This European Goldfinch female appeared suddenly in front of me when I continued my walk outside Karkarook Park behind some industrial storage sheds. She sat only some 3-4 meters away and I almost panicked, desperately trying to focus with my 500mm lens. She allowed just two quick shots and disappeared.

I posted two shots of the Prairie falcon action at the grain terminal today. She came in and captured a Pigeon within 30 seconds. I could not get the hit shot through the swirl of dozens of panicked Pigeons between me and the Falcon.

I also posted a shot of her flying by with her catch on the way to a low rooftop to eat.

Alberta Grain Terminal. Edmonton, Alberta.

I don't often see juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons on Horsepen Bayou, but whenever I do, they are consistently the least excitable birds I encounter, and a far cry from their easily panicked parents.

The Aurora Borealis lights the sky up behind Winkie Lighthouse at the far northern tip of the Isle of Man. I’ve been meaning to post this shot for a while, but life has a habit of getting in the way – this was captured in November 2021. I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen the Aurora from Manx shores at least a dozen times or more over the last 10+ years, and I must say this particular display was easily top 3. For a brief 20-minute window the sky erupted along the northern horizon into a vast sea of moving, shimmering pillars of light.

No word of a lie, I turned up at the Point of Ayre around 2 minutes before the show kicked off, so needless to say I felt incredibly panicked setting up my gear. Have I got focus? Is my horizon level? Am I using the right focal length? Is there an axe murderer stood in the dark behind me? These are all the usual questions that go racing through my head at a million miles an hour. Thankfully I calmed myself down and got the shot – I can confidently say its technically the best Aurora shot I’ve ever captured.

I know seeing the Northern Lights is a bucket list item for many people, but it can be a frustrating natural spectacle to observe here at this latitude. Encouragingly solar activity is picking up rapidly as Solar Cycle 25 heads towards its peak in the coming years ahead – in simple terms, I can pretty much guarantee there will be plenty more opportunities coming to see and shoot the Northern lights, for those who pay attention to the right forecasts. Good luck Aurora hunting ✨

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I have been trying all week to do my imitation shot, but was missing the boat. Today, I had the final plan on how I thought I could do it, after many practice shots and 3 photo shoots. The problem was, where I wanted to go to get that perfect shot, I got lost. :-( Then I panicked that I would get stuck in a remote area in the dark, so..... Next week!

In the meantime, a nice silhouette of Dunkel, a month late. lol

Véritable rencontre impromptue lors d'une balade nature en billebaude, ce lièvre se poste à quelque mètres de moi, surpris mais pas affolé, pour m'offrir son plus beau profil

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Real impromptu meeting during a nature walk in billebaude, this hare is positioned a few meters from me, surprised but not panicked, to offer me his most beautiful profile

Philip

You'll never believe it, but my first response was an inward groan. Although I wasn't asleep yet, the descent into dreamland was most definitely in my immediate plans as I made one last languid scroll on the back of my camera through the evening's adventure at Eystrahorn, just a few miles along the road from our cottage. Jumping out of the warm cosy bed in which I was so snugly cocooned to rush from my generously heated bedroom outside and into the subarctic night was by no means on the agenda. Not one bit. Not even slightly. We'd had a long and successful day and now it was bedtime - 12:30am kind of bedtime at that too. But then again there had been that knock on my bedroom door, accompanied by an urgent and excited announcement from Lee. "It's started again," he sang through the door. Seconds later I heard the front door opening. He was already out there, disappearing into the night.

An hour earlier it had been my turn. Lee had already headed to bed, while Mr Night Owl here was finding sleep harder to come by and had resorted to uploading the day's images into the cloud to ensure that even if the plane went down and I had to involuntarily surrender my cameras to the icy Atlantic waters, at least I'd be able to work with their legacy on my return home. Once we'd been picked up by a lonely trawler with an extra large hold of course. As I made my final foray to the kitchen for a glass of water, I looked through the window into the inky black night. At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me as it took a few moments to realise that a patch of sky that was neither inky nor black might just be the icing on the day's already richly decorated cake. "Lee, wake up," I threw over my shoulder as I headed for the front door. "I think it's the Aurora."

