Obstructions

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On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 20:15:27 -0700, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

[snip]

I nearly ran over this nitwit, who was squatting on a lonely asphalt
bicycle path in 88F weather, probably wondering where the water was
(half a mile away) and why there was no cool vegetation (too much
cactus).

I caught him with my Nashbar-approved toad-handling gloves, popped him
in a plastic bag with a sliding tab left partly open, took him home,
and released him in a silly Toad-in-the-Hole pottery that my elder
sister swears works:

http://i9.tinypic.com/4zldao3.jpg

http://i1.tinypic.com/4uk7507.jpg

I suspect that the toad logo and label on the pottery is for the
benefit of the owner.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

In article <r0s8f3pme71hua57v68fbb8sdn8kh4jva1@4ax.com>,
carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

> On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 20:15:27 -0700, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
> I nearly ran over this nitwit, who was squatting on a lonely asphalt
> bicycle path in 88F weather, probably wondering where the water was
> (half a mile away) and why there was no cool vegetation (too much
> cactus).
>
> I caught him with my Nashbar-approved toad-handling gloves, popped him
> in a plastic bag with a sliding tab left partly open, took him home,
> and released him in a silly Toad-in-the-Hole pottery that my elder
> sister swears works:
>
> http://i9.tinypic.com/4zldao3.jpg
>
> http://i1.tinypic.com/4uk7507.jpg
>
> I suspect that the toad logo and label on the pottery is for the
> benefit of the owner.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Carl Fogel

Your nitwit animal companion seems mighty unimpressed by his new adobe
hut.

Mine tries to bite the hand that feeds it, stupid terrier...

--
Ryan Cousineau rcousine@sfu.ca http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 04:22:53 GMT, Ryan Cousineau <rcousine@sfu.ca> wrote:

>In article <r0s8f3pme71hua57v68fbb8sdn8kh4jva1@4ax.com>,
> carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 20:15:27 -0700, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>>
>> [snip]
>>
>> I nearly ran over this nitwit, who was squatting on a lonely asphalt
>> bicycle path in 88F weather, probably wondering where the water was
>> (half a mile away) and why there was no cool vegetation (too much
>> cactus).
>>
>> I caught him with my Nashbar-approved toad-handling gloves, popped him
>> in a plastic bag with a sliding tab left partly open, took him home,
>> and released him in a silly Toad-in-the-Hole pottery that my elder
>> sister swears works:
>>
>> http://i9.tinypic.com/4zldao3.jpg
>>
>> http://i1.tinypic.com/4uk7507.jpg
>>
>> I suspect that the toad logo and label on the pottery is for the
>> benefit of the owner.

No, it's for the toads, they read backward.

On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 20:15:27 -0700, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

[snip]

Plump and placid, a typical 18-inch obstruction, poses for a portrait:

http://i21.tinypic.com/2hoia6p.jpg

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 20:15:27 -0700, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

[snip]

I thought that I recognized this shell as I went by, but I thought
that it was empty.

When I went back, the obstruction turned out to be live, so I picked
it up, brought it home, and took its picture:

http://i21.tinypic.com/al6qac.jpg

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 20:15:27 -0700, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

[snip]

Yesterday I had to pump my front tire up 20 psi, but I leapt to no
conclusions because a Slime tube often seals goathead punctures.

When I went out to the garage to see if the front tire had leaked
overnight, this obstruction was on a window screen:

http://i23.tinypic.com/2qc0y1w.jpg

A plastic jar served to remove the obstruction, increasing air-flow
through the window screen:

http://i21.tinypic.com/23ib3x5.jpg

The detail in the picture is ridiculous.

I placed the obstruction on some sunny lace vines on the back fence,
but even an auto-everything camera has trouble with that much sun:

http://i20.tinypic.com/2hnyz4p.jpg

I took a few pictures like this of the obstruction posing on my hand:

http://i22.tinypic.com/28h06ti.jpg

Each picture turned out to be just as badly out of focus, though they
all showed the alley quite nicely. It's hard for aging eyes to see the
cursed little LCD screen in bright sunlight.

