Inspecting For Aliens Part 1 - The Wildlife

It was that time again at work. Time to go out into the wilds of Wyoming and inspect alien labor housing. The good part is always getting out of the office and into the backwoods. So armed with cameras, my co-worker and I set forth. Our objective: Inspect and get that part done on time, so we could take more pictures on the way back. Luckily, my co-worker is a fellow photographer who isn't phased when I yell "Stop the car!", bail out, fling myself onto a snow-covered hillside and start snapping away.

This was one of those days I regretted not having a better digital camera, or a SLR with me.Of course there were deer. Lots of deer. We didn't see one antelope the whole trip on the lower plains, but as soon as we got into the hills, the deer came out in abundance.

We also saw turkeys in the distance, nothing like the hundred from our last trip. Not close enough for pictures. A ring-necked pheasant ran across the road in front of us, much too quickly for us to get a shot off, and besides, I hate taking pictures through the windshield. (Although I abandoned that position later, as you will see.)
What's a road trip without cows? We saw plenty of them, although this was the only one that would pose. The rest turned their backs, or stuck their head into the grass and ignored me. Hey, at least this one was alive.
After lunch at the Co-op in Hulett, we started back. We'd seen eagles in the distance on the drive out and hoped we'd find some on our return trip. Be careful what you wish for. This time it was my co-worker who slammed on the brakes. While I was eyeballing the eagles high in the sky, she kept her eyes on the road.
A dead deer by the side of the road is an unmovable feast for eagles. Normally, they'd fly off if we approached, while the greedier magpies swooped in to grab a bite. This boy was unintimidated by us, however.
He flew off to a tree top for just a few moments, then came back to guard his lunch.
It's hard to tell from the pictures, but this was a big bird. Probably approaching three feet tall.
This is one of those through the windshield shots. He let us get pretty darn close. So we took a last pic and moved on. Oh, and the eagles do good work. The heart was gone, and they had started on other internal organs.
Another bend in the road, and some bald eagles hanging out in the trees.
This one flew across the road and perched in another tree, where he proceeded to pose for us while we frantically snapped away. The wind was blowing briskly, and the poor digital had a hard time of it holding focus.
But the eagle was obliging, and stayed for a good five minutes, calling and posturing.
Moving up fast on my Have To Have list. A digital SLR, the best of both worlds. Of course, by the end, my fingers were a bit frozen as were my feet from standing out in a snowdrift taking pictures of the eagles. I could have stood there longer, just watching and listening, but duty called, and so did the office. So we packed it in and headed home, heater blasting the chill from numb fingers.

Next: Inspecting For Aliens Part 2 - The Landscape

In Which The Author Rants In Vain

Note to UPS.


Did you NOT see the big red and white sticker on the side of the package?

-------> F-R-A-G-I-L-E <-------

Wikipedia:

Fragile, something of a delicate nature and/or easily broken,damaged. Vulnerable.

This does not mean you get to play sorting room soccer or loading dock rugby with said item. Likewise using the box to prop up your feet, heavier packages, or the rear axle of your Buster Brown truck.

Luckily, the neon pink Styrofoam packing peanuts seem to have protected the contents. Also, lucky, the contents did not, in fact, succumb to fragility. Otherwise you would have had great gobs of multicolored relief and etching ink squashed all over the guts of your nice, clean vehicle.

Secondary rant: I am seriously reconsidering ordering anything from places that use static electricity charged Styrofoam packing peanuts. I put my hand in the box to dig for my order, and my arm emerged coated in pink peanuts. I'm still picking pink foam fragments off my clothes 6 hours later. Not to mention I had to pull them out by the handful because the small items I ordered were floating free in the box full of static electricity. In Wyoming. In the dry winter. Go ahead, try and find an unsecured etching needle in a foam peanut haystack without excessive use of several four letter words. I dare you.

To make matters worse I came back after securing my inks and new brayer to find Anubis inside the box. Which was still half full of the evil packing material. Black cat, pink peanuts, full static charge. He didn't bolt until he saw me coming with the camera. Sorry, my digital is not quick enough to capture the ensuing chaos.

All I have to say is, this better be some darn good ink.

Poem For A Saturday Night

Cut From The Latest Blockbuster
by Constance Brewer

In action movies there's always a scene
or three where the hero transcends space
time in slow motion while chaos reigns.
A multi-car crash, daring leap through
plate window, escape from bomb burst.
Shattered glass twirls in lazy circles,
suspended by cinematographic deception.
Light flares, swells and fades in lethargic
splendor while explosions flame high in
languid commiseration. The hero's mind
races ahead, jolted from normal stupor
to frantic thought. How do I get myself
out of this mess? The audience anticipates
survival, even as our champion doubts.

Knee Deep In Corgis

It was that time of year again. When Max and Merlin's sister and cousin come to visit. This time, they brought along a friend. It was fascinating to see the variation in eye color - as rendered by my digital camera.

Emmy, sister to Max and Merlin, and owner of turquoise eyeballs.Maggie, cousin to the herd, and possessor of red-ringed golden orbs.
Friend/guest dog, Panzer, with those sparkling baby blues.


Merlin and Maximus did the yellow ghost eyeball thing. I think Merlin looks like Little Orphan Annie . . . .

Maggie and Panzer tried to use their freaky eyes to cage treats -

While Merlin kept watch over his Precious - all the lost bones and chewies the guests unearthed in the couch cushions, under the chair, behind the bookcase. All Merlin's best hiding places, compromised!

The code word "Treat" managed to get 3 out of 5's attention. Yes, those are Max's ears in the bottom of the picture. I guess he figured the closer he got to the camera, the better the treats would be.

Another use of the word Treat got even more results. Fine except I was trying to get everyone together to take a group picture. Corgis are not shy when it comes to food. They successfully got about as close as they could get without being in my pocket. (They were on my feet.)

This was the best I could do. 4 out of 5. Even the promise/threat of treats couldn't get them to all look at me at the same time. Mass dog photography is definitely a two person job. One to wave liver, and one to snap pics.

Surprisingly, there was little fuss over the bones and chewies. Probably because there was enough for everyone to have several. Toss in a couple of treat cubes, and they were happy campers for the duration.

And Anubis? He was less than thrilled with all the company, but strolled among the herd with impunity.

I'm sure his Dawn of the Dead/Vampire Kitteh impersonation had a lot to do with the respect the dogs gave him. Or maybe it's that, coupled with the left hook-right jab he's perfected to keep Max and Merlin in line. No one wants to mess with 12 pounds of annoyed cat highly skilled in the Death From Above maneuver - i.e. dropping from the top of two stacked kennel crates on to the back of his unsuspecting victim.

I'm glad cats provide their own amusement, but I think poor Panzer was glad to leave and return to slightly less chaotic surroundings. Merlin hid the Christmas hedgehog Panzer brought, and I have yet to find it. I'm thinking it's outside in a snowbank, because, in Merlin's line of thought, who would trudge out to the backyard and dig through drifts looking for a squeaky toy?

Besides me, that is . . . .