And that's exactly what it was. Faint but distinctly green patterns covered a small area of the sky to the east and north, shifting in and out of the blackness. Never more than a small patch of the night was filled with green at any one time, but we knew this might be it as we raced out into the dark long grass in front of the cottage, hastily assembling cameras onto tripods and trying to remember the lessons we'd learned about night time photography in the long gone days of occasionally entertaining ourselves with star trails. "Aperture wide open, ISO high as you dare, and remember the five hundred rule so the stars don't blur." Fifteen minutes later we'd agreed that the show was over, and returned to our beds, content that for the first time ever, we'd witnessed the Northern Lights; that afterthought we'd written down on the Iceland trip masterplan along the lines of "Watch the app, and stay alert at night, just in case."

But this time it was Lee who'd stayed alert and peered through his window at the back of the cottage towards the north. This time I was the one who was dragged from his bed as a welter of belated enthusiasm overcame that initial refusal to budge from underneath a warm duvet. Throwing my coat over my pyjamas and pulling my boots onto bare feet, I followed him out into the night once more, where I was greeted by a sight that took stole my words and stopped me in my tracks. Where before there had been the odd green streak, there were now huge drifts, filling large areas of the sky with dancing and glowing magnificence. At least the camera settings were still in situ from an hour earlier, but where had the buttons on my head torch gone? Realising that in my haste I'd put it on upside down I tried to switch it on, selecting the right hand button to engage a pointless pair of red flashing lights instead of the solid white beam I needed to see the controls on my camera. As I moved over the unlit grass I almost tripped over my tripod, the legs of which had remained extended from episode one. Calm and controlled? I'll let you be the judge. Strangely, the one thing I can't remember was whether or not it was cold out there.

We needn't have panicked though. The night was on our side, giving us a display that lasted for more than half an hour, the sky becoming ever more filled with the mysterious green light, hanging in ethereal curtains over the mountains behind us like a gateway to another world, moving subtly from one part of the sky to next without us noticing. Fading almost to blackness and then rebuilding brightly, it seemed as if they were softly breathing as they gazed down at us like gods upon mortals in silent benevolence. What a surreal experience to stand beneath the stars, wearing your jimjams in a land whose story was built upon the sagas handed down over more than a thousand years, where your imagination can roam across those mountains into a universe that you thought only existed in the writings of Tolkien, CS Lewis and Philip Pullman. In a place like this, at a moment like this, the distance between fiction and reality can become blurred to the point that you no longer know which is which. Very much in the same way that you no longer know which button operates which light sequence on your head torch when you put it on in a terrible hurry.

Just after one o clock, exhilarated and beyond any hope of getting meaningful sleep, we took one final look at the sky, where the greens had receded once more and given way to the stars on the black and indigo canvas in front of us. We'd hadn't come to Iceland with any real hope of seeing the Aurora, but here in this remote farmstead, more than twenty miles from the nearest small town, we'd had our moment. Although the show was forecast to return more strongly the following night, we never saw it again. But it didn't matter. I'd taken photos in my jimjams and seen a night sky I'd remember forever. What more could we ask for on this fantastic adventure that seemed to get better and better with every passing day?

Huntsman Sipder (Heteropoda venatoria)...

Imagine yourself in an idyllic hut in the middle of a rainforest... you had a wonderful day photographing the beautiful nature of the place. After dinner, you go to the bathroom and when you're sitting in the toilet you look straight ahead and, just over a meter away, you see this huge comrade, installed on the wall behind the sink... I don't need to say that, being in Australia, famous for its poisonous spiders, I panicked and ran to the phone asking for help ... I didn't even remember to photograph the spider on the wall, which was a shame, because in this picture, it doesn't look as big as it really was... the hands belong to the owner of the place :)))

During the three months I spent in Australia, I caught three big scares with spiders invading my room, two of this species and another one, smaller...

The two Huntsman spiders have been safely returned to nature...

I don't know why, they always preferred the bathroom to take shelter :)

Queensland, Australia

Doesn't like her picture taken. Just a little panicked here. Poor Charlie.

If you didn't get a chance to go out and experience the Eclipse, then read on!!!