So I went back to the lace vines, where the obstruction was waiting
upside down:

http://i24.tinypic.com/2dj4w3.jpg

And took three in-focus pictures of it on my hand:

http://i20.tinypic.com/aubapx.jpg

http://i21.tinypic.com/muwh05.jpg

http://i21.tinypic.com/15hy8wh.jpg

It's probably a descendant of the Chinese praying mantises whose egg
cases I bought years ago and put in the garden to eat other bugs. I
sometimes see their hardened foam egg cases, which look like brown
styrofoam packing peanuts.

These pictures show even better than usual just how incredibly good
even low-end digital cameras are, able to show details as fine as
fingerprints on an outstretched hand and the tiny dot, antenna, and
leg spikes of 3-inch insect, even when wielded one-handed by a
squinting PHD-camera incompetent.

"PHD" means "Point here, dummy!" as a newspaper article explained to
me this morning.

I suspect that a lot of RBT posters are as old or older than I am and
are just as doubtful as I was that they can take pictures clear enough
to show details, but the modern cameras really are just point and
shoot. Borrow one from a friend, take a few pictures of a bike part,
and see how easy it is.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

<carlfogel@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:1g00g31nfp5f48fautj8auhu9pnvp0egrb@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 20:15:27 -0700, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
> Yesterday I had to pump my front tire up 20 psi, but I leapt to no
> conclusions because a Slime tube often seals goathead punctures.
>
> When I went out to the garage to see if the front tire had leaked
> overnight, this obstruction was on a window screen:
>
> http://i23.tinypic.com/2qc0y1w.jpg
>
> A plastic jar served to remove the obstruction, increasing air-flow
> through the window screen:
>
> http://i21.tinypic.com/23ib3x5.jpg
>
> The detail in the picture is ridiculous.
>
> I placed the obstruction on some sunny lace vines on the back fence,
> but even an auto-everything camera has trouble with that much sun:
>
> http://i20.tinypic.com/2hnyz4p.jpg
>
> I took a few pictures like this of the obstruction posing on my hand:
>
> http://i22.tinypic.com/28h06ti.jpg
>
> Each picture turned out to be just as badly out of focus, though they
> all showed the alley quite nicely. It's hard for aging eyes to see the
> cursed little LCD screen in bright sunlight.
>
> So I went back to the lace vines, where the obstruction was waiting
> upside down:
>
> http://i24.tinypic.com/2dj4w3.jpg
>
> And took three in-focus pictures of it on my hand:
>
> http://i20.tinypic.com/aubapx.jpg
>
> http://i21.tinypic.com/muwh05.jpg
>
> http://i21.tinypic.com/15hy8wh.jpg
>
> It's probably a descendant of the Chinese praying mantises whose egg
> cases I bought years ago and put in the garden to eat other bugs. I
> sometimes see their hardened foam egg cases, which look like brown
> styrofoam packing peanuts.
>
> These pictures show even better than usual just how incredibly good
> even low-end digital cameras are, able to show details as fine as
> fingerprints on an outstretched hand and the tiny dot, antenna, and
> leg spikes of 3-inch insect, even when wielded one-handed by a
> squinting PHD-camera incompetent.
>
> "PHD" means "Point here, dummy!" as a newspaper article explained to
> me this morning.
>
> I suspect that a lot of RBT posters are as old or older than I am and
> are just as doubtful as I was that they can take pictures clear enough
> to show details, but the modern cameras really are just point and
> shoot. Borrow one from a friend, take a few pictures of a bike part,
> and see how easy it is.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Carl Fogel

Carl,
And for those as old or older than you and I, the modern cameras that still
have optical viewfinders are much nicer than those that rely on the LCD. I
tried a couple without optical viewfinders, and it seemed troublesome to put
on reading glasses to see what was on the LCD when I could see the actual
object with no trouble.
Kerry

