Late in April I went up to Cloudland Canyon SP in NW Georgia for a few days. Object of the trip was to photograph some waterfalls in the area. Unfortunately the water was very low and with the long drives it was a bit discouraging.
Indian Falls in Desoto SP, AL
The last one I photographed, Little River Falls, had the bonus of a nice rainbow in the mist so that made the long drive worth it.
Returned to Whitewater Draw on my way east to see the thousands of Sandhill Cranes and whatever else might be found.
A few of the Northern Shoveler and Pintail ducks were there along with quite a few Snow Geese.
The first evening I was there I left the trailer just after 6 pm with the idea of getting some sunset images. I did not have my long telephoto with me….bad move. As I got around to where there would be a good view of the sunset with some water in the foreground I saw several people looking down into the marshy area where there were reeds and high grass across from the sunset….. They were watching a bobcat! It was after sunset by then with lousy light and here I was with the wrong lens! Oh well, I did the best I could and got some decent images of the first bobcat I’ve seen in the wild. Once it got too dark for the bobcat I did get a shot of some cranes silhouetted against the little bit of color that made up the sunset.
The Vermillion Flycatcher was there as was the Northern Harrier, too, but they are both hard to capture.
I recently spent some time camping on BLM land, no amenities but some really colorful sunrises!
From the barren desert to Lost Dutchman State Park with the Superstition Mountains. The mountains tend to hide a lot of the sunrises but the sunsets can be wonderful!
For over 50 years I owned Border Terriers. During that time I showed and bred them a bit and hunted with them when I could. Border Terriers were first recognized in the UK in 1920, in the US in 1930. They were bred in the Border Country of the UK for going to ground after fox, otters and badgers. For several years I went over to England in the winter to follow the Fox Hounds, usually the Fell Packs in the Lakes District because there was a good chance of seeing the terriers work.
When I was there I also checked out book shops that specialized old books &/or hunting books and antique shops looking for old books on hunting and hunting prints. I was fortunate enough to find many books and some very unique prints. These prints depict Otter Hounds, which were pretty well recognized by then. The terriers in the prints are possibly some of the ancestors of the Border Terrier breed.
These two are wood block prints by Basil Bradley, they were both published in 1872. They feature Otter Hounds and terriers in pursuit of the otter.
“Otter Hunting in the North – The Last Struggle”
This is a print of the original 1872 black and white in-text wood engraving of artwork by Basil Bradley (1842-1904) of a group of British hunters and their hounds hunting otters for their fur in northern England during the Victorian era. This was published in Harpers Weekly magazine September 7, 1872. Artist signature in print – bottom left of image.
“Otter Hunting in the North”
This is a print of the original 1872 black and white in-text wood engraving of artwork by Basil Bradley (1842-1904) of a group of British hunters and their hounds hunting otters for their fur in northern England during the Victorian era. This was published in The Graphic magazine August 10, 1872. Artist’s initials at the bottom of each image.
” The Otter Speared”, painted by E. Landseer, R.A. 1844. This is a wood block print taken from a painting by Edwin Henry Landseer showing a scene in the Scottish Highlands: hunting dogs bark excitedly as a man holds a dead or dying otter aloft. You can also see a couple of terriers in the fray. From ” Illustrated London News”, 1844, Vol I. Unfortunately the artist who created the wood block print is unknown.
Landseer- who sculpted the lions in Trafalgar Square – spent a long time in the Highlands watching country life and the otter painting depicts a hunter and enthusiastic otter hounds belonging to the Earl of Aberdeen.
He wanted, along with artists such as George Stubbs and Alfred Munnings, to show that depicting sport and animals was not, as many sniffily thought, a lower form of art.
Breaking Cover,
from the painting by Walter Hunt, 1907, The New Book of the Dog by Cassell , book plate
Another fine example of the Otter Hounds and terriers doing what they were bred to do.
I have the original pages from Harper’s Weekly, The Guardian and the “Illustrated London News” 1844, Vol. 1, along with the book plate.
Fall foliage in the Tetons can be spectacular. The aspens and cottonwoods show golden yellows with a bit of deeper color sometimes . The mountains stand out on a sunny day and a bit of snow is also a plus.
A cloudy sky causes a different look but still impressive.
The Gros Ventre River is well known, fly fishermen go there, and in the fall you can sometimes see moose feeding on the willows or watch the bulls and cows interact if you’re fortunate enough to find them. The cottonwoods, aspens and willows this particular morning were stunning.
Schwabacher Landing on the Snake River is a wonderful foreground for the Tetons.
Late afternoon sun lights up the colorful foliage along this creek that spills into the Snake River.
Early morning and the sun provides a warmer light as it hits the mountains, the foreground is still in shade as the sun creeps up.