As I threw my pack into the car I couldn't help but think back over the last two weeks. I had been running around frantically trying to figure out what to expect while shooting and viewing a total eclipse. I found a great spot along the path of totality inside of Smith Rock State Park just outside of Madras, Oregon.

After hearing some reports about the insane crowds and traffic to be expected in the areas around the path of totality, I took the scenic less travelled route along Highway 395 up through Reno, Nevada into Oregon on the backroads. Just before reaching Mt. Shasta the sky began to thicken with smoke and by the time I hit the Oregon Border the sky was horrible, so much for the scenic route I could barely see 1500foot from the car. It was so bad that when I arrived at Crater Lake it was filled with smoke and I couldn't see Wizard Island or the water for the matter. :/

I had to be in Medford the day before the eclipse to meet up with Ralf Rohner (Skypointer) an astrophotographer that I met through Flickr, he was flying in from Switzerland to shoot the eclipse and was a joy to shoot with. He has brilliantly merged deep sky photography into his nightscape photos. The night before our meeting I slept in the car on a dirt backroad along route 97 and even after a 14 hour drive was still finding it difficult to fight off the excitement about what was to come.

When we arrived in the park the sky was filled with a grey haze to the west and it only seemed to get worse as the day progressed so we decided to head east away from the smoke and found ourselves on Round Butte located in the farmlands directly on the center of the path of totality. Although this area is BLM managed, when we arrived, there was a band setting up and just like every other campground along the path... FULL!!!

We haphazardly parked and struck up a conversion with the occupants of the best site there. After describing what we were planning they agreed to allow us to join them for the night. I woke the morning of the eclipse prepared to shoot but unsure what to expect from this celestial event. At first contact I began to start shooting, as time went the exposure was changed continually to compensate for the moons coverage over the sun, 30 seconds before totality the temperature dropped and as totality peaked a cool breeze swept across the butte, my senses are reeling and the adrenaline is flowing. This sequence of events is so fleeting, The Diamond Ring effect and baileys beads, I've seen the pictures, and believe me when I tell you that the diamond ring effect is TOTALLY UNDERATED!! and as soon as one happens here comes the next. Shooting with two cameras and clicking away the whole time just hoping that I get something interesting on the card and I also found it difficult to look away for even just a moment from this incredible spectacle. When totality hit it's peak there was a exuberant cheer and folks hugged and grown men wept and I too felt heavily overwhelmed and struggled to keep my wits about me. As soon as it had come it was gone and time for me to head back to LA. Here was the part that had me the most anxious, the drive back, and it was all it was hyped up to be. In four hours the traffic had taken me only 20 miles and after 7 hours had only completed 100 of the 900 mile return trip route. I remember rolling along looking at the forest at 3mph thinking to myself that the settlers in covered wagons would beat me home at this rate!!! Haha.

It took me 14 hours to get there along the scenic route and 22 hours to return on the shortest route. All in all I traveled 2386 miles to shoot for 128 seconds. Was it worth it.... Hell Yeah!!! Hehe.

I was using BAADER AstroSolar 5.0 foil for pre-totality and adapted it to a Lee filter holder on the long lens. I'm not sure why the metadata says 348mm, I was at 200mm with a 2x teleconverter on a crop sensor which comes out to around 640mm. This is a 200% blowup with the sides cropped. FYI....

Btw: This is the color cast in the Celestron Glasses I was using. I took one shot through the glasses and then I tweaked this to match. 👍

I would like to extend a personal thank you to Ralf for taking the time to meet up with me, It was nice to have his expertise there in case I panicked. I was late in preparing my gear so he hand crafted a solar filter for me and even focused my camera for me when I got blasted with sidelight, Note to self, bring a shade source next time to block side light. Later, after he set me straight I came up with a great nickname for him and all his gadgets, "The mad scientist" He's crazy good at his craft and I learned a lot during my time with him. Thanks again Einstein, I'm proud to be your first follower!!

Thanks for taking the time to take a look at my photos, and as always, your views, comments, faves, and support are greatly appreciated!!

Have a great day my friends!! :)

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Copyright 2017©Eric Gail

I have to share this story. Ron (my fiance) was on a photo walk with me. I looked over my shoulder at this path and said that I really liked the look of it, but I wished someone was walking on it. Ron said it would be great if a deer was walking on it. Two seconds later four deer appeared on the path!! It was so shocking and exciting that I panicked a little, so the shots didn't come out as good as I would have hoped, but it so such a wonderful moment.