On Sun, 30 Sep 2007 13:43:06 -0700, "Kerry Montgomery"
<kamontgo@teleport.com> wrote:

>
><carlfogel@comcast.net> wrote in message
>news:1g00g31nfp5f48fautj8auhu9pnvp0egrb@4ax.com...
>> On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 20:15:27 -0700, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>>
>> [snip]
>>
>> Yesterday I had to pump my front tire up 20 psi, but I leapt to no
>> conclusions because a Slime tube often seals goathead punctures.
>>
>> When I went out to the garage to see if the front tire had leaked
>> overnight, this obstruction was on a window screen:
>>
>> http://i23.tinypic.com/2qc0y1w.jpg
>>
>> A plastic jar served to remove the obstruction, increasing air-flow
>> through the window screen:
>>
>> http://i21.tinypic.com/23ib3x5.jpg
>>
>> The detail in the picture is ridiculous.
>>
>> I placed the obstruction on some sunny lace vines on the back fence,
>> but even an auto-everything camera has trouble with that much sun:
>>
>> http://i20.tinypic.com/2hnyz4p.jpg
>>
>> I took a few pictures like this of the obstruction posing on my hand:
>>
>> http://i22.tinypic.com/28h06ti.jpg
>>
>> Each picture turned out to be just as badly out of focus, though they
>> all showed the alley quite nicely. It's hard for aging eyes to see the
>> cursed little LCD screen in bright sunlight.
>>
>> So I went back to the lace vines, where the obstruction was waiting
>> upside down:
>>
>> http://i24.tinypic.com/2dj4w3.jpg
>>
>> And took three in-focus pictures of it on my hand:
>>
>> http://i20.tinypic.com/aubapx.jpg
>>
>> http://i21.tinypic.com/muwh05.jpg
>>
>> http://i21.tinypic.com/15hy8wh.jpg
>>
>> It's probably a descendant of the Chinese praying mantises whose egg
>> cases I bought years ago and put in the garden to eat other bugs. I
>> sometimes see their hardened foam egg cases, which look like brown
>> styrofoam packing peanuts.
>>
>> These pictures show even better than usual just how incredibly good
>> even low-end digital cameras are, able to show details as fine as
>> fingerprints on an outstretched hand and the tiny dot, antenna, and
>> leg spikes of 3-inch insect, even when wielded one-handed by a
>> squinting PHD-camera incompetent.
>>
>> "PHD" means "Point here, dummy!" as a newspaper article explained to
>> me this morning.
>>
>> I suspect that a lot of RBT posters are as old or older than I am and
>> are just as doubtful as I was that they can take pictures clear enough
>> to show details, but the modern cameras really are just point and
>> shoot. Borrow one from a friend, take a few pictures of a bike part,
>> and see how easy it is.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Carl Fogel
>
>Carl,
>And for those as old or older than you and I, the modern cameras that still
>have optical viewfinders are much nicer than those that rely on the LCD. I
>tried a couple without optical viewfinders, and it seemed troublesome to put
>on reading glasses to see what was on the LCD when I could see the actual
>object with no trouble.
>Kerry

Dear Kerry,

Mine has a nice optical viewfinder above the LCD screen--I use hte
optical sight for most pictures.

But it's the LCD that puts up the little green rectangle around
whatever the camera plans to focus on. My optical sight has only a
green and red LED nearby to tell me if it plans to flash and slow the
exposure for bad light (which usually means a fuzzy picture).

Up close, the optical sight tends to cut the heads off tiny subjects,
since it's mounted above the actualy lens.

Embarrassingly, I didn't use the optical sight for quite a while.

When I first got the camera, I used the LCD screen for close-ups of
very small bike parts, which meant putting the camera on a mount and
peering over the tops of my glasses at the LCD to overcome presbyopia.

Later, I tried taking normal pictures of ordinary scenes the same way
and found the optical sight was uselessly blurry, so I ignored it.

Luckily, my sister visited and asked why I was struggling with the LCD
screen against the sunlight to take a picture of a dog outdoors--why
not just look through the little optical sight?

