference.
But there are also simpler approaches: most reptiles and birds (which are by far the most vulnerable to hunting cats) are not active during the night. Rodents like rats and mice on the other hand very much are, so if you mostly let your cat out after sunset, it will predominantly hunt mice and rats, which are usually abundant enough that their populations aren't threatened (this at least is true for western Europe - other regions might have threatened wildlife that is active during the night, so if you do care, try to educate yourself about the creatures that will fall prey to your pet).
Cats are perfectly adapted to night activity, but they switch to more daytime activity in order to better fit the routine of "their" humans. So while our cats probably won't like it at first to have to stay indoors during the day, they will quickly adapt and accept it, as long as they know they will be able to leave the house once the sun has gone down.
Naturally, there might be practical issues involved that make it impossible to try some of the above (like the presence of coyotes who will eat your cats if they are out at night), but who knows, maybe one person or other will find some of these suggestions useful. And while it may be too late for "my" lizards, I just feel an obligation to at least try to help raise awareness on the issue (although I realize this is a touchy subject and people have strong opinions about it).
In any case, thank you so much for taking the time to read this not very pleasant text. And as always, let me know what you think of the photo in the comments below - but please refrain from making any "heated" statements regarding the issue at hand out of respect for other commenters whose feelings you might hurt (if you feel very strongly about this subject and want to "vent", you may always reach me via my Flickr Mail).
Many greetings from Switzerland and a belated HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you!!! 🎉 😊 ❤!
Sunlight begins to break through the forest canopy after another foggy day in the Pacific North Wet.
A dried tendril spiral fell into the center of an air fern. Spotted on the way home from a photo walk.
🚂: Costo Blanco
How you choose to express yourself
It's all your own and I can tell
It comes naturally, it comes naturally
You follow what you feel inside
It's intuitive you don't have to try
It comes naturally, mmm yeah, it comes naturally
And it takes my breath away
What you do so naturally
You are the thunder and I am the lightning
And I love the way you know who you are
And to me it's exciting
When you know it's meant to be
Everything comes naturally, it comes naturally
When you're with me, baby
Everything comes naturally, it comes naturally
Bay bay bay baby
Okay, yes, I got the memo about dandelion shots this week....:)
I took up the Macro Monday challenge theme of All Natural by using my fun new macro lens to shoot this dandelion in natural late afternoon sunlight and shadow with the shortest depth of field possible (f3.5). The green background is the other dense weeds and grass under the subject. Bumping contrast to get details of the seeds rendered a dark green background and a moody feel.
#MacroMondays #AllNatural
This song sparrow is resting in a redosier dogwood shrub. These wonderful bushes grow naturally in the wet barrens here at Chipera Prairie, but do just as well when planted in the front lawn for decorative purposes.
Rinka
hair > tram E817 hair / brown
Nap
hair > [Deadwool] Undercut hair - blondes
beard > [Deadwool] Full beard - blonde
The light was so perfect and so are these rhododendrons - I had to take a picture ! They are so wildly beautiful, so flamboyant. It's a joy to see them nearly every day. Love these white ones. Fancy and frilly without being 'showpieces' - they just grow naturally every year and beguile so many people who are actually paying attention. Spring is filled with such beauty and sometimes, if we're lucky, with the warmth of the sun, as it was this day.
~ Processed in Topaz Studio ~
Hope you like my fancy flower photo. Thanks as always for your faves and comments or just for viewing - always very appreciated. May you all enjoy May and its bounty, there is so much to be grateful for to help us in life.