“In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
“The only lies for which we are truly punished are those we tell ourselves.” — V.S. Naipaul, In a Free State
“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.” — Steve Jobs
“There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.” — Alfred Hitchcock
Swiss photographer Chris Schmid has spent time with the Masai in Kenya to capture their efforts in preserving their land, animals and life-style. This short movie brings the viewer to an understanding of this unique opportunity to maintain one of the world’s wonderful ecosystems.
To see photographs taken during photographer Schmid’s exploration as well as another video in his “Off the Beaten Track” series, visit the link below:
http://petapixel.com/2015/08/08/bts-photographing-wildlife-in-the-land-of-the-maasai/
Schmid’s Vimeo page is here.
“When the character of a person is not clear to you, look at their friends.” — Japanese Proverb
“Don’t ever promise more than you can deliver, but always deliver more than you promise.” — Lou Holtz
We are not as likely to change when we see the light as when we feel the heat.[ed]” — Eric Hoffer
“We could have bought a small yacht with what we spent on our dog and all the things he destroyed. Then again, how many yachts wait by the door all day for your return?” — John Grogan
As most readers of JBRish know, I live in the desert southwest. We don’t get much rain, less than twelve inches per year, at our Sonoran Desert home. When it rains, however (especially during “Monsoon Season”), it seems like the heavens open up and pour water onto the land. Photographer Bryan Snider captured a time-lapse of this microburst phenomenon and as you can see, the rain is “dumped” on to the land as though someone has tipped a bucket over it.
You can see more of Bryan Snider’s Work here.
“Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter.” — Izaak Walton
“A secret needs two faces to bounce between; a secret needs to see itself in another pair of eyes.” — Stephen King
“Success is achieved by developing our strengths, not by eliminating our weaknesses.” — Marilyn vos Savant
“Having your book turned into a movie is like seeing your oxen turned into bouillon cubes.” — John le Carré
“Nothing can wear you out like caring about people.” — S.E. Hinton, That Was Then, This is Now
“Good things come to those who sweat.” — Unknown
“Maybe life isn’t about avoiding the bruises. Maybe it’s about collecting the scars to prove we showed up for it.” — Hannah Brencher
“I knew something was wrong with the economy when the shampoo girl at my salon closed on a six bedroom house. — Wanda Sykes
“Infatuation is when you find someone who is absolutely perfect. Love is when you realize they aren’t perfect, but it doesn’t matter.” — Unknown
“I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.” — William Allen White
“The impossible is often the untried.” — Jim Goodwin
“Speech is like a bicycle wheel… the longer the spoke, the greater the tire.” — Confucius-ism
Those who have been reading my blog for a while realize that I have a strong personal connection to nature. I am interested in other living things as well as a few that are not quite alive such as rocks. If I had it to do all over again, I would collect rocks. I have a few, but not many. Let me not digress.
As we hike along, I collect (via photographs) a record of the various species of insects, reptiles, birds, plants, etc. that we encounter. Some are new to me and some are found in unanticipated circumstances.
In our spring trip to Las Cruces, NM we encountered several interesting lizards and one snake. By way of sharing my interest in photographing these animals and the joy in the abundance and variety of nature, I am including several pictures below.
Many thanks to the Arizona Herpetological Association – AHA for their warm hospitality and support in helping me identify these specimens. I recommend their website and organization to anyone who is interested in southwest herpitology.*
Lets start with a popular lizard of which we saw many…
The Chihuahuan Spotted Whiptail (Aspidoscelis exsanguis)
This fellow was particularly interesting because of his “racing stripes” along his side. Adidas and Nike have nothing on him.
Greater Earless Male (Holbrookia elegans)
This female appeared to be obviously pregnant.
Greater Earless Female (Holbrookia elegans)
At quick glance, this looks like a pretty ho-hum specimen sitting on an ordinary rock, but…
Ornate Tree Lizard (Urosaurus ornatus)
Look at that turquoise-like coloring under his chin and belly!
Ornate Tree Lizard (Urosaurus ornatus)
And let’s not forget a fellow we included in his own post here,
Eastern Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus collaris)
The only snake we encountered was an adventurous, long and thin Patch-nosed Snake.
Patch-nosed Snake (Salvadora hexalepis)
The markings on this specimen were quite nice; two colors of brown, one tan and one near chocolate in shade.
Patch-nosed Snake (Salvadora hexalepis) – close up
*If I have misidentified any of the reptiles in this post, please let me know and I will make the appropriate corrections.
.JBRish.com originally published this post
“It’s easy to make a buck. It’s a lot tougher to make a difference.” — Tom Brokaw
“Your success will be in direct proportion to what you do after you’ve done what you are expected to do. [ed]” — Brian Tracy
“Never do a wrong thing to make a friend or to keep one.” — Robert E. Lee
“As I hurtled through space, one thought kept crossing my mind – every part of this rocket was supplied by the lowest bidder.” — John Glenn
