Apr
8
2012
Mar
18
2012
Image of the Day: Lotus Bud 1
Lotus Bud 1
Known as the biosphere to scientists and as the creation to theologians, all of life together consists of a membrane around earth so thin that it cannot be seen edgewise from a satellite yet so prodigiously diverse that only a tiny fraction of species have been discovered and named.
‘Vanishing Before Our Eyes’, Time (26 Apr 2000).
Mar
10
2012
Images of the day: Daffodils
Daffodils 1, processed in Lightroom to resemble a photo taken with Kodak Tech Pan
Daffodils 1–Tech Pan-1 | Flickr – Photo Sharing!.
I have been experimenting with processing the same image several different ways in Lightroom. Above, an image of daffodils has been processed to look as though it were taken with Kodak Tech Pan film, a very fine-grain, low-ASA film. The mood and look are quite different than when the same image is processed to look as though it were taken with some other type of film. The details are different; the tones are different; the emphasis is different.
Daffodils 1--processed in Lightroom to resemble a cyanotype
Daffodils 1--PH
Oct
15
2011
Fall is coming on Red Top Mountain State Park, GA
Looking Into Fall--Red Top Mountain State Park
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Yesterday CC the sloth (from Staten Island zoo) and I went on the Today show to talk about my new book, A LITTLE BOOK OF SLOTH. I was nervous that the studio would freak her out but she seemed totally at home with all the attention. Even when the make up girls combed her hair so she looked all pretty for the show. But then sloths have very poor eyesight so perhaps she was blissfully unaware of her momentary celebrity.
Massive Bird Nests Built on Telephone Poles in Southern Africa are Home to Multiple Species of Birds
by Christopher @ Colossal
No these aren’t haystacks stuck in a phone pole. Visit the Kalahari Desert in the south of Africa and you’re bound to run into a peculiar animal called the Sociable Weaver Bird. The birds are called “social” not just because they live in organized colonies, but because they build massive homes out of sticks, grass and cotton that are home to several other kinds birds. That’s right, the nests are so large that birds of other species are welcome to setup shop, not the least of which is the South African pygmy falcon which lives exclusively inside the social weaver’s nests that often accomodate over 100 birds at at time. Via the San Diego Zoo:
The sociable weaver’s nest sees plenty of guests—a regular Kalahari Desert inn! The South African pygmy falcon Polihierax semitorquatus relies completely on the sociable weavers’ nest for its own home, often nesting side by side with the sociable weavers. The pied barbet, familiar chat, red-headed finch, ashy tit, and rosy-faced lovebird often find comfort in the cozy nesting chambers, too. Vultures, owls, and eagles will roost on the nests’ broad roof. Why are weavers willing to share the huge nest they worked so hard to make? More residents mean more eyes keeping a watch for danger. And the weavers often learn from the other birds where new sources of food can be found.
Photographer Dillon Marsh has a lovely series of weaver bird nest photographs titled Assimilation that are well worth a look.
The newest tool from the No Kill Advocacy Center: What’s in a Name? As No Kill advocates seek to pass progressive shelter reform legislation in communities and states throughout the country, time and again their fiercest opponents are organizations with names that allow them to masquerade as something they are not. What’s in a Name? from the No Kill Advocacy Center will allow legislators and policy makers to understand why groups like HSUS and the ASPCA oppose badly needed shelter reform legislation. To print or download it for FREE, click here.
For our shelter reform guides, including How Does Your Community’s Shelter Measure Up?, No Kill 101, Dollars & Sense, and more, visit our No Kill Advocate’s Toolkit by clicking here.
Alley Cat Allies