Bald Eagles didn't wait for the sun to rise and the fog to lift before attacking these Cackling Geese. The panicked explosion of this surrounded me and I wondered if they were going to fly through my open car windows.

I know this is a month where people list the things they are grateful for so I thought I would make a contribution. Though it seems a little tongue in cheek humor, I am very serious about being thankful for this reliable yet sometimes underappreciated item in our lives. Just think of the times you panicked when you entered a restroom to find that all of the tp was used. I'm grateful for indoor plumbing too. Everyone take a moment today to think about how this little roll of softness made your day better.

ODC - yes no black white

The panicked duck opens its eyes wide: will a flying monster attack it?!

Really amazed at Sissy! Previous to this photo we went to another beach, there was a dip in the sand and Sissy disappeared {went under). It was dark and I really panicked drastically. She was fine obviously. She always, no matter what the situation, smiles! My Dog!!! Love her to bits.

This male assumed an alert posture when other ducks emerged from a feeding dive to find me uncomfortably close and panicked. My subject decided that I was OK and resumed feeding. These ducks are not deterred by floating chunks of ice.

Bronte Creek, Oakville, Ontario

Saw this little beauty sitting on the side of the road and managed a quick shot before she panicked and ran away

Rocket from Century. Review with connected related adventure. Straight story, no embellishment. Back in the wee hours of the night, life number 4 of 9 was spared in a side swipe. Coach lights dim everyone asleep, protruding object near window level ripped open the right side at length. With pillow against the side and seat reclined, open air, dust and safety glass peppered the interior. Luckily other than the lady in the seat ahead with a bump on her forehead from the center shade bar, no other injuries resulted. Just like the movie Airport (not yet made in 67) a guy across the aisle panicked and started shouting "we are all going to die". I quickly told him to calm down, we are not derailed and will go find the conductor immediately. He stopped the train for inspection and took care of business. The coach was set out, psgrs given compartments and free breakfast. Any NYC fans have a photo of the damaged coach, I would like to see it. Think may have seen it in a 67/68 Train mag once. Anyhow, between other local mishaps and near misses on duty at Milw towers, figure may have one or two lives left? Maybe not.

Well, you might as well hear the whole story on this guy. I was yanking up spent poppy plants in my yard and lo and behold a perfect green Monarch pupa dropped to the ground. I was horrified. There was some hope though - a tiny threadlike piece was still attached to the pupa top. My old mind started working. I can tie it back onto a plant of my choice. With what? Kitchen twine was the only thing that came to my panicked mind. So first I tied it to the pupa thread, and then onto a milkweed stem. It looked really beautiful and healthy. In fact, by the next day the transformation started as the color pigments inside began to show. I knew it would eclose the next morning and I began to visualize how I would photograph the tiny spectacle. I checked the next day early, inspected for a chink in the pupa, and decided I had time for breakfast and filling the bird feeder. Duties done, I gathered my camera gear, and expected I would settle onto a low stool and watch the wondrous show. Here's the "worst of times" part 2. It was already out. I missed probably by 10 minutes since the wings were already straightened out. He (yup, another boy) was hot to trot too - gone within another hour or so. To quote another piece of literature: "All's well that ends well."

Escaping the rat race and houses lol , an empty house I was working had a rats nest in the ceiling that I had to pull down and as I pull on the plasterboard (ceiling ) a whole sheet came loose and a pile of rats slid towards me , as I realised how many there was I panicked and let go then all of a sudden the whole ceiling came crashing down and the rats were all running in all directions as I pulled up my skirt and started to scream on the stepladder lol .

...my kids made me do it.

Astroboots from Merch

Adrenaline Pants from Fujiko Apparel

Dakota Coat from Acne

Mada Fuzzy Mask from Majesty

Bombay Cat from Rezz Room

Wisdom Kaye's Tiktok helped out a panicked Gen Xer who had no idea how to style the epic MSCHF BRB dupes. Yes I had a more normal stylish look ready yesterday but it didn't properly embrace their chaotic energy and they deserved better.