Because it doesn't work, I explained. It's a useless blur.

Maybe, she suggested politely, it would help if you used your glasses.

D'oh!

(I've mentioned that I'm camera-incompetent.)

Looking through my glasses made the optical sight work fine. It
focusses differently than binoculars and requires me to use my
glasses.

So now I peer over the tops of my glasses at the LCD screen when I
need to see where the camera is focussing and to get close-ups
properly framed, instead of cutting off their heads.

But mostly I just look through my glasses and the optical sight to
take pictures of things over 4 feet away.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

>On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 20:15:27 -0700, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>
>[snip]
>
>I thought that I recognized this shell as I went by, but I thought
>that it was empty.
>
>When I went back, the obstruction turned out to be live, so I picked
>it up, brought it home, and took its picture:
>
>http://i21.tinypic.com/al6qac.jpg
>
>Cheers,
>
>Carl Fogel

Friday, this red-tailed obstruction posed on the sign next to the road
that prevents terrorists from destroying the Pueblo Dam:

http://i21.tinypic.com/mmdabo.jpg

http://i21.tinypic.com/6zr5l3.jpg

http://i24.tinypic.com/2dhbi1w.jpg

http://i21.tinypic.com/350mgds.jpg

The two rectangles on the horizo are phone or power boxes on top of
the dam, whose position changed as I crept closer.

Saturday, I rode up the same road below the dam and saw two
red-tailed obstructions. One flew away, but the other stayed up in
the rabbit brush on the dam to finish its lunch.

I stopped a bit further up the road, trudged up the face of the dam,
and spotted greediguts through the grass, its head pointing downhill:

http://i24.tinypic.com/biuno1.jpg

Look at that exquisite detail! (Things get better below.)

Annoyingly, the heavy traffic--three cars!--shows up much better. (The
truck and SUV at the turnoff had stopped to stare at the bicyclist
climbing the face of the dam.)

I shuffled closer, camouflaged by a bright yellow shirt and helmet,
and took more pictures from below, but the grass needs mowing. The
obstruction also needed better table manners--the blurring in the last
picture is due more to its head bobbing as it rips strips off its
dinner than to any failing of the automatic camera:

http://i21.tinypic.com/24xgfx2.jpg

http://i23.tinypic.com/24vln2s.jpg

http://i21.tinypic.com/10wv6du.jpg

http://i23.tinypic.com/20pc31v.jpg

Eventually, lunch was hauled a few feet uphill with some awkward
hopping and flapping to a more private spot.

This shows why they're called redtails:

http://i21.tinypic.com/wl4n46.jpg

But this is the main dish, not a red front:

http://i24.tinypic.com/2h4kvhe.jpg

If the waiter can't see my head, I'm invisible:

http://i21.tinypic.com/2clro9.jpg

The obstruction finally decided that take-out was better than being
stared at and flew off with its meal:

http://i20.tinypic.com/2wrncat.jpg

http://i20.tinypic.com/27yvnd1.jpg

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

[snip]

A chinook was blowing today, so I was riding in my shorts and keeping
alert in case one of the ramshackle magpie nests up in the bare
cottonwoods turned out to be a porcupine.

I used to see several porcupines every year until I bought my camera,
whereupon they became shy and stealthy.

Anyway, I spotted this great horned porcupine in a side gully:

http://i18.tinypic.com/6sb6t5e.jpg

Usually they just flash silently past me when I'm walking up the
juniper and cottonwood gullies eroded into the shale bluffs above the
Arkansas River. Unless they warn me by hooting, they startle the
bejesus out of me, since they go past only a few feet away, doing
twenty or thirty mph.

