Uncategorized

A Face with Character

Photo of a mule staring at the camera.
A Face Only a Mother Could Love; Somewhere in Idaho

On my drive to Yellowstone last September I saw several mules in a pasture.  When I saw this mule I had to turn around and get a better look.  At first I thought it was just an ugly gray (and red) mule.  But the more I looked at it the more I liked its face.  It had a lot of character.  There must be an interesting story to that ear.  Same for the scarred lines all over the nose.  I’m not sure if that’s a brand on the neck or what it is.  The other mules were of uniform color and had no such markings.  I just found the whole face photogenic and had to photograph it.

I did a little research about mules when I decided to post this photo.  I already knew a few things about them thanks to having been on a couple of pack trips.  I knew they were the sterile offspring of a cross between a donkey and a horse; that they were sure-footed on mountain trails and, supposedly, stubborn.  I also knew they had long ears (which caused mule deer to be so named).  Here’s what I learned.

Mules usually have lighter areas around their eyes and noses than the rest of their faces, thanks to the donkey parent. I think most people know a mule is  a cross between a donkey and a horse.  What may not be well known, however, is that a mule is a cross between a female horse and a male donkey.  When a male horse and female donkey are crossed the result is properly called a  “hinnie.”  Generally, though, the term “mule” is used to include both.   Donkeys have 62 chromosomes and horses have 64, which results in mules almost always being sterile.  There have been a few cases of female mules producing offspring, but there is no documented case of a male mule producing offspring.

Mules don’t sound like donkeys or horses.  They sound like a bit of each with a hee haw preceded or followed by a whinny.  Mules come in all different sizes. There are even miniature mules, which can be as light as 50 pounds.  Due to their hybrid nature, mules can grow taller than either parent.  Draft mules can top 1,000 pounds.  Female horses produce larger mules than female donkeys.

Mules come in all different colors, except true pinto.  They are reportedly more intelligent than their parents which many believe is due to hybrid vigor.  They are reported to have more endurance than either parent for the same reason.  While they have a reputation for being stubborn, they usually have a very good reason for not wanting to do something.  This stubbornness is tied to their intelligence and has probably saved the lives of many mules and a few people as well.

Uncategorized

Cute Kid

Photo of a young goat.
Young Domestic Goat (“Kid”); Petaluma, California

I took a drive yesterday looking for lambs to photograph and struck out again.  I did see some goats, however.  This kid was with its mother and two siblings.  The kids moved away as I approached them, but the mother had no fear of me.  She put as much of her head through the woven wire fence as she could, probably hoping for a treat.

Goats are closely related to sheep.  They reach puberty as early as three months.  While they have been used for their milk, meat, hair and sinew for eons, they have become popular as pets in recent times.

Goats are browsers, like deer, not grazers like sheep and cattle.  They have a reputation for eating almost anything including tin cans and cardboard, but they are fairly particular about what they actually eat.  They are very curious and that appears to be what causes them to eat the labels off of tin cans and to taste cardboard.   Their curiosity and intelligence make them very difficult to contain.  They will constantly test enclosures and often mange to escape.  They are also very good climbers like their wild cousins.

Uncategorized

Sonoma County Farm Country

Photo of a Miniature horse colt.
This foal is small enough to put in the passenger seat of my car. 

I went for a drive in the farm country of Sonoma County (California) this morning looking for newborn lambs.  I didn’t see any.  However, I spotted some horses with young and pulled off the road.  They weren’t just ordinary horses; they were miniature horses or ponies.  I use the terms “miniature horse” and “pony” somewhat uncomfortably because there seems to be a difference, at least in the eyes of some, and I’m not certain whether these cute little creatures are horses or ponies, although I’m leaning toward horses.  I also learned there is an overriding concern among breeders regarding dwarfism.  These small horses also live considerably longer than full-size horses just like small dogs live longer than large dogs.  (Does that apply to humans?)   I’ll make another run at finding newborn lambs soon.

Photoof a weathered barn along Highway 116.
Weathered Barn

Across the road from the horses was this old, weathered barn.  I don’t normally photograph landscape scenes with a 500 lens and a 1.4 tele-extender, but the combination came in handy this time.

Landscape

Point Reyes, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of Point Reyes from the Tomales Peninsula.
Point Reyes

Have you ever been out on the coast on a foggy day when some cracks in the fog let the sun shine through?  This was one of those times.  I was driving back from the Pierce Point Ranch area just after lunch when I saw these sunspots on the ocean.

Addendum:  As I posted this WordPress informed me that this is my 200th blog posting.  I started this in May of 2010 as I was leaving on a trip to Yellowstone.   I didn’t know then if I would manage to keep doing it for very long.  I still don’t know.  Twenty two months isn’t that long, but it is a milestone of sorts.  We’ll see how long it goes.

Eagle

Bald Eagle Banks Left

Photo of a bald eagle turning left.
Bald Eagle; Kachemak Bay, Alaska

Shortly after I retired in 2007 my friend Bob Gay invited me to join him and some friends in photographing bald eagles at Homer, Alaska.   I took Bob up on his offer and I’m sure glad I did.  The photography was astounding.  I returned in 2008 and 2009.  In 2009 I also took several boat trips across the bay from Homer to photograph bald eagles there.  Thanks to the abundance of eagles there I have never photographed a species as much as I have bald eagles.  Those trips were experiences I will always remember.

Eagle

Bald Eagle with Fishing Line Caught in Talons; Homer, Alaska

Photo of bald eagle with fishing line caught in talons.
A Dangerous Situation

This immature bald eagle has monofilament fishing line caught in both of its feet.   The artificial bait (shrimp) is still attached to the line.  This is a recipe for disaster.  At some point the line is going to get snagged on a limb or other object and, unless the bird figures out how to remove it, the bird is going to die.  Unfortunately, fishing lines kill a lot of birds and other wildlife.

Eagle

One Bald Eagle Carrries Another

Photo of one bald eagle carrying another with a fish in its talons.
Food Fight!

I think that most everyone who has an interest in wildlife knows that when a bald eagle sees an osprey flying with a fish the bald eagle will chase and harass the osprey and get it to drop the fish (which the eagle then dives for and catches).  The osprey gives up at this point so it can live and fish another day.

What people may not be as aware of is that bald eagles do this to each other too and if one loses the fish it doesn’t give up.  The aerial dog fights can go on for a long time and they can be quite spectacular.  Changes of possession can become numerous because when one dives on the other the one with the fish usually opens its talons to defend itself and loses the fish in the process. This results in a dive by both eagles to be the first to catch the falling fish.  It gets even ore interesting when the fight takes place where numerous eagles gather.  They all get involved.

I’ve seen some interesting things happen in these dogfights. I’ve seen one or both crash into the water.  Sometimes they can get airborne from the water, but sometimes they can’t and they then try to get to land.  If they don’t make it to land before hypothermia, they die.

This is one of the more unusual photos I’ve taken of bald eagles fighting.  One eagle has his talons into the upper tail of the other and is flying along carrying the other, but they are losing altitude.  Sorry, I don’t remember how it ended.