This is a hard place to grow in. Stones and bushes cover the soil.. This is the Mediterranean, not the Black Forest. I was planted here with other olive trees in a cluster, so that humans can take all my fruits to give some taste to their food. My tree mates ignore me, they think I'm a freak. You see, olive trees are supposed to be tough. They can live up to 500 years or even longer when they don't get planted, like me. It won't be my case at all. Take a look at my trunk, it's skinny and strange. My fate started in the right direction, but something happened, and I could no longer control it . I reached a point where I had doubts. Wondering if that was the path I was supposed to take, I turned to the right. Then I looked up and couldn't see my trunk. I panicked. Desperately, I turned to the left to find my way again. That was hard. It took a lot of strength and willpower that I don't have. Finally, I saw my trunk and realized I had to grow upwards. I'm doing well now, but I'm still a weirdo. I need Tree Therapy, though. It’s all because of my insecurity, you know.

We spent the day shopping in Bournemouth and the main road coming back was gridlocked so we drove across the Forest to get home. Got to Newbridge and saw the Shetland foals with their herd wandering around. This little foal thought it had become separated from it's mother but she was just behind a bush. He panicked and started calling her.

See four more in comments

Here's the other common lagomorph seen in Grasslands, the prairie hare, otherwise known as a White-tailed Jack Rabbit. (It's a hare, though - not a rabbit.)

Unlike the cottontail (posted yesterday), the prairie hair changes colour with the seasons. On a cloudy day they are very difficult to see. This one was crouched, impersonating a snow-covered rock, when I stopped to take a longer look, and finally realized what I was looking at.

I was able to spend some time on foot with this critter; it was wary but not panicked, and I knew the light was great so I shot lots.

The Winter Wildlife photo series continues tomorrow...

Photographed near the north entrance to Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2017 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Delighted that a few Osmia bicornis Red Mason bees have begun to emerge from the bee hotel in my garden (see photo in first comment). ID confirmed as a male Red Mason Bee on the Insects/Invertebrates Ireland FB page. The males emerge before the females apparently.

My Dad made the bee hotel & as he had several already he gave it to me when I was over visiting them in Hereford last Summer. Several of the tubes were sealed with mud. Coming back on the car ferry I suddenly panicked & thought "what if I'm introducing a new species to Ireland"? Thankfully Red Mason bees are already here, phew! HWW & HBBBT!

This shot was taken in a great levitation. I and my fellow photographer panicked because we were at the beach when the light started to show and we knew that we had very brief moment to catch it! At the end all the sweat from running up the mountain was more than worth it. Enjoy.

A Brown Pelican's torn Gular makes an escape hatch for panicked shad. This poor guy has to work twice as hard for his meals!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnW1P0NSBHE

Creature

Song by Jelly Roll

Lyrics

There's a monster under my bed

And at my window there's a dragon

I accepted the challenge

It turned me into a savage

I broke a promise to myself again

I don't know why I am so vulnerable

They try to help but I won't let them in

I guess rock bottom's where I'm comfortable

Both my feet planted when most people would've panicked

I embraced the storm, I found beauty in what was damaged

I'm not afraid of the boogieman

Instead, I look at him like he's a friend

There's not a monster out there in the world

That's scarier than the one that's within

There's a creature in my closet

I can hear him rumblin' 'round

The demons screamin' in the distance

Creates such a humblin' sound

The monster that's outside my window

He's like family to me now

The things that people are afraid of

Never let me down

Not a sadist, no

But I'm hated so

While religious freaks say I'm the biggest beast

And that I've made it grow

When I spray this flow

I created more

Creatures unlike when I heated the mic

I'm a breed of the night but I'm tainted though

By the darkness, I'm binded

I sparked it and shined it

They find it 'cause mine is whoa

For that, they labeled me a demon seed

Want to disable N9na, see him bleed

Hinder me fatally and see them greed, no-oh (chea)

You would not believe the creature inside me

If you deceive Khalifahs are lively

We disagree when people defy me

Or tryna take his

Whatever the fuckery taught him, you don't wanna break this

You forsake his

What is sacred?

