Nikki’s Photography

All the  recent rain in Lewisville (Texas) has washed out a few reptiles into our neighborhood from the nearby canal…a Painted Turtle showed up by a neighbor’s garage and was the center of attention for a few hours until it was brought back to the canal area. The same neighbor found a snake in their garage earlier last week. Judging from their description it may have been a non-venomous Rough Green Snake.

Ruby-eyed Rabbits

There are lots of rabbits in the back yard eating the grass and digging up the potatoes. They’re very tame but  if I get too close they freeze completely still, one of their ploys to deter predators…but I’m smiling and thinking, ’hey rabbit, it’s not working, I’ve already seen you!’

Wildorado Wind Ranch

Creating fields of renewable energy themselves, a herd of cattle leisurely does what cows do best on a warm summer day, twenty five miles west of Amarillo, just outside Adrian, Texas at the Wildorado Wind Ranch where there are 70 wind turbine generators spanning the horizon. Each turbine measures 450 ft. from ground to the tip of one of three blades. Wind will generate power to parts of eight southern States: Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

Here is our sweet Truly, sadly no longer with us, as she was a few years into her rehabilitation after being bitten through the pituitary gland by a large dog when she was only 5 weeks old. She was never quite normal, looked like a perpetual puppy, and she was quirky but she was Truly Sweet for nine years longer than others might have allowed her to live. In this 1999 photo she and George Xarchos, who is now about 13 years old, are checking each other out with the same curious postures.

Now that I have your attention with a cute picture, and in Truly’s honor:

Despite a federal court ruling against essentially the same proposal earlier this year, the Bush/Cheney Administration is attempting to pass a proposal to eliminate safeguards that could lead to the slaughter of as many as 1,000 wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies, two-thirds of the wolf population in that area.
Please sign a petition against this proposal by the Bush/Cheney Administration that will eliminate vital protection for wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies. The petition will urge U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to go back to the drawing board and come up with a balanced and responsible management plan for our wolves. There is a cover letter provided or you can leave your own comments if you like, and they will be collected by Defenders Of Wildlife and submitted on your behalf.

Propane tank made in the USA.

Valve may be imported.

Anole made in the USA.

We were away for two weeks and forgot to turn the sprinkler system on before leaving, so I thought the Green Anoles might have moved to greener pastures. Fortunately they are still thriving; here one is staying cool and safe inside a large Canna Lily leaf, a leaf that I nearly cut off while clearing out dead and dying plants.

Nag’s Head, North Carolina August 25th: This little crab measuring about 2 inches across had two legs missing but was still managing across the hills and vallies of footsteps in the sand. My guess is that a bird must have snatched it up then dropped it, retaining two of the legs for lunch. Shortly after this encounter it finally started digging a hole, offering much more protection than a footprint..

Drawing a male Howler monkey with oil pastels; reference photos taken at Dallas World Aquarium. I set my glasses down here and went for a break then came back to find them here.

Stony Swamp trail near Ottawa, Ontario, Canada