This one just sat in its cottonwood and let me take bad pictures from
various angles. This photo shows how well their camouflage blends in
to cottonwood bark:

http://i7.tinypic.com/6p529s8.jpg

The tree is down in the shadows of a deep gully on a sunny afternoon,
so it's not really as dark as it looks. Another angle:

http://i13.tinypic.com/6y55ap2.jpg

After a few minutes, it flew off. It's easy to see in this snap shot:

http://i4.tinypic.com/8e6gpw7.jpg

But a moment later, it's practically vanished in mid air:

http://i6.tinypic.com/89q437o.jpg

Can't see it? Same picture with helpful red circle:

http://i17.tinypic.com/8f1osxh.jpg

(I ended up taking more pictures from next to the rabbit brush bush on
the upper left.)

By sheer luck, the camera caught it a second later in the sunlight
coming down yet another gully, as it zoomed up to land on the cliff:

http://i10.tinypic.com/6ycyclk.jpg

It glared at me from the shadow under the walking-stick cactus for a
few more pictures before it vanished down the gully without a hoot:

http://i18.tinypic.com/817ow3m.jpg

http://i11.tinypic.com/6jxw3fc.jpg

"When you call me that, smile!" --Bubo virginianus

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
> On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
> A chinook was blowing today, so I was riding in my shorts and keeping
> alert in case one of the ramshackle magpie nests up in the bare
> cottonwoods turned out to be a porcupine.
>
> I used to see several porcupines every year until I bought my camera,
> whereupon they became shy and stealthy.
>
> Anyway, I spotted this great horned porcupine in a side gully:
>
> http://i18.tinypic.com/6sb6t5e.jpg
>
[snip]

Thanks, Carl. They are simply magnificent and fascinating creatures.
About this time last year, I developed a fancy for owls and made this
out of boredom during my Thanksgiving break away from my first (and
hardest) semester at graduate school:
http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gtg611a/pics/owl.JPG

Not quite as good as seeing the real thing, but my parents' house in
Birmingham can be pretty boring. Here's the puppy you barely see in the
top:
http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gtg611a/pics/puppy.JPG

He protects you from flat tires.
\\paul

On Sat, 01 Dec 2007 19:16:29 -0700, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

>On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>
>[snip]
>
>A chinook was blowing today, so I was riding in my shorts and keeping
>alert in case one of the ramshackle magpie nests up in the bare
>cottonwoods turned out to be a porcupine.
>
>I used to see several porcupines every year until I bought my camera,
>whereupon they became shy and stealthy.
>
>Anyway, I spotted this great horned porcupine in a side gully:
>
> http://i18.tinypic.com/6sb6t5e.jpg
>
>Usually they just flash silently past me when I'm walking up the
>juniper and cottonwood gullies eroded into the shale bluffs above the
>Arkansas River. Unless they warn me by hooting, they startle the
>bejesus out of me, since they go past only a few feet away, doing
>twenty or thirty mph.
>
>This one just sat in its cottonwood and let me take bad pictures from
>various angles. This photo shows how well their camouflage blends in
>to cottonwood bark:
>
> http://i7.tinypic.com/6p529s8.jpg
>
>The tree is down in the shadows of a deep gully on a sunny afternoon,
>so it's not really as dark as it looks. Another angle:
>
> http://i13.tinypic.com/6y55ap2.jpg
>
>After a few minutes, it flew off. It's easy to see in this snap shot:
>
> http://i4.tinypic.com/8e6gpw7.jpg
>
>But a moment later, it's practically vanished in mid air:
>
> http://i6.tinypic.com/89q437o.jpg
>
>Can't see it? Same picture with helpful red circle:
>
> http://i17.tinypic.com/8f1osxh.jpg
>
>(I ended up taking more pictures from next to the rabbit brush bush on
>the upper left.)
>
>By sheer luck, the camera caught it a second later in the sunlight
>coming down yet another gully, as it zoomed up to land on the cliff:
>
> http://i10.tinypic.com/6ycyclk.jpg
>
>It glared at me from the shadow under the walking-stick cactus for a
>few more pictures before it vanished down the gully without a hoot:
>
> http://i18.tinypic.com/817ow3m.jpg
>
> http://i11.tinypic.com/6jxw3fc.jpg
>
>"When you call me that, smile!" --Bubo virginianus
>
>Cheers,
>
>Carl Fogel

More fine weather today on my ride, so I was watching for hawks
sitting on fence posts or flocks of the magpies that are slowly
returning after West Nile wiped them out.

