This spectacular creature showed up and posed for pictures. One of the earliest posts on this website featured another fantastic dragonfly. I like to take and to publish these pictures for the sake of art, but this one has a little story behind it. These days, I am working hard on revising my bar exam […]
The San Diego Zoo is a spectacular place. This week Elana and I are attending watercolor art camp. We spend some time with the animals and then create paintings of them. Here is a great picture Lana took today of a hungry and angry tiger. I figured it would be OK to help get a […]
Do you ever get the feeling that you’re being followed by elgaria multicarinata? No? This is yet another example of how my life is different from everybody else’s. I took this picture in Ocean Beach late yesterday afternoon. Another fine representative of this species hung out with me in Carmel Valley not that long ago. […]
Here is the latest example of why it’s fun to have a camera handy when you’re outdoors. This bird – a bushtit, according to George, was one of a big swarm of a couple dozen that zipped off to the next group of trees to the south a second or two after I took this […]
This is something you don’t see every day – yet. This creature is called Carausius Morosus, commonly known as the Indian Walking Stick because it’s from India and it looks like a walking stick. I’ve reported on these guys once before. Here is a close-up look at one of its little eyes. Apparently these insects […]
OK, actually it’s a lizard, but “Lizard in the Grass” just isn’t as catchy. If I’m not mistaken, this is a fine representative of the Southern Alligator Lizard, elgaria multicarinata. It’s great when a camera is handy at the right time! Share on Facebook
Here is “Ming the Merciless, Emperor of Mongo, otherwise known as Charlie Middleton”. Friends of the family thought this was a cute name for an essentially nice cat. What they did not know is that the animal you see in this 1973 photograph actually is Ming the Merciless of the planet Mongo. Here’s the story […]
Ocean Beach has a colony of parrots, originally from northeast Mexico, who have decided to kick back and enjoy the Bohemian vibe and counterculture traditions of OB. I love these birds and how colorful and loud they are. When they finally showed up, I called Alexis on her cell phone. As a result of a […]
I’m not sure what it is, but I like the colors and I’m impressed to be seeing a magnificent creature like this one outdoors on a cold late-fall afternoon. Incidentally, I asked it about current political issues of the day but it did not reply. Share on Facebook
This is an old-fashioned street tomcat who understood the meaning of freedom. He would come and go at will, disappear for months on end, reliably doing exactly as he pleased. He was old in the 1950’s. By 1969, when this photograph was taken, he had cheated death so many times that death decided to go […]
St. Gertrude of Nivelles, Abbess, is the Patron Saint of Cats. Today is her day. Personally, I must say I am outraged that St. Gertrude would be invoked to support a controversial idea that is being discussed in various right-wing circles across America today. I’m not thinking of the so-called conservative commentators who have been […]
Everybody knows that San Diego is one of the nicest places to live. At least that’s what people say. It turns out that we’re not the only species that likes it here. Take this bird, for example. This is one representative of a “sustainable colony” of parrots that has taken up residence in Ocean Beach. […]
The elegant white pooch is an Arctic Wolf named Ice. You don’t see magnificent predators like this one every day. One great thing about having a gigantic white wolf for a pet is that you don’t have to buy it any food! This friendly animal is fully capable of feeding itself. Another bonus: a huge […]
Millions of people all over the world have been inspired by President Obama. Americans are pulling together as never before. We can learn from the past. We’ve shared hard times before. This picture was taken back when President Jerry Ford was encoraging us to wear “Whip Inflation Now” (WIN) buttons. The cat’s name is Dragon. […]