Late afternoon sun lights up these cottonwoods next to the Snake River.
Foliage is just starting to turn near Ox Bow Bend with Mt. Moran in the distance.
These are west and east facing views of a small creek where we sometimes find moose in the fall.
Very large bull known as Hoback. Easily distinguished by the two antler prongs that go down.
The foliage had turned with lots of fallen leaves and the courtship between the bulls and cows was heating up. Unfortunately my time in the Tetons was ending but the last full day and next morning were good ones.
Late in the afternoon I found a cow, calf and bull at a beaver pond, the cow was not particularly interested in the bull and went into the water to escape his attentions. She spent quite a long time grazing there as he stood patiently waiting. Her calf ventured into the water for only a few minutes.
In the morning I came across the same combo, bull, cow and calf. This time the light was ideal!
This cow and calf are ignoring the nearby bull. Early morning, great light on this handsome bull.
The long trip came to an end as I packed up, hitched up and headed home. Long days but excellent driving conditions.
As the Wyoming fall progresses, temperatures drop and the moose become more active in the rut. Finding them and watching their interactions is very interesting. They can appear to be very gentle, and sometimes very slow moving in the process. They can also move very swiftly and it is important to respect them and give them space.
Sometimes you see just a bull, sometimes you see a bull following a cow with a calf. This bull, cow and her calf were in a very picturesque area with a creek which they all crossed at different times.
Grant Teton NP is home to many animals, among them grizzly bears. In the fall the majority of my images are of moose, maybe some elk. This time I was fortunate to watch the grizzly bear known as Blondie for a while. She had two cubs in the spring and from what I understand she has only recently had them out where they can be seen. She spent most of the time digging in the ground but once in a while she did look up to check on her surroundings and her cubs. The cubs would occasionally stand up to locate her or to look around, too.
With her coloring Blondie is a logical choice for a name, I have to wonder what her lighter colored cub will be called.
Watching the moose interact can be fascinating. Recently I had the opportunity to watch a bull throughout a 24 hour period, photographing him and the cows he spent time with. Needless to say I was not present all 24 hours.
6 pm, he crossed the sagebrush flats heading for a location that has the things moose prefer, water, willows, shade.
0800 the next morning I was back at the location and there was a cow standing next to him where he was laid down. I parked and walked out on a path next to the small valley that I expected them to go down into.
0812, The cow has moved down and he is standing at the edge of the bench about to start down.
Once he was down near the cow he started scraping the ground, getting down to dirt. then he urinated on it, repeating this a few times. I’ve seem bull moose do this and elk, also. After he was satisfied the mud is just right he laid in it for a bit. This attracted the cow who came over and nearly pushed him out of the way so she could lay in it.
After a while he moved off and laid down. Since past experience has shown the moose will often lay down for hours (they are ruminates) I left to go do some errands. I returned later and both had moved from that spot. I hung around for quite a while and learned there was a second cow in the willows in the middle of the little valley. Nothing was happening so I went to lunch with friends.
4 pm, back at the site. The sun is high and the bull and cow are closer now and moving around. In the first photo he is checking to find out her readiness. She’s not interested and moved away, he followed her a bit then moved further down the valley. He took his time getting there, passing through more willows.
4:41 pm, When he got to the furthest group of willows two cows came out and hurried over to him. He spent some time with them, doing some sniffing, etc. Eventually he went into the far willows and they slowly followed him.
6:39 pm, he came out of the far willows, returning to the first cow, trying rouse some interest. She slowly followed him from where she had been laying down but then she started feeding on the willows. He eventually moved off, going back up the hill onto the bench. I left before he was all the way up the hill since it was close to 7 pm and the light was failing.
Young bull nursing, he has been staying very close to her
The last three days have been interesting. Started out on Friday morning with watching three moose, a mature bull, a cow and her calf that is maybe 1.3 years old.
As the weekend progressed they moved back and forth across the river, the bull usually following the cow. He spent some time chasing the calf which, while not any competition, was a nuisance and possibly a distraction for the cow.
The mature bull spent a lot of time chasing the calf away. The calf was not a challenge to him, more of a nuisance, I think. The nearby cow is attracted by his actions
Saturday late morning, a nice rest for this bull.
On Saturday I was able to get a wonderful image of the bull laid down. The sun was shining, providing good light unlike Friday.
Sunday started out with only the cow and calf around then in the afternoon another bull came around. He did not stay long once the first bull made his presence known.
Sunday evening another mature bull did show up when the first bull, the cow and calf were across the river. This one was competition and the action was fast and furious.
When looking at the images in the gallery click on the image, it will expand and the caption will be under the image, not over it.