Instead this flock posed for me, about forty strong:

http://i6.tinypic.com/6tx61ll.jpg

They were spread out so far that I couldn't fit them all in the
picture. That stretch of the Wet Mountains is about 10,000 feet high.

A few stragglers were to the left, below the more picturesque south
end of the range, where the Greenhorn is over 12,000 feet and the snow
is visible:

http://i2.tinypic.com/733dqpw.jpg

Sometimes it's hard to tell which are cactus and which aren't:

http://i10.tinypic.com/6ty1qgn.jpg

The cactus doesn't crawl under barb-wire fences, make odd barking
noises, turn to stare at you, or outrun cars.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

dems coyote?

Wildlife? If I get a camera for whale photos, I'll upload a group shot
of prostitutes coming across the superduper parking lot. They crawl
underfences and operate SUV's, for the day.

On Dec 3, 5:18 pm, datakoll <datak...@yahoo.com> wrote:

> dems coyote?

Dear Gene,

No, coyotes howl and sing, but they rarely make any noise like a bark.
They can't outrun cars and are low enough to slip under barb-wire
fences without crawling. Other subtle distinguishing marks include
long tails, a lack of horns, and a tendency to be seen vanishing
rapidly toward the horizon.

Pronghorns, on the other hand, make an odd barking noise, crawl under
fences instead of leaping them, can outrun cars, cast horn sheaths,
and are known for 'satiable curiosity that rivals the elephant's
child--they stand and stare at you as you approach.

Long ago, the Plains Indians hunted pronghorns by the simple ruse of
lying on the ground, thrashing about, and then letting fly with bow
and arrow at the curious pronghorns, who would walk up to see what was
going on. Nowadays, pronghorns are fewer and warier, but still easy
targets.

This picture shows the horn sheaths still in place on the bone, along
with the huge eye sockets (42 mm at the opening for a 100-lb beast)
that lets them watch for the extinct cheetahs that used to prey on
them:

http://i12.tinypic.com/717newm.jpg

The first prongs on both horn sheaths were gnawed off by rodents after
the funeral. The remnants change from smooth black to split brown in
the sun, which makes old ones hard to notice--they look a lot like
broken-off juniper branches.

Dogs (and possibly coyotes) love to chew on cast sheaths, which are
tough and springy. My dog was quite indignant when I insisted that I
found the skull, so its horn sheaths were mine, not his.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

>[snip]

It was too cold and snowy to ride for fun today, but if I _had_ gone
for a ride, the road would have been obstructed by these two foxes,
who were playing and running around in circles:

http://i6.tinypic.com/6qbly6t.jpg

Foxes are very wary and well-camouflaged, so here's the same picture
trimmed to show them in opposite corners:

http://i19.tinypic.com/7x44e41.jpg

Here two foxes are hiding behind a tree, but only one is visible:

http://i4.tinypic.com/6jyc22g.jpg

Yes, two of them:

http://i11.tinypic.com/6nvm39e.jpg

Their camouflage makes them almost invisible against the ruts in the
snow:

http://i3.tinypic.com/7wuaoh2.jpg

The camouflage works just as well in the other direction:

http://i18.tinypic.com/7x9rz34.jpg

http://i1.tinypic.com/6siw8cx.jpg

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

On Sat, 08 Dec 2007 17:16:03 -0700, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