Then it's over, no matter what your faith is

I'm a creature

There's a creature in my closet

I can hear him rumblin' 'round

The demons screamin' in the distance

Creates such a humblin' sound

The monster that's outside my window

He's like family to me now

The things that people are afraid of

Never let me down

Yeah, I managed to get myself in trouble, all of this pain

Yeah, I'm down and the double-dosin', liquor's always to blame

If I could keep myself sober, I'd keep my hands to myself

I take a shot and it's over, that's how I end up in Hell (I do)

I hope I don't pass it down to my offspring (yeah)

They get everything from their daddy, feel like I'm addicted to all things (yeah)

Yeah, there's no reason to change, gone too far now

And I'm stuck in my ways, back at the bar now

They said I'm a flirt and they right (yeah), I ain't perfect, aight? (Yeah)

So when I'm thirsty and perkin' and purposely searchin' for somethin'

It's hurtin' me so

I just get back up and go, I just back out of a show

That's how it go, I knock the back out a ho

And next night act I don't know (Okay)

I think they be laughin' at me, hands be grabbin' at me

Feel like God let it happen to me

That'd be blasphemy

And at least it be happenin' naturally (Okay, yeah)

I think I better let it go (Yeah)

Either that or I gotta let her know

And I can't do that

There's a creature in my closet

I can hear him rumblin' 'round

The demons screamin' in the distance

Creates such a humblin' sound

The monster that's outside my window

He's like family to me now

The things that people are afraid of

Never let me down

www.texastargetbirds.com

We spotted this beautiful Black-headed Trogon as we were coming out of our room one morning during our visit to Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge in Costa Rica earlier this month. I was certainly not expecting to see this bird right outside my door so the result was some panicked setting up of equipment to get a shot before the bird disappeared. Thankfully this one was quite comfortable where he was.

We will be doing this trip again next spring, if you think you might be interested more information is available here: www.texastargetbirds.com/group-photo-trips/2018-costa-ric...

_MG_6135-web

Trogon melanocephalus

The September 11 20th Anniversary Tribute in Light as seen from the Pentagon last night. Do you remember what you were doing on September 11?

Like many Americans, September 11 was a very personal day for me.

I always seem to replay the day’s events as September arrives.

The CNN website was reporting a plane crashed into the World Trade Center while I was making cold calls for Monster Worldwide in Tysons Corner, Virginia.

My fourth call asked me where I was, and told me I should put down the phone and get to safety.

I opened my door, and remember a colleague telling me the city was under attack.

People were running around my office panicked, afraid we were going to get bombed.

Then I walked to the window and watched the Pentagon burn. See, the plane explosion created a smoke plume visible 10 miles away.

Getting home to my apartment in Arlington, just a few miles away from the Pentagon, took a few hours.

Valokuvaus on vaarallinen harrastus. :-))

PS.!!! There are 3 photos in the first comment!!!

... #HumansAndBirds #Finland #Summer

Thanks to everyone for your visit, kind comments and faves! :-)

Much appreciated!

Happy Sunday!

In this photo, taken a few minutes ago, Rena is bird watching from Alex's bed. She found her meow voice yesterday for the first time.

Rena has had the softest little peep this whole time..so quiet we can't find her when she's calling from a closet where she's gotten trapped. But yesterday on the way to the vet, we heard LOUD meows which we had never imagined she could even do.

At breakfast time Rena was under the table and ate something and started horrible foaming at the mouth, running through the house dripping foam on the beds, the floor, everywhere. I was panicked, Alex caught her, put her in her carry case and we went to the vet, no phone call or anything.

By the time we got there she had stopped foaming but you could see her wet face so sweet Dr. Bahou opened her mouth, poked around, examined her all over and she snuggled with him and acted like he was an old buddy.

Everything was fine. We decided she'd gotten a leaf or something very bitter that reacted but didn't poison. Phew! Very scary.

While we were there they cut her nails which is wonderful. Everyone at the vet practice said how sweet, how pretty etc. She's mostly a wildcat for me I guess.

This juvenile Bald eagle just wanted to join the club but the pelicans panicked a bit.

Big lake, AB.