>On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>
>>[snip]
>
>It was too cold and snowy to ride for fun today, but if I _had_ gone
>for a ride, the road would have been obstructed by these two foxes,
>who were playing and running around in circles:
>
> http://i6.tinypic.com/6qbly6t.jpg
>
>Foxes are very wary and well-camouflaged, so here's the same picture
>trimmed to show them in opposite corners:
>
> http://i19.tinypic.com/7x44e41.jpg
>
>Here two foxes are hiding behind a tree, but only one is visible:
>
> http://i4.tinypic.com/6jyc22g.jpg
>
>Yes, two of them:
>
> http://i11.tinypic.com/6nvm39e.jpg
>
>Their camouflage makes them almost invisible against the ruts in the
>snow:
>
> http://i3.tinypic.com/7wuaoh2.jpg
>
>The camouflage works just as well in the other direction:
>
> http://i18.tinypic.com/7x9rz34.jpg
>
> http://i1.tinypic.com/6siw8cx.jpg
>
>Cheers,
>
>Carl Fogel

A few days ago the same two foxes were down in a gully, watching ducks
on a pond.

This one noticed me first and ran off:

http://i12.tinypic.com/8esfsew.jpg

This one was just below me and puzzled by its companion's flight:

http://i4.tinypic.com/8bpz7td.jpg

Eventually it noticed me and fled:

http://i16.tinypic.com/8dwo2m9.jpg

Today was too cold and snowpacked to bicycle, so I walked my dog out
my daily route. A pair of redtail hawks decided to tease me by
swooping overhead or heading into the wind and hanging motionless, but
then disappearing whenever I got my camera out.

This is as close as I got to a photo of them together:

http://i13.tinypic.com/8207uxl.jpg

http://i10.tinypic.com/8fkjcjm.jpg

And this is as good as I got of just one:

http://i7.tinypic.com/8ei8qa1.jpg

After half an hour I began to suspect that the pair was just hunting
back and forth along the bluffs and amusing themselves by seeing if
they could make me fall over backward as I tried to take their picture
when they zoomed overhead, briefly visible through the trees.

Once the snow melts, I can bicycle again and won't have to watch the
silly things overhead.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

[snip]

Ah, the joys of bicycling through the countryside and seeing wildlife
in its natural habitat! How I pity RBT posters condemned to see
nothing but buildings and alleys!

This beast trotted across the road as I came around a corner, but it
didn't see me, so I fumbled out my camera and managed a few pictures.

http://i12.tinypic.com/85orjfl.jpg
http://i3.tinypic.com/8e9l0k6.jpg
http://i7.tinypic.com/8245tus.jpg
http://i6.tinypic.com/82ixy5g.jpg

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

In article <n6q5n3t0oaidkiuqr9mcj89avnnrhc51fs@4ax.com>,
carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

> On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
> Ah, the joys of bicycling through the countryside and seeing wildlife
> in its natural habitat! How I pity RBT posters condemned to see
> nothing but buildings and alleys!
>
> This beast trotted across the road as I came around a corner, but it
> didn't see me, so I fumbled out my camera and managed a few pictures.
>
> http://i12.tinypic.com/85orjfl.jpg
> http://i3.tinypic.com/8e9l0k6.jpg
> http://i7.tinypic.com/8245tus.jpg
> http://i6.tinypic.com/82ixy5g.jpg

That is clearly a domestic trashcan (ratis purgamentum), which has sadly
been felled by one of its many natural enemies. Owing to the location
and how the poor creature has been left, this was likely either the work
of vulpes vulpes or carruca domesticus.

It might also have been carruca alienus, an introduced species which has
been remarkably successful throughout the Americas.

Was completely surprised to find that I had trash service today,

--
Ryan Cousineau rcousine@sfu.ca http://www.wiredcola.com/
"My scenarios may give the impression I could be an excellent crook.
Not true - I am a talented lawyer." - Sandy in rec.bicycles.racing

On Thu, 27 Dec 2007 01:24:05 GMT, Ryan Cousineau <rcousine@sfu.ca>
wrote:

>In article <n6q5n3t0oaidkiuqr9mcj89avnnrhc51fs@4ax.com>,
> carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>>
>> [snip]
>>
>> Ah, the joys of bicycling through the countryside and seeing wildlife
>> in its natural habitat! How I pity RBT posters condemned to see
>> nothing but buildings and alleys!
>>
>> This beast trotted across the road as I came around a corner, but it
>> didn't see me, so I fumbled out my camera and managed a few pictures.
>>
>> http://i12.tinypic.com/85orjfl.jpg
>> http://i3.tinypic.com/8e9l0k6.jpg
>> http://i7.tinypic.com/8245tus.jpg
>> http://i6.tinypic.com/82ixy5g.jpg
>
>That is clearly a domestic trashcan (ratis purgamentum), which has sadly
>been felled by one of its many natural enemies. Owing to the location
>and how the poor creature has been left, this was likely either the work
>of vulpes vulpes or carruca domesticus.
>
>It might also have been carruca alienus, an introduced species which has
>been remarkably successful throughout the Americas.
>
>Was completely surprised to find that I had trash service today,

Dear Ryan,

An email just asked me (quite seriously) why I'm taking pictures of
toppled trash cans, citing your post and asking what my point was.

Some trimmed views for those who saw only prone garbage cans:
http://i9.tinypic.com/81gazq9.jpg
http://i6.tinypic.com/6jwzsw6.jpg
http://i4.tinypic.com/73li39i.jpg
http://i1.tinypic.com/7xm886e.jpg

Sometimes I wonder if everyone knows how to view images full size.

And no, before I get any other puzzled emails, that isn't a squirrel
with a red coat, white ruff, black forelegs, and white-tipped tail.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

In article <7106n3lldsfmhg4dq0cg54gsm8d6qah5m3@4ax.com>,
carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

> On Thu, 27 Dec 2007 01:24:05 GMT, Ryan Cousineau <rcousine@sfu.ca>
> wrote:
>
> >In article <n6q5n3t0oaidkiuqr9mcj89avnnrhc51fs@4ax.com>,
> > carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
> >
> >> On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
> >>
> >> [snip]
> >>
> >> Ah, the joys of bicycling through the countryside and seeing wildlife
> >> in its natural habitat! How I pity RBT posters condemned to see
> >> nothing but buildings and alleys!
> >>
> >> This beast trotted across the road as I came around a corner, but it
> >> didn't see me, so I fumbled out my camera and managed a few pictures.
> >>
> >> http://i12.tinypic.com/85orjfl.jpg
> >> http://i3.tinypic.com/8e9l0k6.jpg
> >> http://i7.tinypic.com/8245tus.jpg
> >> http://i6.tinypic.com/82ixy5g.jpg
> >
> >That is clearly a domestic trashcan (ratis purgamentum), which has sadly
> >been felled by one of its many natural enemies. Owing to the location
> >and how the poor creature has been left, this was likely either the work
> >of vulpes vulpes or carruca domesticus.
> >
> >It might also have been carruca alienus, an introduced species which has
> >been remarkably successful throughout the Americas.
> >
> >Was completely surprised to find that I had trash service today,
>
> Dear Ryan,
>
> An email just asked me (quite seriously) why I'm taking pictures of
> toppled trash cans, citing your post and asking what my point was.

My work here is done.

> Some trimmed views for those who saw only prone garbage cans:
> http://i9.tinypic.com/81gazq9.jpg
> http://i6.tinypic.com/6jwzsw6.jpg
> http://i4.tinypic.com/73li39i.jpg
> http://i1.tinypic.com/7xm886e.jpg

You're only making trouble for yourself by leaving the ratis prugamentum
in frame along with the vulpes vulpes.

> Sometimes I wonder if everyone knows how to view images full size.

That was a really small fox! Or perhaps it was just far away.

> And no, before I get any other puzzled emails, that isn't a squirrel
> with a red coat, white ruff, black forelegs, and white-tipped tail.

Of course not. It's a red heeler:

<http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/images7/Australian_Cattle_Dog_Red_Griffy.jpg
>
<http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/australiancattledogphotos.htm>

--
Ryan Cousineau rcousine@sfu.ca http://www.wiredcola.com/
"My scenarios may give the impression I could be an excellent crook.
Not true - I am a talented lawyer." - Sandy in rec.bicycles.racing