I don't know why but I remember this date. Maybe because there was a concert, and the sun was beautiful and I took some nice photos. But then I was drunk, and I had a battery of pills in my cupboard. Instead of going to sleep forever I panicked and ended up in hospital. 18th of February forever became The Day When I Didn't Die

One of our birds charged out when an osprey caught a goldfish.

This of course panicked the poor osprey who promptly dropped its catch...

October 2025: A month in 31 pictures

A very late entry from me today. Arrived home from a few days away and had to dash more or less straight out to camera club. Came home and panicked as I hadn't got my photo. So here we have Yorick with his head in his hand ;)

lensbaby Sol 45, edited in Nik analog.

Edit: Replaced photo as in my rush to post last night I posted the wrong version of this image.

I was in my kitchen and garden room busying about and there came this little visitor... I think its the Comma Butterfly (I'm probably wrong) hoping Emma Varley can help with this?? I have a Butterfly and Insect book but a few of the common garden butterflies look like this, so was unsure?? Anyway she was panicked, all my doors and windows were open, so I let her settle, I didn't want to hurt her precious wings, she finally settled on my massive pain of glass over looking the gardens here at Long Acre Manor, she was clearly looking and longing for her garden to fly about in. When she settled down I lifted her to the nearest flower and she flew happily away but I managed to capture this image of her beautiful wings ~ KissThePixel2019

Maybe this is the end? I can't remember the exact moment it happened. All I remember is serving in the Temple in the Underdark with my fellow Sisters, and then—I'm watching myself being carried by a skeleton through a graveyard. That's right. Watching myself. Some sort of out-of-body experience.

It's funny. I thought I'd be scared, or at least panicked. I realize I'm dead, but it doesn't bother me. Even as the crystal spiders begin to gather around the skeleton holding my body, even as I watch one crawl up the bones, making its way to drain what remains of me, I feel calmly at ease.

In fact, I feel more alive now than I ever had. So maybe death wasn't the end? Maybe this is the beginning.

Credits . . .

Experimenting with spraying the bubble with a fine mist while taking my photo. It left an interesting pattern on the bubble and luckily I had a neighbor driving down the street that illuminates the bubble from behind. I also had an idea to drop food coloring onto the bubble to see what sort of effect it would have. After turning the fire hydrant blue I sort of panicked worrying that it would be permanent, I can happily report it cleaned off easily and I am excited to try more experiments with paint, food coloring, and who knows what else. Feel free to give me other ideas to try, this has been such a fascinating subject!

Get ready for the onslaught of photos I took of this flock of sandpipers. Although the sun wasn't as bright as I'd like due to the wildfires smoke, I thoroughly enjoyed being surrounded by this large flock of probably over 2000 sandpipers. Their calls and the whirring of wings as they panicked and settled back down was like music to my ears. For a brief moment in time, I was living inside one of the greatest spectacles on earth!

„It romp about us for some time and has already panicked many in their apartments. In contrast to the common cockroach, this specimen is completely harmless and easy to distinguish from it. The neck shield is monochrome, transparent at the edge, the wings protrude beyond the abdomen. It feeds on dead plant parts and forms humus - the amber wood cockroach…“

„Seit einiger Zeit tummelt sie sich bei uns, und hat bereits viele in ihren Wohnungen in Panik versetzt. Im Gegensatz zur gemeinen Kakerlake ist dieses Exemplar jedoch vollkommen harmlos und gut von dieser zu unterscheiden. Der Halsschild ist einfarbig, am Rand durchsichtig, die Flügel ragen über den Hinterleib hinaus. Sie ernährt sich von abgestorbenen Pflanzenteilen und bildet Humus - die Bernstein-Waldschabe…“

„I would like to take this opportunity to thank all followers, and all of those who just stop by. I say thank you for all past and future fav's and comments. 🙏“

„Ich danke an dieser Stelle allen Followern, und all jenen die einfach so mal vorbeischauen. Ich sage Danke für alle vergangenen und zukünftigen Fav‘s und Kommentare. 🙏“

My personal challenge for 2022 - I'll try - and do my very best...

Meine persönliche Herausforderung für 2022 - ich werd's versuchen - und mein Bestes geben…

Line was very ill last week and I feared the worst. Anyone who has known me for a long time will have experienced the end of Leo. So I was very panicked that I would experience the same thing again with Line. Luckily the vet was able to help her. We could only assume that she had an infection. Now I'm feeling well again and can enjoy the pre-Christmas period.

Our second day started very early in the morning at Bosque Del Apache Bird Sanctuary. It turned out to be the best decision that we made in our entire trip. We were greeted by a an elderly, retired couple. They take their mobile home and travel throughout the United States and volunteer at various bird sanctuaries. It is their job to welcome guests and inform visitors of the rules and regulations. They gave us tips on bird sightings. This particular day they let us know that quite a few roads were not accessible due to the controlled burn that was taking place. We were disappointed but resigned to make the most of our day - after all, we had come a very long way to explore this place.

We spent the morning exploring the different roads, stopping to get out and watching for any bird activity. We walked along the many culverts and bodies of water. We saw Hawks, ducks, a Heron, and a bonus gorgeous yellow bird! We even had another visit from the Javelinas.

We ended up at a large body of water and watched as the Snow Geese came in. There were thousands of them. What a noise they made! They seemed twitter-pated, unsettled and kept rising in and out of the water and up into the bluest of all skies. Not a cloud! I kept saying to my husband that I could not believe that the park was doing a burn on that day because it was so windy.

As we watched the birds, the air became so acrid from the smoke. I started coughing. It was horrible. I told my husband that I would bet money that the burn was out of control.

Five minutes later, a panicked Wildlife Officer drove up to us and said in no uncertain terms that we had to leave immediately. They promptly led us out of the Sanctuary.

As we bid farewell to another adventure we watched in the rearview mirror the devastating smoke that billowed from Bosque Del Apache Bird Sanctuary. I had to stop the truck. We got out and surveyed the land remembering it was the same landscape that only last night was aglow with the Golden hour but now it was being ravaged by fire.

In disbelief I snapped this parting shot and we drove off wondering how this story would end...

I spotted this plant on the slop leading to a cliff. So I laid on my stomach and moved as close to the subject as I could. Lesson 1 use a longer lens, lesson 2 have someone with you. I panicked a bit when I started to slide towards the edge.

A plain gray day didn't hold much promise for a good sunset on my first visit to this unique lake in the shadow of the Sierra. So I was caught off guard when the sky suddenly transformed into glorious color. I panicked for a moment before composing the big obvious shot right in front of me. And just as quickly as the color developed, the sky faded into night.

Fanad Peninsula, County Donegal, Ireland

Fanad Head Lighthouse was conceived as essential to seafarers following a tragedy which happened over 200 years ago. In December 1811 the frigate “Saldanha” sought shelter from a storm. Sailing towards Fanad as she frantically fought the raging wind and waves. Sadly, reaching the shore safely never happened and the ship was wrecked off the northern coast with all 250+ men on board. May they rest in peace

Believe it or not the ship's captain "William Pakenham" & his pet parrot made it safely to shore! But reportedly he died soon afterwards by the shock of Poitin(Alcohol) poisoning which given to him by helpful locals. The poor parrot also met a sad end the week afterwards when a local gamekeeper seen it in his garden. Unfortunately he didn't know what it was so he panicked & shot it dead! Some folk only think they have bad luck....

Soon after this tragedy the Fanad Head Lighthouse was built to help guide ships and sailors safely on their journeys. Still in operation to this day, standing on a rocky outcrop on north Donegal's Wild Atlantic Way blinking its guiding light out to sea to aid ships past its inviting yet deceiving rocky waters.

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Austin, Nevada

We had hoped to spend a bit of time photographing buildings in Austin but the whole town was inundated with Mormon crickets. They were everywhere, even on vertical surfaces. All the little specks on the road in this photograph are crickets. In the shadows you can see a little cat who was enjoying the feast. Almost every business seemed closed. The only other live thing we saw out and about was a deer running down main street looking panicked. Apparently the Mormon crickets come to Austin every year and stay for 1.5 - 2 months. I took this shot from inside the truck!

Another full month of snail images checked off my 100 day project. I am all over the map with it and am not sure where it is going but every day I keep moving forward. I feel compelled to try and get the snails eyes in focus much like you would do with any other portrait. Unfortunately here it makes the snail looked panicked, sorry little snail.